Honest answers please....

[dracozmine]

I have a 20 gal and a 55 gal tank. (both tropical) Am looking at a 70 gal later today. Of the 3 tank sizes, which would be the best to set up a SW tank and why? I was thinking the 20 gal. For the most part, the cost of it all. But if i have to and should wait to save some more cash I will. I would like to have come soft corals so I figure the lighting would be the most expensive, besides the rocks. Anyand all info would be appriceated.

[dfiddy]

Well I'm stuck with just a pair of 29 gallon tanks.. 1 upstairs in my bedroom and 1 downstairs in the livingroom and I wish I had the $$$ to devote to a larger aquarium.. preferrably around 90ish gallons or so. For you it might be easier and cheaper to get started and knowledgable in saltwater with the 20gallon that you already own and then upgrade later but eh.. if it was me i'd go for the biggest i could afford. :o :D

[onecrzyboi4u]

it really depends on what kind of fish and corals you are wanting to have. i have a 29 gal i'm slowly workin on my tank.. due to shortage of money.. when i get paid i spend some money on my babies.. ( there my children the fish lol) but thats my own perogrative to do.. the best advice i can give.. choose what would be better for u on how u can provide for whatever u choose to get.

[King-Kong]

here's the issue dracozmine:

the 55/70 gallon will give you much more water volume, meaning less chance of small changes or errors hurting the tank. the down side is, a 55/70 is more expensive to stock.

Here is a suggestion. Use the 55/70, but stock it like a 20. This will give you the water volume and advantages of a larger tank, but keep your costs down.

It will mean you have to show discipline in only getting a few small fish, and not purchasing lots of live rock, but It will be an easier tank to maintain because of that, and should keep your costs reduced.

Also, i am partial to the look of a minimalistic tank (though I do not have the discipline to make one myself).

[DaddyJax]

Well I can say from experience that smaller is not better for beginners!! In small tanks a mistake can wipe out your tank before you can stop it!
in bigger tanks you have more room for error and something like a dead sponge wont wipe out your entire tank in one night(sob):( ! If I can help it would be to go no smaller than 55gal!

[H2OLUVSME]

what are the demensions of the 70g? if it is wider than 12" i would go with it. i set up two tanks a once to start this hobby. on a 20h at my office and the other a 29 at home. as you see in my sig, both have been upgraded to 75s. the 75s are much easier to maintin and can take a little more abuse/ignorance. if i get caught up at work (ive been known to work 14 hours a day) te tanks dont suffer that much. all i need to do is feed and make sure there is enough water. with the small tanks i was constantly changing water, having to test, and cleaning everything to make sure there was no trate build up. with the 75s i have enough rock to handle my load much better. neither tank is overstocked, so maintenace is minimal, and there is enough live food in there to support the fish for a couple days if i get overly busy, or have to go out of town.

[AZDesertRat]

For saltwater and especially a reef tank front to back depth is important as well as overall length for swimming room. Height is not too important except that the higher they are the less light will penetrate down to the bottom so it limits what you can keep that is light dependent.
I also would say the 70 if it has more front to back than the 55. With a normal 13"Wx 48"L x 24" H 55 you just can't do good rockscaping with out it being piled against the back which traps detritus.

[Stevan]

Originally posted by DaddyJax
Well I can say from experience that smaller is not better for beginners!! In small tanks a mistake can wipe out your tank before you can stop it!
in bigger tanks you have more room for error and something like a dead sponge wont wipe out your entire tank in one night(sob):( ! If I can help it would be to go no smaller than 55gal!

Listen to this man...he is CORRECT.

[reeffer1]

Take the time and save the money to get a larger tank. Small tanks are very difficult to keep all the water parameters in line. The larger the volume of water the easier it is. Just my opinion!!!

[steveyoung]

As soon as you have filled the smaller tank, you will only want to upgrade anyway.
I bet everyone here has upgraded their tanks at some time and if they haven't it is normally due to cost or not enough space.

Get the biggest tank you can afford/fit in to the room :-)

[BiGOrange]

I like my 125.

[Ebisan]

I would go bigger if space permits. When I buy my next house, 200g or bigger is what I want.

[woninil]

I have a 55 that is mostly fish only(few inverts) I had an outbreak of ich and moved my inverts out into a 20 low so I can treat the 55. My LFS guru says I can eventually get the copper out and add my inverts back in the 55 which I KNOW this board doesnt agree with, but thats another thread

So I am thinking of turning that 20 low into a reef. Orrrrr..if I could find someone to take my cichlids, maybe the 29 gallon they're in??

My point is I have no interest in turning my 55 gallon into a reef.

Why? Cost of live rock!

I ordered a few lbs of the stuff cheaply on line and it was nothing special. To get anything exciting, it costs big money. Waiting for dead rock to turn live? IN 5 months, my live did NOTHING to my dead.

Then theres the lighting question and of course smaller will be cheaper.

Yes, Im sure water parameters are trickier in a small aquarium but you've done FW

I would say I have done this on the cheap and I an still in awe of how much Ive spent!!!!!!!

I may upgrade some day=maybe I will turn that 55 into a reef, but...I would caution you that putting it off until all is 'perfect' might just mean you never do it-and thats a shame

[JENnKerry]

I think 20 gallons are nice and so are 70 gallons. 55's are a pain in the a** to aquascape because they're so narrow.

[fishox]

When considering a salt water tank always remember that the bigger the better. Too many things can go wrong too fast in smaller tanks. Sice there really is no such thing as cheap salt water stock you should try to protect your investment. Equally as important, you should never buy something for your tank that you can't provide proper husbandry for.

[Lures and Jigs]

Definately bigger. I was scared the 75g we got was going to get out of hand with costs, but slowly we built up all the hardware we needed and now we're able to house fish and soon corals. It'll be worth the wait if you invest in a larger tank.