$50 for tank, Which would you get and why ?

[Felix T Cat]

So I am moving from my 12G aquapod and had planned on going to a 29G. I have a 30" Sunpod 4xT5 light for the new tank and stopped tonight to pick up a tank. Well as fate would have it there is a 37g on clearance.

So, I'm looking for some advice here, I know more water is better but:

Tank 1: Marineland 37G, 30w x 12d x 24h, black plastic cross brace in the middle. Includes single strip light and glass lid (neither of which I would use)

Tank 2: Off the shelf 29G 30w x 12d x18h, no cross brace.

I'm leaning to the 37g just for the extra volume at the same price but I'm wondering if I will have any issues with the cross brace creating a dead light spot in the tank. Will the extra height limit what I can keep on the floor of the tank ?

My intentions are only for softy corals, Zoas, and candy canes. Live rock and some shrimp and crabs (hermits and otherwise). No fish at all.

Thoughts please ?

[davewbush]

I would go with the 37 gal. The brace is not big enough to cause a dead spot for the light. What watt light bulbs are in the T5?

[dwd5813]

i'd go with the bigger tank.

[Felix T Cat]

Lights are 4x 24w for 96w total.

[reefscape15]

if that is really all your wanting to keep the 24" depth would be fine. However it will limit what you can keep on the floor of your tank. Any higher light Zoas or Shroomz probably wouldn't be able to sit on the bottom of the tank unless you have some MH or lots of T-5's

[reefscape15]

oops i took too long to post! There werent any when i first read this, but i would think that T-5 fixture would be okay for most of what you want to keep

[cubsFAN]

id go with the 29.

[cubsFAN]

you will be limited by your lighting with the 37 and it will be harder to reach into. i prefer a shallower tank.

[Felix T Cat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14787847#post14787847 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cubsFAN
you will be limited by your lighting with the 37 and it will be harder to reach into. i prefer a shallower tank.

That was my concern as well. That the lights just wouldn't be enough and the extra "height" wouldn't give me any additional room for corals anyway. I'm almost leaning to the 29 right now just because it wouldn't be as tough lighting but I really appreciate all the input.

[Kenmx10]

I would say "GO WITH THE 39" . The extra height will make your tank look bigger. Plus you can do more with it. The light will be fine. You can place shrooms and corals that cant have much light at the bottom. Then have more room at top for other corals that require more light. Plus you can add more live rock. Unless you have a refugium, you want as much live rock as possible for filtration purposes. Plus it gives you more room to aquascape.

IMO, the extra 6" will really open up the tank more visibly. You can still put anytrhing in the 39 that you would have with the 29, AND MORE . But with the smaller tank you are limiting yourself due to space.

[reefscape15]

You can build some PVC or acrylic rod supports and brace your rock all the way up to the top of the tank if you want, which will give you much more space for coral placement. I'd try to steer clear of putting the red or orange variety shroomz all the way on the bottom as they require a little more light than some others

[Rjukan]

Are those the right dimensions on the 29? It comes out to about 28g in the calculator. My 29g is 3'x1'x1.3'

I would def suggest the 29g if its the 3 footer, I like that size a lot. I was able to get about 90lbs of LR in there when I had it as a DT. Plus the longer span is better for most fish. If its not the 3' one then I dont have a suggestion lol ;)

[Iguana79]

Go with what you want. If it was most of these guys choice they would tell you to get a 210g. I have never had anything smaller then 60g. A 29g seems better for you as you already have an idea that the equipment you have will work. Seems you would be happier with a 29g. Plus going from a 12g to a 29g is huge. And if you think about it, a 37g is only 1 1/2 5 gallon buckets bigger. Short and sweet, go with what you like and are prepaired to take care of.

[Felix T Cat]

Double checking the measurements online I think its:
30x12x18 vs 30x12x22

I am positive about the 30" because I made sure my sunpod would work.

[honda70kid]

with that light the 37 is so deep it would be too much for that light. but your you i think the 29 would be better
i have a t5 nova extreme pro over my 29 bec im going to upgrade to a bigger tank..

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Id go smaller, as its way easier to make a small tank look awesome than it is to make a larger tank look ok.

[rip0927]

at the same price i ;d go w37gal happy reefing

[Felix T Cat]

Ok, so on the way home I stopped and picked up the 37. Decided that it was a good price and if later I resold it I would get more because it was a clearance vs normal 37 prices. Brought it home, sat it on the shelf and sat on pc of the dry coral I plan on keeping in it.... then sat my lights on top.....

EHHHHHH, ain't gonna work. The pcs of rock I plan on placing in there are just not tall enough to overcome the extra 4" of tank height. I had a HUGE gap from the top of the coral and the top of the tank. My goal wasn't to spend a ton of money on live rock but use the base rock and live rock I already had to fill the tank. Looking at it in the house I think the 29 will be a much better solution.

Thank you ALL for the input, I really do appreciate it.

[robot2222]

29 for sure , i hate reaching and with only 12 inches front to back you will be knocking stuff over all the time.