6', 7' or 8' tank upgrade?

[mpderksen]

Limited by a current 4' long 76g. Early planning for the upgrade. 6' gives me some real tang options and more coral space. The space I have has a maximum space allowance of 8 feet length. 7 feet might be perfect, but far more difficult to source. I'd like 18" width so I have room for aquascape. Height? 30"?
Deciding the dimensions is the first step for the upgrade. Ideas?

[ArmanS]

If your going larger then 6' then you would be dealing for the most part with a custom tank manufacturer. Since that is the case you can do 7' if that is perfect for your space.

Having said that, why do you want to limit yourself to only a 18" width.. that is extremely narrow. I wouldn't go with anything smaller then 24" wide personally if the space permits.

30" Height is what I would go with on a large tank, but have you ever tried reaching to the bottom of a 30" tank with a bracing? It is very difficult compared to a 24" tank and some people really hate it. I personally love the extra height and can deal with it.

My next tank will be 96"x36"x30".

HTH

[ca1ore]

Marineland make a 265 that is 7' long, 30" tall and 24" front to back. Good functional size for both fish and corals (I should know, I have one )

[lionfish300]

Agree with above 18" is very narrow when come to aquascaping

[shiftline]

My new tank is 66x20x18 and I love it

[2wheelsonly]

How long did it take from initial setup to cycle and get that many corals in there? Only reason I ask is because your rock looks so clean!

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by mpderksen

Limited by a current 4' long 76g. Early planning for the upgrade. 6' gives me some real tang options and more coral space. The space I have has a maximum space allowance of 8 feet length. 7 feet might be perfect, but far more difficult to source. I'd like 18" width so I have room for aquascape. Height? 30"?
Deciding the dimensions is the first step for the upgrade. Ideas?

My suggestion would be 7 foot by 30 inch front to back by 24 inches tall. 30 inches tall makes for difficulty.

[ezerasurfr]

300 DD is 6ftx3ft, which give enough dimensions for tangs if that is what you're looking for.

[mpderksen]

Great reality check on the height. Indeed scraping coralline at the bottom of my 24" one is tough enough already. I can't go wider than 24" in the desired locations. It's either going right where the 75g is now, or in the closet behind it and cutting the wall.
This build is likely a year or 2 away, but I love planning/dreaming. My biggest improvement over the current tank is access to the equipment. My stand is a weird dimension with only a single, small door. The next will have removable panels on 3 sides, or, if in the closet, be completely open.
My steps are first to determine the tank size, then plan the sump itself (I'll make it from acrylic, Melev style. I've done this before and it's easy and satisfying). Next, since I favor a low turn over in the sump, I'll calculate the size of plumbing for the overflows, one at each end, the return. After all that, I can post my manifold drawing here and get recommendations on some of the equipment, like return pump size etc.

[snorvich]

Why not make the closet behind it a sump/equipment room?

[mpderksen]

Originally Posted by snorvich

Why not make the closet behind it a sump/equipment room?

That's plan 1. It already partially is. The Apex, chiller, Tunze ATO, and reservoir already sit there and lines run through the wall. I also ran a line though the closet wall outside, and have lines running to the mixing station in the garage for the Auto Water Change and drain. That line also has a wire I connect to float switches in the New Saltwater tank to trigger the Apex for low level warnings. I plan to redo this part and include a USB cable for a future Apex module at that site, but the current PVC is too small to add another line.
Your comment does make me consider moving the current sump there to start and my maintenance would be WAY easier on the current tank.
Looking at pricing, while a 7' tank is ideal for this, 6' X 2' X 2' seems way more standard, and plenty big for my goals/budget.

