18" deep tanks

[The Codfather]

I have always had a 24"- 30" deep tank, always thought that depth of tank was needed.
I just set up an 18" deep tank, and all I can say is....is it ever nice. So, that being said, for those of you who have a deeper tank and are thinking of upgrading, might want to consider a shallower tank. I know Ill never go back.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I'm the opposite. I would never go back to shallow tanks as my main display. I like the extra volume for my fish to swim in. My current reefs are 24" deep and I'd rather have 29"-30" even if it means wet armpits once in a while. I try to avoid sticking my hands in the water nowadays anyways and use various tongs instead.

[Skimmer Juice]

more depends on what fish you want . Im with you as I only keep smaller fish so I build my tanks 14 tall . Best size for cleaning get better use out of lighting . And not to mention most people never even scape the whole tank , they will have half the tank empty after the rockwork top half bare . So for myself I would never go above 20 tall. My 200g is 48x48x20 for my dogface and I can still clean it easy and gives him lots of swimmimg space .. Sure the extra space is needed if you are keeping bigger fish . But such a pain if you have a 30tall and need to get something off the bottom lol no thanks .

[squamishbc]

I've never had large tanks as I rent and smaller tans = easier to find landlords willing to accept them, but I do prefer shallow over deep. My salt tank is only 10g so really how deep could one even go...lol.. But I recently went from 20L to 20 tall with my planted tank as the plants needed more height, but the 20L was/is still my favorite.


I also like shallow as it's easier to light without breaking the bank.

[Dearth]

Deep tank-
Pro-allows for fish swimming room allows for bigger fish and more growing room for corals, takes up a small area in room
Con- harder to reach the bottom, limited in your aquascape choices, limited places to put coral, harder to clean

Shallow tanks-
Pro-easier to light the tanks, lots of choices for aquascaping, easy to move things around and clean, can place a large amount of corals and move with ease
Con- limited in your fish choices, can limit coral growth, takes up quite a bit of space, can limit coral choices

The above listed are only partial lists and everybody will have their own ideas of pros and cons but the reality is that it's whatever you like

Personally I want both but limited by space and time and something I rarely get to see....money

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

My main reason for preferring the taller tanks is because I wish I could give my big tangs more swimming space. I had to sell off a bunch of corals and rocks to lower my aquascape in order to accommodate my latest fish, but it was well worth it.

Anthony

[intarsiabox]

I think the fish selection is a big part of what determines the depth of a tank. I have never had or wanted a massive tank so I don't keep big fish. The smaller fish I have had over the years don't normally venture too far above the rocks unless it's feeding time so for ease of maintenance I keep it under 20". My interim tank is a 40g breeder and I have to say working on it is great but the height is only 16" so it limits my rock work height but careful selection of live rock keeps things proportional.