Question about tank shape for monsters...

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
J

JLad10687

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 25, 2008
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Pennsylvania
For this purpose lets assume you have a 18" fish(pick your favorite).

Why is it that rectangle is the standard for these monster tanks. If you have a 240 gallon rectangle tank, 96" x 24" x 24". Why is that better then a square tank of 60" x 60" x 24". Doesnt it seem like this would give the fish much more room to turn around and ample room to swim straight as opposed to being able to just go straight then be crammed to turn around.

Just a thought, I dont mean to rile anyone up, just trying to gather info as I will be building my own tank and still working out the planning.
 
cheaper, easier to clean, more stuff to see when it's spread out, bigger chance of catching your fish in a profile view....
 
I'd go with the square one if I had plenty of room. But if it was against a wall I'd go with the rectangle because the square one would stick out way more. I think most standard aquariums are rectangle because of looks and whatnot.
 
IMO in a square tank the fish would probly swim in a circle rather then back and forth in a rectangle tank...

So I pretty much agree with the guy who makes everyone cry... :D
 
Its all about what is more convenient for the fishkeeper. If you really wanted the best shape for your fish then I recommend a circular tank. No corners and less sides to bang into and its easy to create a circular water flow so the fish can swim up/downstream endlessly or just wait for food naturally.

Another idea for you is to view all your tanks on racks end on. I do this for all my breeding tanks as the fish can retreat for privacy/confidence and have had good success with many shy and finicky species this way.
 
i like the rectangle shapes, but the wider ones. for some 18" fish id want a tank 30-36" wide and maybe 7-8' long.
when i get my new job and actually save money, i am looking at a 240 on glasscages for my Oscar. theres different models(different dimensions) for the 240s on there, i forget which one it was that i wanted in specific.. maybe 2 feet wide? not sure.
 
First of all this is a bad comparision the 5' x 5' x 2' is a 375 gallon tank, much bigger then the 240g. Alot would depend on type fish and whether it is a community tank or not. A silver aro would be much happier in a 8' x 2' then a 4' x 4' tank IMO. I would think a community of large sa/ca cichlids would be better in the square tank.
 
doesn't make much difference
i have a 95UKg cube for my FH
square or rectangle if the foot print is same then it shouldn't be a problem at all
most of us build tanks in terms of place constraints
 
Btw, easydoesit, I was thinking of buying a tank from glasscages, and I was told by a number of people on this site that their tanks are not well made, and crack very easily.
 
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