Daydream an actually possible tank---if you had the funds.

[Sk8r]

Mine, having done various sorts of reefs and a fish-only, would be a damsel-and anemone reef.

I'd want a 300 gallon circular tank, 36" deep (I know a company that builds them in glass, with a central downflow box). I'd build my rockwork around the downflow box, zoned light and flow, lps lower down, sps atop--no poci or stylophora in the sps: damsels, I hear, may get nippy prior to breeding. And room for a nice magnifica nem, which one hopes would be happy with its own area of rockwork and strong lighting.

Killer flow, 3 Gyres mounted on braces, 2 vertical mount, one horizontal, LED kits, about 3, each set to zone.

Some clowns, and several domino damsels, golden and black; a number of Fiji blues; some blue stars; some yellowtails; couple of b&w three-stripes, maybe blennies, yellow watchman, filefish, small fish, various inverts. The trick is getting everybody in as juvies; what's same-old, same-old doesn't get questioned by the dominants. The big damsels and clowns will share the nem, which can get a couple of feet wide.

No corners, territory pinned to the rockwork and nem, and endless-swim config.

What's your pie-in-the-sky tank?

 

[toothybugs]

I'd love to set up a 7-8 foot long, 4 foot wide tank that is 24-30" deep. One side of it is a block-ish shaped reef similar to yours in coral placement probably 3 feet out in to the water column off one end, the end that contains the overflow box ( setup is peninsular, no rock against the glass except under the overflow box) and lit by 10-14K halides with LED supplement. The other end, with 2-3 feet of open water between them, is another deeper reef covered in macros. Same 10K, only no LED. Most of the flow is on the coral side with the occasional surge coming out to move the macros.

I'd expect that it would be stocked primarily with smaller fish.

 

[GimpyFin]

For tanks that are actually possible, I'd love a 400-500 gallon (mostly sps) reef. Possibly even a drop-off style. Notable fish would probably include an Achilles tang, some Ventralis anthias, and a blonde Naso tang with streamers so long you could hang banners off them. Maybe even a pair of lightning maroon clowns.

I'd also like an equally sized aggressive FOWLR tank. Some cool triggers like a blueline or kiri (I'd also have to get a Humuhumunukunukuapua'a because my wife is from Hawaii) and maybe some small combo of angels like an emperor, queen, or annularis.

 

[lifeoffaith]

My dream tank may become a reality before too long, only I may have to build it out of plywood. 300 gallon cubish tank (a little longer than wider) with heavy rockwork spread out a bit in piles. Heavily stocked with angels and butterflyfish and an eel. Probably would end up being a smaller eel, maybe two snowflakes. Dreaming a little bigger I'd do a drop off tank so the bottom section could be lots of caves for the eels.

 

[Bent]

Mine would be a huge species predator tank. Sort of like a dog or cat, but in the water.

If we are talking money no object tank and animal, then I would want a 10,000 gallon 10'x10'x6' tank with a single gymnothorax javanicus.

If we are talking moderately feasible, I'd go with a 250-300g with a tessalata, or a 180 standard with a pair of dragons.

Another thing would be a race track style tank with a huge slender grouper.

Although a standard 210 with a miniatus grouper or clown trigger would be cool too.


I would not want a massive reef. Just my opinion.

 

[m0nkie]

Just got it home yesterday. 560gal dream tank built. Mainly SPS

 

[Sk8r]

Congrats on that!

 

[reef thief]

I'd want a salt water fish tank with a nemo. I would adorn it with Walmart decorations and put pink lights and bubbles in it! But I hear they are hard to maintain.

 

[ReefTeacher]

Mine would be a huge fast growing cheap acropora system. They could all be brown as far as I'm concerned. But this fish would be hard to maintain coralivores, especially Chaetodon larvatus.

 

[zsuman101]

give me the brs 160

 

[MuShu]

A 240-260 tank with lots of wrasses, a pair of clowns, lots of firefish and dartfish, and several angels. I will also have a Mandarin, a Magnificent Foxface, and an Aussie tusk. Probably another sharpnosed puffer since I adore my teeny Valentini. Maybe some tangs, but I'm not sure.

