Tank Size Options or am I crazy

[Bigguy]

So I have a very solid wood credenza/cabinet built into my office. I’ll attach a picture. I have many fresh water aquariums but I’ve often dreamed of a long reef tank. Sizing is an issue with the space available. I have up to 9ft of east to west real estate. 21 inch depth on the top. Only 17-18 inches of height. I don’t need 9 feet but was thinking 6-7 foot wide tank. Is this too shallow? I was also thinking of putt a sump under the tank in the cabinets. They are sectioned off with one bottom cabinet sized as follows

11 inches wide

15.5 inches deep

18 1/4 tall

I could put two tanks under it if I can pipe the two together to make a larger system. Is this all crazy?

Please forgive the mess. It’s Xmas time and I am hiding hoarding stuff there now.

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

The height is tight, but I think you could do it. You need to leave room for your lights, air flow around the lights, as well as room to get rocks in the tank and just to be able to work on things. But I think you can do it. Many people like the "shallow reef" look, and tanks about 10"-12" high are common. The front to back distance you have is sizable, and that, I think, would make this a nice looking shallow reef or lagoon style tank.

You may need a custom tank builder to get exactly what you want, and I'd suggest trying Glass Cages. The owner is an active member here, and they do fine work by all accounts.

Good luck!

 

[slogan315]

Assuming the cabinetry can hold the weight of the tank, the tank dimensions seem doable. Getting flow all the way across the tank without blasting the surface/corals may be tricky. So probably gyres at either end for a sheet of flow, with smaller powerheads supplemented across the back.

For lighting, to maximize tank depth, you may need to go with something lower profile that has a lot of spread like AI Blades or lots of puck lights with wide spread. Punching deep won’t be the problem, getting coverage over the tank without mounting the lights at their recommended heights will be.

Though more sounds better, 6’ may give you more lighting options as 6’ bars and t5s are more common than 7’. Also, it’ll make flow a bit easier. You may look at coral grow out setups for inspiration. They’re often short in height and have wide dimensions. Lighting and flow needs will largely depend on the types of corals you’d like to keep.

For sump, others can comment, but I’d be more worried about how the humidity will affect furniture that wasn’t designed for this kind of use.

 

[Bigguy]

Thank you for the feedback. I've had someone else look at the structure, and it's a solid wood construction. Built into the wall, and framed onto the floor. No legs. My son and I got onto it yesterday, that's close to 500 lbs of man and it didn't budge. Given the load would be spread I think that would work.
Can anyone speak to having a sump in a cabinet like this, and if there are issues with moisture?

 

[Bigguy]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

The height is tight, but I think you could do it. You need to leave room for your lights, air flow around the lights, as well as room to get rocks in the tank and just to be able to work on things. But I think you can do it. Many people like the "shallow reef" look, and tanks about 10"-12" high are common. The front to back distance you have is sizable, and that, I think, would make this a nice looking shallow reef or lagoon style tank.

You may need a custom tank builder to get exactly what you want, and I'd suggest trying Glass Cages. The owner is an active member here, and they do fine work by all accounts.

Good luck!

The shelving above the tank only sticks out 11 inches of the 21.5. So I do have some access to the front half of the tank unabated. I currently have a 12 inch tall freshwater on the shelf.

 

[Doctorgori]

I might put egg crate under that tank …
If you spill water A mat might trap moisture …
If you have no protection the tank itself might trap water…

Just my experience but when placing tanks on genuine wood my experience is to elevate the tank with air spaces…

IM or Innovative Marine makes a eggcrate that might work

 

[DCR]

A little late here but you will likely destroy that cabinet over the long run with a saltwater tank and sump on and in it. Between the spills and the salt creep it is going to take the finish off and corrode metal hardware. Saltwater is much harder on wood furniture than freshwater. I personally would not do it.

 

[Bigguy]

Ok, so is a cannister filter viable for this type of setup?

 

[Fish Fan]

Ok, so is a cannister filter viable for this type of setup?

Many run successful reef tanks on canister filters, so totally doable. Personally, I don't like canister filters. I think they are a pain to clean, and I've had them leak on me. I prefer a hang on back filter, and specifically the Hagen/Fluval AquaClears.

You may not have room behind the tank for hang on gear, in which case you could do an All-In-One (AIO) setup where the filter is built into the back of the tank. I think almost certainly you'd have to get one custom built to get the dimensions you want, but if money was no concern I'd prefer an AIO to a canister filter.

 

[Bigguy]

Many run successful reef tanks on canister filters, so totally doable. Personally, I don't like canister filters. I think they are a pain to clean, and I've had them leak on me. I prefer a hang on back filter, and specifically the Hagen/Fluval AquaClears.

