125 long to a 150 deep question

[okiestranger]

I am mulling over the idea of picking up a 150 gallon deep 36" by 36" and FoMoCO brought up a good topic of going from a 125 long 72" by 18" to a 36" x 36" would limit the choice of fish I could stock. Now there are two fish I have always admired and would like to use only for an example. Yellow tang and Regal blue tang. I understand that these fish need ample room to rome. And that a long aquarium is better. But my 125 is as I stated 72" x 18" without rock work. With rock work you can guess maybe 8 to 10 inches is used leaving around 8 inches to turn and bank. And in the 36 x 36 if the rock work is placed in the back corner by the overflow would allow somewhere around 50 inches from corner to corner of open free swimming plus allow for plenty of room to bank from center to front corner.would this not be better suited to the swimming nature of some fish then having 72 inches from side to side but minimal amounts of depth to actually turn. Don't get me wrong I don't plan on actually putting fish in an uncomfortable environment . Just got to thinking about this and thought I would see others comments.

[Original Fin]

Chris-

Personally, I think either could work, but I think the long is still a better choice for that type of fish. You could arrange the rockwork so the ends are more or less open, with no rockwork. You'd also get an nice open area of sand bed or barebottom for placing acans, brains, similar bottom corals.

36" square is still a pretty tight circle for Tangs I would think. Having said that, I've never kept a Tang so who am I to say? All I know is that it's the hottests of the hot button debated topics by marine aquarists today. Half would say it's too small, the other half would say do what works for you and if the fish seems healthy, don't worry about what the "Tang Police" have to say. Actually, that's not a very nice thing to say to folks that only have the fish's best interests in mind. I've been on forums where use of that term was unofficially against the rules, and could get you infracted or banned.

The fighting on this subject just makes me sick. Both arguments have their extremes...I say until undisputable scientific proof comes along regarding tank size matching to particular fish, just try to find some middle ground that works for you and the fish. If it looks like it's not happy/healthy you can always re-home it.
I realize not eveyone will agree...that's fine, it's just my opinion. Suffice it to say, I would not use a 150DD for Tangs personally, but I certainly wouldn't fault someone else for choosing to do so.

[okiestranger]

Thanks fin

Very good points. I myself having a 125 I have thought it over looked endlessly from all angles and me I would not feel comfortable housing any tangs in a 125 just seems to narrow. now a 75 x 24 is a different story. Until I see a 36 x 36 set up I can't say I would feel comfortable with that. the point of this thread was to read OPINIONS not for arguments. all opinions are greatly appreciated and thanks fin for your interesting opinion. still going crazy trying to decide on a tank that fits my deepest desires..........and my house lol.

[okiestranger]

I have a question why is there an angry face by my last post????? Maybe my fat thumb did it I use my phone to post that hmmm I don't know

[Original Fin]

See? You're already getting caught up in the hoopla!
Bwahahaa!

[Chasman]

Chris

I personally really like the look of a 36X36 tank. My LFS has a beautiful one set up and I'm always envious. I'm going with a 36X18 (50gal) from my 29 because I just don't have a big enough area to put it.

But most importantly, do what your wallet will allow.

Chasman

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

I can tell you for sure, you can't put a black tipped reef shark in there .

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

P.S. I've been tossing around the idea of adding a kole tang to my tank. I've read a lot of people house them in 4' tanks with no problems but I have also read what I believe to be an experts opinion that even small tangs like kole tangs need 6 ft of swimming space. I have been tempted to get one and watch it closely for space stress and pulling it if it doesn't work out. Part of me wants to take the advise of a trusted source and the other part of me wants to see if the particular kole tang I get will be happy in a 4 footer. It all comes down to what you're willing to do ( or not do) for the livestock you want to have.

[okiestranger]

come on James what if I only get one lol. yeah I would be like this at feeding time would be fun to threaten the kids with though lol

[okiestranger]

I look up every fish I see someone post about . And I looked up the kole tang. One website shows a 55 gallon as minimum looked it up on Dr foster and smith have it as 70 gallon minimum. What do they use to figure this because I'm getting confused is it opinions or is there a study done? I understand that some fish need more room because of natural habitat. I go to pet stores and see tangs in 10 or 20 gallon tanks. One pet store has a tank that really is the reason I decided to start my own had a yellow and blue regal tang In a 190 gallon that was only maybe 4 feet long and tall. Those fish looked healthy for years till the power went out for 9 days.

[Original Fin]

You should ask Lee about that one.

Part of it I would think is that LFS (for sale) fish are only meant to be there temporarily...but they also realize that most hobbyists don't want to or can't keep 300+gal 6-8 ft long tanks, and they have an agenda to sell fish.

Speaking for myself, as a beginner, I though that Tangs, Angels and Butterflys were the best SW fish and that's what I wanted to have. I imagined myself having one or two of each in my 55. If I listened to the LFS, I'm sure I would have killed quite a few of them by now. These are the fish that are in demand with the new folks, because of their beauty. A lot of LFS are keenly aware of this and have no problem exploiting it.

I've heard that people get have gotten together and successfully petitioned sites like Live Aquaria to revise their tank size recommendations for certain fish.
Most of the online Marine fish community use much more liberal tank size guidelines, and I trust them a lot more than I trust someone trying to make a buck.

[okiestranger]

Very true never again will my questions be asked anywhere else but this forum my lfs seen me coming lead me to disaster and almost kill my new found love for sw hobby. I have learned a lot here.

[gregony]

I wouldn't be afraid to keep a tang in a 36" cube tank. That's a lot of three dimensional swimming space.

[okiestranger]

Thanks for all the inputs on this subject it was just something I got to thinking about while I was looking up fish and re revising a rough stocking list and got curious to what others thought about the about the minimum tank requirements as of now I don't even have a tang on my list all little fish thanks folks.

[Parrothead]

Check this thread out, a tank like this would give you the best of both worlds

A whole new dimension!!!

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Check this thread out, a tank like this would give you the best of both worlds

A whole new dimension!!!

Does it count if t turn my tank sideways and call it a 18" long 48" deep and 20" tall?
That's about as close as I could get without having to sign divorce papers .

[Parrothead]

Does it count if t turn my tank sideways and call it a 18" long 48" deep and 20" tall?
That's about as close as I could get without having to sign divorce papers .

Every once in awhile, it's worth the trade out