Good tank size for Nitrox
- Thread starter JaredWaites
- Start date
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120's are not all that common as they are fairly long and tend to trim badly on anyone under 6 ft in height.
3442 psi 130's are a popular tank - they weigh 43 pounds and are not overly tall so they trim well on most people.
3442 psi 100 cu ft tanks are if anything more popular as they weight only 33 pounds with similar buoyancy to a 130, but are only 7.25" in diameter and are a couple inches shorter. For nitrox dives to 120 ft or less within the NDL's, they are perhaps ideal as they let you use the full NDL but are not much heavier than an AL 80 (which weighs 31 pounds), but require 6 lbs less lead so in many cases the larger 100 cu ft tank reduces your total gear weight by about 4 pounds.
LP 95's are also popular. Faber LP 95's weigh 38 pounds, so they are a mid way between the 100 and 130 in terms of weight and are about the same size as an HP 130 (an inch shorter). In north Florida where you can get 3600 psi fills, they hold 130 cu ft. (Outside of N FL you are better off with a 3442 psi 100 where you get 5 cu ft more gas and 5 lbs less weight.) PST and Worthington LP 95's weigh 43 pounds, so you just as well get a 3442 psi 130 instead of an LP 95 by either company.
3442 psi 130's are a popular tank - they weigh 43 pounds and are not overly tall so they trim well on most people.
3442 psi 100 cu ft tanks are if anything more popular as they weight only 33 pounds with similar buoyancy to a 130, but are only 7.25" in diameter and are a couple inches shorter. For nitrox dives to 120 ft or less within the NDL's, they are perhaps ideal as they let you use the full NDL but are not much heavier than an AL 80 (which weighs 31 pounds), but require 6 lbs less lead so in many cases the larger 100 cu ft tank reduces your total gear weight by about 4 pounds.
LP 95's are also popular. Faber LP 95's weigh 38 pounds, so they are a mid way between the 100 and 130 in terms of weight and are about the same size as an HP 130 (an inch shorter). In north Florida where you can get 3600 psi fills, they hold 130 cu ft. (Outside of N FL you are better off with a 3442 psi 100 where you get 5 cu ft more gas and 5 lbs less weight.) PST and Worthington LP 95's weigh 43 pounds, so you just as well get a 3442 psi 130 instead of an LP 95 by either company.
USFishin
Contributor
I was going to say the same thing. I am 5'9" and dive with 119's and my buddy is taller and bigger and dives with 130's. We average out on air nicely. The main reason we got such large tanks is that we almost always do 2 dives off of each tank. So when we go out in his boat we only have to bring 2 tanks each and we get 4 dives each. I like the tanks being 8" too. They're shorter and stand up better since they have a wider base.
As others have said, it also depends on what your buddy dives with. A 300 cu ft tank does you no good if your buddy only has 100 and is ready to go up.
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