Who Makes a good RR Tank?

[renman303]

I am looking to upgrade my 55 gal to a RR 150-180 gal. I was wondering who makes a good tank out there? The only one's I'm familiar with are Oceanic and GlassCages. I have an 82"L space that is an archway between my living and dining room. I have pillars that are about 14" on each side so I figured I'd have to put a 72"x18"x31" tank in. Just looking for the best buy on the market. I saw a nice 250 in the "For Sale" section but, it's 30" wide....a bit much.

Also, since the archway is between the rooms I wanted to use the tank as a room divider but the ceiling is 12' and the wife won't let me hang lights from the arch itself. Any ideas on how to mount some from inside a canopy?

Dave

[SoonerFan]

Man, 18" is awful narrow on a tank that long, really consider going wider!!! You would be better going off wider and shorter. 31" tall will be harder to light as well. 30" wide would be great!! Gives you space for large rock and plenty of room for corals to grow.

Lee

[renman303]

Hey Lee,

Good to hear from you! The wife has let me overrun the boundries a bit to perhaps a 24" wide. Anything is better than the 12" wide 55 gal that I currently have. Perhaps you are right and I should focus on a 24" or 25" deep tank? What kind of lighting would you need to make up for the extra 6" of depth? I'm assuming 400w MH ? There is a beautiful setup for sale right here on Austin Reef Club that is a 30" wide by 24" tall by 72" long. Stand, lights, canopy and all for a great price. I'm just not sure how to make it all fit?

Love to see your setup one day!

Best Regards,

Dave "RenMan"

Georgetown

Edited February 7, 2008 by renman303

[apedroza]

Oceanview and DSA have some cool looking RR tanks. But I believe they are 30" wide. I personally am going with the 180 (60x30x25)

[Entropy]

I think most places will build to your dimensions. I know glass cages will. I would go at least 24" wide if you can swing it. A standard 180g is 72x24x24 and probably the cheapest to find off the shelf. If you really want custom I would go 72Lx30Wx25T (240g). That is a nice tank. I would also go starfire front and back if it is a room divider and out the overflows on the ends.

[cmanning]

I can't tell you what to get.. but I can definitely tell you what to avoid:

#1 Tanks with wide glass top middle braces --> maintenance nightmare

(unless you like scraping algea film /salt cruft blocking out your lighting every single day) -

These types of tanks are OK for people with Fresh Water using weak lighting..

#2 Tanks which are any less than 24 inches front to back.

(lack of real estate on the ground level - and hard to properly circulate water randomly in).

#3 The "Single center overflow" == bad dead water zones on the back corners.

#4 Plastic center braces (same melt/crack problems as acrylic tanks suffer from) - and tank explodes all over floor soon as it gives out.

#5 Acrylic of any kind. I won't tell you every reason - there's too many reasons , and I know exactly what sunlight, - even "simulated sunlight" does to acrylic (like it does to most any plastics) over time: (in the case of greenhouse windows - not such a big deal,

in the case of holding back hundreds of gallons of saltwater --> a very big deal).

After you try all the other lighting schema available, you will (if you haven't already) settle on halides.

Nothing man-made -not even the new super bright LED's penetrates 30 inches of water for the same PAR/watts

and tiny footprint as halide.

Unfortunately - do NOT put halide over acrylic. If you do - I give the tank 5 yrs tops (if that long) under halides

(or even natural sunlight) before the crazing from the UV spectrum leads to catastrophic failure.

[renman303]

cmanning,

Thanks for the info. I'll probably go with either an Oceanic or have one made by Glasscages. They (Glasscages)to seem to have glass braces across the middle? But, wouldn't you have to have some sort of bracing for a 6'+ tank? What tank might you have? It will be glass and 72"x24"(maybe 30")x31" tall.

"The Colonel" (as I'll refer to the wife) agreed that I could get whatever I needed ! Thinking of enclosing the entire dining room and putting in a roof hatch! LOL My 55 gal is a pain to clean and even aquascape as it's only 13" front to rear.

I plan on using my existing 55 as the sump with it's T5 lighting to grow beneficial algae and use as a refugium, and sump. Thoughts?

MH is what I will get. I guess I may still need Actinic lighting as well?

I still have not decided on either a Tunze or Wave2K yet. Both were impressive but I'm leaning toward the Wave2k mainly because it has no noise, no transferred heat and can't clog because of vent hole size. I'll so some more research though.

