[samsreef]

Now I wish I had listened to my Dad when I brought the 190l corner aqarium that I currently have! Although I don't have many fish in the tank (3: bicolor angel, maroon clown & purple tang) I think it is already nearly full fish wise as the purple tang will need a bigger home in around 6 months. (hence this thread)

I really didn't want to have to go ahead and upgrade this soon but now I have learnt more I know that I have to be realistic.

I plan to upgrade in around 4 months however I want to plan everything well in advanced so it all goes. So the first thing i'm thinking about is tank size and dimensions and how it will fit and what about the weight on the wooden floor!!

I was looking for the display tank: 36"x24"x24" as this would fit nicely in a spot in the house. That is 72 UK Gallons / 86 US Gallons which should be big enough for my purple tang and have room for more fish in the future.

The sump/refugium will sit under the tank in the cabinet at: 30"x18"x15" as this will leave plenty of room for plugs and maintenance and holds a reasonable 28 UK Gallons / 33 US Gallons.

However I dont know whether this will be to heavy for the wooden floor. The tank will be sitting directly over one interior wall, and will be against the outside house wall and another interior wall. The floor is pretty solid that end of the room but I still need some advice!! (I will get someone to have a look at it before I purchase anything)

The second plan if that is to large in weight is:

Display tank: 30"x24"24" which is 60 UK Gallons/72 US Gallons.
Sump/refugium: 24"x18"x15" which is 22 UK Gallons/26 US Gallons.

That would be a reaonsable sized tank but I would prefer the extra capcity if possible and it would be better for the purple tang!

Please let me know what your thoughts are.
(This is the place i'm thinking of getting it from: http://www.wharfaquatics.co.uk/wharftanks.htm)

[scubadude]

Hey Sam

The general rule of thumb for tangs is to have 6' length for swimming, with that being said why not go to dimensions of 72x24x18 its not that much more money or even 72x24x24. Not to mention with that much more volume how much more stable your tank would be. Just leave it up to us to plan to spend more of your money right!?!

[samsreef]

Originally Posted by scubadude

Hey Sam

The general rule of thumb for tangs is to have 6' length for swimming, with that being said why not go to dimensions of 72x24x18 its not that much more money or even 72x24x24. Not to mention with that much more volume how much more stable your tank would be. Just leave it up to us to plan to spend more of your money right!?!

The problem is the weight on the floor and that it won't fit in the room, money isnt an issue.

[scubadude]

Ok I reread your original post about the weight of the floor and the location of the tank. Im a little confused though Will the tank be on a 2nd story floor of your house? Lets say that you have a 72x24x24 which is a 180 US gallon tank. Knowing that water will be approximately 8lbs per gallon, I would say that your water volume for the tank will be 1440 lbs plus the weight of the tank and LR and other equipment I would say that your load capacity for a 180g wouldnt be much more than 2400lbs if that much (im thinking more along the lines of about 2000lbs) Once you can verify a good idea of how much weight you are talking about then its just a matter of finding out if your floor can handle that. I would think that if you have access to blueprints of the house and show them to an engineer that he would be able to decipher what type of load you would be able to place in that area.

[samsreef]

Hi Scuba,

Yes the tank would be on the second story of my house and I'm worried about the weight on my floor. The most safe place I can think to put it won't fit a 6ft tank in, maxium 3ft, hence the dimensions. Has anyone else had any problems with tanks on wood floors?

[Samper]

My buddy had a similar problem but it was on the first floor, he just went under the house and inserted a jack or two and some cinder blocks for added support.

Can you not situate it on the first story somewhere?

[samsreef]

Originally Posted by Samper

My buddy had a similar problem but it was on the first floor, he just went under the house and inserted a jack or two and some cinder blocks for added support.

Can you not situate it on the first story somewhere?

Unfortunately not, I already share a 400l tank with my Dad on the 1st floor and the "boss" (Ie my mum) would refuse the addition of another tank on the 1st floor. It would be ideal as that is concrete floor.

Does anybody think that the 86 US Gallons ( 36"x24"x24") is to small for the purple tang? At the moment it doesnt even swim a great deal and when it does its just weaving in and out of the rocks....

[samsreef]

Ok, I have had some time to chill, get a quote for a sump for my other tank & change my mind again . However now I really need everyone's advice, I have done a lot of planning & reading and what follows is what I want to do and a ton of questions.

After talking to a number of friends we all agree that a 36x24x24 (86 us gal) all-glass tank will be a ok weight on the floor (in fact we think it will be better position weight wise than the corner one I currently have). (Yes I know it is half the length that is ideal for tangs but I don't have any room for a 6ft tank and I think you will all agree that it will be better than my current 50 us gal corner tank.) The question is should I go bow-front or not? Would it give me better viewing? Is it better for the fish or does it cut swimming space?

I will not be able to view the aquarium from the sides as two walls are in the way (it will be almost like an in wall, but not lol). So I will be using a black backing for the sides & back.

With regards to aqua scaping, I prefer not to have a great big wall of LR rock. I think I would prefer to have two separate "walls" of rock with kind of like an open space between them. I'm completely unsure about this though and would like to here others suggestions for aquascaping a 3ft long reef. I want quite a lot of room for corals & hiding places for fish.

I plan to have it open top & us my existing two over tank T5 suspended lighting + another one to cover the whole length of the tank.

The cabinet, tank, sump/refugium & plumbing will all be custom made by: http://www.wharfaquatics.co.uk

The tank will be drilled, I still need to discuss other plumbing with them.

The sump/refugium will be 30" length sump 40cm/16" wide and 40cm/16" high (around 31 us gal). Is this a reasonable size sump or should I get a larger one? I cant really get one much longer..

Will also need a return pump which I have abosultely no clue about & a new skimmer as my prizm hangon just wont cut it. Any ideas on good skimmers, are aqua medic any good? I think that's what my dad uses but he doesn't know how it compares to the rest.

I'm also going to be getting more live rock & using all of the live rock from my current system when I transfer it. (after that tank is set-up and finished cycling)

I'm getting another two pumps for my wave maker for extra current, two on one side & two on the other side. (1000l an hour)

I haven't decided if I want to go bare bottom or not. I like the look of sand as it makes it look more realistic but I also know its a nightmare to clean. I have read benefits of bare bottom & thick sand beds. Which do you think I should go for? I might just go for a thin layer of sand at the bottom like I have currently (just around the live rock).

Also another thing, should I get supports to put the live rock on? What does everyone else us to make their aquascaping?

Sorry about the long post & I look forward to hearing al of your suggestions etc

This will be the only tank upgrade that I will be doing for the foreseable future so I want this one to be right. I rushed when I got my corner aquarium & soon paid the price when I found out that I needed a sump & it wouldn't fit, and I needed suspended lighting because nothing would fit.

Thanks in advanced for your input! If everything goes ok I want to be able to confirm my finally dimensions etc & put in the order for at least the tank at the start of march.

[samsreef]

Have I done something to upset you all?
It's very quiet around here, could do with some reasurance that i'm doing the right thing by upgrading

Im not expecting anyone to just give me miracle, honest, i don't bite