Think of it as a really long Nano

[ReefStu]

I am considering ordering a custom a 12"D x 96"W x18"T with an overflow and return at each end. I am going to pull my couch off the wall 1 foot and place the tank behind it. I only have one foot to work with and think that it might be a fun tank and location in my house. I love my 12G Nano and all the small specimins I have in there and the new tank would be set up similarly with a bunch of small stuff. Any suggestions or concerns with a tank this size.

[theatrus]

Thats like a 90gallon in the form of a 55 gallon

Some larger fish won't work, since they won't be able to turn around very well (and it gets boring swimming back and forth ). Laying out LR may be hard with little depth, but its possible (aquascaping my 55gal was annoying at least). Lighting will have to be figured out too - maybe a bunch of 96w PC lights? They're nice and long.

I'd say it could be an awesome tank though!

[The Lance]

That would be a cool tank. I have thought about having a long short in-the-wall tank. I was looking at like 96" long by 24" wide by 12" high. Just a different shape than is normally seen. I say go for it.

[skeety]

tend to agree with theatrus.

Aquascaping will be difficult, but if you get the right sized pieces, and be really careful when it comes to livestock choices, this idea will work. AND be pretty cool!

As stated, bigger, more active fish might not like it as much due to turning room. SO I'd stay with things like Gobies/blennies. Maybe a pygmie angel or something like that.

Sounds really cool though. Make sure to keep us posted! (PICS!!)
hahah

good luck!

[00nothing]

i was planning on building something very similar little shorter though i was only planning on 55 inches as i have a sofa table it would have fit on perfectly

if u ever get it done make sure u post pics and lots of them

[PITSTOP]

Do it! Do it now!

[Airman]

Have fun cleaning the tank. I just want to see a pic when you are finished.

[scarletknight06]

sounds cool. i would suggest going maybe just 12" deep. that way aquascaping would be easier as you wouldnt have to pile rocks so high so that the tank doesnt look empty. kinda of like a super wide screen 10g or 15g.
then you could light it with 70w or 150w MH's or maybe T5's and probably keep anything you wanted.

I think you should get a large school of chromis or a large school of anthias (the ones that stay smaller like dispar and lyretail ones)

[crazyfingersmike]

You definitely want some swimming and/or schooling fish for a tank like that. Great idea, go for it!

[ReefStu]

I will definently think about reducing the hieght to 12" although I want the added volume of the 18' tall. For lighting I have (2) 96w compacts and four 4' VHO's. I was going to do half the tank with compacts and half with VHO or should I split the two systems up and have 1 compact and 2 VHO on each side? and if so what bulbs would you run with the combo setup?
For fish I was thinking of the following:
2 clowns of coarse
A school of chromis
1 small yellow eye tang
1 small six line wrasse
2 or 3 tiny gobbies
For LR I will definently be very carefull with hieght. I have a Nano now (check my gallery) and am familiar with the tight spaces.
Thanks for all the input and I will be posting pic's as I go.

[Paul Davies]

do it , do it, do it, wanna see pics !!!!

[tld]

Are you going to put any corals in this tank? If not, I'd just go with the pair of PCs (less electricity, less heat).

If you are planning on corals, you need to think about water flow - that's a large footprint and I'm sure you don't want 15 million powerheads everywhere.

What's your sump configuration going to be like? Is the couch heavy? Will you have to move it for maintenance? Will the canopy be enclosed? If so, you might want to consider fairy wrasses.

It's an interesting idea - keep us updated!

[tmantaylor18]

Man this tank is going to be awesome if you do it. Its what I want to do once i get out of college.

[gearow]

do it! i want so badly to switch to a 30 long instead of my 29. but its in my room and i dont have any extra space.

[ReefStu]

I am deffinently going to have allot of corals. Please look at my Nano in my gallerie to see the type of stuff I like. I see the tank having similar coral in it just a really long version of the Nano: Tons of shrooms, Rics, & zoo, frog spawn & hammer, zenia, small leathers, clams, and maybe a few SPS. I like coral that sways in the breeze.

As far as flow goes, each overflow has 1 1/2" drain hole and 3/4" return holes. I also plan a closed system that draws from the bottom of the overflows and is distibuted from the top at key locations with multi port manifolds. (what pumps would people suggest I was using the largest Rio on my old tank 5 years back and don't think I will go that route again.

