Big tank in a small room -- is it possible?

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

My tank is 6 feet long, 24” wide and 30” tall. I absolutely *love* the 30” depth and wouldn’t change it for anything, but I will warn you that it can be kind of a pain too. I can barely reach the bottom of the tank, especially the bottom on the far side... I have often wound up putting my nose in the water as I try to reach something on the very bottom of the far side of the tank. I have a set of 30” grabbers that I can use for some things, but trying to glue corals in place is something that really needs to be done by hand and can be a pain toward the bottom of the tank. Like I said, I love the extra height and I wouldn’t change it, but do be aware of what you’re getting yourself into.

The 24” width is also nice to give a lot of space for swimming room in front of the rocks without making things feel crowded. I’d have a really hard time trying to choose if I could only pick one.... 24” width or 30” height.

If you are looking at glass tanks, the other thing to consider is the weight. Like I said, my tank is 72x24x30 and my tank weighs over 400lbs empty. It was a real effort to get my tank moved from my garage to my living room and I can’t even imagine trying to get it down a set of stairs that it barely fits through.

Oops, I meant 30" in terms of width... ie the tank would be 18" 'deep' from top to bottom and 30" 'deep'/'wide' from front to back. However I still think your comment stands because reaching towards the back of a tank configured as described would also be a challenge, especially at 8' trying to reach the back middle!

The tank itself will be acrylic for that purpose -- it would be an incredible challenge to get a heavy glass tank squeezed through my condo and down the stairwell -- I seriously think it would end up in injury or a broken tank or foot! The acrylic should be significantly lighter and actually more affordable through the supplier I am working with.

 

[skydirt]

I personally like the shallow / wider tank. 96x30x18 would be awesome. i have two tanks that are only 16" tall and love them. They are the standard waterbox 105 frag and the new 165 frag

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

I personally like the shallow / wider tank. 96x30x18 would be awesome. i have two tanks that are only 16" tall and love them. They are the standard waterbox 105 frag and the new 165 frag

Have you had any issues lighting them? The a360x max spread is 24"... the T5's and halides should help, but I'm sure I'll have some very low PAR spots. I'm going to build a light rack so I could always fine tune light placement and add more down the road if needed I suppose. I'd love to see some pics of your aquascapes!

 

[Brett S]

Oops, I meant 30" in terms of width... ie the tank would be 18" 'deep' from top to bottom and 30" 'deep'/'wide' from front to back. However I still think your comment stands because reaching towards the back of a tank configured as described would also be a challenge, especially at 8' trying to reach the back middle!

In that case I’d probably go for 24x24. I really like depth and I feel like 18” would be pretty limiting for rock and coral placement. Plus you’re already concerned about space in your small room. Having the tank come out an extra 6” would only take up more space.

 

[skydirt]

Have you had any issues lighting them? The a360x max spread is 24"... the T5's and halides should help, but I'm sure I'll have some very low PAR spots. I'm going to build a light rack so I could always fine tune light placement and add more down the road if needed I suppose. I'd love to see some pics of your aquascapes!

I have two a360x over the 48x24x16. It's attached to the main 400g. The new 165 is 6ft x 26x 16 and I'm still setting it in place in my frag tank spot. It will be lit by 3 radion g5 xr30 or 6 xr15. Not sure yet.

this is the 105 mangrove tank

 

[fishguy242]

skip the 18,skip the 30, standard 8x2x2 240

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

Y'all are too reasonable. I was hoping you'd push me towards a ridiculous setup so I can act irresponsibly

@skydirt love the aquascape that tank looks fantastic!

 

[skydirt]

Y'all are too reasonable. I was hoping you'd push me towards a ridiculous setup so I can act irresponsibly

@skydirt love the aquascape that tank looks fantastic!

Thanks. I have a really cool nsa scape I'm working on for the 165. Will have integrated frag racks built in but look natural

 

[ZoWhat]

IMO a beautiful tank should be in a high traffic area so 1) it can be enjoyed visually by EVERYONE, 2) can be accessed easily.

You put it in a place you have to go to it...rather than it being near you.... doesn't make sense to me.

Out of the way things get neglected

If you gotta go out of your way to go look at it.... forget it, sell it and create a Wine Cellar. Or a Growout Mary Jane room. Lol


.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

Agreed but I spend the majority of time in my office. If I'm not in my office I'm watching a movie upstairs, cooking, or I'm out playing with the dog or surfing. My office is where all my passions are: aquarium, coding, gaming, cameras, 3d printing, etc. The tank is for me first and foremost but I do agree with your point being able to show it off to everyone. The problem is I live in a small condo on a terrace and the living space is on the upper level. For me to fit any tank, even a small one, would require significant remodeling work to accommodate it in a natural way and structural work to support the load -- permanent modifications in a place that isn't my forever home. Directly on the slab it's a matter of building the stand and that's it. I think it's just a tradeoff. My dream home will have an epic peninsula in it that visitors will see the minute they step in

Anyways, I'm thinking the best idea (as previously mentioned) is to stick the tank in the closet. The closet doors need to be replaced anyways and the shelving in there is junk so not a big deal to tear out. The closet measures 93"x24" at the opening / inside dimensions. I can have the tank made 92"x24" and have it sit flush against the outside of the closet with some wiggle room behind the tank and around the sides. I'll need to measure if the inside pocket in the closet will afford me enough room to mount my MP40's, although I wouldn't be heartbroken if I had to switch to a different powerhead.

