Opinions please on a 40 inch tall 350 gallon tank

[ScubaSkeets]

Hi folks! I am considering buying a used 350 gallon acrylic tank. It It is in decent shape although there are scratches that would need to be buffed out. It's eurobraced and very sturdy. My reluctance is that it us 40 inches tall! With it off the stand and me standing on a chair, leaning into the tank, I can barely reach the bottom.
Does anyone here have experience /opinions on a tank that tall?
Also how much of a task to buff it? The scratches seem to be just surface scratches, not even feeling them with my fingernail

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Wow that is tall. I personally wont go above 24" tall because of maintenance, but I also run reef tanks. Is this going to be a reef tank or fowlr?

I also have an acrylic and they do scratch easily. I will say that when the tank is filled you barely see them. My tank is pretty scratched up already but you can only see them if you are within a foot of the tank.

 

[ScubaSkeets]

Wow that is tall. I personally wont go above 24" tall because of maintenance, but I also run reef tanks. Is this going to be a reef tank or fowlr?

I also have an acrylic and they do scratch easily. I will say that when the tank is filled you barely see them. My tank is pretty scratched up already but you can only see them if you are within a foot of the tank.

Mostly fowler with a few corals and occasionally adding more when I find a good deal

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Mostly fowler with a few corals and occasionally adding more when I find a good deal

So it sounds like you may not be in the tank that much. Its up to you ultimately. 40" is tall, but I'm sure looks really cool. If its a good deal then I personally wouldn't pass it up, I will figure out how to deal with the height lol. What are the overall dimensions?

 

[ScubaSkeets]

So it sounds like you may not be in the tank that much. Its up to you ultimately. 40" is tall, but I'm sure looks really cool. If its a good deal then I personally wouldn't pass it up, I will figure out how to deal with the height lol. What are the overall dimensions?

72 long x 40 h x 30. I think it's a decent deal, but without saying what the price is, what would you consider a good deal?

 

[Gill the 3rd]

72 long x 40 h x 30. I think it's a decent deal, but without saying what the price is, what would you consider a good deal?

That's an interesting size. Will the tank be set up against a wall or peninsula style. Reason I ask is because getting to anything in the back of that tank is going to be brutal if you can only access it from the front and sides. Get yourself some goggles and a snorkel because the upper half of your body is going in the water if need to reach something back there lol.

As far as price - hard to say without seeing it, but shooting from the hip I would say $1000 or less is a good deal. How thick is the acrylic and does it come with anything else (stand, equipment, etc.)?

 

[ScubaSkeets]

That's an interesting size. Will the tank be set up against a wall or peninsula style. Reason I ask is because getting to anything in the back of that tank is going to be brutal if you can only access it from the front and sides. Get yourself some goggles and a snorkel because the upper half of your body is going in the water if need to reach something back there lol.

As far as price - hard to say without seeing it, but shooting from the hip I would say $1000 or less is a good deal. How thick is the acrylic and does it come with anything else (stand, equipment, etc.)?

It is peninsula style, but I'm not sure if I would set it up that way or along a wall. Includes stand, Canopy (that I wont use), sump, several media reactors, protein skimmer, gyre, and some more stuff I think. Cost is $1500

I didn't measure the thickness of it but it seems pretty think (3/4-1 inch?)

 

[piranhaman00]

How thick)l? Sounds great

 

[GARRIGA]

Place it on lower stand. Fill the bottom with pumice or something else light in weight to take up space. Just because it’s 40 tall doesn’t mean one needs to put it on a 30 stand and jump in to maintain it. Could also put in one massive undergravel filter solution with all that pumice or other media and have the flow exit to canisters. Now just stir the bottom with a long wand and get all that detritus flowing into the canister. I’ve actually considered this. Self contained AIO back to the future kind of thing. UG works. Seriously. Plus I have no scuba gear to jump in and clean.

 

[ScubaSkeets]

How thick)l? Sounds great

I didn't measure the thickness of it but it seems pretty thick (3/4-1 inch?)

 

[Gill the 3rd]

It is peninsula style, but I'm not sure if I would set it up that way or along a wall. Includes stand, Canopy (that I wont use), sump, several media reactors, protein skimmer, gyre, and some more stuff I think. Cost is $1500

I didn't measure the thickness of it but it seems pretty think (3/4-1 inch?)

Sounds like a good deal to me if it comes with all that stuff and they are in good shape. It will definitely be a great looking tank at that height and depth.

 

[piranhaman00]

I didn't measure the thickness of it but it seems pretty thick (3/4-1 inch?)

It should be at least 1.25” probably closer to 2” though

 

[ScubaSkeets]

It should be at least 1.25” probably closer to 2” though

It may be thicker than what I said, but it surely wasn't 2"

 

[Gill the 3rd]

FYI If I plug the dimensions in the calculator

 

[KrisReef]

72 long x 40 h x 30. I think it's a decent deal, but without saying what the price is, what would you consider a good deal?