The couch is large and it will be a pain to get full access to the sump, but I will have and end door to access the skimmer and dosing on a regular basis. The sump is and old 30G tall acrylic (10"dx36"wx16"t) that will be split into 2 bays: 1 for ditritus bag and 1 for refugium. I have a hang on Remora that will draw from below the detritus bag and dump into the refugium, that is all the flow the refugium will get. The refugium will then spill back over to the pumps. I will have a spot for carbon down there also.

I am going to build a bookshelf wall to the ceiling that will have an enclosed canopy. Above the canopy area will be shelves for books and my wifes knick-knacks. I will vent the canopy area with some fan configuration. Do you think heat will be an issue? My 75G that has the VHO's stays around 82 degrees in the day.
I really appreciate the help, It's been 5 years since I had a big tank and allots changed since then.
I will post a scan of the sketches I have done for the tank soon.

[tld]

Sounds like a cool plan. I think your biggest issue is going to be that couch - you're not going to be able to quickly check out everything going on underneath. You may be able to compensate for that somewhat by automating things and using monitors, maybe with the readout displays on your knickknack shelf. You might consider putting that detritus bag where it is easily accessed along with the skimmer. Also, you may want to splash guard everything so that you don't ruin the couch.

As far as flow is concerned, if you are custom ordering it anyway, you might consider having your closed loop drilled into the bottom. I normally don't like so many holes drilled in the bottom, but since you have limited room, I think it would work better in this case. I think you be able to get decent flow from your returns if you use a strong enough pump (maybe with a pair of penductors). Have the returns on opposite ends of the tank, but have the 1st closer to the front edge and the 2nd closer to the back edge so that you create a gyre.

With so little room front to back, I think it would be tempting to place all the rock on the back wall, but I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't use much rock at all - maybe create a couple of taller bommies on each end and leave the middle open to show off some colorful LPS corals - maybe something like a big Scolymia. If you leave your rockwork open enough, you may not need a closed loop. I think you'll need to consider how the corals will grow up and change your flow pattern - you may not need closed loop in the beginning, but might need it 3-4 years down the road and it would be great if it were already plumbed - you'd just need to buy a pump and maybe an oceans motion (or some new device not invented yet) and you'd be good to go.

VHOs can get pretty warm if there's not enough ventilation. With an enclosed canopy, I think you'll need some sort of exhaust fan. You have 3 options on venting - 1) the ends - this could be unattractive and may not provide enough since your tank is so long, 2) the back - allows more fans, but vents out to the wall and could leave ugly salty dust on the wall, 3) the top - a more natural point for ventilation since heat rises, but it would interfere with your knickknack shelf, although you may be able to disguise the vents somehow. Just be aware that you will be exhausting salty air - whatever is nearby may suffer from that.

I'm looking forward to your sketches - this is a fun project!

[ReefStu]

[IMG]
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/...tanksketch.jpg[/IMG]

This is the sketch for the tank, I have 3 LFS that have priced it right around $500 and I am going to order it soon, see any flaws?

[ReefStu]

O.K. I can post a link in the IMG box but how do I get the pic to show on the thread instead of having it linked? Thanks for the help.

[xtrstangx]

It will be cool, but you'll eventually hate the 12" Depth. I hate my 40g so much cause I can't aquascape very well and I don't have much room for coral due to my rock situation.

[Konadog]

Originally posted by ReefStu
O.K. I can post a link in the IMG box but how do I get the pic to show on the thread instead of having it linked? Thanks for the help.

[melev]

I would make it with a long closed loop, creating flow going from left to right or right to left. And two 8' VHO bulbs would work out great.

So... is it done yet?!

[Bebo77]

randy at socalcreations built something similar a few months back... try and go as deep as you can...

[ReefStu]

Konadog,
How did you do that?? I need to know how to get the pic's up so I don't feel so stupid.

xtrstangx,
My nano is only 12"d and I think it looks OK. Anyway with 8' I will be focusing on going horizontal with my aquascaping instead of vertical. I plan on having LR on each end ( 2.5' on L side and 3.5' on R) tapering down to a blank area (2' wide) between them.

Let's talk lighting, I know what I got but not how to use them best.
From my old tank I have (2) 96w compacts and from the 75G I bought used I have (4) FR48T12 VHO's. I was thinking of splitting the two systems and on each side running (2) VHO, 1 Actinic White and 1 Super Actinic Blue and (1) White compact. Any thoughts?

[Konadog]

Originally posted by ReefStu
Konadog,
How did you do that?? I need to know how to get the pic's up so I don't feel so stupid.

This should help: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...65#post4922665 and just use your RC Gallery.

[ReefStu]

OK I read thru the how to threads, here goes. This is my Nano.






Feeling pretty smart now, maybe I am not as dumb as I look.