New set up

Brian Reagan · Sep 19, 2016

Hello all,
I am in the planning stages for a new tank. I used to have saltwater fish tanks 10 to 15 years ago but never did reef. I am looking for advice on the necessities to start my build (ie tank size, acrylic or glass, lighting, filtration etc) I have an area 6' wide to work with. I am thinking I want anywhere from a 180 gallon to 300. Is it better to have a 24" deep tank or deeper? TIA

Pruett-nc · Sep 19, 2016

Welcome to R2R . The doctors will be with you shortly to answer your questions . 300 is a sure big tank .

lion king · Sep 19, 2016

A 180 is 6'x2'x2', so with the stand I think it's going to be too long for the space you are looking to put it. The deeper the tank the more you will be spending on lighting to get that deep. Acrylic is substantially more expensive than glass, and there's nothing wrong with a glass tank. Get a drilled tank to use with a sump, a protein skimmer and live rock will make up the bulk of your filtration. Consider the fish you would like to keep as well, do they require a longer tank or a deeper tank. A wide tank is also cool because you can aquascape with depth, that gives an awesome look. Google tank dimensions to get an idea of the size tanks you can fit in that space.

4FordFamily · Sep 19, 2016

Welcome home, you will love it here!

Brian Reagan · Sep 19, 2016

lion king said:
A 180 is 6'x2'x2', so with the stand I think it's going to be too long for the space you are looking to put it. The deeper the tank the more you will be spending on lighting to get that deep. Acrylic is substantially more expensive than glass, and there's nothing wrong with a glass tank. Get a drilled tank to use with a sump, a protein skimmer and live rock will make up the bulk of your filtration. Consider the fish you would like to keep as well, do they require a longer tank or a deeper tank. A wide tank is also cool because you can aquascape with depth, that gives an awesome look. Google tank dimensions to get an idea of the size tanks you can fit in that space.

Thank you, I am thinking of doing a 60"x 30" x 30", it would be a 230 gallon. I'm concerned about cleaning and arranging a 30" deep tank, is this a problem?

lion king · Sep 19, 2016

I have a 210, 29" deep and yes it is challenging to get into it; and I've kind of got monkey arms(hehe) meaning long. There's a variety of tools you can buy to help, but arranging the rocks were very challenging.

Brian Reagan · Sep 19, 2016

lion king said:
I have a 210, 29" deep and yes it is challenging to get into it; and I've kind of got monkey arms(hehe) meaning long. There's a variety of tools you can buy to help, but arranging the rocks were very challenging.

Would usually recommend against it, or is it worth the trouble?

jsker · Sep 19, 2016

Welcome to R2R,
Budget, plan, glass. This sounds like it is going to be a fun adventure. I took a break for about the same amount of time, and wow things have changed. One other thing is this is a good place to ask away, and get answers.

Chrisfish · Sep 19, 2016

Welcome to R2R, you've come to the best place. Lots of helpful people here that are more than willing to help with any question you might have

ZJedi945 · Sep 19, 2016

Welcome back to the hobby and to R2R. I personally would never get a tank deeper than 30 inches unless it was under 20 inches tall. I really do not want to have any issues trying to get something in or out of the back of the tank.

Glass for sure... At least I think so. Acrylic has that wonderful tendency to scratch and because of that and a few other reasons I will stay away from them. Lets just say I have seen a few with seams that didn't last.

Lighting... now this is where you will get TONS of opinions. You have to do what you can afford and what you want. LED, T5 and MH all have there pros and cons. Best thing to do is write out a list with the pros and cons of each and go with the clear winner. You could also mix and match. T5s with LED stunner strips are pretty cool. Currently I am debating on my decision to drop T5s and go to Radions. The ATI dimmable fixture is cool BUT the cost of bulbs is what is stopping me.

Filtration.... I will reference what I will always use and tell people about. NewYorkSteelo - How to setup a sump Refugium It has been working for me for 5 years now. Of course I changed a little here and there. I have a skimz skimmer but the setup in general is the same.

Brian Reagan · Sep 19, 2016

ZJedi945 said:
Welcome back to the hobby and to R2R. I personally would never get a tank deeper than 30 inches unless it was under 20 inches tall. I really do not want to have any issues trying to get something in or out of the back of the tank.

Glass for sure... At least I think so. Acrylic has that wonderful tendency to scratch and because of that and a few other reasons I will stay away from them. Lets just say I have seen a few with seams that didn't last.

Lighting... now this is where you will get TONS of opinions. You have to do what you can afford and what you want. LED, T5 and MH all have there pros and cons. Best thing to do is write out a list with the pros and cons of each and go with the clear winner. You could also mix and match. T5s with LED stunner strips are pretty cool. Currently I am debating on my decision to drop T5s and go to Radions. The ATI dimmable fixture is cool BUT the cost of bulbs is what is stopping me.

Filtration.... I will reference what I will always use and tell people about. NewYorkSteelo - How to setup a sump Refugium It has been working for me for 5 years now. Of course I changed a little here and there. I have a skimz skimmer but the setup in general is the same.

Good point about getting to back of the tank.
I am considering the 60 x 30 x 30 tank due to getting a really good deal that comes with the lion share of what I would need to get started. The sump has a protein skimmer and refugium section.

Brian Reagan · Sep 19, 2016

jsker said:
Welcome to R2R,
Budget, plan, glass. This sounds like it is going to be a fun adventure. I took a break for about the same amount of time, and wow things have changed. One other thing is this is a good place to ask away, and get answers.

Thank you, I have been following this site for a couple weeks, everyone seems very helpful!

cameronh · Sep 19, 2016

Welcome to reef2reef!

ZJedi945 · Sep 19, 2016

Brian Reagan said:
Good point about getting to back of the tank.
I am considering the 60 x 30 x 30 tank due to getting a really good deal that comes with the lion share of what I would need to get started. The sump has a protein skimmer and refugium section.

Well in that case go for it. I mean that sounds like a great tank! I can't wait to see some photos of everything you are going to get.

lion king · Sep 19, 2016

I had the space for a 180 which is 24" high or a 210 which is 29", the extra height is very visually appealing to me. I also had a custom stand built to 36", standard is 30". I wanted the tank to be viewed primarily from a standing position, all things you need to think about. Try to cover all the bases especially with a large tank and a big investment. It would be great if you could see the difference in person, it is worth it to me.