If they buffed out the scratches and delivered it to my house for free, that would be a Fantastic deal.
Sweet deal would be less than $500, buffed

A good deal would be less then a grand, these tanks are expensive but scratches are a pain to repair and doubly so in a deep box, unless they are on a he exterior?

I have buffed out deep scratches once and it was a bit of work. When I got older I tried to buff a tank and overheated the buffing wheel and ruined the tank. Once they start to craze the whole tank will slowly go down the toilet.

Also, if you have any connections with an acrylic shop you might consider cutting the tank in two and have 2 shallow tanks from the one, just add a new bottom to the top tank and eurobrace the bottom. Buff the scratches while it’s open.

 

[Indymann99]

If they buffed out the scratches and delivered it to my house for free, that would be a Fantastic deal.
Sweet deal would be less than $500, buffed

A good deal would be less then a grand, these tanks are expensive but scratches are a pain to repair and doubly so in a deep box, unless they are on a he exterior?

I have buffed out deep scratches once and it was a bit of work. When I got older I tried to buff a tank and overheated the buffing wheel and ruined the tank. Once they start to craze the whole tank will slowly go down the toilet.

Also, if you have any connections with an acrylic shop you might consider cutting the tank in two and have 2 shallow tanks from the one, just add a new bottom to the top tank and eurobrace the bottom. Buff the scratches while it’s open.

My first though was to cut the tank down. I have had an acrylic tank for 15yrs and last year I tore it down, wet sanded, and polished, now its as good as day 1, I would not be afraid of the scratches unless they are deep.

 

[o2manyfish]

Three years ago I went from a 28" tall tank to a 560g that was 36" tall. Similar dimensions to yours but 10' and 36" tall. It was a beautiful aquarium. Prettiest tank I have ever owned in 50 years of aquarium keeping. But I HATED the tank. I had mine on a 36" tall stand - So you could stand in front of the tank and look eye level into the top of the tank. Mine was setup in the middle of the room with 4 side access. And I HATED the tank. I could barely reach over the top and the edge to feed the tank without needing a step stool. Anything that needed to be done in the tank required brining a 6' ladder into the house. Even with the ladder because of the size of the top bracing of the tank without climbing off the ladder and lying on top of the tank I could only really get to the top 12" of the tank.

15 Months ago we replaced that tank. As much as I hated that tank it was a very hard decision to order a new 750g tank without that height dimension. My new tank is 120x48x30. So it's definitely a squatty tank. And to work in the tank I still need to bring a ladder into the house. Because of the depth of this tank 48" front to back and it being backed up against the wall, the tank builder took my substantial size and ran it through a CAD program and built the acrylic top of the tank thick enough so I can lay on top of the tank and work on the back wall of the tank.

For a Fish Only tank I would consider a 36" or taller tank. They are beautiful. But for anything with corals its very frustrating to work with.

 

[ScubaSkeets]

My first though was to cut the tank down. I have had an acrylic tank for 15yrs and last year I tore it down, wet sanded, and polished, now its as good as day 1, I would not be afraid of the scratches unless they are deep.

Thanks but I really have no desire to cut the tank.

 

[MnFish1]

Hi folks! I am considering buying a used 350 gallon acrylic tank. It It is in decent shape although there are scratches that would need to be buffed out. It's eurobraced and very sturdy. My reluctance is that it us 40 inches tall! With it off the stand and me standing on a chair, leaning into the tank, I can barely reach the bottom.
Does anyone here have experience /opinions on a tank that tall?
Also how much of a task to buff it? The scratches seem to be just surface scratches, not even feeling them with my fingernail

If you have any hint of 'regret' - I wouldn't buy it. I have had tanks that tall - they are a hassle, make maintenance very difficult. Just my opinion

 

[ScubaSkeets]

Three years ago I went from a 28" tall tank to a 560g that was 36" tall. Similar dimensions to yours but 10' and 36" tall. It was a beautiful aquarium. Prettiest tank I have ever owned in 50 years of aquarium keeping. But I HATED the tank. I had mine on a 36" tall stand - So you could stand in front of the tank and look eye level into the top of the tank. Mine was setup in the middle of the room with 4 side access. And I HATED the tank. I could barely reach over the top and the edge to feed the tank without needing a step stool. Anything that needed to be done in the tank required brining a 6' ladder into the house. Even with the ladder because of the size of the top bracing of the tank without climbing off the ladder and lying on top of the tank I could only really get to the top 12" of the tank.

15 Months ago we replaced that tank. As much as I hated that tank it was a very hard decision to order a new 750g tank without that height dimension. My new tank is 120x48x30. So it's definitely a squatty tank. And to work in the tank I still need to bring a ladder into the house. Because of the depth of this tank 48" front to back and it being backed up against the wall, the tank builder took my substantial size and ran it through a CAD program and built the acrylic top of the tank thick enough so I can lay on top of the tank and work on the back wall of the tank.

For a Fish Only tank I would consider a 36" or taller tank. They are beautiful. But for anything with corals its very frustrating to work with.

Thanks! And what a beautiful tank!! I have a question though. Is there that much of a difference, maintenance wise, between a fowler and a reef tank? What would you physically be doing differently?