Width of tank ?

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marinerules

marinerules

Gambusia
MFK Member
Oct 15, 2013
308
2
18
paragould arkansas
If it were you guys .... What depth would u choose from 2 to 8 feet wide

I'm planning a tank in the future and I thought about going ahead and going 8 feet wide since that's the standard length of a sheet of plywood to begin with

However this will cut down on my close up viewing of my fish. I may need to reduce the width to 5 feet or so

I originally wanted a tank 40 feet long to go the whole length of my building , but since this will be my first DIY tank project I've decided to go smaller

I've debated between concrete and 2x6s and I've decided to go the wood route as I'm more comfortable working with wood

The tank will more than likely be 2x6 stacked lumber method and measure 20 feet long including a 3/4 in thick , 36 in tall , 12 foot length glass window
Which leaves 4 feet of wood on each side of the window. If I can get by with less I may do 3 feet on each side of the window

Will also be using sanitreds product line to waterproof the tank


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I'm a huge fan of wide tanks, I say go as wide as possible! It gives you more of a natural look, and the ability to see your fish do more than swim from left-to-right. Bear in mind access can be a problem, with my current 1200mm wide 700mm high tank I don't have a hope of reaching the back with anything other than a long pole/siphon. Anything wider and you're going to have to go for a swim to aquascape, catch fish etc! For me the reduced 'close up' viewing of the fish is more than made up for by the space for three-dimensional movement.

What are the other dimensions going to be, and what are you planning on keeping? If you're wanting to keep lots of fast riverine fish (like the stock in VLDesigns really long DIY tank) then going for length over width would make sense, but for pretty much everything else I'd opt for width in proportion to the length.
 
This will be a saltwater setup
I have a 300 gallon saltwater tank now with a couple tangs , triggerfish, damsels, and eels


What do you mean " what are my other dimensions going to be" ?

Like I said I would love to go ahead and go the whole 35 or 40 feet long with 3 10 foot windows. Which I could do alot later on .

However I think a 8 foot wide x 20 foot long tank is a good beginner size yea? Lol

I would need to do alot of research but a 8 foot wide tank would be good for me to keep a blue dot stingray or banded shark

Alot of people say the stacked lumber method is a waste but I want to use it in my build! , Gives me more peace of mind with than much water in my home

This will be awhile before I start. I just wanted to get some opinions on widths of a tank

I was also Leary on that wide because alot of times a 2 to 4 foot tank will look clear, but when you look down the same tank they the ends its not


Guess good filtration and I won't have to worry about that lol


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Also a big thank you to johng, silentbob and others for all the great one on one advice and help I've been getting through private messages :)

This place really is full of nice people

While I do love reefcentral. Com. They Tend to flame alot there


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marinerules said:
What do you mean " what are my other dimensions going to be" ?
Click to expand...

I mean what are the other dimensions of the aquarium you're planning going to be? You mentioned 40' then said it's a bit ambitious for a first-time DIY build [and I agree], so I was trying to ascertain just how large you were thinking of going. 20x8' is one hell of a footprint, if you've got the money and inclination to do a salt tank that large then by all means go for it. If it were me I'd cut down on the amount of wood at the ends of the window as much as possible, and if possible avoid multiple windows. I know it is rather expensive getting a single piece of glass/acrylic ~15-20' long, but so is running and maintaining 3-4000g+ of salt water. IMO the one-off investment in a big one-piece window (and ultra-clear if it's glass) would be money well spent.

With regards to the water clarity, of course any haze is more noticable when looking through a larger body of water, but IMO with sufficient lighting and good mechanical filtration I don't think it would be enough of an issue to put me off going wide.
 
Yes 8 feet wide by 20 feet long

I've always been able to keep saltwater tanks better than fresh haha

Yea. I just want the one 12 foot long window

I may just do 3 feet on each side of the window which would make it 18 feet wide

36 in tall window. I may run 6 inches of 2x4 before starting my window. So water depth would be around 40 in




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I would consider acrylic as its clearer and stronger but I can't find where to buy it. I emailed glasscages and they quoted me my glass but forgot to quote the acrylic. Ill have to email them again

I originally wanted a two window tank so I cod put a divider in it and have things on one side that live with the other

For example I love hermit crabs and snails. I also love triggerfish ,,,, and well.... Triggers eat both


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8' or bust if not larger :) ...my build is 14'x8'x4' and I wish I would have atleast made the width 10' and the length 16'
 
The way these triggers go after my fingers I'm not sure I would feel safe to actually step in the tank haha.

I'm going to have 4x4 braces all the way down the top of it. I don't know if these could be crawled on or not ? If not maybe I should brace with 6x6s


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