How large of an aqauarium would you have?

[ClownWrangler]

Yes?

Might be easier just to seal the basement and fill it with water.

 

[Be102]

Might be easier just to seal the basement and fill it with water.

….. don’t give me any crazy ideas lol!

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Toooo many posts to read before I reply. Sorry if someone already mentioned this. I feel that the front to rear dimension is more important that volume. I would guide that this dimension be not less than the height for a reef tank. So, if 24" high, then at least 24" front to back.

Personally, we had our reef tank in mind when house shopping and wanted a basement. It is a 135 Gal Oceanic (6'x18"x24"). It would have been much better if it were 6'x24"x24" which would make it 180 Gal. While "bigger is better", I'd say a good compromise is what fits in the room/space with some "frame" around it to give it perspective (e.g. some wall for decor - - see 4FordFamily's tank), and what fits the length of your viewing (e.g. couch or chair width) width.

I've had 20 gall reefs and I know have my 135Gal plumbed together with my 50 Gal frag system. Other than cleaning glass and vacuuming sand, I don't know that the time sink for maintenance is as dependent on size as it is on system health. One exception, when all your frags start growing into each other and you have to manage that, then smaller is faster.

do you have a build on that 135+50? i have a 120 with a big enough sump i want to get a 50 fiji or something similar for frags and plumb them together side by side with a 5' gap between. im just starting to think about this and how i could do it with the 120 system up and running...... anyway do you have any pictures and information you would like to share on that set up, thats right up my alley :]

and i agree with you on the dimensions ,depth is better than height. A 24" deep tank looks good with almost any height and length. depth is the hardest thing to bring out in a picture ask a painter. the front glass is the best picture with tons of depth...go deep johnny...sorry to hijack a little

 

[Tamberav]

Can you afford the cost of a huge tank? Look at skimmer and lighting prices. Make sure you can make ATO water to keep up too and that your house foundation can handle it. Even a cement slab needs to be strong enough.

Around 300g max would probably keep me happy but I am not a huge Tang person.

 

[Hydrored]

Can you afford the cost of a huge tank? Look at skimmer and lighting prices. Make sure you can make ATO water to keep up too and that your house foundation can handle it. Even a cement slab needs to be strong enough.

Around 300g max would probably keep me happy but I am not a huge Tang person.

I agree with this, I went with an 84x33x25 for my new build because that's all I could fit through the few doors it has to go through. I'm in the process of building out my dream tank and it gets expensive quickly once you start doubling the light, flow, mixing station, RO supply, heaters, power requirements, etc.

My tank was unfortunately damaged (blemished) so a new one is being made, if you are looking for a tank @Joe Glass Cages has my fully optioned tank done with a small blemish on the front I'm sure he would be happy to sell you.

 

[MONTANTK]

It’s important to consider the cost (both time and money) of maintenance. A 7ft tank will probably be pushing 300g. That’s a minimum of 30g of saltwater per week which results in a few hundred dollar of salt per year at a minimum. Then you have the cost to stock it, the cost for trace elements and so on. If you have the time and money, a 7ft tank is very manageable. A 30g tank and a 300g tank still require the same care, it just gets more timely.

 

[GHOSTLY]

3' by 3' by 3' aio cube

 

[JoshH]

Biggest tank I would do would be 72" L x 42" W x 20" H which works out to 260 Gallons, roughly. As mentioned above, consider the exponentially larger costs invovled with such an upgrade. Cool to see you looking at a bigger tank @Be102

 

[G Santana]

I currently have a 130 gallon, my wife and I are possibly looking at a cross country move within a few years, I'll go on one condition, that I can upgrade my tank. Now I have time, but I plan on going BIG lol

 

[Schraufabagel]

My dream build is a 6 foot peninsula tank. The ~160 gallons allows for foxface, tangs, anthias, and many other larger reef safe fish or schooling fish

 

[KarlsReef]

Dream would be something massive, like really massive but realistically I think 500g would be most that could be managed... Until that lottery win comes in then sky's the limit.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

the biggest tank i have kept is only 22 gallons, but the biggest i could keep is probably a few hundred gallons

 

[Clownfish2]

That’s the funny thing… the water volume isn’t much larger from a 6 foot to a 8 foot tank… I am getting a little crazy but could literally make it at least 8 feet.. but where would I start looking for tanks that big? I don’t want to need a moving company to get everything inside…

If you have a LFS. Purchase a tank and delivery through them.

I did just that. Bought a 7 foot through my LFS, a Planet 220 gallon. LFS got a percentage of the sale and they had the men and equipment to deliver into my house. There was no way I could get this 500 pound tank into my house or trust local movers on Craigslist who have zero experience lifting a glass aquarium.

 

[Cabinetman]

I always liked the idea of a 10 ft x 3ft x 2ft +/- tall. If I got it id want 12 x 4 x 2 after.

My tank upgrades brought me to a 10’x 38”x29” tank. After each upgrade I’ve wanted to go bigger but not this time. I still look at it everyday and the “holy crap that’s a big tank” goes through my head lol

 

[Backreefing]

If I had my way ( wife , money , availability ) I would go from my 90 gallon18”/25”/48” to a 24”/26-30”/60” . Why 60” ? Because only two lights will still cover the footprint of the aquarium. Saves money on lights and electricity. But still would be huge .

 

[Soren]

I think my ideal maximum size is between a 180 (72" long, 24" wide, 24" tall) and a 360 (96" long, 36" wide, 24" tall).
Anything smaller is somewhat restrictive for my desired fishes and coral space, and anything larger seems overwhelming in cost, maintenance, and viewing interest as well.