The perfect stand height! Do you wish your stand was taller or shorter?

What's most important when it comes to the height of your tank stand?

  • The viewing heigth

    Votes: 136 58.6%
  • The ease of maintenance

    Votes: 50 21.6%
  • The space for equipment within the stand

    Votes: 33 14.2%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 13 5.6%

  • Total voters
    232

LuisPerez711

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1. What do you think is the ideal height for a reef aquarium?

42" is my ideal height. I like viewing the tank while standing.

2. When deciding how tall or short your stand is do you consider the maintenance or equipment aspect of the tank?

Yes! Especially for deeper tank stands. I usually place my sump up front and all the equipment towards the back so a taller stand is a must.

3. Do you wish your tank stand was taller or shorter?

I wish my stand was a little taller. I built my stand to be 40" tall and the extra two would have been nice for viewing purposes. I have plenty of room at that height for all my equipment.

20210517_131256.jpg
 

MIKE NY

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I casted my vote for other...all of the above. Thsee were the questions I was contemplating a few weeks ago for the stand I was building for my lowboy frag tank. I ended up building it 48” tall for viewing, my 44 gal ATO under it and for gravity drain into my sump next to it. Also I’m 6’5” so it’s a good height for me.
 

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NabberNate

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Mine is 36" and when seated I feel it's a little high and standing it's a little low. I think the solution is to get a taller chair! =) 36" is definitely a good height for viewing across the room.
 

Justin Swinney

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Built my stand so I could view it without squatting or backing up too far. I’m a tall guy so a lot of stands are just to short for my liking
 

CMMorgan

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All of the above .... comfortable to work on without being on a ladder ... a balance of being high enough to see while standing but not too high for sitting (like a TV) but definitely enough room for plumbing. It's all got to work together.
 

Shooter6

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I love the current height for veiwing from the front. As far as maintenance and top down veiwing not so much. I built a platform at the bottom of the tank but will still be raising the floor . This is in my fishroom so not an issue.
 

Rick's Reviews

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You guys seem to have hide outs and garages bigger then a car to fit in , I only have room for my 3ft aquarium in my lounge
 

s_spowart

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I bought a reef tank second ha d once, bought a skimmer that just about squeezed into the space in the cabinet.

Well I then filled the tank up, when it came to cleaning the skimmer the wood had contracted and was tightly pressed against the skimmer cup, so I couldnt get it off at all. Seem to remember I got a few clean out of it before that happened.

I ended up ordering a replacement skimmer cup, getting a seperate pump and a pond filter box to rig up an external sump, then getting in my sump and hack saying the old collection cup off the skimmer in order to get the skimmer out.
When I replaced that tank the cabinet was much higher so the skimmer would fit inside again. There is a fine line between viewings height and access for equipment, it needs to be just right. I can live with climbing a Lauder to get in the tank as long as there is room underneath to access equipment.
 

waterskiguy

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My stand is 41" and is perfect height for multiple reasons. First, obviously viewing - the tank is at a height that I (6' tall)can view it without bending over and my girl (5' tall) can also view it without any trouble either way. I have to use a step ladder to get to the bottom of the tank for sand bed maintenance, but I spend more time looking at the tank than sticking my hands in it for any reason at all.

I also have ample room underneath the stand for equipment and room for maintenance. It's easy for me to get to everything without too much trouble, even at the 30 depth of the tank / stand. I can even have a neck cleaner for a big butt skimmer and still have ample rom to take the cup and neck cleaner off.
 

Ef4life

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Here's and interesting question for you all, when considering viewing height, do you consider this stood up or sat down when looking at your tanks?
Depends on the tank, location, and how your going to look at it.

my tank near the kitchen is imo too low, factory biocube stand. It’s around 30”, but the cabinets in kitchen are 36”, would look a lot better at that height, and would be about just right to armpit level at the top.

bedroom tank 1 - stand is a tall clothes dresser 40-44” tall. But I can lay in bed and enjoy without sitting up. Con - all maintenance is done from a ladder unless your in the nba.

