Show me some wide displays, visible from 2 sides

[kangadrew]

I'm falling more and more in love with wider tanks (not quite squares/cubes) that are visible from 2 sides, with aquascapes coming out of the two back walls. A couple examples of what I mean below - first is John Coppolino's, second is Bryn Robert's.

John Coppolino (102" by 72" by 42"):

Bryn Roberts (64" by 42" by 30"):

Both these threads are from *other* forums - but does anyone on R2R have a display like this? Would love to see what you've got and pick your brain on a few things with it.
-Drew

 

[Greybeard]

Mine is a peninsula... 60" x 30"

 

[TriggerFinger]

There’s someone in here (I think) who has a tank like that and it’s lit by the sun with skylights...it’s beautiful. Can’t recall who’s it is..

 

[kangadrew]

There’s someone in here (I think) who has a tank like that and it’s lit by the sun with skylights...it’s beautiful. Can’t recall who’s it is..

Wouldn't happen to be this thread would it?

Monster Build - Our 400 Gallon In Wall Natural Sun-Lit Reef

Hi guys my enjoyment for aquariums started over 30 years ago as a child, when I would help my father care for his aquariums aquarium equipment has come a long way since then. My first personal aquarium was 37 gallons, over the years I had 155 fresh water African Cichlid tank and a 10 year old...

www.reef2reef.com

Forgot to include Joe's tank in my original post. His is another great example of what I'm going for, although a bit narrower than where I think I'm headed. I will certainly need to pick his brain.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Ugh, yes that’s it. I really love that tank. His story is amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. Great build thread if you’re up for it!

 

[kangadrew]

Ugh, yes that’s it. I really love that tank. His story is amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. Great build thread if you’re up for it!

Agreed, that is the perfect description for his thread. I've read it a few times over

 

[kangadrew]

Alright, so I really want to see these things in person, problem is that I don't have access to a bunch of weird-shaped tanks, and I don't really want to buy PVC to do the PVC mockup thing. So, Sketchup it is.

Here's a 5'5" person (my height) up next to a 96x72x42 in-wall with 4" trim around it on a 36" stand. This size wouldn't really be feasible to build out of glass, because typical sheets are 8x4, not 8x6. So, something fiberglass would be the material, with two viewing panels put into it. Because of that, it's more likely that the length and width could increase by a few inches, since a 6 foot and an 8 foot panel would be used. This is modeled after John Coppolino's tank.

My first impressions:

1. That is an AWESOME set of dimensions for a tank
2. The 42" depth might be hard to work with, but proper flow and setting things up perfectly at the beginning might negate having to reach the sand bed very much
3. Conversely, the 42" depth looks pretty amazing and would let you grow some MASSIVE corals

I will be modeling up two more shortly, a 6x4x2.5 and a 6x4x3.

 

[kangadrew]

Here is the 6x4x2.5, 450 gallon:

I went ahead and mocked this tank up with a white stand as well, and full glass, since a 6x4 sheet is doable from a standard size. My impressions:

1. It does look a bit less impressive, but maybe that's because I did a 1250 then compared a 450 to it
2. Overall not a bad looking tank, although it's getting into the "lagoon" territory with the height

 

[kangadrew]

And two more - first is the 6x4x3 540 gallon.

My only real thought here is that it looks too deep for its footprint, and maintenance would be pretty tough. I also wouldn't be able to quite get the aquascape that I'd want.

Here is a 495 gallon, 6'x4'x33"

Personally, if I were going to build a 6 foot tank, this would be the winner. It's deep enough to get some big corals in there, but it doesn't look so deep that you can't maintain it. It's a nice combination of width and length, with the right depth, so it's a winner for me. But after seeing the 8x6 1250 gallon, it seems a bit silly to go with a 6x4.

I've got a price quote on an 8x6x40" fiberglass tank with a pair of starfire windows from a while back, and it's not much more than what a new 6x4x30-36" tank would cost. Glass would be the cheapest option at that size, but then you've got seams to worry about, not to mention you wouldn't want to move it.