# best 4ft tank



## KraKstar (Aug 15, 2011)

well *** got room for a 4 footer in my room. its gonna be a show tank for my all male group. im thinkin 75 so i can still use my aqua clear but im leaning towards a 90. anyone heard of a 48x16x16? when do u need overflows and have canastier filter on the tank? i havent delt with something over 3ft yet so *** only used HOB filters. so what 4ft would fit 13 peacocks and haps? thanks


----------



## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I would find little advantage for the 90 over the 75. I have several 75 and rarely does anybody use the top portion. It would just be a bit more water but little floorspace to add more fish. Fish don't stack but need to spread out more. Additional height can add to the problems of getting debris off the bottom to the filter intakes. If you look around, you see lots more 75 than 90. There are reasons for them to be more common.


----------



## Fishy_Cichlid (Aug 4, 2011)

> anyone heard of a 48x16x16?


That would be much lesser than a 75G I thinks. A 48x18x24 is arounds 75-80Gallons. Please check up using the aquarium calculator.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/calculator.php

I think a 4 footer can accomodate your choice but maybe the experts can chip in if I am wrong. BTW, I use a combination of a single canister and a top filter for my 80G.


----------



## newforestrob (Feb 1, 2010)

I think the best 4 foot ,for a show tank would be a 120 gal. 4 X 2 X 2


----------



## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

I had a 90g and my peacocks always swap in the middle and top to the tank. If I werent for the deal I got on the 90g I wouldve bought a 75g. By the time you add the height of the stand, which in my case was 31", it was hard reaching the bottom of the 90g. Im 6'1" and even with a step stool it was hard for me to reach the bottom.

Just something to think about. :thumb:


----------



## KraKstar (Aug 15, 2011)

i wasnt saying a 48x16x16 was a 75gal. i was just wondering if anyone has used one. i was told it was a 55 but the aquarium calc says 53gal. now thats outside measurments so im guessing its more like 50. anyways i was offered one for free but since its not much bigger then my original tank i might as well get the biggest 4ft i can. im thinking a 90 gal is right up my alley. what setup of filter and heater woulf u use if you didnt have an overflow?


----------



## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

Dont say I didnt warn you. :lol:

I was using a FX5 and Hydor ETH-300 inline heater on my 90g.


----------



## KraKstar (Aug 15, 2011)

hahaha well im in no hurry so i can hold out and whatever deal shoots up first ill jump on it. fx5 huh? *** heard those praised a few times on here. ill have to get one. a little off subject i have a dragonblood thats holding in my all male tank. thats the third hybrid *** bought as male, looks like a male, yet isnt. hybrids are cool lookin but deceiving. Anyways thanks for the help. ill post some pics once i find my tank. im tossing around the idea of a diy bg. a unique cave like tank. ull see


----------



## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

I hear ya...thats why I bought the 90g, I couldnt pass up the deal.  Yeah FX5 is a beast, I liked it so much I bought one for my 55g too. If you do go with a FX5, make a spraybar, works 100x better than the stock nozzle they give you. And man that sucks your colored up male turned out to be a female. :x

Cant wait to see your BG! opcorn:


----------



## Mike_G (Nov 8, 2011)

I just like how taller tanks look more like a TV :lol:


----------



## Jmanolinsky (Jun 4, 2010)

Everyone says that the fish won't use the top part of the tank. I have a 60 gallon that is 48" long X 12" deep X 24" tall and my fish use every inch of it. I love the look of the 24" tall tanks and my fish seem to like it too. It may not allow for more fish in the tank, but it does allow more tank for the fish.


----------



## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

KraKstar said:


> i might as well get the biggest 4ft i can.


what about a 110?


----------



## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

A 110g with a 30" stand would be 5ft tall.


----------



## FishyPirate (Mar 1, 2007)

90 or 120 for a show tank


----------



## rich_t (Nov 26, 2009)

newforestrob said:


> I think the best 4 foot ,for a show tank would be a 120 gal. 4 X 2 X 2


That's what I have.

My fish do swim at the top often enough to suit me.

I suspect if I raised the rock level they would do so even more so.


----------



## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

Sub-Mariner said:


> A 110g with a 30" stand would be 5ft tall.


He wants the biggest 4ft he can.


----------



## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

I have a 90 with a FX5 and love it! However, I regret not getting a 110. I didn't get it due to the cleaning aspect. But you know, in the long run, who cares? You don't have to reach that far in very often anyway. But that's just me. I think tall tanks look better! The higher you stack your rock, the higher the fish will swim IMO. Stack the rock higher, problem solved.

I have a 6ft 180 and I think a 6ft 150 high looks much more impressive as a show tank due to the extra height.

So my vote is get a 100 with a FX5 :thumb:


----------



## inurocker (May 9, 2011)

I have a 110 mixed lake and my fish swim all over. I do have my rock work stacked high and I love the way the tank looks. The hight is a small issue for working on the tank but worth it to me. Hey, they make long tools and stepladders for just such purposes.


----------



## kodyboy (Dec 9, 2007)

the nicest four foot tanks that I have seen are the 150s pet smart sells (48x24x36). A really nice looking tall tank with lots of floorspace. Marineland also has a beautiful deep dimension unit (48x36x27) that cost much more but give you 50% more floor space 
I would think either one would work great for a cichlid tank, but more floor space is always better. 
If you can get rockwork all the way to the top or have a shoal of top-swimming species the 150 would do well. A group of 24 or so giant danio would be fairly frantic at the top all the time.


----------



## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

My 75. 48 Ãƒâ€"18Ãƒâ€"18. 20 mixed mbuna, all use every inch of my tank.I mean every inch! And easy to clean, water changes ..


----------



## Notrevo (May 2, 2005)

I too like the look of the higher tank...LFS owner here also pointed that out to me that while the height of the stand does factor into the equation, being able to just stand and look at the tank vs. bending to look is a plus. Perhaps a bit off topic but notice most display tanks in offices or eateries are usually higher.

Cannot lose sight of the cleaning/maintenance factor though for us regular folks...plus the floor space.


----------



## bzartler86 (Dec 13, 2011)

I have a 90 and I love it but they are right you can't stack fish my next tank will be longer for sure!


----------



## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

There's always the 150-tall... my wife likes that tank alot (every time we see it in the store -- we don't own one!). 4 x 2 x 2.5.

My wife would probably want angels, but every time I see one I picture it with a really tall central craggy rock feature, and a colony of one of the brichardi complex.

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


----------



## ClearMud (Nov 6, 2010)

Did anyone see that he said he could get a free tank and didn't get it.


----------



## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

I have a 4ft 90 gallon in my living room with rocks stacked about 1/2 way up. My fish all use the
middle to nearly top of the water column as well as near the bottom.
I do have to get a step-ladder to do maintainence, though!
I have a Marineland 360 and a Fluval 404 cannisters running on it.


----------

