# Benefits of a long vs. tall tank



## shadow_cruiser (Jan 26, 2010)

I just recently acquired a 55 gallon long (48"x12.5"x21) and currently I have a 70 gallon tall (36"x18"x25").

Just looking for your opinions (pros and cons) which tanks would be better in the long run in terms of maintenance, plant growth, etc. Right now I'm finding the 70 gallon a little bit hard to keep for plants, as I always have to stick my whole arm in if I need to plant an unrooted stem/plant or do some work on the bottom. Another con is the light doesn't efficiently reach the bottom half of the plants, though right now I don't have adequate lighting. Finding 36" light fixtures is quite hard too. Upside is I don't need to trim the plants very often as the aquarium is quite high.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

I think you answered your own question. Deep tanks are hard to work on and light. Also, they are more expensive to light.


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

+1 

Right now my "big" tank is a 75G (48 x 18 x 21) which is as tall as I would ever want because that's a good length to allow the arm of a 6' tall person to reach the bottom/back of the tank.

I'd like something about the same height with more depth front to back, but it'd a cu$tom tank, unless I could buy a standard 120 and somehow lop the top 4 inches off...


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