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Re: Parameters for an "ideal" plant tank?	Thomas Barr
	Apr 09, 2003 11:19 PDT

Now to pick your experienced brains -- what would be your IDEAL size planted show tank? Should it be acrylic or glass -- what difference other than empty weight would be considered? Shape would depend on the location and design you want. Size depends on the budget and desired work load and design layout etc also. Best to go out and see what has been done first, then decide. Don't rush. I'm quite happy with a 20 gallon tank, but I like a 400 gallon tank also. But they are quite different in approaches. Most decent sized tanks run in the 150 to 75 gallon range for nice layouts. I prefer glass as acrylic does scratch pretty easy and acrylic thick walled tanks that look nice get pretty costly. Most are made from thin walled acrylic and have top pieces glued to increase strength. But folks can go either way with good sucess.   Are big "Amano like" rimless glass tanks available -- they sure photograph beautifully in his books? Those are pretty small tanks. I remove my top rims on smaller tanks or else build my own. You can have these built for you by a glass shop. Do I have to   consider a sump -- my preference is not to add that -- why would I want it other than hiding the "utilities" out of the show tank? Canister filters work pretty good. Most go with those, sumps are nice since they skim the surface water well and also maintain a constant level in the tank. Larger tanks are better off with sumps I feel. 75-90 gallon range is getting into sump land but I have used canisters with good success on the same sizes. How deep should it be   to be attractive and allow adequate light penetration? 20-24 inches is good.   How long should it be - I assume there is some consideration on how many powercompact fixtures I could attractively fit in a hood and uniformly light the tank without letting light spill into the room except through the walls of the tank? Generally 4-5-6 ft. All these will work well. Depends on the first part of your query.   How many watts per gallon should I try for? More is not better. 2-3w/gal is fine and more than enough.   What front to back depth aquascapes best with driftwood and lots of foreground, mid and back ground plants? 18 to 24 inches. 12 is tough but possible.   For me when I looked at "standard" size tanks (and considered our living room space) big would be about 20 gallons -- really big would be 30 or 40 gallons and huge would be 55 gallons or larger. I think I can use up to 36" of wall space. Try a 20 gallon, remove the top lip, sand the edges. I have an image of what I did. A single 55watt light is fine-6700K is decent looking bulb color. See A H Supply for a kit, should run about 60$ or so and you can make the hood out of 1/4" Popular wood(Home Depot etc). I'd get a Fluval 103 and make your own CO2 reactor. http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/co2reactor.htm 2 bags of Flourite. CO2 source, you can do it with DIY but gas is better if you can afford the cost. In the long run and if you plan on having more than one tank, this is the way top go. Regards, Tom Barr   Thanks for sharing your opinions. Leon Garden Monterey, CA

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