Tank sizes

[newtothishobby]

Stillca newbie. Just curious and not really wanting to change tanks until I know this hobby is right with me. If you have a cube tank and later want to go rectangle is it worth it? Do you need to recycle the new tank or just use old saltwater and sand? Are there any drawbacks from changing too late or too early?

 

[PotatoPig]

I’d say the mainstream sentiment is that unless you’re facing serious issues warranting a restart you reuse the rocks as-is and either get new sand or wash it before reusing it.

The main drawbacks are:

1. It’s expensive buying a new tank and buying/making a new stand.

2. It’s a lot of work to transfer a tank. If this is a tank of any significant size you’re looking at a major project.

For a cube tank - when looking at fish water volume requirements you should add approx 50% to get an equivalent cube. Eg: If you see a fish requires 40 gallons the assumption is a rectangular tank - add 50% to get about the size cube tank (60 gallons) that you’ll need.

 

[DaScubaSteve]

You would use your mature rock and you can wash the old sand and put it in the new tank. You will most likely go through the ugly phase again in the upgrade. If you go this route I would by filtration lights and stuff that u can use for the new tank if you decide to upgrade.

 

[newtothishobby]

I’d say the mainstream sentiment is that unless you’re facing serious issues warranting a restart you reuse the rocks as-is and either get new sand or wash it before reusing it.

The main drawbacks are:

1. It’s expensive buying a new tank and buying/making a new stand.

2. It’s a lot of work to transfer a tank. If this is a tank of any significant size you’re looking at a major project.

For a cube tank - when looking at fish water volume requirements you should add approx 50% to get an equivalent cube. Eg: If you see a fish requires 40 gallons the assumption is a rectangular tank - add 50% to get about the size cube tank (60 gallons) that you’ll need.

Oh so my 40 gallon cubed might be too small for fish that requires a 40 gallon tank? Didn't know that part at all.

 

[newtothishobby]

You would use your mature rock and you can wash the old sand and put it in the new tank. You will most likely go through the ugly phase again in the upgrade. If you go this route I would by filtration lights and stuff that u can use for the new tank if you decide to upgrade.

Would like to go a bit bigger eventually. Just trying to get an idea. Won't happen until I think I know what im doing in the saltwater tank world lol

 

[DaScubaSteve]

60 breeder is a really nice size and can be cheap

 

[BryanM]

Stillca newbie. Just curious and not really wanting to change tanks until I know this hobby is right with me. If you have a cube tank and later want to go rectangle is it worth it? Do you need to recycle the new tank or just use old saltwater and sand? Are there any drawbacks from changing too late or too early?

I Just went through this, used my old rock, got new substrate. I'm getting some algae, but its honestly not that bad.

And rocks/sand take up space, so that 40g is probably only 30 with a decent rockscape in it. If the DT size is marginal for a certain fish, its almost certainly too small for that fish with rock in it.

 

[PotatoPig]

Oh so my 40 gallon cubed might be too small for fish that requires a 40 gallon tank? Didn't know that part at all.

It varies a bit depending on the exact fish and its tankmates.

The issue with cube tanks is there’s a smaller distance from one side of the tank to the other, which puts everything in closer proximity (can cause issues with territory/aggression) and cuts down on swim distances, which can be very limiting on more active fish. If this can be managed for your specific fish then it might be OK, but as a general rule cubes are a little less efficient for water volume requirements.

 

[newtothishobby]

60 breeder is a really nice size and can be cheap

Yea I also could go bigger with a rectangle since weight is distributed a little better