# Best tank for aquascaping?



## Beakman (Aug 7, 2012)

Personally I'm a fan of the 20 gallon long tank.

They're short enough that most aquascaping materials you find (rocks, wood, etc) will appropriately fill the vertical space and they're long enough that its easy to get that "landscape" feel.

The short height also allows you to use many midground plants (like blyxa or corkscrew val) as background plants.


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## Knotyoureality (Aug 3, 2012)

Depends on the affect you're trying to achieve. Check out the ADA aquscaping contest tanks--you'll find all sorts of shape and sizes used for the winning tanks.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Generally tanks that are about as tall as they are deep (distance from front to back) work better than any narrower a tank. 40 breeders are 36" x 16" x 16". The 16 x 16 makes it easier to 'scape. 
As far as length goes, I think the larger ones are better where you have the room to step back and see the whole thing. A 4' long tank is fine in most homes, in the right spot, but not all homes have just the right spot for something 6' long. Cannot get far enough back to see it all. 
Smaller tanks are easier to place.


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## Thenoob (Jan 15, 2014)

I have an 18" tall tank and it's a pain to get things looking right, id tend to prefer something shorter and longer with a little extra width


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## Ottoblock (Nov 5, 2013)

20L, 15, and 40b are probably your best bet.


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## Neatfish (Jun 22, 2012)

What about mr aqua 12g long?


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## Clear Water (Sep 20, 2014)

I have the 40 breeder and love the height and the square feet of the bottom. I also really like a 48" tanks to. My favorite is the 75 gallon in that length. But there are so many sizes I haven't own either. I would love to try a cube some day 36" x 36" x 36.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Would not need as much light in low tanks as opposed to taller tanks and CO2 is a bit easier to get distribution to lower parts in the aquarium.IMHO


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## PhysicsDude55 (Oct 24, 2011)

Diana said:


> Generally tanks that are about as tall as they are deep (distance from front to back) work better than any narrower a tank. 40 breeders are 36" x 16" x 16". The 16 x 16 makes it easier to 'scape.
> As far as length goes, I think the larger ones are better where you have the room to step back and see the whole thing. A 4' long tank is fine in most homes, in the right spot, but not all homes have just the right spot for something 6' long. Cannot get far enough back to see it all.
> Smaller tanks are easier to place.


I agree wholeheartedly. IMO taller tanks, like 22" and 29" tanks that are less than 18" deep from front to back are really hard to aquascape, unless you can find a really tall piece of driftwood. If you look on this site, and look at most taller tanks (29" tall tanks especially) that are 150 gallons or less, the top 8" or so of the water is almost always completely empty.

Also, because of how volume works, shorter wider tanks look bigger per gallon than taller tanks. A standard 125G (6'X18"X22") looks way bigger than a 120G 4X2X2 tank.

It depends a lot on how much space you have, but that's my thoughts. I generally prefer 20 longs, 40 breeders, standard 125Gs, and other tanks with similar proportions. For practical reasons also, shorter tanks are easier to maintain (easier to stick your arm in the tank...) and also the lights are more effective since they don't travel through as much water.


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## RoseTyler (Oct 27, 2014)

I think it really depends on what you like and what you're willing and able to put into it. I love lower tanks for aquascaping because it's easier for light to reach the bottom. I have a 40G Breeder and just love it. 

It's probably my favorite tank out all the tanks I've had. I did have a custom 65g tall which would have been beautiful for saltwater but it didn't make the move.


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## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

I love working with my Mr. Aqua 48. It's a slightly larger 40b basically. 36x17x17.

Absolutely hated working with my old 46 bow front though. too tall and the bow created flow difficulties.


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## flight50 (Apr 17, 2012)

IMO, taller tanks are better scaped and geared more for marine setups. The corals are generally stacked up as barrier reefs. For planted tanks, its about usable real estate. For my current project, I choose the 40g breeder route myself. You can check it out thr my sig. "Duo Quad Stand" The depth of the 40g is what really got me. A tank that is 18-24" deep can really open up your aquascape to multiple levels to create that sense of depth in a tank. I agree with post #3 100%. Those tanks is what really inspired me to do the setup I am currently working on. Ideally a 75g,125g or 180g are awesome sizes to work with but as mentioned, you have to have space. I don't have space in my house for more than one large tank so I decided to use my garage to make multiple smaller deep tanks. The 40g breeder fits this bill perfectly. Especially with the $1 sale that Petco run seasonally.


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## smhism (Oct 7, 2014)

Of my 7 tanks (I think I need help. AA? Aquarist anonymous?) I enjoy the scape of my 20 long the most. As others have said, shorter tanks leave less empty space towards the top of the tank (as I had an issue with my 37gal). You can kinda overcome this with egg crate and the creation of slopes, but that can get cumbersome with something so tall.


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## EndlerGame (Oct 19, 2013)

I like 20 and 30 gallon long tanks, but I'm also setting up a 75 gallon (48x18x21) and I like this tanks dimensions alot. Its certainly alot nicer to work on than my 55 gallon at only 13 inches wide. I like bigger tanks, more space for fish to move and live more naturally, and more space for plants!


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

I feel like a 40B is a great size to do most scapes in, or have a collection of 40B's to each with a drastically different scape.

Otherwise, really it depends on what you want, some escaping styles are better, in my opinion, in completely different tank sizes. Like, you wouldn't be doing a full on dutch scape in a nano-tank, and likewise if you have a 75 gallon or bigger, really how many people are going to go straight 100% iwagumi on that?


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## Aplomado (Feb 20, 2013)

125 gallon.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

I've not used a 40g breeder yet so can't compare, of the tanks I have I'd say the 55g is the hardest to scape because of its height off the floor and my height.. also larger tanks means fits more plants means more hours in tank to prune up hands.. I can't say which is best though as I try different scapes in different tanks so hard to compare..


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

My favorite tank shape is probably the 40 breeder as well. Honestly I had the hardest time aquascaping it though... Might be because I'm used to using a taller tank and the 40b is so low.

I also really like the 38 gallon, though. 36x12x20. Always wanted to setup one of those.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

I found my 60p was the easiest for me. It really depends what kind of scape you're going for though. I tend to like the way longer, shallower scapes turn out best. So...


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