Overall height

[mounts327]

Hi all,
Getting back into the hobby after a 12 year layoff. I am doing a 120 (4’x2’x2’) build. I am sorry if this has been posted but I’m trying to figure out if this can work with the space I have. I’m still planning everything and am slowly acquiring the equipment I need. I’m hoping to have everything carefully planned out before I leave it chase something that won’t work for me. I would like to do a 75 gallon sump (21” H) if I can fit it. I have 79” of height to work with and am wondering how much height I need for a canopy to work in the tank as well as the distance between the top of the sump and the bottom of the DT. Thanks in advance.

[cap11885]

I would like to hear about recommended canopy heights as well as im about to build mine

[mounts327]

Can’t edit for some reason for typo:
*”I hoping to have everything carefully planned out before I purchase something that won’t work for me”

[cap11885]

Dang. No love

[Conor_K]

I have floating canaopy 8-9” abouve my tank.

There are a ton of factors that go into this though.

Type of canopy
Lights being used vs coral type
Goals vs ideal light height.
Hieght of tank
How much working room you’re confortable with

Etc etc...



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[billdogg]

What is the footprint of the stand? I have a standard 120DT with custom built stand. I found that a 40b is just about the perfect size sump for that particular size stand and tank combo. Even with the shorter sump I find access to it somewhat difficult inside the stand.

The only way you'll fit a 75 under it is to build the stand at least several inches larger than the tank, and even then it will be a tight fit. The 21" height if the 75 sump will hinder you as well unless you make the stand itself extra tall. Otherwise you will have major issues fitting a skimmer in there much less ordinary access.

A tall stand presents other problems as well. The top of my stand is at 36", making easy access to the tank (especially the bottom and towards the back) impossible without a step stool.

As mentioned above, your choice of lights and desired hanging height will determine the size of your canopy. The bottom of my hanging canopy is 7" above the tank, with my lights at 12" above the waterline. That allows me access to the tank without messing with the canopy, although the front is hinged so that it can be raised out of the way if needed.

That gives me a total height of 75" to the top of the canopy, but I have 14' of ceiling above so it does not appear to be "too big" where it sits.

The bottom line, however, is that your tank can be whatever and however you want it to be.

hth!

[mounts327]

Originally Posted by billdogg

What is the footprint of the stand? I have a standard 120DT with custom built stand. I found that a 40b is just about the perfect size sump for that particular size stand and tank combo. Even with the shorter sump I find access to it somewhat difficult inside the stand.

The only way you'll fit a 75 under it is to build the stand at least several inches larger than the tank, and even then it will be a tight fit. The 21" height if the 75 sump will hinder you as well unless you make the stand itself extra tall. Otherwise you will have major issues fitting a skimmer in there much less ordinary access.

A tall stand presents other problems as well. The top of my stand is at 36", making easy access to the tank (especially the bottom and towards the back) impossible without a step stool.

As mentioned above, your choice of lights and desired hanging height will determine the size of your canopy. The bottom of my hanging canopy is 7" above the tank, with my lights at 12" above the waterline. That allows me access to the tank without messing with the canopy, although the front is hinged so that it can be raised out of the way if needed.

That gives me a total height of 75" to the top of the canopy, but I have 14' of ceiling above so it does not appear to be "too big" where it sits.

The bottom line, however, is that your tank can be whatever and however you want it to be.

hth!

Thank you for your reply. This is very helpful and has my wheels spinning. My first tank had a lot of nutrient issues which caused difficulties. Because of that I am trying to plan this new build to be as successful as possible. This new tank will be bare bottom and because of that I wanted to up my rock to 2 lbs/gallon. But I don’t want my DT to be over crowded with rock therefor I wanted a 75 gallon sump where I would make half of it a refugium and stuff as much rock in it as I can. I also wanted to have a big fuge to support 1 or 2 mandarins.

I am going to be running a 6 bulb T5 fixture that I saved from my last tank. I may upgrade in the future but for now it will work being on a budget while getting started. My fixture has a height of 4 inches and if I want to have it 12 inches about the water I need my canopy to be a minimum of 16 inches. That gives me 16 inches between the top of a 75 gal sump and the bottom of the DT, subtract 3.5” for the 2x4 the stand will be made out of and it gives me about 12” to work with in my sump. It sounds like this won’t be enough room.
My tank will be built into a wall but I want to have access to the tank from both sides therefor the need for a canopy or some version of one. Behind the wall I may be able to have my sump off set and perpendicular to the stand. If this is possible I won’t have a height restriction. Do you think there is anything I need to be concerned about having an offset sump ~16” below the DT? I will have some horizontal plumbing for a max run of 5-6’

[billdogg]

An offset sump will give you no troubles at all. Just remember to minimize the turns in the plumbing and if possible, use only 45's rather than 90's for the turns, and keep it all running downhill. For my f60g rag tank I used a 100g Rubbermaid stock tank as the sump. It is unbreakable, cannot leak, and gives you more than enough room for all the rock you might ever want. For the skimmer I built and acrylic box on short legs the height that the skimmer needs to be kept at.

For T5's, you'll probably want them closer to the water than 12". Remember that when you double the distance, the intensity is 1/4. (See "inverse square law" - an easy demonstration of that is to take a flashlight, point it straight down at a yard stick and measure the spread of the beam. Then double the distance. That same beam will cover 4x the area)

To maximize space, place the sump down into the stand rather than sitting on top of the base 2x's. Just use a piece of plywood on the bottom. You gain an instant 3.5" and can then seal the inside of the stand to prevent "spills" from escaping onto the floor.

Rather than use a canopy, because your tank will be in-wall, I would suggest a false front. This will give you the look of a canopy while still allowing complete access to the tank in front and tank/lighting on the sump side. Hanging lights will be easier and you will avoid any heat issues that can be a problem with an enclosed canopy.

hth!