As far as corals, non-brain LPS (brains freak my Husband out, and trumpet and tube corals look too similar to him. Duncans, hammers, torch are fine though), a variety of colorful polyps, and some donut corals.

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

When my boyfriend and I were looking at houses we went to a few open houses that we no way could afford, just for fun. A couple had swimming pools indoors but one had the pool all through the house, like a swimming pool stream. It was 6 foot deep and glasses off from the main house except he biggest room in the house which had glass walls and a bridge over the stream. I kept thinking how I would turn that glass walled room into a green house for rainforest plants, and in the swimming pool stream maybe have fish, arrowana maybe, for fresh water, or a queen parrot and queen trigger if salt. Sigh....

 

[jmike0311]

Very nice! Congratulations!! Hoping to see a build thread!

 

[jmike0311]

That previous post was to #6. I've actually been working up a house plan based around an L-shaped system. It would be a plywood and glass build 4'wide 4'deep and 8' long on each side. One would be a 4' cube mixed reef and the other section 4'x4'x8' predator/aggressive species. It comes out to roughly 1500 gallons display volume. I would build it so that there was an 18" bar around it with pictures and descriptions of some of the livestock embedded in epoxy. I want to do a mix of led and natural sunlight for the lighting and DIY as much of the system as possible. Hopes and dreams right!!!

 

[2smokes]

My dream tank is allready becoming reality.It will be a cold water kreisel tank made from glass and without lights . The dream inhabitant is this fish that nobody has kept (alive and well) in an aquarium before.

Thogh more realistic would be this flashlight fish instead of the myctophid .

 

[BlackTip]

This idea is played in my head many times. My current tank is my first. I did few things that I wished would have done differently. Also, I wish I had dedicated fish room.

So, back to daydreaming. If money is no object, and space is not an issue, I want 12' X 4' tank placed in a center of a large room with very high ceilings. All plumping go through the floor to a basement. The filtration system will be as natural as possible with various sumps connected, and each sump is designed to do one thing. Central overflow boxes, closed loops, floating lights, glass tops with easy access, basin surround the tank for possible spills.

 

[Fredfish]

Mine, having done various sorts of reefs and a fish-only, would be a damsel-and anemone reef.

I'd want a 300 gallon circular tank, 36" deep (I know a company that builds them in glass, with a central downflow box)...

If we're gonna dream... Think Ripley's big with couches interspersed on the movator so you can just plunk yourself down with your favourite beverage. and peruse your reef for hours on end.

 

[King Reefin]

How about a 500 gal. Fully stocked. Coarl reef Self maintain Ecosystem. You did say dream.

 

[amps]

I'd love an 16ft tank, wall to wall and with a slight concave bend to it. The scape would simulate a shallow droppoff with bright light near the shallow and progressively bluer and darker towards the deep end.

The sole inhabitant would be a full sized Clown Trigger. Corals would be a mix of LPS and SPS from end to end.

 

[vikinglord13]

I literally cannot settle for just one tank. Cannot do it.

If money were no concern I would have three tanks.

My main tank would be a horseshoe tank that is tall enough that I could walk under and be surrounded on 4 sides (left, front, right, and top). I've seen an aquarium do this (I think Seattle has one... it might be a bubble view underneath a dock) so I know it's possible. My heart isn't set on whether it would be a FOWLR or Reef... I just can't decide. *** If anybody has been to the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks, OK there's a large "wall" aquarium which is similar to what I would want.

My second tank would just be a long tank, at least 8' where I can have different aquascape sections: an island tower (think Minas Tirith without the mountain behind it), a great arch, a canyon, and a gently sloping hill. I've always loved aquascaping and I think good aquascaping can make or break a tank.

My third tank would be a predator tank. Think custom-designed tank from one of those shows like Tanked or Fish Tank Kings. It would be a sunken Viking Longship. Ideally, I'd have an eel, shark, ray, maybe a lionfish. I'd want it to scream aggressive.

Now... something I've dreamed of since I was little would be to have a huge waterfall aquarium like something you'd see at a Bass Pro Shops where it has a "river" flowing into an "ocean" which I would use for salmon or trout. Also possible, but it would require a huge house. I also wouldn't mind a similar design that just focused on North American freshwater fish.

*Edit*

I suppose that is four tanks after all...