That closet backs a bathroom, but I'm unwilling to make that a fish room because it violates my first rule of not making significant modifications to the home. However, I am willing to use that tub as a water station and punch some holes through the drywall to make water changes easy (ie drain to tub and pump from water bin in tub to sump).

My concern here is moisture but I think I can combat that by ventilating the area well (maybe some computer fans on a timer or something). Other concern is there's no outlet in the closet so... I'm not an electrician but how would I overcome that?

Here's the 93"x24" closet (with ~3" on the left side pocket and another ~4" depth if accounting for the slider track that will be removed).

I have some existing 40g containers for RO and salt water mixing that I can keep in the tub... and I can run pipe through the drywall for water changes (or it could be just as easy to unfurl some vinyl tubing around the corner). This bathroom needs some remodel love but I'm not ready to commit to it so I'd prefer not to make it a permanent fish room in the interim.

 

[Brett S]

Anyways, I'm thinking the best idea (as previously mentioned) is to stick the tank in the closet.

You’re welcome. I really do think that’s the best idea though. I’m sure you could put something on the face above and below the tank to help it blend in to the room without it being too permanent.

That closet backs a bathroom,

Is it just me or does that bathtub look like it would be an excellent sump?

Other concern is there's no outlet in the closet so... I'm not an electrician but how would I overcome that?

If you’re already punching a hole through the drywall for plumbing then I’d just run a power strip to the outlet in the bathroom as well. The bathroom should already have a GFCI, but if not you should put one in.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

You’re welcome. I really do think that’s the best idea though. I’m sure you could put something on the face above and below the tank to help it blend in to the room without it being too permanent.



Is it just me or does that bathtub look like it would be an excellent sump?



If you’re already punching a hole through the drywall for plumbing then I’d just run a power strip to the outlet in the bathroom as well. The bathroom should already have a GFCI, but if not you should put one in.

All great ideas, thanks. There is a GFCI in the bathroom and I can cleanly run a couple power strips to the tank from there. Hopefully 2 power strips is enough.

I was thinking the bath tub would be the frag tank! lol.

My dad is a great woodworker so I'm sure he can make some sort of face to help the aquarium blend in. Even if not, it's my office and hobby room and I'm not as concerned with looks as I am functionality.

I am a little worried about not having access to the sides of the tank though. At 24" high and wide it shouldn't be too bad getting to the back of the tank, but I've never worked on a big tank from only one side before.

I'm going to build the stand so it is open on the back and sides for airflow and in case some water gets in there I can reach in through the stand and clean it up.

 

[mphammer]

Big-ish tank in small room over here. I have a 6ft 220 gallon in a 12x12 room that serves as my office.
I love it. Really gives the tank a large feel. I had to get creative with my water mixing station, which I put in the office closet.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

After much thought, the tank has been ordered. Advanced Acrylics 8'x2'x2' with external bean animal overflow, 1.25" bulkheads, and 2 returns, 1" bulkheads. Black back and bottom. I'm so excited! It will be done in one week -- they were very accommodating with my accelerated schedule due to my current situation. Going to keep the tank out in the open and keep the closet for storage. Can't wait!!!!!!!!

 

[fishguy242]

going to love that size ,good choice

 

[eag]

@i_declare_bankruptcy I have a (much) smaller tank in a similar sized room that I spent a lot of time in (my office). The building I'm in was built in the early 2000's.

I really struggled (and still do) with low pH due to high CO2 levels in my apartment air. I attribute the problem to the small room that I am in a lot, but maybe there are other factors. My pH was low enough to harm my corals. Just something to keep in mind. You may consider running a skimmer line out to fresh air if possible...

 

[Tcook]

Out in the open will be nice. That way you can look down the sides.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

@i_declare_bankruptcy I have a (much) smaller tank in a similar sized room that I spent a lot of time in (my office). The building I'm in was built in the early 2000's.

I really struggled (and still do) with low pH due to high CO2 levels in my apartment air. I attribute the problem to the small room that I am in a lot, but maybe there are other factors. My pH was low enough to harm my corals. Just something to keep in mind. You may consider running a skimmer line out to fresh air if possible...

That's a great point and partially why I decided to put the tank in the open and not in the closet. It will be very easy to get fresh (safe) air for skimmer or however else I choose to get it in the tank. Great point!

 

[Razorp]

I know I’m late to this, but I have a similar size room that is my “fish room”. 12x12.
I have a 180 gallon custom built tank and a 16g biocube reef tank, along with couch and tv and Xbox.
Attached best picture I could find to show the space it took up. The small reef is to the right before the tv stand