7' (84"-ish) tanks - who has one and what do you think?

[BackToTheReef]

My adventures in buying a house I had never seen means my original mega tanks plans have changed drastically and instead of building/buying a tank right off the bat I'll be getting one as a gift to myself once the house reno/fixes are complete.

I've got a spot I'm thinking about putting a 84"-ish tank (Marineland, Red Sea, or Glass Cages) flanked by a couple cube display 'fuges. I was wondering who has a 7' tank and what your thoughts were and/or pros/cons you have found with them. (especially lighting challenges)

Thanks everyone from a frustrated and still tankless hopeful reefer!!!

 

[blaxsun]

I’ve got a 71” Red Sea, and the only reason I didn’t go with the slightly larger models is because I didn’t think I’d be able to get anything larger down the stairs (tight 90 degree turn).

But if you have a spot for a larger tank, definitely go for it. And ideally, an adjacent room where you can plumb a water station for water changes and RO topoff.

 

[BackToTheReef]

I’ve got a 71” Red Sea, and the only reason I didn’t go with the slightly larger models is because I didn’t think I’d be able to get anything larger down the stairs (tight 90 degree turn).

But if you have a spot for a larger tank, definitely go for it. And ideally, an adjacent room where you can plumb a water station for water changes and RO topoff.

Same reason I can't do what I originally wanted to in the basement. Narrow stairs and tight 90 degree turns. Not even sure I could get a 6' tank down there. Unfortunately, if I do the tank upstairs all the water stuff and observation/quarantine/hospital stuff will have be downstairs.

 

[blaxsun]

Some good blankets/pads and 4 suction cups did the trick for me. Having all the water (etc.) stuff downstairs isn’t necessarily a bad thing, either.

 

[Kodski]

Just to chime in. As Blaxsun said, having most everything downstairs really isn't a bad thing. There are actually a lot of pros to having stuff in the basement. Equipment noise is a large one. Having all your equipment in the basement really makes a large difference. I have my tank plumbed to a room in the basement on the other side of the house. The only cons to this are running the plumbing and getting a return pump to handle the head pressure.

If I were to buy a new house or build a house, I'd probably do a fish room behind the tank, but the second best option for me would be to have one below the tank. I would have a hard time plumbing a sump directly under the tank again.


As for you original question, I can't be of much help as I don't own a tank larger than 6' but I can comment on weird sizes. As long as you don't plan on using LED bars or T5's as your main lighting, or you're on a tight budget, I don't see a down side to a 7' tank. If you decide to go with a panel light, or puck light, You'll be able to space them out to get proper coverage no problem. I do find with weird sizes it just tends to be less cost efficient though. Things like having to go up to a larger wavemaker to cover the extra foot, or an extra light for adequate coverage, ect.

 

[DH78]

I can’t say much as I’m still in my build, but I just got a 7 foot tank from glass cages. I chose 7 feet for a couple reasons.
Any longer and I wouldn’t have been able to get curbside delivery because it wouldn’t fight on the lift gate and the cost increased dramatically when going up to 8 feet.
I am starting with two kessil a9x lights. I’ll do par measurements once set up. I keep mostly lps and will place all the corals based on the par readings. If more light is needed for my coral, I’ll add some led strips like reefbrite.

 

[BackToTheReef]

Just to chime in. As Blaxsun said, having most everything downstairs really isn't a bad thing. There are actually a lot of pros to having stuff in the basement. Equipment noise is a large one. Having all your equipment in the basement really makes a large difference. I have my tank plumbed to a room in the basement on the other side of the house. The only cons to this are running the plumbing and getting a return pump to handle the head pressure.

If I were to buy a new house or build a house, I'd probably do a fish room behind the tank, but the second best option for me would be to have one below the tank. I would have a hard time plumbing a sump directly under the tank again.


As for you original question, I can't be of much help as I don't own a tank larger than 6' but I can comment on weird sizes. As long as you don't plan on using LED bars or T5's as your main lighting, or you're on a tight budget, I don't see a down side to a 7' tank. If you decide to go with a panel light, or puck light, You'll be able to space them out to get proper coverage no problem. I do find with weird sizes it just tends to be less cost efficient though. Things like having to go up to a larger wavemaker to cover the extra foot, or an extra light for adequate coverage, ect.

My original plan was to do everything in the basement but I don't think I can get much more than a 4' tank down the stairs b/c of two gnarly turns and an obscenely narrow stairwell. I had originally thought about plumbing the 'fuges and sump, etc. downstairs and only having the DT upstairs but the "fishroom" is in the opposite corner from where the DT would be.

The alternative would be to build a tank downstairs and either do plywood and glass so I can carry the panels down (I might be able to squeeze a 6' panel down the stairs. That way I could do a bit of an L to squeeze more tank down there or a slightly larger/longer rectangle.