Going narrow and tall...looking for feedback...

[Mr Cob]

Two things you don't see much of...narrow and tall.

I've always been big on deep (front to back) tanks 24"+ and I have recently enjoyed the temp tank..standard 55g. The narrow tank fits perfect on the wall it's on and I have lots of room to upgrade....but only in height and length :)

So...I'm thinking a custom tank to cover this wall.

I'm considering 82" x 17" x 40" for the tank which is roughly 240g and a 40" tall stand + a 12" tall canopy.

I'm thinking the 40" tall tank will make a cool effect with normal 250w MH lighting and look natural in that it will clearly go from bright to deep dark water.

Any thoughts on this...? besides the obvious difficulties of maintenance on a setup this tall.

[Gseclipse02]

theres a tank we set up thats like 38 tall and i hate it lol we fight not to do it

stacking the rock is kind of hard the flow gets a little tricky you basically do everything with grabbers

[Mr Cob]

theres a tank we set up thats like 38 tall and i hate it lol we fight not to do it

stacking the rock is kind of hard the flow gets a little tricky you basically do everything with grabbers

Yeah...I'm sure this is not a size that would make anything at all easy but it's got my interest regardless. Got any pics? What's the width?

I do not plan to stack any rock....will be a foam display but tonga like....but no stacking to avoid tumbling. The foam will also form cracks so that the entire back is not foamed just the major parts that the coral will be mounted to. Actually I would really like it to be a huge cave at the bottom....so pretty much nothing is touching the sand or just a few tips touching....if that makes any sense at all.

With a tall stand I can do a tall sump/refugium and put all my liverock down below.

[txg8gxp]

Working on it would be a pain, but I like the idea about the lighting. With a huge foam/rock wall it could look awesome.

[Gseclipse02]

its 12 -14 inchs wide no wider ... we just cleaned it this past week so in 2 or 3 weeks will be back ill try and get some pics

[Bill S]

Rob, the biggest problem I see is the height. I have a 30" tank and it's a royal pain.

BTW, many moons ago, one of the great display tanks was a 110. It was 2 55s, end to end. GREAT for swimmers.

[Europhyllia]

I purchased a 29" tall tank and after I added so much substrate I wished I had chosen the 31" tall one - for about a month or so until I realized what a challenge even the 29" was (it's also deep so even with my monkey arms I have trouble getting stuff in the back). It can be done but I often come back out with my hair wet and salty and I try to do anything requiring my dive missions in the morning before underarm deodorant goes on!
Anything lost in the overflows? Super challenging to reach it because of course overflows are super narrow and all the way down.
I had two pygmy gobies in the overflows and abandoned the rescue effort in favor of just flushing them down the sump and catching them in a net at the pipe ends.
I always thought once I got it set up I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore but it's weird how things still seem to come up where I need to reach in.
Doable in a 29 but I no longer crave the 31.
I think a 40 would be beautiful but very difficult to maintain (but you already know that... ;) )

[Mr Cob]

Stephen....for the first time ever I'm enjoying the ease of getting in and out of these tanks...55 standard and the shallow 85...but I so miss having a tall tank...I figure I spend more time staring than maintenance anyways so I'd prefer to focus on improving my quality of stare time...lol.

[Mr Cob]

I purchased a 29" tall tank and after I added so much substrate I wished I had chosen the 31" tall one - for about a month or so until I realized what a challenge even the 29" was (it's also deep so even with my monkey arms I have trouble getting stuff in the back). It can be done but I often come back out with my hair wet and salty and I try to do anything requiring my dive missions in the morning before underarm deodorant goes on!
Anything lost in the overflows? Super challenging to reach it because of course overflows are super narrow and all the way down.
I had two pygmy gobies in the overflows and abandoned the rescue effort in favor of just flushing them down the sump and catching them in a net at the pipe ends.
I always thought once I got it set up I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore but it's weird how things still seem to come up where I need to reach in.
Doable in a 29 but I no longer crave the 31.
I think a 40 would be beautiful but very difficult to maintain (but you already know that... ;) )

lol...you paint a funny picture...thx!

