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View Full Version : 24 vs 30 tall, opinions?


GuOD
01/27/2007, 10:06 PM
Hey everyone,

Shortly I will be getting a new drilled tank. I'm trying to decide between a 48x24x24 or 48x24x30tall. My light fixture is 48" so I will be sticking with a 48" tank.

Light is 729 2x250w 10k mh, 216w actinic t5, and LEDs.

I'd like to keep a wide variety of corals including clams, tongue coral, hammer, frogspawn, torch, acros, an anemone etc, and was wondering if these could survive in a 30" deep tank? I was also planning to have a 4" sand bed.

I also need to decide how much LR is required - I ordered 100 lbs of base rock and 25 lbs of liverock, totaling approx "175 lbs of live rock" for my tank. The tank seems fairly full with this amount. Should I be adding more?

Thanks for advice!!

Setup:
Tank 48x24x24 or 48x24x30tall
100 lbs base rock
25 lbs live rock
2x300w aquaclear heater
coralife super skimmer 220 (i think this should be upgraded?)
2x Seio 820 on low power aiming at each other. I find high power creates too much flow. maybe need a third? Not sure.

jtreath
01/27/2007, 11:20 PM
Hi.. now I am biased because I went with 30" tall.

My new tank.. which is still sitting in the crate until I can hire movers to move it.. is 54 x 30 x 30. I was going to go with 18 or 24 tall, but instead I opted for the taller tank to give me more vertical depth for a variety of corals.

The thing I learned during my research is with 30 inches you actually have a much larger degree of freedom in choosing your corals.. BUT you need to be running 400 w MH to penetrate all the way down. You should also be looking at 13,000 for spectrum. Otherwise the light to the bottom of the tank will be ineffective.

However, now that I actually have the monster it became apparent very quickly how difficult it will be to clean it. My arms are only 29 inches long...lol so you get the picture.

Also.. I would definitly upgrade the skimmer. I am currently running the same skimmer as you on my 75.. for the new tank I got a Precison Marine Bullet series skimmer.

Good luck with it.

Jeff

E-A-G-L-E-S
01/27/2007, 11:27 PM
Yup, depends how long your arms are from core of pit to say middle of palm.

I had a 29" tall 210g. .... well, i'm 5'8" and i got sore everytime i had to get to sandbed. I will never get more than 24" high again for just that reason, no other as i loved the view.

MaGNuS042
01/27/2007, 11:44 PM
nah, i have 250s in lumenarcs and i have a bright green cap all the way on the sand in my 28 inch tall tank. u dont need 400s

Mr.Limpet
01/27/2007, 11:45 PM
I've got a 48x24x30 and I'm lovin it. I'm 5'11" so it still is literally a reach to the bottom but I have a 4 inch sand bed. It is difficult to landscape with live rock- you have to think more vertical. I special ordered serveral pieces 12-14 inches tall.

My stand is 40 inches tall so the tank is really high and I need a step ladder to service it. I am using an H&S A200-1260 - rated for twice the size of my tank.

The extra six inches really make a dramatic difference. I measured the diagonal viewing area of my tank and it is bigger than my 52inch
TV. If you own a large screen TV you really can't go back to a small screen- same with a large tank. Just do it.

jtreath
01/27/2007, 11:47 PM
Magnus.. guod had mentioned wanting Clams.. that is why I was suggesting 400 W

MaGNuS042
01/27/2007, 11:49 PM
i have a crocea and a derasa in my sand bed as well, been there for ages and doing great. If you look on Sanjay's data site you'll see that some 250s put out a lot more par than 400s.

E-A-G-L-E-S
01/28/2007, 12:13 AM
some not many, especially if you take same bulb from 250 compared to its 400 brother...

Dubbin1
01/28/2007, 12:14 AM
My only complaint about my 30" high tank was how hard to was to reach the bottom.

Hop
01/28/2007, 12:52 AM
I would rather go 30" deep and 24" high... than 30" high. I had to make and buy special equipment to get to everything on my tank. Plus the lighting expense.

