Tall tank thoughts

[Ryan009]

I'm thinking about several different options for putting a new tank upstairs. My goal would be to plumb it in with my 210G downstairs. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to assume I can figure out a way to make the plumbing work.

First. I want to calculate how much water would be in the pipes so that I can make sure I have enough room in the sump if I loose power. Can anyone point me in the right direction for a calculator that can help me figure this out?

Second. One of the options, and it probably won't happen because of cost, is doing a built-in in the living room. Where I was going to put this option, I could go nearly as tall as I want (I'm probably going to end up with a custom tank anyway). I already have trouble reaching the bottom of my 210. What are people's thoughts on taller tanks and what kinds of challenges I would have not being able to reach the bottom of the tank with my hand?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

get aqua tongs

Ideally, to maximize gas exchange height should be equal to or less than width when designing an aquarium.
Tall aquariums are a challenge to aquascape with rock. When planning a reef aquarium always try to opt for a wider aquarium rather than a taller one.

 

[Craig Lambert]

Hi,

As far as question #1 goes, I'm not aware of a calculator out there to help you. You could just cut a 1 ft. piece of pipe in the diameter you intend to use, seal one side and see how much water it holds. Then multiply the water content figure by the number of feet of pipe required to return the water to the display from the sump. You might need to add a little bit to that figure to account for the amount of water that drains from your overflow back to the sump when the power goes off.

I would post the second question in the "large tank forum". I think I recall a number of people saying that things get difficult once a tank is over 30" tall.

 

[michealprater]

Not a big fan of tall tanks for the reasons listed above. Hard to clean and there always look like a lot of wasted space up top. I had one that was 36 tall and will never go over 24 again. Longer and wider is better IMO.

 

[Ryan009]

Because of the room setup, my length is fairly fixed at 6' and the width can't be more than about 24".

The height could be anywhere from 30" to 50". That's the most variable part. It's going in a room with a vaulted ceiling. The wall it will be built into is 16' tall.

 

[Bruno3047]

1 cubic foot = 7.48051945 US gallons.

I would guess 24" - 30" would be the maximum depth of the tank (depending on how long your arms are) before you really start struggling to reach the bottom.

My last tank was 24" deep (I have short arms) and it was a PITA.

 

[Bruno3047]

To get the volume of water inside your pipes, take the inside diameter of the pipe in inches, divide by 2, multiply it by itself, (square it) then multiply by 3.14159. This will give you the total volume in 1 inch of pipe. Then multiply this by the total number of inches of pipe you'll be using, then divide this number by 1728 to get the total cubic feet of water inside your pipes. Then apply the above formula.

If you're using 2 different sized pipe, you'll have to do a separate calculation for each size pipe, then add it together.

Hope this helps.