Need some input building another tank

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ziyaadb

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Ok so i have decided that the current tank is just not doing it for me and I have enlisted the help of a friend to build another tank. I need some input on the height of the tank.

The current dimensions for this tank is:
130*70W*55H water level at 50

I was thinking after seeing SunnyX's reef that i should rather go 50H with water level at 45 esp since this tank will be lit with T5 only.

I am thinking that with 45H it will be easier for the light penetration as well as the flow?

Your thoughts?

This will more geared towards sps with a few Lps and softies.
 
Yay! New tank new tank! All the best dude will be watching closely - so dimensions sound alright almost like a standard 5 foot but wider - can do some serious scaping with that width
 
YUp LOl, but this is going to be a looong work in progress just need to decide on the height?
 
Thats a very good size. But if you going to use a 54w T5's you can still go up to 140cm maybe even 150cm length.
 
Cant man want to use my existing lighting unit 8*39W. Will have some shadow in the sides but i can live with that. Also if i go bigger the total water volume increases beyond my affordability i don't want to exceed 500L including Sump as i want to be able to afford to do water changes often as well as use my current skimmer.
Sooo about the height gents:whistling:
 
Question is, what is the reach of your arm?

At 55cm high and 70cm to the back. Can you reach over and pick up something against the back?

If you are 1.8m tall, your reach should be 70cm, but with landscape in the way... :whistling:
 
id go 60 in height depending on how you intend to finish the tank off WRT trimmimgs etc it can seriously reduce your viewing area.. your water height will be in the region of 55cm...
 
also depends on your viewing area. Will you be sitting down, looking into the tank? or will the tank be where you walk by or stand next to the tank? That will determine the tank rim height. That again will have an impact on your stand height.

If tank is low, then you can reach easily into wider tanks. But high tanks and you need a small stepladder.
 
leslie hempel said:
id go 60 in height depending on how you intend to finish the tank off WRT trimmimgs etc it can seriously reduce your viewing area.. your water height will be in the region of 55cm...
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Current tank is 60 with water level at 57, already an issue for me due to the stand being 110 high

Yuri said:
go for 65 and ad a scrubber
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see above. I do intend to build a scrubber no matter the height

RiaanP said:
Question is, what is the reach of your arm?

At 55cm high and 70cm to the back. Can you reach over and pick up something against the back?

If you are 1.8m tall, your reach should be 70cm, but with landscape in the way... :whistling:
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Good point hence me asking about the 50 high

RiaanP said:
also depends on your viewing area. Will you be sitting down, looking into the tank? or will the tank be where you walk by or stand next to the tank? That will determine the tank rim height. That again will have an impact on your stand height.

If tank is low, then you can reach easily into wider tanks. But high tanks and you need a small stepladder.
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Yup i totally understand that. will be in lounge so sitting and viewing. Already using a step ladder to work in current tank
 
Another thing is not to make your stand so high. I made my new stand at 750mm height. Many people make the mistake of making very high stands.
 
Mathewis said:
Another thing is not to make your stand so high. I made my new stand at 750mm height. Many people make the mistake of making very high stands.
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i agree, mines on the 760 mark i wouldent go higher than .800 that will allow you to fit some of the taller skimmers should you be a skimmer junkie..
 
Many people make the mistake of making very high stands
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Well this depends. On a 700mm front to back stand, and too low, you will bump your head. Minimum height should be your skimmer height with enough headroom to remove the cup. But that is not it. You should have enough space to be able to get to everything down there. Else it would be like replacing a car exhaust without lifting the car (can be done, but I'm not doing it).

I worked out the maximum rim height of the display tank to be 1.55m. (maybe 1.6). That is my armpit:). That will give me enough space to reach into the tank to be able to pick anything up. (The extra 50mm I have to stand on my toes.)

Deduct from that the tank height, wooden base thickness and polystyrene, And top brace of the stand. So that will give you the sump height space available.
 
Also consider your overflow, I'm currently setting up my first tank (ever) and decided on some dimensions which is going to give me trouble later on (must admit, it looks very nice), I have a center overflow and due to the tank height i can just reach the bottom of the overflow, BUT i mean reach, working there (cleaning) is going to be a pain in the ... armpit.

My tank is 1000l x 650d x 600h, would rather go for 500h due to above reasons.
 
I have designed a sump for my 5 ft and planed everything down to the DSB level and the hight of the skimmer but when i put everything in and filled with water it works out to be to deep for my skimmer as i have an orca 80 and with the DSB at 150 and the water above at 150 skimmer sits to low so all the planning for a skimmer to fit under the tank in the cabnet failed to realise skimmer will be to deep and have to lift it but may battle to take the cup out. my tank is 710 h so i would go 800 and use a 3 step ladder. My 2c worth
Simon
 
My tank is 700 high with water level at 640. Ive done this to allow my vortechs to make waves and works great.My water rocks like a Tunze wavebox but without the wavebox...

Anyways, I have 54w T5s on my tank and my water level is 640. and I have SPS dominated tank.My sps are thriving and growing nicely.Very happy with T5s.

Another thing to consider that should you go 600 or even 550 high with water level, 39w T5s will not suffice as the output of these bulbs are not as strong as the 54w T5s.

You mentioned that you want something along the lines of SunnyX's tank, now he has a 500 high tank and he is using 54w T5s. So if you gonna go SPS, you gonna have to invest in 54w T5s.

Some of my SPS is like 20cm from the base of the tank and they all got full polyp extension and new growth ends and this is with 54w T5s.

So, If I were you, I would go for 600 high with water level at 550 and change my lighting to 54w T5s...

Regarding stand height, All my tanks has been on 900mm+ stands to allow for the ever changing skimmers that i change ever so often...
800mm high stand seems to be the better option, atleast then you can use your wifes dining room chairs to work in the tank...ehhehehehe
 
Ridwaan said:
800mm high stand seems to be the better option, atleast then you can use your wifes dining room chairs to work in the tank...ehhehehehe
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Dude if she only knew....... :25:
I agree, a little step ladder never hurt anyone, just don't clean the tank after a few :peroni:

Make sure you give yourself enough space for the sump and all the gadgets you gonna have down there.
 
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