display size to room size proportion?

[mrpizzaface]

IMO a 180 is too big. I had a similar sized space only much longer. I made a mockup using thin sticks and realistically you need more than a couple inches out from the wall. The size simply overpowered the room and looked out of place.

Out of curiosity why do you think I need more than a couple of inches off of the wall?

 

[mrpizzaface]

its always a fun challenge to decide on the size of the tank eh? alot of good info had been given. but in my humble option ( for what ever its worth ) wider and longer always look better to me. easier to scape to.
but that's just me.

maybe go room divider? I think they really open up a room then you get the best of both wolds.
if you cant do that can you move the table away another few feet? or better yet add the tank to the living room. that was its in the room you are in most...just some thoughts!
cheers

I appreciate your suggestions. This room is currently right next to my living room. I have a good view of the tank from where I sit on my sofa. If I do go with this size tank, I will likely move the table over a foot or so.

 

[O'l Salty]

Out of curiosity why do you think I need more than a couple of inches off of the wall?

I had an overflow box in the center of the tank and was going to do a bean animal overflow. The union to connect the plumping was 3" in diameter and by the time I put my big fat hand around it I'd need 6". I'm sure you could design a system that didn't need that much space but I don't like corner overflows. I bought the tank and stand but never set it up.

 

[Fin]

Yeah, I have always wanted plenty of room to reach anything behind the tank, to include being able to clean and repaint the wall, if necessary. A couple of inches is pretty tight. Is that the only place you have to put the tank? From your picture, it looks like it will get a little cramped walking between the tank and table, especially if someone is sitting on that side. My 2¢ anyway.

 

[RussiReef]

IMO if you are looking for peace of furniture then yes you need to size it and it has to be a proportional. But if you are looking for nice coral reef tank then bigger is better . I have relatively small living room and my 280 fits nicely.

 

[Jeepguy242]

IMO if you are looking for peace of furniture then yes you need to size it and it has to be a proportional. But if you are looking for nice coral reef tank then bigger is better . I have relatively small living room and my 280 fits nicely.

beautiful tank!

 

[mrpizzaface]

I had an overflow box in the center of the tank and was going to do a bean animal overflow. The union to connect the plumping was 3" in diameter and by the time I put my big fat hand around it I'd need 6". I'm sure you could design a system that didn't need that much space but I don't like corner overflows. I bought the tank and stand but never set it up.

Due to the narrow nature of that room I had been planning on running an internal overflow. I was just figuring I would need enough space to run the cables from the lights and powerheads.

 

[mrpizzaface]

IMO if you are looking for peace of furniture then yes you need to size it and it has to be a proportional. But if you are looking for nice coral reef tank then bigger is better . I have relatively small living room and my 280 fits nicely.

Your tank looks great. If you don't mind my asking what are your room dims and you tank dims?

 

[mrpizzaface]

Yeah, I have always wanted plenty of room to reach anything behind the tank, to include being able to clean and repaint the wall, if necessary. A couple of inches is pretty tight. Is that the only place you have to put the tank? From your picture, it looks like it will get a little cramped walking between the tank and table, especially if someone is sitting on that side. My 2¢ anyway.

Realistically it is the only space on my 1st floor I could put a longish tank. I live in NYC, and while my apartment isn't tiny, it is still an old NYC apartment. I have never tried or felt the need to paint behind a large piece of furniture. I recognize there will be no painting behind this tank without breaking it down. I think I can live with that. From the front of the proposed tank to the opposite side of the room it is approximately 10' 6". If I move the table over I can have four feet on either side of the table.

 

[maroun.c]

Don'tfi Italy a lo

IMO if you are looking for peace of furniture then yes you need to size it and it has to be a proportional. But if you are looking for nice coral reef tank then bigger is better . I have relatively small living room and my 280 fits nicely.

A longer and wider tank definitely looks nicer and allows u more space for a bigger variety of fish and also better stability... But ibis still a piece of furniture in your room and if the tank overpowers the furniture or the room size much it ends up looking too big and that takes away of its beauty IMO.
A nice balanced size to the rest of the room always wins it.
I upgraded from a 150 to a 400 and past the first week of having the big tank, both tanks looked rather close in size do unless ur really jumping to an 800 G plus tank a 1-200 G larger tank isn't really that bigger, that is what I ended up feeling, so I am more for driving the size, position, and woodwork of the tank tonblend in as part of the room design and let ur corals and fish be the differing factor and MOE tonjump to the eye. Playing it clever with ur rockwork can add a lot of feeling of depth to the tank, some open space does make the tank look bigger. One thing i still have tontrybbut is those shadow boxes that were a quick trend years back which do add a visual feeling of depth. If u look at my scape esoelpecially after corals were added it does add to the depth of the tank and many believe it's wider than it really is. A black background tends to let u not see the end of the tank which also adds to the feeling of depth.

 

[RussiReef]

beautiful tank!

Thank you . It took for me long 5 years to create this peace of ocean.

 

[RussiReef]

Your tank looks great. If you don't mind my asking what are your room dims and you tank dims?

Thank you for kind words. My tank is 72x30x30. Room is approx. 25x15.

 

[mrpizzaface]

Don'tfi Italy a lo

A longer and wider tank definitely looks nicer and allows u more space for a bigger variety of fish and also better stability... But ibis still a piece of furniture in your room and if the tank overpowers the furniture or the room size much it ends up looking too big and that takes away of its beauty IMO.
A nice balanced size to the rest of the room always wins it.
I upgraded from a 150 to a 400 and past the first week of having the big tank, both tanks looked rather close in size do unless ur really jumping to an 800 G plus tank a 1-200 G larger tank isn't really that bigger, that is what I ended up feeling, so I am more for driving the size, position, and woodwork of the tank tonblend in as part of the room design and let ur corals and fish be the differing factor and MOE tonjump to the eye. Playing it clever with ur rockwork can add a lot of feeling of depth to the tank, some open space does make the tank look bigger. One thing i still have tontrybbut is those shadow boxes that were a quick trend years back which do add a visual feeling of depth. If u look at my scape esoelpecially after corals were added it does add to the depth of the tank and many believe it's wider than it really is. A black background tends to let u not see the end of the tank which also adds to the feeling of depth.

