Tank Size Advice

[Oilman]

Hi

I am going to be shutting down my 260gallon aquarium as it is very old and needs replacing. So here is the dilema.

My wife is insisting that I get something with a thinner profile like a 165 or some other 18inch wide tank. I would like something at least 24 inches wide (my current tank is 30 inches wide), but i may lose this argument.

Anyway what i wanted to ask is how hard is it to aquascape an 18 inch wide tank, are there any other problems with them for a reef tank?

Thanks

 

[greech]

I have a 40B which is 36x18x16. Aquascaping this tank numerous times has been fairly painless but that may be due to the shallow nature of the tank and being able to aquascape from looking down over the tank when necessary. Once you start getting into taller tanks of this width or smaller I would think it would be more difficult. I don't see myself ever having a tank less than 18" wide and will most likely go wider from here on out.

You could give her the option of cutting a whole in the wall for an in-wall setup. That would give you the thinnest profile and you would get a fish room out of the deal

 

[lewk]

I have a 135, which is 18 inches deep and I'm OK with it. If I could do it all over again, I'd probably go with a 180, but I have no regrets at all with the 135.

 

[LifeAquatic]

Stand your ground!! The extra depth makes the reef that much better. I run 30" deep tank and wouldnt settle for less. good luck!

 

[Dustin1300]

Marriage is all about compromise, right? You still want your 30 inch deep aquarium and she wants you to put an 18 inch deep aquarium in place. Why not meet in the middle at 24 as 18 inches compared to the 30 is going to make you lose a lot of depth that you are used to!

If she insists you go 18 maybe you could do the shadow box to give the perception of an endless ocean:

 

[dzfish17]

Dustin. you sure love that shadowbox because Ive seen you post it all over the place tonight. Hey, dont get mad Im just messing with you a little. I also think it looks great and Im doing something similar on my tank. I would try to go as wide as you can because it really is easier to acuascape. Like someone said if you have the room do a wide tank inwall. Tell the wife she wont have to see the tank sticking out in the room and there is no noise.

Dave

 

[Dustin1300]

Dave. STOP PICKING ON ME

Really, I'm a bit obsessed with this idea and had never seen it done in the past. When I started thinking about tank depth I thought why not throw this out!

 

[JTR0510]

once you go bigger then 18 trust me you dont want to go back to it. i went from a 18in to a 36in wide and i dont see myself going back to something smaller then 24

 

[Oilman]

Thanks everyone,

i am interested with this shadow box idea can someone explain to me what exactly it is.

 

[zsqure]

There are a couple on here, I would like to know more also.

 

[Chihuahua6]

I agree with Dustin. She should compromise to 24". BTW I'm a woman ; )

 

[SushiGirl]

Thanks everyone,

i am interested with this shadow box idea can someone explain to me what exactly it is.

Run a forum search on shadow box, there's at least two build threads on here that I've seen recently with some great ones. It has really gotten us interested in them too!

 

[Dustin1300]

Seems like 24 inches is the magic number

Thread I read through regarding the shadow box was as follows:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1868825&highlight=shadow+box

Its comprised of a frame, colored plexi, a cutout with the shadow desired, a painted plywood back, and a light fixture over the shadow box. Really simple concept and rather cheap to put in place! Below is a picture outlining the idea which originally was in German:

 

[maroun.c]

Guess in the end it's all about romspace and dimensions.
My wife insisted that I bump my tank width from 22 inches to 34 inches minimum if I plan to move our tank when we move, but that's only because the wood cabinets it will be between are much wider than 22 inch...
What are her reasons to insist on 18? maybe she's right after all?
Scaping an 18 could be easy or difficult depending on the scape you're after and tank height and length. The higher the tank the thinner it'll look and your scape easily looks like a steep reef. Which could be a nice look if you're creative enough.