Just my thoughts though:D

GuOD
01/28/2007, 12:59 AM
Thanks to everyone so far for the input. My lighting fixture is an Outer Orbit HQI T5HO light setup. I'm sure the stock lights are sub-par but I believe it's Sunpaq 10k MH and then 420/460nm T5 Actinics.

As far as I can tell:

Pros:
Bigger tank, looks GREAT
More water volume, more liverock
More corals!!

Cons:
Tough to reach bottom, even with 4" sand bed. I'm only 5'11/6'
Some clams may not be able to survive with just 250w mh. Other than the clams, should all other things be safe to keep that deep? Frogspawn/Torch Coral/Tongue Coral?

For me, 400w MH is out of the question as I don't want to get a chiller.

In my mind, the pros far outweigh the cons, and I'm pretty sure I'll end up going ahead with it as I'm sure I will enjoy the tank much more. I'm going to be asking a lot of questions soon as I perfect the set up :) I'll save those questions (ie; skimmer, wavemaker, etc) for the specific forums.

For the tank - I believe my only option is to go through Big Als which doesn't have a 150gal AGA, it has a 150g Perfekto, which only has one corner overflow box. Opinions on placement/1 vs 2 boxes for a tank this size/shape? I would really love to get a 48x30x30 or something, but I don't know where I can get that/if it exists. As for 30" deep, I would think it's more "ideal", but in reality I won't get to see that nearly as much as the extra 6" tall.

Also, I'm in Canada so most US things are out of the question. (For the aquarium, not equipment)

BigBadBlenny
01/28/2007, 01:14 AM
have you looked at www.miraclesaquariums.com they are in Mississauga, they make custom stuff. i havent dealt with them myself but i am planning a 180 -200 gal in the future.

let us know what you decide on

GuOD
01/28/2007, 01:28 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9094158#post9094158 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigBadBlenny
have you looked at www.miraclesaquariums.com they are in Mississauga, they make custom stuff. i havent dealt with them myself but i am planning a 180 -200 gal in the future.

let us know what you decide on

Thanks for the link. I've heard of Miracles but didn't know they were based in Mississauga. I live about 45 minutes away. I've already sent them and email anxiously asking questions :)

My other hobby is photography so I'll surely be taking pictures of everything I do!

BigBadBlenny
01/28/2007, 01:34 AM
heheh if you go with them can u update and let me know how the service and prices are?

jtreath
01/28/2007, 06:43 AM
Derek at Miracles is who built my Big Bad Boy! Great people to deal with, he knows his stuff and the craftmanship is excellent.

Now if I could just devise a way to create a 29 hour day so I can work, eat, sleep, look after 4 kids AND get my Tank actually placed on the stand.

I would whole heartedly suggest you deal with them.

GuOD
01/28/2007, 10:06 AM
Thanks jtreath, I will look into speaking with Derek. I may drive down there one weekend and check it out also (if they allow that).

Here are some pictures so far of my setup. Some pictures aren't so great but you get the idea.

http://www.pbase.com/guod/aquarium

Unfortunately, I rushed into things and was stupid (didn't QT) and my tank has been infested with ich. I'm ashamed of what I've done and it's been a lesson learned. I'm moving in April and I will have a QT setup and everything. That's why I'm trying to fully prepare to have everything I require set up to prevent any possible problems/complications.

jtreath
01/28/2007, 08:11 PM
np GuOD. Serioulsy.. Derek knows his stuff. The tank he made for me is 54 x 30 x 30 with 9 drilled holes for 2 closed loop systems, 4 drilled for drain and return. The panels were then tempered after drilling, braced and doubled on the bottom. 2" Euro Bracing on top, custom overflow with a hole drilled halfway up for one of the CL intakes. Starfire on front and back (Both 54" sides are viewable). Good luck with the upgrade and keep us posted.

As for the ich.. too bad. We all have taken shortcuts sometimes, but the ones who are willing to learn from the mistakes will be better for it in the long run. I jumped into the hobby myself way too quickly, but I have been a lucky and didn't have any catastrophes while I was learning.

btw.. I love the pic of your foxface.