I have made a fairly basic basic drawing showing the floor plan for my space. It is a townhouse and the living room and dining room sort of bleed into each other with a cased double doorway (no doors) between them. This is a pretty basic drawing and drawn pretty much to scale with 1cm = 1foot. The only caveat is that the rooms are actually 150" x150", It was just easier to draw them as a round number. I think my current dining room table is 34", but I plan on making a new table so the dimension is a bit fluid. I would appreciate any insights. For some reason I am having a hard time saving this as anything but a pdf right now. I will attach a photo of the drawing as well.

 

[cilyjr]

Too many people never consider the overall aesthetics when putting in a tank. This to me is a big mistake. I've ben to to many houses where a big tank is "shoehorned " into a room that's too small. I'd rather see a nicely done smaller tank than a giant tank with 18 exposed wires, a cardboard canopy, and 2 folding chairs set in front for viewing.

I'm not suggesting you should or shouldn't get the 180 but the fact you're so unsure suggests to me you already think it's too much.

A 125 is 72in long but only 18 in from front to back.

I have a 180. It's not small.

 

[mrpizzaface]

Too many people never consider the overall aesthetics when putting in a tank. This to me is a big mistake. I've ben to to many houses where a big tank is "shoehorned " into a room that's too small. I'd rather see a nicely done smaller tank than a giant tank with 18 exposed wires, a cardboard canopy, and 2 folding chairs set in front for viewing.

I'm not suggesting you should or shouldn't get the 180 but the fact you're so unsure suggests to me you already think it's too much.

A 125 is 72in long but only 18 in from front to back.

I have a 180. It's not small.

I appreciate your insight. I have never had an aquarium this big, so I think that is part of my hesitation. I initially looked at a 125 but felt the 18" width would be a pretty major limitation. I also think I prefer tanks where the width matches or exceeds the height. Whether I go with a 180 or something smaller this will be a very well appointed build. It will be done well. I am leaning towards the 180.

 

[cilyjr]

Consider a cube in a corner?

 

[chefjpaul]

If someone is sitting in the chair at the table you can still walk between them and the tank. I may be overthinking it. There is still almost 10' from the mockup tank front to the opposite wall.

Get a smaller table

 

[crayon]

Can I make a couple radical suggestions? (I am a professional interior designer so this is right up my alley). You don’t have to take my advice because there are so many options on how you lay out a space. And what I’m going to suggest are just options, you need to make the decisions on what’s best for you.
1. Remove the kitchen door. Most of your activity is going to happen between the kitchen and living room. I see you use the dining room for computer work and with the new tank addition to the dining room, the door may just feel like it blocks traffic flow a bit more. It would help to open up the room and eliminate a bit of congestion.
2. The length of the tank is fine. It’s the depth that’s an issue. As others have mentioned maybe consider something that’s closer to 20” deep? As well as circulation space, you’re going to need maintenance space for dealing with the tank between the table and tank. Also, I think your table may be wider than 24”. Probably 30 or 32”
3. If you have 10’-6” for the table and chairs, and your table is 30” that leaves 4’ on either side, which is just barely adequate if this was a separate room that you only went in to, to sit down and dine. But this room is a traffic path between the kitchen and living room I think (based on your floor plan). So here are option A and option B.
Option A. Move your table towards the windows by 6” to 12” so you have 4’-6” to 5’ at the tank which gives you just a bit more room to do tank stuff and also not feel like you’re right on top of the tank every time you walk by it. If needed, you can shift the table back to centre at a dinner party, but for every day use, you want more space by the tank.
Option B. Think about how often you use the dining room for formal dinner parties. If it’s not happening every Saturday night, consider changing the two chairs in front of the window to a bench seat (with or without a back, length to be determined). This allows you to pull the dining table over towards the window a lot, because there is no expectation of walking behind the table on that side. So now you only need 30” - 36” for the space between the window and the table, plus the table (30”) which leaves 5’ - 5’-6” between the table and the tank! Perfect!

However not knowing what the window looks like, a bench seat would probably have to be custom made (also considering you have a very nice unusual dining set which looks mid century modern). Might have to factor that into the budget.

Easiest solution? Narrow tank, move table 6”. Ultimate big tank? Plan to add a banquette at the window,
72” long for the tank is fine. Height of the tank up to you.

 

[Dodgersfan]

I appreciate your insight. I have never had an aquarium this big, so I think that is part of my hesitation. I initially looked at a 125 but felt the 18" width would be a pretty major limitation. I also think I prefer tanks where the width matches or exceeds the height. Whether I go with a 180 or something smaller this will be a very well appointed build. It will be done well. I am leaning towards the 180.

I have an 18” front to back tank (90 g) and the only thing I don’t like about my tank is the 18” depth, I wish I had gone 24”. 18” is cramped.

Can you push the table a few inches to a foot away from the tank to make it a little less cramped on that side? I realize you’ve probably got a chandelier or light fixture centered in the room, but those can be moved to center over the new table location.

 

[Billdogg]

^^^This^^^

I would go with Option B. You can always pull the table out if you need to squeeze in a few more bodies. I like the idea of getting rid of the kitchen door as well.