How deep should my tank be? 30" vs. 24"

[sgrosenb]

I wondering what people think about a 30" high tank vs. a 24" high tank. Obviously it's harder to clean the bottom of the tank, but how often will I really need to be reaching in all 30"? Is the depth and excess water worth the extra viewing space?

Thanks!

[manini333]

personally i like 30" for a 6 ft long tank. 24" for a 4ft long tank. i reach in to the bottom of my tank almost daily. certain tools help to get to the bottom with out sticking your hands in also.

[dots]

How long are your arms?

[heyfredyourhat]

I have a hard enough time getting to the bottom of a 24" tall let alone a 30".

I am at the bottom at least once per week. It is also not so much the reaching but the seeing. I cant see very well looking top down, so i have to try and adjust my head so i can see through the side...very frustrating sometimes!

[jthao]

I like 30" but I would never own one myself especially if I have to clean/maintain it myself. My arms are short and a 24" tank is already hard for me. also with a 30" tank I'm gonna wanna run 400w halides over which I'm not going to do, that's why I have a 24" tank. just my opinion.

[pwoller]

What are you going to have in the tank? SPS, LPS, or fish only? I would go shorter if you are keeping corals.

[8BALL_99]

I went 25 cause my new tank is 36" wide. Even at only 25 height its pretty hard to reach very far into the tank.. Getting to the middle will be a job.. I have access from the front and back. I would hate to try and reach from the front all the way to the back bottom. With 30" you might end up needing more light. IE for a SPS tank with mh you will probably have to step up to 400 watters. Of course bigger tanks look better :)

[tomphot1]

I love my 30" deep tank
At 6'6" - my arms are long enough to reach all the way to the bottom with no trouble.
I could see how this could be a problem for short folks;)

[Reefbox]

30" deep is nice. If your shorter it becomes more challenging.

[sgrosenb]

Haha - slight problem in the fact that I'm only about 5' 5", but my dilemma is that Oceanic only makes the Ultimate aquarium in a 72x24x30 tank, where as what I'm really looking for is a 72x24x24 (but still want the starphire glass front and Oceanic make)

Any suggestions?

[bjc451]

mine is about 32" tall and i have to stand on a chair to reach the bottom kind of a pain when your are trying to get coral frags to go where you want them. Plus i always have to take water out for arm displacement.

[shelburn61]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13376389#post13376389 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sgrosenb
Haha - slight problem in the fact that I'm only about 5' 5", but my dilemma is that Oceanic only makes the Ultimate aquarium in a 72x24x30 tank, where as what I'm really looking for is a 72x24x24 (but still want the starphire glass front and Oceanic make)

Any suggestions?

Unless you will have access from the front and back, 30" will be tough. I'm 6, 2" and even with a stool I can barely get to the back of a 24" deep tank.

[ioreefer45]

I have a 30" tank. Visually worth it, but maintenance is more work unless you have a lot of reach in tools to do you aquascaping. The height adds a lot volume visually to the tank.

[miwoodar]

I would love to have a 30" or 36" deep tank. My tank right now is 26"...don't know if I'll ever pull the trigger on anything deeper. I'm 5'11" and I have patches of coralline that I can't reach by hand.

Aren't you glad I'm not a plumber!?

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/miwoodar/CIMG2598.jpg