What size of tank would you go with for larger fish?

[Xyres]

I am planning on having a reef tank but I also want larger fish like Blue Throat Triggers and tangs. What size of tank would you think is a minimum to go with for these kind of fish?

[mrhasan]

I am planning on having a reef tank but I also want larger fish like Blue Throat Triggers and tangs. What size of tank would you think is a minimum to go with for these kind of fish?

Heads up: you can go small but you can never go big enough when it comes to reef tanks with tangs ;)

[monocus]

as big as you can fit.i have a 240 right now and planning on a 300-much later around a 2000 gal

[The Grizz]

6' or longer for tangs would be my choice. If you get small size tangs eventually you will need an upgrade. I have a 8' - 165 gal but in the process of building a 8' - 300 gal.

[Xyres]

Yeah I was planning on going a 6' long tank just to save some space length wise but going around a 180 to 240. I am just wondering because I need to consider costs of running that much water plus the sump.

[naesco]

6' or longer for tangs would be my choice. If you get small size tangs eventually you will need an upgrade. I have a 8' - 165 gal but in the process of building a 8' - 300 gal.

As usual Grizz is right. Six foot is a minimum. Tangs are swimmers. They spend all of their time swimming to and fro and require the length that larger tanks provide. Thank you for asking.

[Xyres]

Well thank you guys for answering. :)
If I am going to be dropping a fair amount of money on an upgrade I want to make sure that everthing is going to be right for my fish and that they will be happy.

[chevyjaxon]

Its been often said that in Marine bigger is better. If you own your own house, build as big as you can fit!

[lpsreefer]

Very well put. Do you own your own house?
Where are you going to put the tank?
Can your floor support the tank?
How big are your doorways to bring a tank in or build one on site?

[albert_dao]

You need a 5000' long tank minimum.

[kien]

Just don't forget to consider your ongoing maintenance budget. In my opinion there is a point where bigger is not always better. Bigger is also more expensive; time and money. More water means larger water changes, more salt, a larger more expensive skimmer, more lights, heating, cooling, etc..

For example, if today you had to the time, the space and money to set up a 150g 6 foot tank or a 500g 6 foot tank choosing the 500g because "bigger is always better" might not actually be better in the long term. The 500g tank is going to cost you more in time and money to maintain. This tends to be the cause of many tank shut downs.

Having said that, some people are perfectly fine maintaining larger tanks long term :-)

[wickedfrags]

Agree on the 6' length.

Rather than upgrading selling the fish is another option!!! At least that is what I will be doing should the time come. The "tang" quantity in my 90 might get me hanged on some boards, despite their current short stature.

6' or longer for tangs would be my choice. If you get small size tangs eventually you will need an upgrade. I have a 8' - 165 gal but in the process of building a 8' - 300 gal.

[naesco]

Agree on the 6' length.

Rather than upgrading selling the fish is another option!!! At least that is what I will be doing should the time come. The "tang" quantity in my 90 might get me hanged on some boards, despite their current short stature.

Rather than selling the tangs which is a lot more difficult to do than you realize as you really get attached to them, reward yourself for good husbandry and get a 6 footer for yourself.
It is just an extra two feet!

[Seriak]

Rather than selling the tangs which is a lot more difficult to do than you realize as you really get attached to them, reward yourself for good husbandry and get a 6 footer for yourself.
It is just an extra two feet!

Tell that to my wife!

[naesco]

Here is a little secret that I would like to share with you.
Check out the trunk of the car she normally drives.
You may spot empty plastic bags from some of the dress/shoe stores and maybe even find a few crumpled up recent receipts for 'the new dress that you just noticed that she says she has had for a long time.'
Than tell her about the need for your fishies to have a little more room so that they can swim around so both of you could enjoy them. Tell her it is only two feet more

[lockrookie]

Here is a little secret that I would like to share with you.
Check out the trunk of the car she normally drives.
You may spot empty plastic bags from some of the dress/shoe stores and maybe even find a few crumpled up recent receipts for 'the new dress that you just noticed that she says she has had for a long time.'
Than tell her about the need for your fishies to have a little more room so that they can swim around so both of you could enjoy them. Tell her it is only two feet more

That only works if your wife isn't an Italian NYer... She would just tell me she will dig my grave 2 feet more...no matter what receipts I find... But I will say it was her idea for me to build my 180. Lol so I got my 6'.

So that being said it never hurts to discuss it with your better half sometimes they surprise you