New House, New Tank Ideas?

P

philwilson01

New member
I want some feedback on my idea here. I am having a new home built and have talked to the builder about wanting to put a large aquarium in my house between my living room and kitchen (open floor plan). The living room will have a vaulted ceiling. It will be visible from all four sides. I was looking at doing 84Lx24Dx48H. The length of the room where it is being placed is a little larger then 17ft. So this will take up 7ft of the area leaving 5ft on either side of the tank to walk. The builder is going to build a stand and reinforce the floor for the weight. They are also going to put electrical above and below and also a drain below. I have been searching around at custom built tanks and have submitted for a few quotes on builds. I have not got the quotes back yet, but would like to do sapphire glass and possibly an overflow in the center. What are your thoughts? Is this to big for where I want to put it. I am not sure if I'll regret going with 48" tall. Should I stick with 30" tall. I currently have a large tank that is 72x24x24 and feel like a taller tank would be nicer. What would you do?
 
The height is not the problem. The problem is that it is too narrow. You will not have enough room to do any kind of rockwork in such a narrow tank. I would go with a minimum 30" wide, and preferably 36" wide, regardless of whether you go 30" tall or 48" tall. Personally, I like 36-48" tall.

If you're going for four-sides-viewable I can't see how you could not go with a central overflow for good looks. Include space for central water returns in the overflow. Also, if your plans allow it, I would strongly recommend a dedicated fishroom for such a large tank, perhaps on the floor below. This will give you room and easy access for the large size of sump, skimmer, reactors, water change equipment, and whatever else you choose to run such a large tank.

Dave.M
 
Make sure your builder knows what you mean by a drain in the floor. They most likely are thinking a drain connected to the homes plumbing that runs to the sewer. I don't think a outlet on the floor would be a good idea either. I would also not want an inexperienced home builder to build the stand. They likely have no clue where the tank needs to be supported. Get the stand from the tank builder.
 
4 feet is awfully deep. Personally, I would consider capping the height at 30" and increasing the width to 30". The center overflow is going to require some space between the bulkheads. 24" may make it really tight between the box and side panes. Perhaps a 72x30x30. Check out CustomAquariums.com. I just received my 96x30x25 starphire tank (15mm sides x 19mm bottom, anodized aluminum rim, NO pita eurobracing) and the quality was exactly what I would expect. For me, total cost including shipping and 6 holes drilled was $2k. No one else can come close to that. Have them custom build your stand and you'll get a lifetime warranty.

If you aren't going to have a fish room I would not only have a drain, but also run a cold water line for your RO/DI.
 
1st of all congrats on the new house & its good that the builder is ready to do some custom work..

+1 to the cold water line if not for a dedicated fish room.

And I agree with going a little bit wider tank. You already have a 24" wide tank, so you know your working depth... take away 5-6" in the center for the overflow & you'll be tight...

post a picture of the floor plan if you can...will give a good understanding of the tank location.

And, I closed on my 1st house few weeks back... so will be starting a thread similar to yours I guess. Mine is a open living & kitchen plan too...lots of tank locations in mind! anyways, don't want to hijack your thread.. will get back to your tank.

With 4 sides viewing, did you think about a cylindrical tank?
maybe a drop reef types?
 
Good feedback.. Thanks everyone. So change of plans maybe go with a 84x30x48 tank since the center overflow will take up so much space. I am planning on putting a fish room in the basement now (Sump etc...)
 
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