You may not have room behind the tank for hang on gear, in which case you could do an All-In-One (AIO) setup where the filter is built into the back of the tank. I think almost certainly you'd have to get one custom built to get the dimensions you want, but if money was no concern I'd prefer an AIO to a canister filter.

With tough access to the back of the tank, do they make an AIO filter that is mounted on the side of the tank? OR is the footprint not big enough for that?

 

[Bigguy]

Do you think a sump with a cover, and some fans moving the air out of the cabinet would change anything?

 

[Fish Fan]

With tough access to the back of the tank, do they make an AIO filter that is mounted on the side of the tank? OR is the footprint not big enough for that?

Yes, there are tanks with the filter on one short side, that's called a "peninsula styled" tank because most will typically put the short side with the filter against the wall, then the tank can be viewed from 3 sides, the two long sides and the short side opposite the filter section. In your case, you'd still be viewing the tank from the one long front side, but you can have your filter on a short side for sure.

Here's an example of a peninsula AIO tank. Obviously, not the dimensions you need, but I think this is the setup you're asking about with the filter section on one short side:

https://waterboxaquariums.com/produ...n=sag_organic&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=[/URL]{CampaignName}&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=19931521147&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAj9m7BhD1ARIsANsIIvA2qhr00rNSSnCu_COoZ7D0r9MFEAp4u2z00P9VILpmamYoC6dsvIEaAsySEALw_wcB

 

[DCR]

Do you think a sump with a cover, and some fans moving the air out of the cabinet would change anything?

Having the tank and sump covered will certainly make it better, but I would expect that there will likely still be damage to the wood. If you have never run a saltwater tank before, it is difficult to understand - but there is some type of salt aerosol that is created above the water surface from evaporation that condenses and precipitates out on surfaces near the tank even if there is no apparent water spill (salt creep). It will destroy the wood finish and leave you with bare wood and corrode metal hardware. You can often see it in pictures where people show used stands that are for sale. You will need to routinely wipe down these surfaces to remove the salt film to prevent it. I have never been able to do that and just use cheap wood stands for saltwater tanks

 

[Tamberav]

I would not cram a sump in there due to moisture. Even with lids. I would just get a custom tank and maybe an AIO to one side instead. Just make sure to research what equipment you want to fit in the AIO so you have enough room. Figure out how you want to manage top off too. Probably room for a ATO container next to the tank and I have seen people hide ATO containers inside or behind decorative objects.

 

[BryanM]

I 2nd the idea that any large tank you use with this built in will almost certainly ruin the wood over the long term.... If that's okay with you then certainly go for it, it seems the structure is super solid.

 

[Freenow54]

So I have a very solid wood credenza/cabinet built into my office. I’ll attach a picture. I have many fresh water aquariums but I’ve often dreamed of a long reef tank. Sizing is an issue with the space available. I have up to 9ft of east to west real estate. 21 inch depth on the top. Only 17-18 inches of height. I don’t need 9 feet but was thinking 6-7 foot wide tank. Is this too shallow? I was also thinking of putt a sump under the tank in the cabinets. They are sectioned off with one bottom cabinet sized as follows

11 inches wide

15.5 inches deep

18 1/4 tall

I could put two tanks under it if I can pipe the two together to make a larger system. Is this all crazy?

Please forgive the mess. It’s Xmas time and I am hiding hoarding stuff there now.

You need headroom for lights at least 8 inches. Also room for maintenance. My choice would be a canister filter I don't see room for a sump Maintenance being the issue. Also a hang off skimmer. I do that with my 40. You could do a really nice minimal aquascape. IE little rock smaller fish lots of coral

 

[Bigguy]

I've looked into the seamless sump options. They look pretty customizable and seem to be pretty secure?

 

[Bigguy]

You need headroom for lights at least 8 inches. Also room for maintenance. My choice would be a canister filter I don't see room for a sump Maintenance being the issue. Also a hang off skimmer. I do that with my 40. You could do a really nice minimal aquascape. IE little rock smaller fish lots of coral

I think I'm coming back to the cannister idea. I do have experience albeit with freshwater and a cannister. Some have suggested that using t5 bulbs as I wouldn't need as much clearance for the lights?

 

[Freenow54]

I 2nd the idea that any large tank you use with this built in will almost certainly ruin the wood over the long term.... If that's okay with you then certainly go for it, it seems the structure is super solid.

You could always put plexi glass under the tank. I used it under my sump makes a lot of difference

 

[JumboShrimp]

@Bigguy , for whatever reason I seem to be one of the few people running the Seamless Sump system.