How wide should I go? Peninsula build aspiration

[ruxsir]

Hello all,

In the beginning stages of thinking about building a large peninsula!

I am undecided on how wide. Light and flow are certainly considerations.

Definitely want a glass tank. And pretty much set on 12 feet long and 2.5 feet tall.

Let me know your thoughts on what you would prefer, what makes more sense, and your reason for your choice!

 

[Mechano]

The height may drive u mad unless you have the most amazing tongs or scuba gear lol.

Honestly wide is awesome. My none-peninsula system is 30” W and 18” H and 72” L. It’s really nice having the width to put some sand dwelling corals that are large like acanthophyllia or indophyllia and such. So my vote goes to more width the better

 

[esquare]

The idea of wider is cool but I'm not sure of the maintenance difficulty with that tall of a tank and that wide.

 

[twentyleagues]

At 12' long I'd go 4' wide it would look better and give you plenty of options. Plus glass sheets typically come in 4' widths according to a glass shop I talked to. They said typically when they get a glass order most of the sheets are like typical plywood 8x4'. I have been looking at building a large plywood tank for years, had all the wood and epoxy to do it years ago then "stuff" happened. I wanted a glass piece for the front in 5/8" or 16mm 7'x 30" They said If I wanted that no problem but it would be more cost effective with less waste to get 24" as I'd be buying the whole 8x4 sheet and just paying for cuts and polish and I'd have 3 pieces of usable glass.

 

[ruxsir]

The height may drive u mad unless you have the most amazing tongs or scuba gear lol.

Honestly wide is awesome. My none-peninsula system is 30” W and 18” H and 72” L. It’s really nice having the width to put some sand dwelling corals that are large like acanthophyllia or indophyllia and such. So my vote goes to more width the better

Wider is definitely what I am leaning towards. 36” seems too skinny at that length for those types of corals on the sandbed.

 

[ruxsir]

The idea of wider is cool but I'm not sure of the maintenance difficulty with that tall of a tank and that wide.

I like the look of a taller tank, versus a shallow tank at that length seems like it would give the appearance of a slit in the field of view. If that makes sense.

 

[ruxsir]

At 12' long I'd go 4' wide it would look better and give you plenty of options. Plus glass sheets typically come in 4' widths according to a glass shop I talked to. They said typically when they get a glass order most of the sheets are like typical plywood 8x4'. I have been looking at building a large plywood tank for years, had all the wood and epoxy to do it years ago then "stuff" happened. I wanted a glass piece for the front in 5/8" or 16mm 7'x 30" They said If I wanted that no problem but it would be more cost effective with less waste to get 24" as I'd be buying the whole 8x4 sheet and just paying for cuts and polish and I'd have 3 pieces of usable glass.

The aqua scaping I’ve seen in 4’ wide tanks is so much more appealing than 3’ wide in longer tanks imo. Wonder how much of a difference the height would make if the sheet needs to be longer than 8’ anyways. Good point tho.

 

[twentyleagues]

The aqua scaping I’ve seen in 4’ wide tanks is so much more appealing than 3’ wide in longer tanks imo. Wonder how much of a difference the height would make if the sheet needs to be longer than 8’ anyways. Good point tho.

I'm not sure either but they said they could custom order any length I wanted. What I was going to get would have given me 2-7'x23&7/8" and 1 4'x11&7/8" roughly. It seemed like the length was variable while the width wasn't. But, who knows.

 

[ruxsir]

Here’s another question…

Would you all go with a sandbed or bare bottom?

The benefits of a bare bottom are attractive but it’s hard to beat the look of a clean sandbed imo.

 

[esquare]

Here’s another question…

Would you all go with a sandbed or bare bottom?

The benefits of a bare bottom are attractive but it’s hard to beat the look of a clean sandbed IMO.

I went through this question when I set up my current tank. You're right, its a trade off and depends on personal preference and what you are planning to keep. The bb approach shines more with SPS, IMO, than LPS and since I planned on keeping mostly LPS I went with sand.

 

[ruxsir]

I went through this question when I set up my current tank. You're right, it’s a trade off and depends on personal preference and what you are planning to keep. The bb approach shines more with SPS, IMO, than LPS and since I planned on keeping mostly LPS I went with sand.

The benefits are awesome I can’t argue that, for me it’s just really hard to give up the look of sand. Just think it’s hard to beat. I always want to keep animals that “need” a sandbed.

However, not having to vacuum a sand bed is such a plus. Decisions decisions.

 

[Gman83]

I voted for the wider

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Mine is not as long as yours. However, at 4 foot reaching across into 30" deep will require a wet suit. Mine is 96x36x25. I read over and over about people regretting the 30" depth. I am 6'4 and I can barely touch the bottom of a 25 without a step stool. There is a great episode on BRStv where Ryan builds his tank out of pvc pipe (360 I think) and attempts to work in it. That was what I needed to see when I was thinking through my build. But that build is going to be incredible. Good Luck!!!

 

[ruxsir]

Mine is not as long as yours. However, at 4 foot reaching across into 30" deep will require a wet suit. Mine is 96x36x25. I read over and over about people regretting the 30" depth. I am 6'4 and I can barely touch the bottom of a 25 without a step stool. There is a great episode on BRStv where Ryan builds his tank out of pvc pipe (360 I think) and attempts to work in it. That was what I needed to see when I was thinking through my build. But that build is going to be incredible. Good Luck!!!

Great point, I will have to build a model like that.