Peninsula Reef Tanks: What needs to be considered and do you, did you or would you?

[Sushitheshiba]

I think flow really is a major challenge. I have a 5ft tank and i thought having 2 gyre x250s by the overflow side would be good enough as most of us know those things can move water. Then I noticed that some “floaties” settled at the water surface of the far end of the tank. To me, that meant that there’s some stagnant areas in the tank.
Also, scape can be a challenge too. Now that you have more viewing areas, it has to be visually pleasing on all 3 sides.
So mixing the scape and flow challenges was definitely not fun lol
In the end, it really depends on what your goal is for your tank. My fishes are happy. Most corals are happy, some sps not so happy. I did get rid of my gyres and switched to 3 Octopulse powerheads.

 

[Double monti 61]

Like the three side views

 

[jmatt]

I have Gyre pumps at each end. They were pushing the water to the middle. Since the return and overflow are at the same end I wasn't satisfied with surface skimming. I used flex lines under the hood from the return to the opposite end of the tank. That let the surface get pushed continually toward the overflow.

I've been wondering about something like that. Can you post a few pics? No issues?

 

[bpbonds]

I use 2 MP40's on the Overflow side to get enough flow on my 5 foot Peninsula tank, no issues with flow, I don't like the look of having a wave pumps on the 3rd pane it obstructs the view. I don't think I would ever go back to any other aquarium the overall look is very pleasing to the eye.

 

[nbagnardi]

I had one set up. Proper placement of the tank itself and correct flow with a limited aqua scape were my biggest issues. My area just wasn’t big enough and the wifey didn’t like the setting so it ended up getting painted and tucked into a corner. From there it was flow issues. Dead spots galore from what seemed to be open enough scapes.
I love the idea of them but I just couldn’t make mine work, especially after the boss axed the placement.

 

[rhostam]

Placement is key. These tanks are viewed from three sides. This limits placement options unless you are okay obstructing a view. But then why bother? If you have spot that allows appreciation of the tank from all viewable sides, then definitely consider a peninsula

Support. As with any tank, ensuring you have proper support for the tank is important. You can damage flooring it even sub floor structure. Thankfully my joists run perpendicular to the tank orientation and a steel beam supports these joists and is also parallel to the tank immediately above it. I think Reef Dudes has a good video explaining this with his structural engineer.

Biggest concerning, I think, is dealing with optimizing flow. With a relatively smaller overflow surface area at the far end of one side of the tank, ensuring stuff makes it inside can be a problem. I placed my powerheads to force water to circulate counter clockwise so that matter wouldn’t accumulate at the end of the tank opposite the overflow.

They make svelte room dividers that won’t ever go unnoticed (even in the ugly stage!).

 

[Captmcfly]

I would definitely do one if I had the appropriate space to accommodate one. I live in a ranch style home and am finishing up a build on a 120 in wall. My homes layout wouldn’t work for a tank sticking out into a room. The 270deg view would be cool tho

 

[Freddy0144]

I think these tanks are absolutely beautiful, however there is a down side, being able to see through the tank all the time can be some what distracting. I think if the tank has enough depth (or is wide enough) this may be less distracting. The one I had setup was only 18" wide, and I found that being able to see through it was distracting. The nice part is that there is more viewing space and I think that seeing more of the tank makes it more enjoyable, not to mention they can make really cool room dividers and with an open floor plan the tank can be seen from almost everywhere.

 

[reef80]

Got one and love one- somethings to consider. Mainly for sps but may apply to other corals also.

The deeper the tank the better because rockwork in the middle don’t really allow the corals to grow out if the tank is not that deep. Mine is 36inch and this was taken in Jan of this year. Things are much more overgrown now and I’ll run into problem by end of this year with corals sticking out too far and my glass cleaner hitting it when I clean the glass. Corals will forsure hit my glass in another year so that is about 2-3 years of sps from 1-2inch frags.

Make sure to also get external overflow so it’s much cleaner for looks and more room in tank to work with.

Think what challenges with flow if it’s a 6 or more foot and you only plan to have flow on one side unless you run it in both sides but then that will take away from the frontal look.

Have fun as I love penni tanks!

 

[Shon]

That is the plan. 40b peninsula. 2x icecap 2k (halved w/ nem-guards) on each side of eshopps eclipse s centered overflow and over top return(s).

Working out how to cantilever the light (ati t5 hybrid) since I won't be able to hang from ceiling. Maybe full canopy instead. Still planning out where/how ato, dosing, controller. Still planning sump..

 

[bluecheese]

I have an overflow on each side of my tank at work. So it’s a double peninsula? Is that a thing?

 

[rtparty]

I have an overflow on each side of my tank at work. So it’s a double peninsula? Is that a thing?

No.

Peninsula, as we talk about here, has 2 long viewing sides and 1 shorter viewing side. Overflow placement doesn't matter

 

[doubleshot00]

I always look at peninsula tanks for rich folks that have excess room in there house

Flow would be my concern.

 

[Rjramos]

This is a 65 gal I installed at my previous firehouse. Been running since 2013 very well, although the tank(Custom 48x24x14) was replaced in 2019. Don’t have a recent picture but it has filled in and is doing quite well. One of the most important aspects of a peninsula set up is WIDTH, something that this tank does not have. So you can say the live rock had to be custom cut to fit properly also. Yes, the magnet glass cleaner has to fit along both sides to maintain the glass clean. Very important! Also, rocks are low to high towards the overflow end, otherwise not much for coral placement in the light.

 

[rwreef]

I love peninsula reef tanks. It's like having three tanks in one!.

 

[SunnyX]

Rev, I’m of no help as I placed my peninsula against a wall.

It was, however, by design. I wanted no obstructions or things pulling the eye away from the animals. I needed a clean canvas.

Other than the design and rock placement, you will also need to consider where in the home it is placed and the flow\powerhead situation. I won’t talk about the flow as others have already chimed in.

I thought long and hard about my reefs placement but I just couldn’t set it up as intended. Looking through the reef and being distracted by whatever else was going on behind it was not ideal. Who wants to stare into an aquarium only to see the TV, children, etc distracting you from the display?

Following the same line of thinking, my biggest consideration for placement is the photography. I enjoy the photography aspect of this hobby almost as much as the aquarium. Taking images without capturing the everyday home life background would have been tough.

Anyways, here’s the right half of my new Waterbox peninsula AGAINST A WALL!

 

[Susan Edwards]

I love them. My son in law has a 500 gal custom. I voted no interest for me as a) I just got my dream tank and unless I move, this is it, b) I have no where in my home to put a peninsula tank. But I love them

 

[Wieloch89]

I love mine. I was able to build a scape that was viewable from all angles and every angle gives you and entirely different view. It’s still a young reef and I only just started adding corals. Theres a link to my build thread to see the process from my custom scape until now.

 

[knockout]

This thread is perfect when I just pulled the trigger a few days ago and my peninsula is now in a FedEx truck making its way home

 

[Mark Novack]

I have a traditional Northern European living room. Its like a wide hallway. A peninsula tank would require a ladder to go over to the other side of the room. I would love one but I would need to widen the house.