Ahh Can't decide btwn 120 and 180!

MikeD

MikeD

New member
Okay for those of you into 'design' I can't decide if I should go with a 120 (48x24) or a 180 (72x24) on my 'fish tank wall'.

All that will be going on this well will be the tank... If I go with the 120, there may be some pictures on the wall or something (who knows) and I know I'll have some space on the side for maybe some extra 'stuff'.

Here are my tank choices that fit my budget:

120 Oceanic Tech (Starfire glass - no center brace) - Here is LarryW's tank for ref
DSC01986.jpg


180 All Glass w/maple stand (not starefire - two center braces)
aga180.jpg


Prices are close..

Here is what the Fish wall looks like - it's about 103" long
FishWall.jpg


Any ideas?? I know everyone says to get the biggest you can afford but I want honest opinions from people - I don't want it to look too tacky either with this massive fish tank!!

BTW, the room it's going in is going to be our family room / home theater room. The room dimensions are 12 x 19.5 (tank on 12 foot side).

Thanks for your input!

Mike
 
Thats a no brainer, the 180. The 180 is longer and gives you more tank to aquascape and liek you already stated, go with the biggest tank you can afford.
 
Go with the largest tank you can afford. I thought a 180 was going to meet all my needs. In 2 years time it is so full that I can't add anything new without pulling a coral out to replace it with something different. You will hit the same wall a lot faster in a 120. Then you will wish you had went with the 180.
 
So even with the eurostyle bracing and the starphire glass, you guys still think the 180? Do you guys think it would fit nice being most of that wall?
 
Don't get me wrong, that 120 is a gorgeous tank. You have to evaluate your wants and needs. You will be able to fit a 72" tank in that area just fine. The braces on my 180 don't bother me one bit. Since you are going to be using this room for a theater as well maybe you should stick with the 120. The only reason I suggested going with the larger tank is so that you don't find yourself wishing you had done it in the beginning. Even a 180 becomes to small after a period of time.

http://web.mac.com/nggrant/iWeb/Nicks tanks and pets/Mikes tank.html
 
The light fixture that I was going to get for the 120 should adequately light the 180 so if the lighting will stay the same and of course, still the Home theater room/family room, would you still go for the 180 then... It's not like I was going to get a 3rd MH installed for the 72" length. That is, if you were recommending the 120 over the 180 due to it being a home theater based on light... Or were you thinking to go 120 because of other reasons like sound??

Thanks for all of your input!
 
In order to adequately light a 180. I feel you need 3 fixtures to cover every 2 ft. of tank space evenly. My tank puts off a lot of light spillage into my living room. What light fixture did you have in mind?
 
I was thinking about the Sfilogoi Infinity RX4 2x250mh 4Actinic T5. 47" long. The reflectors seem huge rather than small like what you find on a ROIII pendant or similar styles
 
I would also do the 180 just for the extra 2 ft. Running a 90 right now and I had an opportunity for a 150 tall which I ended up selling instead(120 with some extra height) because I felt the 6 inches of width didn't warrent the hassle of the upgrade. But 2 ft in length would be well worth the upgrade. If you like tangs you would make them very very happy to have 6ft vs. 4 ft.
 
Looking at it from various prespectives here is my input.

1. What is the lenght of that wall? Seeing the thermostate on that wall you do not want to block it. The heat from metal hides will tell the thermostat your room is 150 degrees when the lights are on if they are to close. The other thing is for looks sake you do not want to have thiongs cramped from the corner to the edge of the doorway.

2. My guide has always been go as big as you can and stay within your budget as well as using your available space wisely. While the price difference between these bare bone tanks may be simular remember the auxilary equipment costs will be higher with 180 than the 120. Lighting being the big difference with about a 50% increase in the cost difference.

3. If your looking for pictures on the wall that should not be a big issue. Build or have a custom stand made that is lower than the standard sttand height. If you go with an 18" tall stand you will have the tank viewing area between 18" X 42" above floor which is ideal for viewing from a chair. With a 24" tall stand you will have the viewing area between 24" and 48" with the top around 60" still giving you some wall space.

4. Make your own decision once you listened to everyones comments. Your the person who has to live with your discision afterwards however get input from everyone in your household. If they feel part of the discision they will be much more suportive and remember they have to live with it as well as you.

Dennis
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9463710#post9463710 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MikeD
I was thinking about the Sfilogoi Infinity RX4 2x250mh 4Actinic T5. 47" long. The reflectors seem huge rather than small like what you find on a ROIII pendant or similar styles
Click to expand...

That is a very nice fixture. It would pair up very well with that 120 gal. It will not give you sufficent coverage over a 6' tank though. If you go with the ROIII's you can always add another light at a later date.
 
On a 72" tank, that would leave me with 1 foot on each side that would be more diffused and thought this would be good for a greater variety of stuff (not just all SPS as I'm a Zoa addict right now). Also, to put my frags and new items on the 'dark side' as I prep them to my lighting. When looking at the 72" fixtures, the MH (usually 3 on a 72") the outer ones were about 6" or less from the edges. I thought that there would be a significiant amount of light spillage out of the sides with that. I don't know. Again, this tank is going into our family room / home theater so I was going along the lines of 1) less light spilage = good and 2) less MH = less $$$ :) Oh yeah, wall is about 9' long and that is not a thermostat but a radio sound system that won't be there when the tank goes up.

Mike
 
Okay, now for money issues... I think to light this 180, based on opinions here, I would hang 3x250 HQI fixtures over the tank. What I have are 2 ROIII's and 1 Lumenmax 3. Is it okay to use the different fixtures over this tank or do I have to go out and get another ROIII? I will most likely be using 14k phoenix bulbs to light the tank up.
 
I would go with the 180. I have a 120 for a little over a year now and I am going to go 180 or larger. I think that you will regret not going larger. I have a yellow and a powder blue tang and they really need the extra 2 feet.

HTH
 
I can second all the comments. I was actually nervous going with a 180 because if its size. In no time, I look at it and wish it was 12" deeper front to back.
 
If I go 180 you guys better give me good advise on aquascaping!! I don't think I would go closed loop just because it's not in wall and I don't want unsightly PVC piping all over the back as everyone would see it as they pass the tank (See the entranceway to the room above). But I think a couple of Tunzes and maybe two vortech pumps should do wonders...
 
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