Large tank build guidance

rwreef

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I currently have a 75g, 40 sump in wall reef I built about 6yrs ago. Now I'm about to refinish my basement and my wife said we should get a bigger aquarium. ;Woot
Happy wife, happy life, right?!

So I'm thinking about a 240 long. 96" x 24" x 24" aquarium. I have a great spot for the tank that will act as a room divider and I would also love it to be a peninsula style.

Questions:
1) single or multiple overflows?
It seems like a single would be a stretch on an 8ft tank...but would 2 overflows work with a peninsula style?
2) skimmer options? I currently have a reef octopus 202 classic on my 75.
3) Would a well built wood stand support the weight? Or do I need to make a metal stand?
4) glass / acrylic?
5) Any tips from large tank owners? What to avoid ...other options?


I've been reef keeping for 15 yrs. Which means I have no clue what I am doing ;)...but I know enough to be dangerous!

I appreciate the conversation.

Thanks,
-Rwreef
 

Randomwhiteguy89

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Hey rwreef let me start off by saying your on the right track by going right to the 240 most times people upgrade to a 125 or a 180 and a year or 2 down the road wish they would have went bigger.
I have a couple pointers for you first is the reef octopus 202 is an excellent skimmer and I believe it will get the job done and down the road if you fell it’s not enough it’s just a skimmer easily upgradable, as far as the overflow I know you said you wanted to go with a peninsula Style will you have viewing access from all 3 sides or just from each room and not the 3rd side Cause you have multiple options if you did want to go with one overflow I don’t see it being to much of a problem as long as you have nice circulation in the tank keeping the detritus suspended and a gyre on the opposite side of the tank flowing towards the overflow, if the tank will only be visible from the 2 sides you can put an over flow on both ends, and there’s the third option I’ve seen peninsula style tanks that have had had the one overflow on the end and on the opposite side of the tank about 3/4 of the way they drill a hole in the center and put an overflow in the middle of the tank and build a rock structure around it to hide it and lastly I don’t think you will have any issue building a stand out of wood that is strong enough there’s a youtuber called the king of diy that shows you how to build a stand for a 100 gallon 4’ tank and goes into detail about how much each piece of wood is rated to hold and what each screw is rated to withstand and by the time he’s done his stand is rated to hold more than double what he is putting on it so I’m sure if you took his same design and just doubled the length there would be no doubt if it would hold your tank and as far as glass or acrylic they both have pros and cons weight, cost, one scratches easier than the other I would just start looking around for them one that’s going to fit the build you desire and go from there
 
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rwreef

rwreef

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Agreed, with king of DIY. I built my 75g stand based on his ideas. Yah, peninsula style with a single overflow is my preference. I actually just found a thread on here where a guy built the same tank in the same basic configuration...I'm gonna dig into that thread. I appreciate the feedback!

What brand of gyre do you suggest?
 

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