Ideal Tank Dimensions for a Bimaculoid

[Theitalyanstallion]

Hi! I am going to have a custom tank made for a bimac, and wanted to know what dimensions would be perfect for a bimac? I know Octopus are bottom-dwellers, so a tank with more width than usual would be beneficial. I’m shooting anywhere from 50-75 gallons in volume. Please let me know your thoughts on dimensions (Length, Width, Height) Thank you guys!!

 

[pkilian]

Mostly the space you have available will determine the dimensions of your tank. A volume of 50-75 gal will be perfectly acceptable for a bimac. Will you have a secondary container underneath the tank to house all your filtration components or are you planning on putting them in the tank with the octo?

 

[Theitalyanstallion]

Mostly the space you have available will determine the dimensions of your tank. A volume of 50-75 gal will be perfectly acceptable for a bimac. Will you have a secondary container underneath the tank to house all your filtration components or are you planning on putting them in the tank with the octo?

Yes, I will put all the filtration components underneath the tank so the octo can’t destroy anything. I have plenty of space available, but I’m just not quite sure how many inches wide the tank should be. Any recommendations on the LxWxH?? Im sending the dimensions to the manufacturer today...

 

[pkilian]

Something roughly rectangular would be appropriate, that's what most tank dimensions come as. I would say anything wider than a foot is good, and you can make it as long as you'd like depending on the desired volume. Any height greater than a foot should be good as well (so you could, for example, have a tank that's 1'x10' and one foot tall if you wanted it to be as long and skinny as possible).

 

[sacred]

I literally came here for the exact some question.

I am planning my Bimac Octopus tank setup and am curious about the optimal tank shape for the Octopus. Is there a particular preference for height or length? This is to say: Should I go with a tall tank, a lagoon style tank, a large cube, or just the standard rectangular setup? What will give the Octopus the best environment given the same total area? My gut is that a lagoon style tank might be ideal as it provides more crawling surface area per gallon, but I haven't had enough time with octopuses to make an educated decision and I want to give it the best experience possible with the available space.

Thanks.

 

[pkilian]

From my experience, the aqua-scaping that is done in the tank will matter more to the octopus than the dimensions of the tank itself. I would recommend something that best fits the space you have in the room you plan to put the tank in. All the suggestions you made would work, depending on how you structure the in-tank environment. All my octos have always been in rectangular tanks and they have done just fine. The volume of the tank matters more than the specific dimensions, as long as you aren't planning anything crazy, like a 6" wide super long tank or something else wildly different than standard tank specs.

A small side note- if you have a tank that is not as tall but really long and wide, you may have more trouble keeping the lid secured and octo-proofed as compared to a tank that has a smaller footprint.

 

[sacred]

So one of the tanks I am considering is the red sea reefer 300 XL. The custom tops, however, for this tank are 1/8 inch mesh. I have to imagine that such a top would allow the octopus to squeeze through. Does anyone have any solutions for tops for the red sea reefers?

 

[DWhatley]

here is a link to a discussion on tops for a bimac from a member that has kept many. It includes a link to one of his own design.