Yeah, I know I'm asking for trouble but for some reason it peeks my interest even more. The half circle was 29" tall and that was about all I could imagine being able to handle...and here I am thinking about a 40".

Can anyone think of anything I might be missing besides maintenance. Any other problems like special needs for a stand or anything...I don't know...just making sure there is nothing else to consider.

[Mr Cob]

Anyone know how tall Jose's 600g is?

[Mr Cob]

its 12 -14 inchs wide no wider ... we just cleaned it this past week so in 2 or 3 weeks will be back ill try and get some pics

Thx...I'd really like to see it.


Rob, the biggest problem I see is the height. I have a 30" tank and it's a royal pain.

BTW, many moons ago, one of the great display tanks was a 110. It was 2 55s, end to end. GREAT for swimmers.

lol...maybe I will go 4 55s...side by side and stacked...haha!

[Europhyllia]

I think JT could stand in the 600g submerged. JT how tall are you?

[Mr Cob]

buwahahahahaha!

[Gseclipse02]

I think JT could stand in the 600g submerged. JT how tall are you?

we got jokes !!!!!


i think 3 feet on joses

[Europhyllia]

If Jose's is only 3feet then 40" is way too tall. Jose's looks pretty huge. Maybe it's the stand?

[Mr Cob]

JT...did you mean that was 3 feet on your height or Jose's tank?





: p

[hobogato]

i think his tank is 40" tall.

that sounds like a great tank to do something like a batfish or seahorses and pipefish rob

[Mr Cob]

i think his tank is 40" tall.

that sounds like a great tank to do something like a batfish or seahorses and pipefish rob


Oh man Ace that would be awesome....definitely something to consider.

[Europhyllia]

Oh that's perfect then. You can go look at it and picture yourself working on it :)
When I saw it my first thought was scuba gear!

[Jarob]

Whew Rob that sounds crazy but awesome.. so, crazy awesome. Theres a few reefs on RC that are ridiculously deep too, one I remember for sure was the reef they built for John Cena, it was like 4 feet deep I think? I realllllly like your idea of being able to cover a wall though.

What ever are you doing with your frag display? Is that really just a frag tank and not related to your the display you want!?

[hobogato]

or, you could do trumpetfish - not sure about the min. tank required for them tho...

[Bill S]

Also, remember "hydrostatic pressure". Doubling the depth of your tank has a huge impact on potential leaks.

[Mr Cob]

Also, remember "hydrostatic pressure". Doubling the depth of your tank has a huge impact on potential leaks.

thanks...this is the kind of info I'm after.

I'm aware of the difficulty in maintenance....but want to know about what I don't know.

Thanks, Bill. So...I would assume "brick" would be out of the question with these dimensions and a brace would help me in moving forward?

[Mr Cob]

Whew Rob that sounds crazy but awesome.. so, crazy awesome. Theres a few reefs on RC that are ridiculously deep too, one I remember for sure was the reef they built for John Cena, it was like 4 feet deep I think? I realllllly like your idea of being able to cover a wall though.

What ever are you doing with your frag display? Is that really just a frag tank and not related to your the display you want!?

Thanks, Jarob. The 85g has a different future not related to my display tank I want. The 85g will still be a frag tank. The 55g I'm in at the moment is my holding/temp tank until I get a new large display tank.

[Mr Cob]

or, you could do trumpetfish - not sure about the min. tank required for them tho...

As long as they are reef safe...which might rule batfish out???

[ErikH]

Are you trying to get the bends?

You seriously may need a snorkel and a divers mask. It's a good thing you dont have hair. That is really deep. Are you planning on an in wall? An inwall would make it even harder! I know that with a flip top canopy, I cant reach the bottom of the overflow because the lid and back hinge don't allow. It would be difficult, that's for sure.

[Mr Cob]

no in wall. diving will not be possible...tank will be too narrow. canopy would open from the front and possibly the top as well.

what are the bends?

