Large tank access

[karimwassef]

I have a modest 380g reef DT with a total 660g system.

It's a built in 96" x 32" wide x 27" high with an end to end weir with the tank itself and all the plumbing in the garage.

It's bookended in the garage with a wall on one side and plumbing at the other. The back is all available but the 6" weir and overflow takes up some space.

I find that there are sections that I really can't get to unless I find a way to be suspended over the tank or leaning so far that there is a real risk of tipping in. Like a mission impossible but with a bigger and not so in shape Tom Cruise.

Given that most of the tanks in this forum are significantly more massive, I'd like to ask:

How have you designed access into your massive tanks?

 

[karimwassef]

Also, there is a large 48" x 96" plywood platform 24" over the tank with surge, lighting and other equipment. So the access window is 24" x 96" and full of lights.

 

[Scythanith]

I access mine from the front with cupboard doors as well as free access from the back fish room. I lift my lights up out of the way when I really want to get in there.

 

[ca1ore]

I avoid putting things that need to be reached into those spots in my tank that are hard to reach. Otherwise tongs, forceps, long handled scissors are your friend.

 

[karimwassef]

Simon, I avoid hard to reach places too. But with a surge and enough time, some things end up there. I use tongs, but I find the damage to soft tissue to be rough.

Scy, do you have a mechanism to raise the lights? I can remove my lights and even the plumbing to do hardcore surgery, but it's the everyday access that's a pain.

I've given up on some large turbos that end up on their back in an inaccessible region.

I'm also looking at learnings for my next tank. One is that I'm keeping the depth to 24", but I really wanted more width (like 48"), but that would just compound the accessibility. Right?

 

[hobbzz]

My next tank will also be 48" deep. I think as long as you can access both sides it would just be like reaching the back of a standard 120.

 

[Scythanith]

I use simple sailing rigging to raise/lower the lights. You could easily put a small electric winch on the end of the cable/rope and flick the switch up/down to move the lights for you. I just pull on the rope It raises the lights about 12" higher off the water surface.

 

[karimwassef]

I was hoping the 48" would act as a room divider.

So imagine a U shaped room where the front 96", side 48", and back 96" are all built into the wall. This is a shallow tank 24" high.

A center weir overflow exports water to the last 48" access side (in the fish room/garage).

The only solution here is a catwalk/scaffolding over the tank?

 

[ca1ore]

I had a tank years ago that was 96" x 48" (footprint of a sheet of plywood) and 28" tall. Full length access from both the front and back allowed me to reach any spot.

 

[karimwassef]

So the fundamental issue is that a built-in creates a pinch in access that minimizes the viable size of the tank?

 

[ca1ore]

Assuming no rear access, and that Manute Bol is not a close friend, yes.

 

[karimwassef]

So.. Scaffolding?

 

[jjk_reef00]

Yea I wouldn't want a large tank that I couldn't access from both sides.

 

[Spaced Cowboy]

Untested, but soon to be

Untested, but soon to be

So I'm going with a tank that pokes of the wall (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2454671) and is 7'x3'x~3' tall.

I didn't want anything to ruin the clean look of the tank and the plain wall, so all my access is from the back. My solution to this is to put a brace bar on the inside wall above the tank, and use either a static platform or a lift-table behind the tank to raise my waist up to the level of the tank's rim. Then I can bend over the tank, brace against the wall, and lean down all the way to get to whatever I need to.

This'll make a lot more visual sense if you look at the first page of the link above, btw

Simon

 

[dave.m]

I suggest you set up some wooden laths/strips the actual size of your tank and try bending over the tank to test your reach. You will probably find that, unless you have orangutans in your ancestry, you are going to have a great deal of difficulty reaching the front bottom of the tank from the back. Access over both the front and the back really is a necessity in my experience.

Dave.M

 

[karimwassef]

Space cowboy- that's essentially how my tank is now except I'm about ~8' x 3' x 2' (96" x 34" x 27").

If the new tank has 24" height with 3" of sand, that means that I only need 21" of reach if I'm directly over the tank.

 

[karimwassef]

Here it is while being built
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/19.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/19.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 19.jpg"/></a>

 

[karimwassef]

Further along
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/4B40AA7E-E110-4391-98CA-CB195F753E16_zpsk2g9icri.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/4B40AA7E-E110-4391-98CA-CB195F753E16_zpsk2g9icri.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 4B40AA7E-E110-4391-98CA-CB195F753E16_zpsk2g9icri.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/E2612D52-E6DA-4A9D-A184-1721AB75D0CC-368-0000004F1DC873B7_zps1183ebb2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/E2612D52-E6DA-4A9D-A184-1721AB75D0CC-368-0000004F1DC873B7_zps1183ebb2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo E2612D52-E6DA-4A9D-A184-1721AB75D0CC-368-0000004F1DC873B7_zps1183ebb2.jpg"/></a>

 

[karimwassef]

More recently
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/15D22131-FC22-4029-B5EF-57DA8276F976_zpsu8ckzlqa.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/15D22131-FC22-4029-B5EF-57DA8276F976_zpsu8ckzlqa.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 15D22131-FC22-4029-B5EF-57DA8276F976_zpsu8ckzlqa.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/A9BF0D57-BBEB-44BE-8693-B055429101AA_zpsupxl9fyo.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/A9BF0D57-BBEB-44BE-8693-B055429101AA_zpsupxl9fyo.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo A9BF0D57-BBEB-44BE-8693-B055429101AA_zpsupxl9fyo.jpg"/></a>

 

[Spaced Cowboy]

Space cowboy- that's essentially how my tank is now except I'm about ~8' x 3' x 2' (96" x 34" x 27").

If the new tank has 24" height with 3" of sand, that means that I only need 21" of reach if I'm directly over the tank.

Right. The point is to have the brave to take your weight. Then you only need to reach down, not across and down. This is all the n theory though. I'll find out in about 10 weeks