36" tall tank owners! Help

[chevegan]

Yesterday I came across a deal on a 440 gallon low iron front back panel tank drilled on sides for room divider tank.

I wanna press the trigger on it but just am clueless as to FIRST if this is worth it and SECOND how the hell to reach the bottom.

I'm 5'7" tall so my arms are not that long. Snorkel/mask?

Could i make it a reef? or is it just better for fowlr?

help me out all i dont know what to do :headwallblue:

 

[chevegan]

dimensions are 96x30x36

 

[CrayolaViolence]

You can make it whatever you want it to be honestly. And yeah, you might need a snorkel and mask for some things but you can also use long armed grabbers for other things.

 

[criticalencore]

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[ace_92101]

You'll get different prospectives on 36 inch tall tank. I'm in the "go for it" camp. I think they look much more natural.

 

[dave.m]

Personally, I prefer the tank dimensions to have the tank width equal the the height. This gives you more room for creating perspectives in your rock structure. But if the price is right I'd say go for it.

As to the 36" height, there is no question but that this makes for a stunning display. Short tanks just don't have the same visual impact, and if they are over long they start to look squat in comparison.

You didn't mention the thickness of the glass. I have had 1/2" inch glass on a 36" tall tank but it was euro-braced at both top and bottom.

Reaching the bottom of the tank is seldom an issue as you mostly will be reaching in with a long handled grabber or pipe for vacuuming the substrate. You can also get long-handled algae scrapers for the glass until you can afford a magnetic scraper.

Make sure you set this tank up so that you have access from both the front and the back, and that there is plenty of head room above the tank. You will only experience difficulty reaching into this tank if any of these are limited.

Dave.M

 

[jdpiii3]

I love my 36" x 36" x 72" just get long enough tools and you will be fine.

 

[albano]

You didn't mention the thickness of the glass. I have had 1/2" inch glass on a 36" tall tank but it was euro-braced at both top and bottom

Personally, I wouldn't trust 1/2" glass on a 36" tall ... was it made by a professional tank builder/company?

 

[criticalencore]

Personally, I wouldn't trust 1/2" glass on a 36" tall ... was it made by a professional tank builder/company?

I agree with not 1/2" glass for a 36" tall tank. Google safety factor and type the dimensions in a calculator that comes up and id bet it says 3/4" min. My tank is a 550g plywood tank i built and when researching height that was why i only went 32".

Btw, working in the tank wont be your problem i bet. Figure out how you plan to handle the humidity

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[dave.m]

Personally, I wouldn't trust 1/2" glass on a 36" tall ... was it made by a professional tank builder/company?

I agree with not 1/2" glass for a 36" tall tank. Google safety factor and type the dimensions in a calculator that comes up and id bet it says 3/4" min.

The 1/2" glass tank was built professionally. It wasn't my tank, it was a client's, and existed before I took on the maintenance contract. It was still in fine fettle. Please name the calculators you are referring to (links, etc.) so that everyone can follow and learn.

Dave.M

 

[criticalencore]

http://www.theaquatools.com/building-your-aquarium

Hopefully its cool to post this link but there are several. The pressure the water puts on the glass is from the height apparently but length matters too. With you dimensions in that calculator it says .66" thick for a safety factor of 2. .5" only has a of 1 which is sketchy apparently.

That said if it has been running and going then you may be okay.

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[chevegan]

It's 3/4" starphire glass. Tank weighs 1100lbs. House is being built so I can engineer for it now if i pull the trigger. If I spec the tank out on glasscages.com it comes out to over 6k before shipping. He wants less than half. The tank has powder coated steel supports/borders. Does not come with the stand. That's the second tank that was installed at his customers house. This would be the identical to it.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

nice

 

[criticalencore]

Id go for it. Reaching the bottom will be the least of your problems. You will need strong lights if you plan to do coral on the beach. That is a nice tank foot print

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[WatDatThing]

Consider on going cost of maintenance.

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[Taino_Latino]

Hey I will tell you this I had a 144x40x36 I always called it a 900gallon I basically laid on the top of the tank and has every single reaching tool you can think of. Its a hell of a feat but you'll do it.

Oh and as far as maintenance it sucks. basically took almost 2 hours a week to clean glass and vacuum substrate.

***One big thing, Reinforce the heck out floor joist you will need it. you are looking at 5000 pounds in weight.

 

[locito277]

My tank is 48". The main issue for me is sticking corals on my rock. Constantly falling off the rock :-( it is a wonderful sight though as the depth stands out. Go for it. You get better with the grabbers in time!


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[DrDNA]

My newest tank is 96x36x36. I've gotten used to not being able reach a lot of stuff with my hands. But I have gotten quite skilled with tongs!! I say go for it... size matters

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[WLachnit]

I also say go for it. mine is only 30" but I also agree with others re: tall tanks and proportions, etc. Once setup (properly) you may not need to reach the bottom that often. I use tongs as much as I can on my 30"...it's not so bad.

 

[ADVRESOURCE]

I have a 32" height tank. Tongs are good for grabbing things that fall. But, mounting coral is a different story. I guess placing LPS isn't too bad. Especially, when they have large rock structures below. Gluing SPS frags are a challenge. I used long forceps. I cut the frag plug stump and use 2 part epoxy. Super glue-epoxy-superglue-frag plug-superglue-coral frag. The epoxy helps hold things in place on the rock so the superglue has a chance to cure. The frag plug is left attached so it can be grabbed with the forceps. I agree..go for the tall tank.