Is Your Aquarium Too Big?

[Frank]

I've been trying to figure out how big my "big" tank should be. I thought that I would get a 50gallon tank, but I wasn't liking the spot it would go. Then, I realized that if I moved some bookshelves, I would have an ideal place for an aquarium. 

If I did that, I would have 5 feet by 2 feet of floor space available. Now, I'm not real tall, but I have relatively long arms. I wear 34 inch sleeves. But, I know that I don't want to have to stick my face in the water, or even have my entire arm in there, to maintain it. Plus, I worry about "bit off more than you can chew" syndrome.

On the other hand, I don't want to get another, larger tank, just to upgrade again, later.

Do you have a tank that's just too big of a chore to maintain? How big is too big?

Edited March 7, 2021 by Frank

[joseph lambeth]

what are you trying to put into the tank? 

[Frank]

2 minutes ago, joseph lambeth said:

what are you trying to put into the tank? 

Lots of itty bitty nano fish. Lots of plants. Lots of rocks.

[OceanTruth]

I’ve never had an aquarium I couldn’t handle, but then again I’ve never had a monster tank before. Largest tank I’ve ever had was only 90 gallons. I, myself, would avoid a tank over 2ft high. I think that would be a pain to wipe down or plant in. Plus most fish are fine with that height. I don’t ever plan to get a massive fish.

[joseph lambeth]

honestly a 40 breeder is 36"(L)x18"(W)x16"(H)  so a 50 gallon is 36"(L)x18"(W)x19"(H) 

you can jump to a 75 gallon tank which is 48"(L)x18(W)x21"(H)  

honestly just depends on how much water you wanna change at a time. 

[joseph lambeth]

Big tank nano fish setup for me would honestly be a 40 breeder you can do a lot with them given the correct filtration it can be a nice setup and you could use the other 2 ft of length to put a small table or shelf for your fish food and stuff.  

[Frank]

2 minutes ago, joseph lambeth said:

Big tank nano fish setup for me would honestly be a 40 breeder you can do a lot with them given the correct filtration it can be a nice setup and you could use the other 2 ft of length to put a small table or shelf for your fish food and stuff.  

Yeah. Those are things that I'm thinking about. Leaving space for filters and stuff. 

I just look at my fish, swimming back and forth, and I feel guilty about not giving them more room to swim in. 

[joseph lambeth]

[Frank]

26 minutes ago, OceanTruth said:

I’ve never had an aquarium I couldn’t handle, but then again I’ve never had a monster tank before. Largest tank I’ve ever had was only 90 gallons. I, myself, would avoid a tank over 2ft high. I think that would be a pain to wipe down or plant in. Plus most fish are fine with that height. I don’t ever plan to get a massive fish.

Would you want a tank 2ft. high and 2ft. front to back?

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Frank

[joseph lambeth]

that is my 40 breeder the water is not clear due to removing probably 40 pogostemon stellatus octopus I am re doing that tank i want a different look but you see that tank i have a 100 watt heater a 150 watt heater two medium sponge filters one aqueon 20 hang on back for water polishing.

[joseph lambeth]

once I can figure out my crypto wendtii plans I will update the pics 

[Frank]

1 minute ago, joseph lambeth said:

that is my 40 breeder the water is not clear due to removing probably 40 pogostemon stellatus octopus I am re doing that tank i want a different look but you see that tank i have a 100 watt heater a 150 watt heater two medium sponge filters one aqueon 20 hang on back for water polishing.

Do you think that that's as big as you want to manage? The 40 breeder is one that I was thinking about. 

[joseph lambeth]

for me no i want to get out of my apt and get a house with a real fish room so i have more breeding tanks and growing out tanks. i would rather have a 125 gallon tank but nothing larger than that because I do not want any larger fish than angels 

[lefty o]

39 minutes ago, Frank said:

Would you want a tank 2ft. high and 2ft. front to back?

 

my 120 is 4'x2'x2'. i dont think its too big, but for cleaning i do stand on something, and you plan on getting wet up to the arm pits.

[Frank]

20 minutes ago, lefty o said:

my 120 is 4'x2'x2'. i dont think its too big, but for cleaning i do stand on something, and you plan on getting wet up to the arm pits.

Do you worry about losing your balance and putting too much weight against the side?

[lefty o]

2 minutes ago, Frank said:

Do you worry about losing your balance and putting too much weight against the side?

its pretty thick glass on a 120, i lean on it quite a bit sometimes.

