Building a Large Peninsula - any advice

[chome360]

Hi everyone, wanted to post my most likely specs anne a custom build tank I'm about to pull the trigger on. I'm relatively new to the hobby, have had my first tank set up about 7 months now. I just want to dive into the deep end and get after it.

Still have a lot of overall design decisions to make, but I'm starting with the tank itself. I'm about to pull the trigger on a custom built peninsula style 86 in long, 42 in wide, 28 in tall. Wanted to stay a little bit on the taller side. I think it equals about 417 gallons. Going in my basement which is on slab.

I know those those dimensions are a little wider than usual, any major challenges you see with that? I'm thinking Flo in general probably be challenging, but I imagine I can figure that out. Likely going to go with an aluminum stand, ATI Stratton lights, not sure on sump or plumbing decisions at all, but I'll do that next.

But all in all the tank is not going to be cheap, likely in the range of 10 grand. Just wanted to bounce it off this group before I push that through, I was originally thinking I'd go with 36 wide or even 40.

 

[Fish Fan]

Sounds like a big project, but should be an awesome tank when completed! I know many R2R members have very large tanks, so I'll give this a bump and hopefully one of them can help you.

Good luck!

 

[AmateurAlchemist]

Having doubled the size of my tank earlier this year, it isn't as big of a challenge as you'd think.

More flow comes from more pumps and powerheads, more light means more lights. Everything is just bigger, more time consuming and in larger quantities.

Some things to think about specific to big tanks are-

• Running costs- even fish food is a sizeable expenditure at this size, never mind dosing, mechanical filtration, RO system upkeep and salt.
• Spare parts- 6x the number of lights means 6x the chance of failure and more risk if something critical does fail. Budget for a spare for anything critical now.
• Power- the sheer amount of power may mean you need a dedicated circuit. Lots of power bricks and cables to manage. Backups take more than a few batteries at this scale.
• Humidity.

Good luck, don't forget the build thread

 

[chome360]

Thanks for the input! solid considerations, I'll defintely post about the build as I go. Right now I'm stuck on pulling he trigger for one reason, do I go with the 86 long by 42 wide peninsula, or with a 96 long by 36 wide peninsula. They're both the same capacity, 419 gallons vs 417, it's just a matter of going with a little more length or a little more width... The space can handle either, it's basically going in the middle of my daylight basement, splitting the room. Any opinions??

 

[AmateurAlchemist]

I'd go wider. It enables a more three dimensional scape rather than a line of rocks down the middle. You get to watch the fish swim around the tank rather than just up and down it.

 

[chome360]

I'd go wider. It enables a more three dimensional scape rather than a line of rocks down the middle. You get to watch the fish swim around the tank rather than just up and down it.

Great point! That's what I'm hoping for. Will go wider.

 

[lubeck]

I’ve found flow difficult in a peninsula if you are planning on sand. If it’s sps dominate I would advise no sand.

My future build I want to do 96x60x30

Looking forward to your build thread

 

[csund]

I’d go with 48x96 footprint , standard sheet sizes are similar so I the cost likely won’t be much more.

I would go with Acrylic, never have to worry about when one of the long seams will go. I had a 1” thick (top and bottom as w lol) 48x96x25” acrylic aquarium built for about 7k a few years back. Yes it scratches, but you can easily repair them.

Eurobrace is nice, helps minimize splashes and runs down the panes.

I designed an overflow box with Modular Marine that incorporates the return nozzle through the exterior box and through the internal weir to allow a centered return and maximize the overflow width.

My stand protrudes 8” past the back of my tank. This sumps sits further back and my three drains can drop straight down with the elbows.

I played around a lot with flow. I started with ECM42’s (already owned), two 6255’s on sea-sweeps and two of the larger older gyres. Not completely happy with those solutions, I finally ordered two ECM63’s and am glad I bit the bullet. The flow is gentle but vast, all the water moves throughout the tank without destroying all my torches and the SPS are super happy. I’d buy the USB adapter (owned already for ECM42’s) so you can upload the pump1 and 2 premade wave profiles from Panta’s site. I’m using the counter wave profile.

Extruded aluminum stands are excellent, and allow mounting or adding panels without drilling holes into the stand. Inevitably, gear will change and having a bunch of old holes would annoy me.

For lighting, I would go with bars if you don't plan on having a canopy. Having all cords on one end leads to a much cleaner look and eases cord management.

Even though it’s a larger tank, keep it at simple as possible. Less failure points. Also don’t incorporate odd equipment directly to plumbing. If you do, do it in a way that you can remove that item and easily install something else without having to redo the main plumbing.

External skimmer with huge collection container!

 

[buruskeee]

My advice is only go as wide as you are capable of reaching the bottom middle (or surface of shortest part of the scape) of the tank from both sides.

The taller the tank, the harder it will be for you to reach down if needed.

 

[chome360]

I’ve found flow difficult in a peninsula if you are planning on sand. If it’s sps dominate I would advise no sand.

My future build I want to do 96x60x30

Looking forward to your build thread

Love your planned dimensions. I wanted to go bigger than my current plan, but this was the largest I can go and still get residential delivery. Bigger means I have to ship it to a terminal nearby then figure out how to get it home. Reached out to a few local companies and was surprised to only hit dead ends. How are you handling that?

 

[lubeck]

Love your planned dimensions. I wanted to go bigger than my current plan, but this was the largest I can go and still get residential delivery. Bigger means I have to ship it to a terminal nearby then figure out how to get it home. Reached out to a few local companies and was surprised to only hit dead ends. How are you handling that?

I’m not that far into the build. I’m two years out. But I have access to a few box trucks with a lift gate if I need to pick up at a terminal

Renting is also an option.