30g Cube or 29g

[Seiryoku]

What would the pros and cons be between the two tanks in a FOWLR setup, with the possiblity of coral in the future?

I know the fish would like the swimming room of the 29g, but I don't know how LR is best setup (tall stacked up, or long but shorter).

Thanks for any input and sorry if this has been asked before ^^)b

 

[lordroad]

I would personally go with the 29 gallon as I don't care for the cubes. Also it's a lot easier to keep cooler in the summer with a standard 29 as you can suspend the light or raise it above the top of the tank, allowing for air to flow across the water's surface.

Live rock depends on what you like to see, but if you're planning to have blennies or fish that primarily eat the pods that live in the rock, it's best to stack it and make large areas of the rock where fish can't swim over (a refuge for the pods to breed and live).

If you stack (I think that looks a lot better, like a wall on the back of the tank), use zipties to secure the rocks, possibly tied around PVC pipes at the back. I learned the hard way about stacking rocks without zipties.

 

[1979camaro]

i would also go with the 29. I prefer the look of a longer tank and i think it is better for the fish in terms of swimming room. cinInk has a 30g cube she posted a bunch of shots of in the Rate My Tank SW section you might check out.

 

[ram man]

i would go with the 29 also, easier to stock and the light doesnt have to penitrate as deep as a cube would.

 

[Seiryoku]

lordroad:

I've read your sticky a few times, great info there! I'm not sure what fish I will end up with yet, I've seen a lot I like but I know it gets narrowed down a lot with a smaller tank.

Is a wall that slants back a good way to have the LR? I've read about "fruit stands" and don't really like that look (although I'm not 100% positive I've seen it), I like the setups with caves that look more "3-d". I'm not sure if I could do that with the wall setup or not. I'm not sure how I would attach the LR to PVC with zipties, I'll have to do some research on that, but I definatly don't want it to ever fall over (I might get a Tuxedo Urchin one day if they are ok for a 29g).

1979camaro:

I've been following her thread since she posted it, it is a very nice tank. My local Petsmart has the same tank/stand for the same price. I like the smaller footprint of the cube, but assumed the 29g would be better (just wanted to make sure) since I will have the space for either.

ram man:

Good point, I didn't think of that!

Thanks for the help (again) everyone. I've been reading all of the posts in the SW/Nano section the past week and have learned a lot about SW tanks. I'm happy there are so many people here willing to help out others!

 

[shwnicus]

I'd also recommend the 29 if you are looking to add fish. the fish prefer lateral room rather than height to swim. plus finding a light with enough power to penertate the extra depth of the cube yet of the correct length to look like it belongs will probably relegate you to expensive metal halide lights.

 

[Seiryoku]

Hmm, it looks like I can't afford to set up a 29g SW tank and my 55g FW tank. Since I already have most of the stuff needed for my 55g, the SW will have to wait

I had an idea on setting up a 10g though!

Petsmart sells 10g "goldfish" kits for $37.99 or so. It comes with an incandescent hood, the tank and some other worthless stuff (the cost of the lighting is one problem right now, the other is the LR).

If I replaced the two lamps in the hood with 50/50 fluorescents, would I be able to keep the "low light" corals? That would save me a ton on the lighting, and I would only need ~10lbs of LR instead of ~30lbs.

Any thoughts on a setup like that?

EDIT:

I was also thinking of this 11g. It is glass, but has curved front edges and a 55w light. I've never heard of the company and only find their stuff for sale from this site, www.customaquatic.com

EDIT 2: The company is based in La Jolla, CA. Odd that I've never heard of them.