Bedroom tank 2 - sitting on my desk, con - Have to crouch when standing for a good look from the side, but you get an amazing top down view when pumps are off. Perfect height for sitting and working at the desk obviously
 

Bruce Burnett

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If you have to put your equipment under it then there has to be room. So equipment makes a part of that decision. But viewing height also is part of that decision. So you have to weigh them together.
 

tamanning

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I got my stand at 46" tall. No more bending over to look into the tank and headbanging when working under it.

Looking forward to completing this setup soon.
I built mine 48 so i could look at it without bending and also for added aeration in the water drop. the added space helped with maintenance as well.
 

jdstank

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My door is 36 inch wide...my stand is 96x36...meaning it must be less than 36 tall or its not going to come in the house
Funny story....years ago I sold my shallow lagoon tank w stand and complete setup including corals, fish, sand and rock. Plug and play so to speak. Gave the potential new owner all the dimensions of everything (stand was 36” tall, 33.5x36.5 sides. He shows up with a stripped out caravan, just fit everything into it. He gets home and as he’s taking everything in, realizes he forgot to measure his home’s front door which was only 32”.
Fortunately for him the wife wanted the tank just as bad, because he had to remove a picture window from the front of the house in freezing cold IL weather in late November, to get the stand into the house.
 

Reeflier

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I voted other because I think all 3 are equally important. Taller is better viewing. It also just happens that making the stand taller also allows more equipment options below, plus better access to all of it. My stand is 36" tall and the tank is 29" tall. If I can ever get water in it (too many other projects in life right now) I think it'll look great!
 

Young@Heart

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I purchased my Tank/Base and Canopy Used - therefore certain elements were predetermined. One the major remaining ones (I redid ALOT and thus MANY THINGS have been changed); but the base remains one of the things that I am unable to change at this time. The base is just over the min. height I need for my Protein Skimmer (The Tank and Base were originally designed for a Closed Loop System-the Tank has been replaced as well as the ENTIRE sump).
The interior height of the sump is just over 25 inches tall (Ah, If I knew then - what I know now....). Having said all that:

1. What do you think is the ideal height for a reef aquarium?

I would have to say at least 30 inches for the base.

2. When deciding how tall or short your stand is do you consider the maintenance or equipment aspect of the tank?

That is my main issue at this point

3. Do you wish your tank stand was taller or shorter? I would like additional height on my base

If I ever do a custom base for a new tank (I think I am done with Custom work on this one) - I will build the base up.
 

Greybeard

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Depends... on a great many things.

My normal response to questions about stand height are to measure from your armpit to the ground, subtract tank height, that's your target stand height.

In my case, I'm an old fatman... don't like ladders, not standing on a chair. I tend to prefer fat, wide, low tanks anyway. When I built my current system, I went 18" tall, on a 60" x 30" tank, giving me about 140 gallons. Fit the room, fit the style I was going for, and mounted nice and low, I can reach the bottom easily. Since it's a peninsula, I can reach anywhere I might need to reach, without getting my sleeves wet. Perfect.

There is no equipment under my stand. Sump and other gear are all located in a closet behind the tank. As I said... old, fatman. I'm not working from my knees, so no matter how high the tank is mounted, it wouldn't have been high enough for me. By getting the sump and related gear out from under the stand, I removed one reason for a high stand. Sump clearance doesn't matter. For most, that is not the case, and a higher stand in order to gain space for equipment is a reasonable decision.

I know folks that want to be 'eye level' with the tank while standing. Eh. I don't mind sitting down in front of my tank. Since the tank doubles as a bar, there's handy bar stools all around for just that purpose.

PXL_20210506_000255235.MP.jpg
 

BZOFIQ

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I researched this very thoroughly before I built my stand. I went to LFS, took measurements of tanks that look aesthetically pleasing. And determined that those that looked great pretty much follow the "Golden Ratio" rule.

The "Golden Ratio" is the ratio of the sum of the two values to the larger value. It will give you the most aesthetically accurate/pleasing look.

To use the Golden Ratio, measure your tank height, and he stand height should be approximately
tank height x 1.618.

This is an outdated rule :) I blew right past the Gold'en Ratio it with PLATINUM RATIO

I took my stand height of 46 inches and divided it by my tank height of 23.5 and got 1.9574468085

Literally, spot-on for Platinum Ratio and close enough for Diamond Ratio.







ROFL
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 68 37.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 32.8%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.9%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 15.6%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
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