[mpderksen]

Originally Posted by mpderksen

That's plan 1. It already partially is. The Apex, chiller, Tunze ATO, and reservoir already sit there and lines run through the wall. I also ran a line though the closet wall outside, and have lines running to the mixing station in the garage for the Auto Water Change and drain. That line also has a wire I connect to float switches in the New Saltwater tank to trigger the Apex for low level warnings. I plan to redo this part and include a USB cable for a future Apex module at that site, but the current PVC is too small to add another line.
Your comment does make me consider moving the current sump there to start and my maintenance would be WAY easier on the current tank.
Looking at pricing, while a 7' tank is ideal for this, 6' X 2' X 2' seems way more standard, and plenty big for my goals/budget.

The closet (old pic)


The line outside the house.

Notice how tight things are now.

[sgmccool]

I have a 200 gallon 7' long by 2' wide by 2' tall. Our tank is set up as a peninsula so we can see it from three sides. the 24" works OK for this so I would suspect 24" would be perfect for your situation. There is NO way I would do a reef tank with less than 24" width.

Now width is a matter of what can you afford, what type of lighting do you want? On a 6' tank you could get away with 4 4' T5's and 2 Kessil A360W's. On a 7' tank the same could work but really 3 Kessils should be used. This is all of course dependent on what your going to be keeping and growing.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by sgmccool

I have a 200 gallon 7' long by 2' wide by 2' tall. Our tank is set up as a peninsula so we can see it from three sides. the 24" works OK for this so I would suspect 24" would be perfect for your situation. There is NO way I would do a reef tank with less than 24" width.

Now width is a matter of what can you afford, what type of lighting do you want? On a 6' tank you could get away with 4 4' T5's and 2 Kessil A360W's. On a 7' tank the same could work but really 3 Kessils should be used. This is all of course dependent on what your going to be keeping and growing.

I LOVE your aquascaping.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by mpderksen

Your comment does make me consider moving the current sump there to start and my maintenance would be WAY easier on the current tank.
Looking at pricing, while a 7' tank is ideal for this, 6' X 2' X 2' seems way more standard, and plenty big for my goals/budget.

I moved my sumps and all equipment to basement.

[mpderksen]

I have 2, 24" RapidLEDs above my 75, a foot above the water. My plan would be get a third to cover 6'. I can power all of them off a single Meanwell (1 for white, 1 for blues). Since the growth is great at the 24" depth I currently have, I would maybe just change the optics for a wider spread. I'm at 18" wide now. Pretty cheap upgrade, actually.
The challenge of having the sump in the closet would be routing the flex-PVC through the wall for the Herbie drain lines. I need to have enough fall to have full suction from the main one at least.
The current tank has a single overflow in the middle, while later, the new one would have 2, 1 at each end. It's probably 12-18" sideways through the wall, but then I need to go laterally to the sock. Might not be worth the trouble until I'm ready for to new tank.

[shiftline]

Originally Posted by shiftline

My new tank is 66x20x18 and I love it

Rock on left was in a brute cycling for 3 months. Rock on right is from my 30g. I added water and brute rock right away then old rock and coral a week later

[kmbyrnes]

I agree with the others, You don't want 30" of depth. 24 is much easier to deal with.
30' of width is very nice to have though.

[moatdaddy]

i just posted my 6'x2x2 180 for sale/trade in local forums. It got snagged immediately for 300. I just wanted to be rid of it. I hated a 24' deep and 24' tall tank. I am 5'10" and my are is only 22" 24 to my arm pit. Everytime i had to go into the tank my shirt would get wet or i had to take it off. If my wife had friends over some would feint, JK. Anyway, i know the tang police will harp, and your large angels are out, but after 4 years of my dream tank i am going small again. At least in my house. Good luck on the upgrade. Too bad you cant get another 75 and then make a bridge for the fish. I always wanted to connect two tanks with a glass causeway.

love your Canadian themed plumbing btw. i lived in Vancouver for a while. Go Canucks

[IdahoCindy]

Speaking of armpits getting wet...I have a couple of ugly red t-shirts that I keep in my fish closet. I change into one when I'm going to work on the tank. When my family sees me in the shirt they know exactly what I'm about to do!