Best Regards,

Dave

I can't tell you what to get.. but I can definitely tell you what to avoid:

#1 Tanks with wide glass top middle braces --> maintenance nightmare

(unless you like scraping algea film /salt cruft blocking out your lighting every single day) -

These types of tanks are OK for people with Fresh Water using weak lighting..

#2 Tanks which are any less than 24 inches front to back.

(lack of real estate on the ground level - and hard to properly circulate water randomly in).

#3 The "Single center overflow" == bad dead water zones on the back corners.

#4 Plastic center braces (same melt/crack problems as acrylic tanks suffer from) - and tank explodes all over floor soon as it gives out.

#5 Acrylic of any kind. I won't tell you every reason - there's too many reasons , and I know exactly what sunlight, - even "simulated sunlight" does to acrylic (like it does to most any plastics) over time: (in the case of greenhouse windows - not such a big deal,

in the case of holding back hundreds of gallons of saltwater --> a very big deal).

After you try all the other lighting schema available, you will (if you haven't already) settle on halides.

Nothing man-made -not even the new super bright LED's penetrates 30 inches of water for the same PAR/watts

and tiny footprint as halide.

Unfortunately - do NOT put halide over acrylic. If you do - I give the tank 5 yrs tops (if that long) under halides

(or even natural sunlight) before the crazing from the UV spectrum leads to catastrophic failure.

[+ACampbell]

Get a starfire tank from Acrylic and Glass Exhibits - (AGE)

[renman303]

Get a starfire tank from Acrylic and Glass Exhibits - (AGE)

I've heard one bad thing about "Starfire" glass. It is very easy to scratch. I'm not sure if it's true, as I heard this from someone at the LFS. It sure looks nice for viewing though!

Best Regards,

Dave

[cmanning]

Hi Dave

The size specifications you came up with (72 by 30 high by 24 front-to-back) are almost exactly the specifications of a 215 gallon brick tank that we

have as our main reef.

We found the tank used, from a private owner in Austin, at a very good price ($600 complete -as opposed to the new price for this model).

You might want to keep an eye out for used Oceanic "Brick" Tanks in the 215 gallon capacity or higher range.

OR - glasscages.com and look at the "Commercial" line (these are 3/4 inch as well - and "should not" need any center braces,

but check with them, as I have never used their tanks before, so I can not attest).

Our plan was - if we couldn't locate a decent Oceanic in the 200 range, we were going to go try glasscages.com - but, as it

turned out we got lucky on our tank-hunt.

I do not know the warranty of glasscages, nor how long they've been in business, either - YMMV.

All I do know is what I've had most of the times in my life when I've had "larger" aquaria and that's Oceanics,

and since I never could afford "brand new" ones until I was older , *and* am quite an abuser of tanks,

yet I've never had one fail on me (Oceanic that is) I just feel more comfortable with them in the same room with my kids.

They are all custom made out of 3/4 inch thick glass and as such, - no bracing is needed.

I know how much Seawater weighs - and 200 gallons of it hanging over the head of my 5 year old - being held back by

glass ? == it's going to be damned thick glass, OK?

Drawbacks/considerations:

1: You'd better have a real good frame carpenter build the stand for this puppy, - since it's made out of rather thick glass,

it's 6 to 8 men to lift / carry it (empty), and once filled with SeaWater and Rock = close to 2,000 lbs (1 tons)

Make SURE the stand is perfectly flat and level, - and shimmed at the floor anywhere your floor is

even a credit cards thickness out of level, and even then - put a 3/4 inch thick slab of styrofoam

house insulation board (owens pink or dow blue, - not the white stuff) between the tank and stand

to make up for minor imperfections in the wood stand.. this will distribute the weight better, (and insulate

at least the bottom of the tank). - And remember - wood stands "flex" over time - the foam board will help take care of that.

2: The thicker glass makes for a rather odd "magnification" effect that only becomes apparent once filled with water.

(objects in the tank are farther away than they appear).. but , depending on the age of your eyesight,

this can be a beneficial thing. <grin>

Lights? = We just use the 2 x 400Watt (800 watts total) halides at 14K color (by SPS). and they are blue enough for us without

having to add any supplemental "color" lighting. (Fewer bulbs to change every year is why).

This gets us close to the 5watts/gallon mark as-is, and our reflectors run the full length of the tank (no braces in the way) - so that helps too.

After all - the REAL benefit of the brace-less "brick" designed tank -- is the direct effect on your ability to light it up.

(Those dang braces DO get in the way of your lighting.. no matter what you do..)

The reason they make tanks WITH braces ? - They can use thinner glass, and thinner glass is cheaper - lots,lots cheaper.

(And a lot easier to break).