Upgrading in Jan. ... what size can I get?

[czieler]

Ok..I was a few credits short of a math minor in college... but I admit it..I'm being lazy right now..and figured other people would know this off the top of their heads... as I don't.

If I have 70 inches of wall I can fill... how big of a tank can I get? And does anyone have an favorite stand manufacturers?

I'm redecorating in Jan...and moving my widescreen into this room..which has a nice sleek black cabinet stand...so I'd like to get a black stand for the tank... I'd really like to get a matching stand..but I can't get the furniture company that built it to email me how much weight it will hold...heh.

Also..on my 65 I have VHO's...which I really like..but I've noticed that some of my zoanthids look really ugly under them...then when I trade them to someone for something else..they look awesome in their coral tanks w/ Metal Halides. I've never cared for the blue hue of metal halides... can I do both VHO and Metal Halide over a tank ( so that some of the zoanthids will look better)? Or can you just do one or the other?

 

[Zeppelin]

What kind of width do you have to work with? Is a 30" tank too deep for you? Just a couple questions as tank width and depth are also important factors to consider.

 

[czieler]

Good point... I should have put that in the post... 20 inches is probably as much as my gf will let me get away with

 

[maroonytunes]

What is your limit on width, longer the tank, usually means the wider.

 

[czieler]

I probably posted that at the same time as marooneytunes

70x20

 

[maroonytunes]

I don't think they make tanks bigger than 65 that isn't more than 20 inches wide.If you could do 24in., you could go to 150.


Just remembered, I think they make a 120 tall that is 20 in. wide, I forgot the length

 

[czieler]

Hmm..I could probably talk her into 24 inches... maybe if I try really hard I could talk her into 30in... I can probably talk her into it if I try hard enough...

What sizes do 220's come in?

 

[Stixbaraca]

Here is AGA's page on dimensions...of course there are other manufacturers out there.


http://www.all-glass.com/products/aquariums/index.html



Oceanic makes a 215 gallon show tank that is 72.5"(L) X 24.5"(W) X 39"(H)

I imagine it would cost a small fortune! They also make a Reef Ready 215 version and the Height comes down a bit to 29"..per their website.

 

[Zeppelin]

20" wide is really too narrow for a reef tank, IMO. Go at least 24" if you can. My tank is 30" deep, and its hard for me to get to the bottom. Gotta use a tongs. And I'm 6" tall. I wish I would have gone closer to a 26-28" depth. Next upgrade will be a little shorter.

 

[czieler]

My 65 is a tall..and is only 18 inches deep...but I just realize.. I forgot I've got it sitting about 6 inches out from the wall to leave room for the skimmer...

But when I upgrade...I plan on doing a sump..or whatever that is..that you can put under the tank and put the skimmer on that instead... so I can probably do 30 inches... w/out getting too much headache from my gf...heh

 

[gflat65]

If you can't find one standard, you can check out glasscages.com. I've dealt with Tom several times (he is local to me) and he can be rough around the edges, but you can't beat the price. They are built like brick walls, too. Sometimes the silocone is sloppy, too.

I'm not sure what you mean by not liking the blue hue of MH... The blue is determined by the K value. A 10K is not going to be blue at all, while a 20K is going to be very blue. If you run Ushio 10K's and VHO's, you will get nice coloration. I used to run 175W Ushio 10K's and (2)-VHO 03's and loved it. 250W would be better, though, IMO. If you've ever seen fishdoc11's tank from RC, he runs 250W Ushio's and VHO's. He has one of nicest SPS tank around, though it is small (120). I was keeping mostly SPS when I ran that configuration, but the zoas I had were still nicely colored.

 

[czieler]

I'll have to ask my friend that has them what his are...because everything in his tank looks blue ... thats why I didn't think I'd like them... I love the color of everything on my VHO except for just a few of the zoos...

I'll check out the sites mentioned...thanks!

 

[Stixbaraca]

I am putting together my lighting with two 250W 10,000K (crisp white) Ushios and power compact actinics for dawn and dusk look. I like the crisp white also!

 

[czieler]

One thing I don't like about my VHO's ( I don't know what kinds I have..I just told the LFS ..robsreef.. that I liked their display tank and I wanted those lights and he orderd them for me ) ... anyhow.. they've been shutting off randomly all day long.

I have to unplug the ballast .. wait a minute and plug them back in. I took them back up to robs..and they took them apart..cleaned everything..put them back together..and they are still doing it...pain in the ****... I think he is checking for me if the ballast is under warranty though.

 

[czieler]

Well... my boss just screwed me out of a little over 7k... so my tank upgrade is probably going to have to wait longer than Jan.

I am so not happy right now... well... I'm off to work on my resume...

 

[Azurel]

Thats cause for some Whoop butt.