[RayAllen]

no in wall. diving will not be possible...tank will be too narrow. canopy would open from the front and possibly the top as well.

what are the bends?

The bends is basically a divers sickness that can kill if you are not careful also know as Decompression sickness.

Decompression sickness (DCS; also historically or colloquially known as divers' disease, the bends or caisson disease) describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurisation. DCS most commonly refers to a specific type of scuba diving hazard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_hazards_and_precautions) but may be experienced in other depressurisation events such as caisson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caisson_(engineering)) working, flying in unpressurised aircraft and extra-vehicular activity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra-vehicular_activity) from spacecraft.
Since bubbles can form in or migrate to any part of the body, DCS can produce many symptoms, and its effects may vary from joint pain and rashes, to paralysis and death. Individual susceptibility can vary from day to day, and different individuals under the same conditions may be affected differently or not at all. The classification of types of DCS by its symptoms has evolved since its original description over a hundred years ago.
Although DCS is not a common event, its potential severity is such that much research has gone into preventing it, and scuba divers use dive tables (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dive_tables) or dive computers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dive_computers) to set limits on their exposure to pressure and their ascent speed. Treatment is by hyperbaric oxygen therapy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbaric_oxygen_therapy) in a recompression chamber (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recompression_chamber). If treated early, there is a significantly higher chance of successful recovery.


I already knew this stuff from Dive books and TV shows, but figured your would like the long answer...

[RayAllen]

As far as the tank Rob; Although it sounds cool, 40" is to tall. Personally Id opt for making the stand taller and go with a 30-32" tall tank. Measure from your armpit to the tip of your fingers. Thats a good guide ;)

[Mr Cob]

yeah yeah yeah....still not buying it. I'm going tall so find another reason to stray me away from it other than not being able to reach the bottom...or should I say middle.....lol

Hey...thanks for the "bend" explanation. Man I swear I learn something new on here everyday.

[txav8r]

Crazy Awesome! I like that

[Europhyllia]

Coral Magazine had a nice feature on a tank dedicated to Coral Shrimpfish. Kind of like a Where's Waldo thing but pretty neat!

[lakers10]

I agree with bill my tank is 31 deep.. A pain but I am goin to love it when it's fully stocked. Very different kind of tanks..

[StevenSeas]

I agree with Bill about the pressure issue. those dimensions could potentially make the glass have to be fairly thick driving up the price, course its custom so w/e. But also if you (and I really mean Jack) are planning on making a stand for the tank make sure its built extra strong because the height being so tall means a lot more weight over a smaller surface area so a lot of downward force on your stand. So you will probably not want tile under it as the stand could crack it. maybe? And then the only other potential problem I see with a tank this deep is flow and filtration. On the 6 foot deep tanks that I have cleaned and worked on the problem is getting good flow and even intake along the full length of the tank. It will be more important to make sure you keep the bad stuff suspended so it doesn't settle because that will make cleaning that much more difficult. If you have a standard overflow box this will negate some of these issues. but keeping the flow good without dead spots or areas of super high flow could prove problematic depending on how you go about it.

[Regric25]

Anyone know how tall Jose's 600g is?

"50000 inches tall! LOL

[RayAllen]

[QUOTE=aggiereefer12;789884]I agree with Bill about the pressure issue. those dimensions could potentially make the glass have to be fairly thick driving up the price, course its custom so w/e. QUOTE]

Very true, Anything this large and out of the ordinary specs is going to drive the cost up a lot. A couple of years ago I was calling around and glass cages quoted me near $1700 for a similar setup. long, tall and narrow. It was going to be a room divider... That cost was coming from glass cages and they are cheaper than a lot of the other builders.

Plenty of people on maast that know people so im sure Rob can find a good deal.

[sampsonndelila]

You probably won't have to worry about you tile. I don't think the height will have much of an effect on the pressure. Tanks and stands are often overbuilt, but then again it’s not going in my house. Better safe then sorry, I think Jose tank is 36 inches.