Size
Once you have decided what you want to keep, you are ready to choose the size of the aquarium. You want to get the biggest that your budget can afford and one that can house the type of livestock you have decided you want to keep. . Remember in a healthy tank, corals and fish will grow so plan big. Without going into specifics now, water chemistry is the utmost importance in your aquarium. The larger tank volume you have, the more time you have to correct a problem when it occurs. Eventually, something may happen, plan on it now, get a large tank You want an aquarium that has a good depth (front to back) for rockscaping. I would recommend nothing smaller than 75 gallons. The 120-gallon (48 x 24 x 24) is my favorite. You’ll find aquariums in all different shapes and forms, the rectangle is the most popular, but you’ll find squares, circular, bow fronts. For your first tank I would stick with a rectangle, bow front or a cube.
I need to mention that there are a lot of nano aquariums available today that have essentially everything you need built into the system with sizes from 8 gallons to 40 gallons and cost about $150 and up. While they do require more attention, if you stay on top of them, you’ll fall in love with them. I would hardly recommend an 8 gal nano (pictured below) to start with, but the below pictured RedSea Max is a nice system. One of the biggest differences in a nano system and a “regular sized system is the type of fish and corals you can keep in it, again its research before you buy. But as stated earlier, starting out you really should get the largest tank your budget will allow you to get.
Red Sea Max |
Oceanic BioCube |
Aquarium Design
While it is possible to setup a tank with all the accessories attached to the tank, it is not an efficient way to setup your tank. This article assumes that you will use a sump. Without a sump, all your equipment will be hanging onto the sides of your aquarium. Be smart, plan to get a sump! It will give you more flexibility as your knowledge of this hobby increases. A sump can be as simple as another aquarium or be compartmentalized. I will discuss sumps in the next installment when filtration is covered. There are two ways to get water to your sump. One is the use of an overflow box. The other is to have the overflows built into the tank. When all is said and done, both will cost you approximately the same in the end.
Figure 2 Aquarium with overflow box
Figure 3 Aquarium with built-in overflow
Glass or Acrylic
There are pros and cons for both, in the end it’s a matter of personal preference. I’ll highlight the differences and based on your needs and research you’ll be able to decide which is best for you.
| Acrylic | Glass |
| Scratches Easily | Scratches Can’t be removed |
| Higher Cost | Difficult to Scratch, easier to clean |
| Can be modified easier (drilled) w/ easy to find tools | Requires special diamond drill bits |
| Can discolor | Widely Available |
| Better insulator than glass | |
This installment was fairly short and simple. If you would like to see some nice aquariums, check out
Ultimate Marine Aquariums by Mike Palette.
It includes profiles of reef aquariums, fish-only tanks, and a wide range of approaches, ranging from simplified natural systems to high-tech designs with irresistible photographs of outstanding marine aquariums. Each with detailed descriptions of the planning, equipment, livestock selection, and husbandry practices that make it work.
To be continued………
In the next article we’ll discuss filtration. It’s a biggie so be ready!!If you have questions you would like answered, you can email them to me at brian@oceangalleryii.com and I’ll answer them in the next article.
© 2008 Brian K. Griffin Ocean Gallery II