Looking to go BIG but not sure on the dimensions-Suggestions Needed

What kind of fish do you want to keep? With a large tank you open up a lot of possibilities by going with 8' especially if you decide on a peninsula style aqua-scape. My current tank is 8'x30"x24" with a peninsula style aquascape and my tangs love the 8'. For me I would much rather add 2' in length compared to 12" in width (going from 36" to 48") even if I was not housing tangs. If the choice was going from 30" to 48" and I didn't care about keeping the larger and more active fish than I might opt for the 6'x4'x27" and go for the large cube look. Either way I agree with others when they say get the largest possible now.
 
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I was in a Pets Plus today and they have a display tank that is pretty much 5'x5'x30" and its really nice to see the aquascape you can do with a tank that wide.

Man I wish I had a bigger house.......

I really like tangs and I know they would love a 8ft tank, but seeing the tank today, I dont see any reason a bunch of tangs wouldnt love a wide tank as well.
 
Is the general consenses then that a 24" tank is a really nice size and that a 30" tank starts to get a bit deep for working in?? (At the 36" width). Is that 6 inches going to make a big difference when it comes to lighting? I always wonder when people switch between the 250 and 400MH lights. 250's still work on a 30" tank for SPS and clams? sounds like wfgworks might be interested as he is looking at the 27" height that is between.
 
wfgworks said:
I was in a Pets Plus today and they have a display tank that is pretty much 5'x5'x30" and its really nice to see the aquascape you can do with a tank that wide.

Man I wish I had a bigger house.......

I really like tangs and I know they would love a 8ft tank, but seeing the tank today, I dont see any reason a bunch of tangs wouldnt love a wide tank as well.
Click to expand...

I've seen a 6' x 4' tank with one large Naso and it didn't seem to suit the fish as well as my 8'x30" peninsula with several tangs. That is just my opinion, if you watch any large tang (Naso especially), the fish can very easily swim 4' with little or no effort and 5' doesn't give the fish as much room before it has to turn. It all depends on what fish you want to keep and your philosophy on how to stock your individual tank.
 
Well, this is where I'm at. Did some minor changes to the basement design, laid out some tape on the ground to see how things would look, which gives me two options to consider at this point unless someone as a better suggestion.

Peninsula style that will be 72x(42-48")x27. Cant go 8ft with this style as it will close down an area too much where you will be walking between two areas.

or

Traditional style tank to go up against a wall that will be 96x42x27. Was thinking of doing an Inwall type setup but my basement is not huge and would reduce living/social area down too much.

Let me know your thoughts as I will probably put down a deposit this week or next.

Again,

Thanks for guys thoughts as it has been helpful.
 
I really like the 8ft length and would shoot for 36" wide if you can afford it.
 
I spoke with a fellow who has a marineland 300DD and he said he would rather have 96" wide over the 36" depth. He would go 96 x 30 footprint next time.
 
wfgworks said:
Peninsula style that will be 72x(42-48")x27. Cant go 8ft with this style as it will close down an area too much where you will be walking between two areas.

or

Traditional style tank to go up against a wall that will be 96x42x27. Was thinking of doing an Inwall type setup but my basement is not huge and would reduce living/social area down too much.
Click to expand...

I am currently building a 60x48x24 peninsula style. I went through some of the same decisions that you are as I also have an 8 foot section against a wall but no room to access behind it. Ultimately I wanted a wide tank. Had a 32" wide before and wanted to go bigger. I couldn't reach from the front to the back of that tank at 32" so I had to have access on both sides. Going with anything wider then 30" up against a wall is going to be very difficult or likely impossible to reach from the front to the bottom back. With rock it might not be an issue but I guarentee you that at least once, for some reason, you will need to and won't be able to.

That's why I decided on a peninsula style at 48" wide. I can access the tank from both sides and only have to reach over a 24" span either way to get to the middle bottom.

Something to consider.
 
Does anybody know if the tanks built by Inter-American are good builds. I found a 96x42x30 that is 7 years old. Just dont know if they are built well and last.
 
Well its been a few weeks of starting to work on the basement and thinking of the tank. I have decided to go with the 8ft long tank but have been throwing around the idea of reducing the height to 24" versus the 27". The cost savings is around $400 but was wondering if I'll miss the 3".

What do you think?

The other thing is the depth of the tank and lighting it. How would you guys light a tank that was 36" versus 42"? My plan was to keep an open look and not have an enclosed hood unless I had to.
 
i say go as large as possible. the $400 extra will not be felt at all by the time your done. I like tall and wide tanks. Last tank was 30" tall and will be going 48" on my next big build.
 
I think if you have the space to go wide, that should be the best option, next follow by Depth and then finally Height.
 
Since many here use the term "deep" instead of "width" that may get confusing. As to height, it is really a matter of personal taste. Personally, I like a tall tank, and wouldn't consider anything less than 30" high. A wide tank is good for the inhabitants. If you make the tank as wide as it is tall, then you can go with as much length as you can fit/afford.

Dave.M
 
In a peninsula or see through wall tank you give yourself alot more options. Consider adding overflows on both ends for flow. Or the return on the opposite end. Also, width is alot easier to access.

I do like the same width as height idea above though. Some symmetry in that.
 
The tank will be placed against a wall instead of the original peninsula design. I want to get the tank ordered but need to finalize some details. Looking for some additional input for those with large tanks. Things to consider or change. I'll provide some details of what I'm thinking but nothing is set in stone besides the dimensions.

Tank
Will be 96x36x27 and I'm leaning towards Acrylic made my Midwest Custom Aquariums because I'm concerned with being able to carry the tank down basement steps and feel a glass tank of that size would require 6-8 guys to move and dont see how that can happen. Acrylic will be around 400lbs and glass would be around 700lbs.

The tank will have two cross braces with 3/4" material unless I move up to 1" thick material and go with a single cross brace.

Black Background

(2) Overflow boxes either internal or external with each have a 1.5" drain and 1" return so I need some feedback on this because the tank is going against a wall.

Flow for the tank

Instead of a closed loop, I'm leaning toward a combo of Tunzes. I have (2) 6205s already and would add an additional two 6205/6105s or maybe a Wavebox.

Bring on the Input/feedback so I can get my tank ordered!!!!
 
woops missed this last page.

i like the idea of a 96"X36"x 27" tank, is it going to be a reef?

have you thought of a coast-to-coast external? saves room in the DT.

im assuming its tunze wavebox right? i was on their site a month or so ago and it says to use 2 of the larger waveboxes on tanks longer than 72" (have them antisync i think it is, so one is off while the other is one).

MH lighting is easy on a tank like this but since i think you prefer T5 you can use 4 4' T5 fixtures (like a 6 bulb combo for all 4 or a 2-8bulb and 2-6bulb) if you want converage everywhere or you could go with a 72" fixture (havent seen any online recently :/ ) and just raise it up 10" so you get slightly longer coverage or something. on BRS the 4-4ft fixture option for a TEK system is around $400/fixture.
 
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As far as getting into the basement with glass, you could opt to have it built "onsite". Just another thought, Can't wait for progression pics.
 
Really dont have any builders in the area that I know of.

Plus, when we move, would like to tanke the tank with.
 
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