Thoughts on best size and shape for a farm tank

[VJM]

Hi everyone, and Happy New Year!

I have realized that I really want/need a farm tank. It would be just for raising plants and babysitting plants for future scapes, as well as doing a very deep dive on learning how to grow plants successfully. I am planning on setting up a larger tank or two down the road, and I want to have my growing skills dialed in before I do.

I was thinking a 20 gallon long, but the 50 gallon (48x 24x 10) low boy looks intriguing.

Anyone have any thoughts as to the most rational size? I don’t want to get into a position where lighting and CO2 are difficult purely because of the size and shape of the tank.

 

[Unexpected]

Depends on how many plants you want to farm and how often you want to trim. 1 larger tank allows more plants and vice versa. Shallow tanks will require more frequent trimming.

I farm a 40 breeder and a standard 75. Obviously, the 75 can hold more plants. Cheap hydroponic specific lights are available and this is what I use. You would need to have a larger GPM pump, but there are great budget filters out there. And any DIY Yugang reactor is cheap.

 

[techman81]

I would definitely skip the 20 gallon. I started with a 20 tall and moved to a 40 breeder. I'm about to move up to a 60 breeder but haven't decided if I want to keep the 40 as well. I had used the 40 breeder farm to also house some fish and shrimp temporarily. The fish are now gone and I've rehomed some shrimp but eventually just want plants so I can push CO2 a little more without worry.

 

[VJM]

Definitely getting a “go big” vibe. Any feedback about a max height before lighting starts to get to be a pain?