Shallow reef tank Club

I've been trolling RC for over a year and just stumbled across this thread this afternoon on the train ride home. I got as far as the first 10 pages before arriving at my station, got home and thought, hmm do I really want to go run or would I rather just sit and read this whole thread- I poured a scotch and got to it... BUT around page 20 I jumped ahead to throw my name into the club! I LOVE SHALLOW TANKS and have two but neither are filled, so rather than being a half member twice, maybe that makes me a bona fide full member instead?! IDK, you decide. I picked up the first shallow on a weekly visit to my LFS in San Diego (I lived in OB so take a guess at what is closest, I love that store) and when they were changing things around I couldn't resist picking up a 100g acrylic formerly frag tank for $100, scratches came free! (48"x30"x16")
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I moved last fall back to my roots to Chicagoland and tore that one down which was fine because I hadn't irradiated all the free scratches. I have been thinking a LONG time now that as much as I love this 100g for a reef tank it's not BIG ENOUGH to suite my long term obsession with this hobby, and as such have been drooling for quite some time over 8'+ tanks, checking craigslist and looking at acrylic manufacturers and planning my own from scratch build eventually when I start to build a house. So I was at a LFS here in Chicagoland a few weekends ago and fate graced me again with a deal far too good to pass on... I just picked up this tank last Saturday and while I'm not ready to put it to use I couldn't say no to purchasing it. (115"x48"x15")
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I am thinking of starting a pre-build thread, though I am sure to aggravate people because this won't be up and running for a few years. Still, I can't help but design the system WAY ahead of time (thinking and sketching daily!). I figure building a system like this is similar to dosing, do it a little at a time and everything is great, throw it all in (my wallet) at once and things turn for the worse!
 
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my gosh, there are so many great tanks on this thread! So much inspiration. I especially like insaneclownfish's tank! Any updates? Still up?!
 
I just found this thread after a WHILE of RC...lol
Anyway, mine is 72" long, 34-44" deep (depending on which part you measure - kind of an odd shape) and 24" tall. Check out the live webcam (in my profile with pw in my signature) so you can see it. It's being used as a stingray tank, and my kids love it. We get to hand feed the ray every other day and it's amazing.
 
Hello guys! I am starting a new tank and I have decided that it will be a shallow one. What do you think about 90cmx90cm footprint? Height would be 40cm, but there will be at least 8-10cm sand which will be hidden by the stand trim. This makes the ''actual'' observed height something close to 30cm(about 12'').

I am bit unsure about the footprint which would be a perfect square does someone have an opinion on experience on that? :)
 
MY complaint about a big square tank (mine is 48"X48", 16"deep) is that is difficult to see and trim the corals in the middle of the tank. I lost a long time Acro as a result of competition I had a hard time seeing. I also would like to have a 100mm macro so I could see and take pics away from the sides.
 
yardboy said:
MY complaint about a big square tank (mine is 48"X48", 16"deep) is that is difficult to see and trim the corals in the middle of the tank. I lost a long time Acro as a result of competition I had a hard time seeing. I also would like to have a 100mm macro so I could see and take pics away from the sides.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks for the tip, my another question would be about the overflow. I was planning to get a hole drilled in the middle of the tank for a gateway in to the refugium and sump. I would install a pipe on the hole so that I could control the waterflow. All this would be without an overflow box. What about that, insane?

BTW 100mm macro is nice, as a professional photographer I have that one in my camera bag! ;)
 

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I once built a small 20g tank with center overflow. Only potential problem was the small area of "surface skimming" necessitated by its position in the center. Also any return will tend to short circuit and go more directly to the overflow. I overcame part by using an adaptor and making the surface of the overflow larger than the drain to sump pipe, and running the return line through the overflow and out into the tank, but that caused it's own problems. I still have the tank but haven't used it in years. Hmmm, maybe I'll rethink it............
 
Well, as far as I know there's no fitting that will allow one pipe to penetrate another one and run inside it, so I had to make it, but it did work and even though it never leaked, the sump was directly underneath it so if it had leaked it would have went there!
 
overkill! even at L mode (lowest flow) its blowing my special grade reef sand creating a hole in the middle.. W1 mode will make my tank water spill out.. Super quiet though!
 
I figured, is the flow still variable at low speed?

I'm getting closer to upgrading my tank from 48"x27x14 to 48x27x18, rimless Acrylic to starphire glass with a euro brace. I'm going to run a 2" wave so the water level will be 16"
 
no its not, its fixed flow. im waiting for my universal 15-24V adapter to arrive so i can run W1 or else mode on lower voltage thus lower speed.
 
QUESTION
For us shallow tank folks, are there certain fish we have to avoid given the water columns we offer? I recall from my freshwater days different fish tending towards and utilizing different elevations of the tank. With a short tank (say 13.5" before substrate) are there fish that will feel like they are in a padded room and go CRAZY because they don't have the height they need? I'm providing ample lateral room (~38 sq. ft.) but are there still specimens to avoid??
 
Good question as I have wondered about this as well. Best I can say is use resources on line like http://www.fishbase.org and find out where the species you are interested in comes from regarding its habitat. How shallow is to shallow for some though I have no idea to be honest.
 
I'm guessing the best thing is to look for lagoon species or captive bred to minimize the stress of a shorter ceiling. My plan is also predominantly smaller fish.
 
Might be a good idea to invest in a DIY screen top as well. Seems like a lot of the lagoon species like to go carpet surfing.
 
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