48x48x18, what would you do with it?

Hey guys, I'm a salt newbie. I've never kept a salt tank before, and don't currently either. However, I'll be breaking some fresh tanks down over the next couple weeks, and was thinking about setting up a 20g just as a trial tank to get my feet wet. Do something really simple with live rock, powerheads, some inverts, and maybe a couple small fish.

If it goes well, I was thinking I'd like to try something larger. This is where my question above comes in.

I have the glass pieces (already cut) for a 48"x48.5"x18" (I think, might be 16" tall, I'll check when I get home) size tank. I was planning on making it a fw stingray tank, but I'm not sure I'll be going that direction any more.

The tank can be drilled, and I'd plan on drilling it and doing a sump, although I guess it could be setup without a sump.

So what I want to know is, if YOU had that size tank, and were going to do salt, what would YOU do?

By the way, it comes out to about 180g if its 18" tall, and 160g if its 16" tall.

Yah, I was definitely thinking it lends itself to a more peaceful community. The only predators I'd be interested in would be sharks or eels, and I think they'd probably outgrow it pretty quickly. Plus I have enough freshwater predators that I'd probably want to do something different.

I was kind of thinking build a "mountain" of coral in the center, which falls down to bare sand around the edges. That would provide a lot of swimming space around the perimeter, plus a ton of surface area at every level to grow corals, and plenty of room for caves for secretive fish and gobies.

Plus I could probably get away with a single light above the middle of the tank (halide pendant), or maybe a pair of 4' T5HO...

Kevin8888;4387711; said:

You mite be able to get away with 2 MH but i think one wouldn't be enough for high light corals. I would recomend building a square overflow in the center of the tank, so the rockwork could be piled against that to hide the setup.

Click to expand...

Yah, this is still a ways away, so I've got plenty of time to plan it still. Heck, I haven't even put the tank together yet!

As far as overflow, I figured I'd drill a single hole for a standpipe drain, and then drill one or two holes for return line standpipes. Probably just one hole, and then have a manifold at the top to split the flow into different directions...

No need to do an actual overflow. Means more room for live rock!