Ymir Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 What are the most important dimensions? I am only 'allowed' a four foot tank, so length isn't negotiable but my partner never mentioned anything about how high or wide? :slfg: This is going to be a custom built job, so resonably fexible. It will almost certainly be a reef tank with 3-5 fish max. The tank is going against a wall, so if it is too wide it will be difficult to reach to the back. What is the prefered/ideal height for a reef tank? I can't afford a crazy lighting system, so needs to be realistic. Thanks Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 i would look at how much you are prepared to spend on lighting , and which type you intend to use as it will more than likely be the limiting factor in terms of coral you can keep. the higher you go the more intense the lighting you need at a guess MH after 60cm or high rockwork and corals placed up high. id be inclined to go 500mm high and 60mm front to back , that would provide a good size tank easy enough to maintain unless you have really short arms then knock 100mm off those :sml1: it would also ensure most comercially made light fittings for a 4ft tank would cover the area of tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 make it as big as possible, a 4ft cube would be impressive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 make it as big as possible, a 4ft cube would be impressive Love to see the light setup to push light through 1200+mm of salt water and still grow corals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinefish4life Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 I have 4ft long, 2ft wide , 50cm high Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithbleed Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 My tank is 1000W x 600D x 500H, seems to work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 my 1m tanks front to back are hard to work on anything at back of tank unless i have them out from the wall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 What are the most important dimensions? I am only 'allowed' a four foot tank, so length isn't negotiable but my partner never mentioned anything about how high or wide? :slfg: This is going to be a custom built job, so resonably fexible. It will almost certainly be a reef tank with 3-5 fish max. The tank is going against a wall, so if it is too wide it will be difficult to reach to the back. What is the prefered/ideal height for a reef tank? I can't afford a crazy lighting system, so needs to be realistic. Thanks Malcolm If your tank is 4 foot and room to get down the sides of the tank you will reach from the side in to work on the back of the tank. Mine is one meter wide and I love the width coming from a 600mm wide tank great for aquascaping. if one mtr is too wide try 800mm or at least as wide as you possible can. 600 to 770 mm height is good mine is 660mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted October 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 If your tank is 4 foot and room to get down the sides of the tank you will reach from the side in to work on the back of the tank. Mine is one meter wide and I love the width coming from a 600mm wide tank great for aquascaping. if one mtr is too wide try 800mm or at least as wide as you possible can. 600 to 770 mm height is good mine is 660mm If I look at a 4ft tank that is 800mm wide and 660 high, what size sump would I need? What would the lighting spec's to have suitable light spectrum levels at the bottom of the tank? Thanks for all the replies as well. Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithbleed Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 A sump is optional, it's up to you how big you want and what you want to put in it and/or accomplish with it. In my opinion go as big as you can fit under your cabinet as the greater the total water volume in running in your system the better/more stable it'll be. 660 is quite deep, you'll need decent lighting if you plan of penetrating that depth, especially if you want to keep more advanced corals and inverts later on. I got away with quad t5's for softies and LPS' at 500mm deep. It was suggested to me that I not try SPS till I upgraded to at least 6 t5 bulbs, go MH or LED. My advice is invest in good quality, future proof equipment early on. Otherwise scale down your plans as the bigger the tank the more expensive everything else becomes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 I have a 3ft tank atm which is 600 wide and 500 high. I thought I would retro this tank to hold heaters, skimmer, pumps and everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 What lighting are you looking at metal halide, t5, leds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 What lighting are you looking at metal halide, t5, leds? Best option especially for future proofing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Well I have Leds now upgraded from MH with T'5s it cost an arm and a leg to get them to cover my tank, but I am pleased with them and I am saving heaps on the power bill and bulb replacement. If you decide on Leds make sure you get 3w cree mine penetrate to the bottom of my 660mm without the need for lens kits These are my Leds when they are on about half bright turning down for the evening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 holly molley!! What a tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Thanks if you decide on Leds you are best to research them on overseas sites that sell them find ones that will suit your tank, most sites have charts to help with dimensions. Some still swear by Metal Halides with T'5 combo, but I like my Leds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithbleed Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Gorgeous tank Fay! I've just converted from t5 to LED, I'm running the Maxspect RAZOR for my tank and am very happy with the results in colour, coral health, easy of use and cost saving ill encounter from not replacing bulbs (but obviously an expensive initial outlay). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 That is an amazing tank Fay, wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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