[MartyO]

Ideally you don't want a tank that is higher then 28" as then maintenance becomes tedious and you won't want to do it. So this means your tank will become a mess and eventually just die from improper care. Depth I would say the same thing though 24" as with your arm and say a scraper this still takes some effort. Max size I would do, would be a 120-125 because of their dimensions. Anything bigger unless you are an absolute fish junky you would get tired of the effort it takes to clean the glass and equipment. Ryan the owner of BulkReefSupply is vlogging his tank and the amount of thought into his tank is crazy. So really any tank can be fun to have as long as you have put in a lot and I mean a lot of thought into the tank so as to not to look at the tank as a chore and actually enjoy and become Intune with it.

[Frank]

21 minutes ago, MartyO said:

Ideally you don't want a tank that is higher then 28" as then maintenance becomes tedious and you won't want to do it. So this means your tank will become a mess and eventually just die from improper care. Depth I would say the same thing though 24" as with your arm and say a scraper this still takes some effort. Max size I would do, would be a 120-125 because of their dimensions. Anything bigger unless you are an absolute fish junky you would get tired of the effort it takes to clean the glass and equipment. Ryan the owner of BulkReefSupply is vlogging his tank and the amount of thought into his tank is crazy. So really any tank can be fun to have as long as you have put in a lot and I mean a lot of thought into the tank so as to not to look at the tank as a chore and actually enjoy and become Intune with it.

Yeah!

That's what I'm hoping to do.

I want to maintain the best environment for my charges, that I can, without it becoming a chore to be avoided.

[Brandy]

I have a small tank on my counter top in my kitchen. It is about 35" off the floor, and it is a 29 gallon tank, so only 18" deep. but the height of the tank is too much for me at 5'6". I use a step ladder, or the counter itself. I only really need to do that for replanting things or something, the gravel vac and long handled scraper blade can reach for me for routine stuff. I have a 40 breeder on the floor below a window, it has its own issues (hard to start a siphon, but still), but it is much easier to reach. even then, reaching the bottom in the back can be a stretch for me with my puny little arms. Comfortable to reach is pretty nice, but you spend less time scrabbling around in the substrate than you might think, so for me it is not a big consideration.

If I had space, I would love about 100-125gallons as @MartyO says, as a big display tank, but that would also be my max. The big deal with a big tank is don't move house. They are heavy and akward to move. Any bigger than that and you get worried about getting them thru doors. 

[Frank]

12 minutes ago, Brandy said:

I have a small tank on my counter top in my kitchen. It is about 35" off the floor, and it is a 29 gallon tank, so only 18" deep. but the height of the tank is too much for me at 5'6". I use a step ladder, or the counter itself. I only really need to do that for replanting things or something, the gravel vac and long handled scraper blade can reach for me for routine stuff. I have a 40 breeder on the floor below a window, it has its own issues (hard to start a siphon, but still), but it is much easier to reach. even then, reaching the bottom in the back can be a stretch for me with my puny little arms. Comfortable to reach is pretty nice, but you spend less time scrabbling around in the substrate than you might think, so for me it is not a big consideration.

If I had space, I would love about 100-125gallons as @MartyO says, as a big display tank, but that would also be my max. The big deal with a big tank is don't move house. They are heavy and akward to move. Any bigger than that and you get worried about getting them thru doors. 

No worries about me moving. I'm not leaving here until they cart me off. 

Regardless of the size of the tank, I expect to spend a lot of time getting it planted. I'll put in a ton of fast growers while I work at the bottom, in sections.

[OceanTruth]

6 hours ago, Frank said:

Would you want a tank 2ft. high and 2ft. front to back?

 

Yes, I would definitely keep a tank like that. Hope you find a tank that suits you for that nice space you can make available!

[Daniel]

On my biggest tank, when I have needed to change or rearrange the substrate, both my wife and son have crawled inside to complete the work.

So at some point, the bigger the aquarium, the easier it is to maintain.

 

[Frank]

3 hours ago, Daniel said:

On my biggest tank, when I have needed to change or rearrange the substrate, both my wife and son have crawled inside to complete the work.

So at some point, the bigger the aquarium, the easier it is to maintain.

 

I definitely do not want to be getting inside a tank.

Edited March 7, 2021 by Frank

[Hobbit]

I’m 5’4” with short arms, and I have a 55 gallon on a 32” high stand (total height is 53”). For any sort of hard core maintenance I stand on a chair, but most of the time I can do what I need to do and only get wet up to my elbows.

From your description, it sounds like you would be totally fine with a 55 gallon, as long as you’re up for occasionally standing on a stool or chair. You probably wouldn’t need to very often!

[Tanked]

A tank is too big if the room starts to tilt.

After the initial set up cost, water changes are your biggest consideration in the log run.  The maintenance level doesn't change too much.  I have a 75 that is 40" off the floor and the top rim is 61"  It is a near perfect for viewing when sitting or standing.  I have a 65 tall that tops out at 55" from the floor.  Both require a short step ladder, but the 65 tall is a bigger pain to clean.