STEELERFAN747
01/28/2007, 09:19 PM
The only way I would consider a 30" is if I went with a 6" dsb and had the tank sink into the stand about 4-6", that way you dont see the sand bed unless you actually look into the tank and you still dont have the difficylty of reaching things. Best of all you would sill be able to use your lights)

If this is not an option, I would stick with the 24". As far as the perfecto and the single overflow. I think you will be happy with it. They make nice tanks with black silicone.

GuOD
01/28/2007, 09:32 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9100715#post9100715 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by STEELERFAN747
The only way I would consider a 30" is if I went with a 6" dsb and had the tank sink into the stand about 4-6", that way you dont see the sand bed unless you actually look into the tank and you still dont have the difficylty of reaching things. Best of all you would sill be able to use your lights)

If this is not an option, I would stick with the 24". As far as the perfecto and the single overflow. I think you will be happy with it. They make nice tanks with black silicone.

This is a smart idea. I thought of it before but I didn't know if they can do such things (cheaply).

I'm anxiously waiting to hear back from Miracles to see what kind of stuff they can do and for what price.

I guess if I get a 30" then I can get a DSB and hide it, and then still have 24-26" of viewable area. That would give me slightly more viewing height than what I have now and not be unsightly at all. I don't know about going for a full 6" as it would cost a lot more unless Silica sand is really cheap.

I'm really hoping that Miracles has similar (or better haha!) prices to what Big Als offers from Perfecto/AGA. I'm hoping they can also design a full system w/ cabinet and sump.

Hal
01/29/2007, 07:06 AM
I've got a 30 inch tank with a 4 inch DSB and love it. Certainly if you plan to run a DSB I would NOT go with a 24 inch tank. You'll lose too much swimming area to the sand. I chose the 30 inch tall tank primarily because I was tired of stooping over to look into my tank. The extra height is very dramatic too.

I'm running 250W MH's, and have a monti digitata growing great guns on the sand.

E-A-G-L-E-S
01/29/2007, 10:51 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9094088#post9094088 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GuOD
For me, 400w MH is out of the question as I don't want to get a chiller.

I run a 250w & a 400w with over 200w actinic over my 58g and i do not need a chiller, just some well placed desk fans(one over water surface of display, one over sump) and the fans in the canopy.

SDguy
01/29/2007, 11:18 AM
I have a 30" tall tank. I can't reach the bottom. Hate that part (I have no sant either).

I have 250W 14K on Icecaps in PFO's, and have acros growing near the bottom. My caps actually look better in the shade, than in full light near the bottom. I absolutely feel you do NOT need 400W halides on a 30" tall tank, unless you want to grow porites on the floor :D

davocean
01/29/2007, 11:46 AM
I prefer more surface area and longer swimming zone, so I prefer shallower but deeper or longer tanks.
Plus trying to reach bottom sounds like it could be a pain.

RichConley
01/29/2007, 12:41 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9104652#post9104652 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SDguy
I have a 30" tall tank. I can't reach the bottom. Hate that part (I have no sant either).

I have 250W 14K on Icecaps in PFO's, and have acros growing near the bottom. My caps actually look better in the shade, than in full light near the bottom. I absolutely feel you do NOT need 400W halides on a 30" tall tank, unless you want to grow porites on the floor :D

I gotta agree. You only need 400w'ers if you want to keep your water dirty.

jimbo045
01/29/2007, 12:43 PM
Shallower the easier I think. JD

GuOD
01/29/2007, 12:47 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9104933#post9104933 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by davocean
I prefer more surface area and longer swimming zone, so I prefer shallower but deeper or longer tanks.
Plus trying to reach bottom sounds like it could be a pain.

I would love to have a longer tank, 6'... but I already purchased a 48" light.

I think there's still a lot that can be done with a 48" tank... and it's alot easier to have it all in view without standing farther back!

Navyblue
01/29/2007, 12:51 PM
My tank is 48"x24"x24" and I can't reach the back bottom of my tank without dipping my chest or even my face in the water. Personally I won't go any deeper than this, though deeper tanks looked beautiful. But if you have very long arms you might be fine with deeper tanks.