How tall is to tall?

[ecreef]

Sorry for all the questions...

I am trying to make a tank in our entrance of our house. here is the thing, the garage is right to the right, but when you enter the house there is a little entrance section and then a set of stairs up and a set of stairs down. This means it must be a inwall tank, which is not so bad since the garage is right there and that makes this project a littler better.

Anyway, what I am thinking is about 4 to 6 feet wide and maybe 4 to 6 feet tall. I am not sure how far back from the front I should go and I am open to suggestions.

Now some issues I see.

1-How is it or is it even easy to maintain such a tall tank. I was thinking a claw setup or the sort to reach down into the tank. I am not sure how I would go about that. This also is subject to glass or acrylic, which ever is easier.

2-Lighting. I know that the depth may play a issue here so I wonder what you would suggest about depths.

3-being by the front door, this may be a issue with temps. Not light as the door is solid and the tank would be in the wall. Just trying to figure out what options we have for heating. Cooling is note so much a issue with central air and being in the garage allow me to install and store a chiller no problem.

I think what y main goal is here is to have the tank, but at the same time I have always loves a big and tall tank. I would love to create a reef setup that has "levels" to it if that makes sense, but at the same time make the setup look as real as can be. What the live stock will be I will figure out later.

I know this is a lot to ask, but I want to have a little ground to stand on before I go to the custom tank builders here in town and not be taken for. Let me know what your thoughts are. Long story short a normal tank would fit and be easy. But I want tall and different

Thanks to all for the time of this read and any advice you offer.

 

[nyvp]

well you have to start off by figuring what corals/fish you want to stock then work backwards. If you keep only fish then its alot easier. If your going coral then lighting becomes a situation. Remember if you build up the bottom with Live rock then you may only be at 3ft and 400watters might work. The next situation is cleaning and picking up things from the bottom. How are you going to reach? Good luck and enjoy the process.

 

[ecreef]

Thanks so much.

Yea, I was thinking live rock and corals. Thus was my claw idea...kind of like the little dino claw/mouth toys for kids, just making a real version. If that makes sense.

 

[ecreef]

Anyone else with a tall tank? Would love some input?

 

[cnordstrom]

Four to six feet tall seems really high to me. Are you going to have this on any kind of a stand? Even if you had it off the floor two feet up, all of the sudden you're talking about need a minimum 11 to 12 foot ceiling (figure 8 feet plus space for lighting). I have to admit it would be really cool to walk in and see a wall o' fish, but it might not be too practical.

There's also the question of placement... do you really want to have something like that in a hallway/entranceway? I know I love looking at my tank, and if it were up in some out of the way place (as opposed to a living room or some other common area), I'd miss it.

As for the heating/cooling, I don't think you'd have too much to worry about. That kind of volume doesn't change too quickly, and unless you're leaving your sump exposed in the garage, just your standard heaters should do the trick.

So anyhow, my feeling is go with something a bit more manageable in your front entranceway, and save the monster tank for another room. Just my two cents!

Oh, and if you DO go ahead with a big tank project, make sure you document it so we can all see!

 

[cnordstrom]

Oh, and where are you located? That might make a difference in my heater ideas... Green Bay would be a lot different than Tampa!

 

[ecreef]

Boulder Colorado.

Anyway, the reason I would like it that tall is because I would be able to see it from the main room, kitche, dining etc etc from the way the layout is. The celling is I think 20 to 25 feet tall so that is not a issue.

I will try and take some pictures.

 

[corivus]

one of the lfs here has 4 different tanks that are rather tall I think it has a 3' stand and the tank is about 8' tall they've had it a while among other tanks that are about the same stature with no problems that I've ever heard of.

 

[dsieber]

Tall tank

Tall tank

EC

Since you are in Boulder you might give Key at Key Island in Littleton a call. He has 2 tall tanks(6-8ft).

 

[ecreef]

Called Keys and they didn't have anything like that for sale. Is this their own tanks? Anyway, I need to go by there anyway so we will see.

 

[law086]

I'm sure a tank that tall would be neat, you'll just have to keep in mind the downsides.

1. Depending on the type of coral you'd like to keep, lighting a tank that's 48-72" high will be expensive. Just guessing, but I'd think 1000 watt MH's would be needed. They'd be expensive to purchase and operate.

2. I realize a tongs may work for something that high, but what if you absolutely need to grab something with your hand? At 6' high, that would be absolutely impossible without physically getting into the aquarium. If you can't phyiscally get into the aquarium and you can't reach something with tongs, you'd have to either disassemble part of the reef or leave it in there.

Best of luck. It would be an interesting setup for sure.

Ron

 

[ecreef]

Good points. One of the things I have thought about is live rock with fake coral. The fake coral I would have a company make (if anyone makes a decent setup) so that would me I would really only have to worry about the fish. Any ideas on the companies or do they all look tacky?

 

[dsieber]

Tall Tank

Tall Tank

The tanks at Key Island are no doubt Key's. I mentioned it since he could provide you with tips/pitfalls on having a tall tank.

 

[dvanacker]

ya...dont drop any metal like razor blades....that would suck. Cant get those with a claw. But if it was in the open (hopefully) you could use a magent I guess.

I know I would not set up a tank like this. Not because its wouldnt look cool but to me its not very practical.

 

[ChickenCannoneer]

My tank is about 3' tall and I have a hard time doing much of anything on the bottom and I am a tall person! Also 4-6' would look cool but even at 3' it makes for a very impresive looking tank. HTH, Tim

 

[MCary]

I have a 30 inch deep tank and would never think of going deeper. I barely have enough cuss words for the depth I have.

 

[ChickenCannoneer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8218669#post8218669 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MCary
I have a 30 inch deep tank and would never think of going deeper. I barely have enough cuss words for the depth I have.

Well said! :lol:

 

[Crusty Old Shellback]

I have a 7' long 3' tall 400 G tank. Reaching the bottom without getting wet is impossible. I'm using 400W DE MH lights for lighting just to keep some LPS on the bottom. It looks awsome but is a pain to work with. If your dedicated enough to work with it, then it can make for an awsome tank that allows plenty of swimming room "above" the reef.

 

[huzen]

What about building the rockwork high up, maybe using PVC frames and base rock to minimise the amount of live rock needed. Then you could use 400w metal halides and have SPS higher up, LPS lower down , zoos lower down and gorgonias and sponges right at the bottom with high flow at the top and bottom to sustain the sps and filter feeders. As for maintanence if its going to by 6 foot long maybe you should consider leaving space in the rockwork for you to climb in.

 

[reefez]

Not to mention the thickness of the glass or acrylic on a really tall tank is going to have to be 1 in. minimum. Probably more like 1 1/2 in. Very expensive. Best of luck in your planning.