th365thli
Active Member
I have a cutout in my basement that is just over 5 feet long. So I've been thinking about putting a bigger aquarium there. Something like a Red Sea 650. It would be a very snug fit. Is side or back access crucial?
Space needed for Red Sea Aquarium?
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blaxsun
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Only if you want to scrape the glass, mount any equipment, clean spills down the sides, etc. I have a 750XXL with about 2-3 feet on either side for this express purpose.
blaxsun
10K Club member
If you get a lid that has a 4-6" radius (or more) of solid material around the edge of the tank you can minimize or even eliminate splashes that would run down the side of the tank. And as long as you can reach in with a hand or arm - you should be able to scrape the glass.
Not having anything on the sides does make it a lot easier, though. A lot of times when you see recessed tanks there's a fish room immediately behind it for access to the sides and rear for this reason.
ReefRondo
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The frustration levels of not being able to access panels to clean etc will get to you. I have made multiple gadgets for doing it but it’s still annoying. Give yourself enough room to work comfortably and the tank will be better for it.
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With the standard S650 ( I have one) you need to leave a gap of 6 inches at the back to access the rear down pipe valve (which is the most ridiculous design!)
Or you can just replace the value (leave it wide open) by adding a gate valve inside the cabinet to control the down flow which is what I did some time ago.
If you go for the S650 you don’t need any side space as all the pumps (4) are along the back wall (other than to clean the glass)
I will pre-warn you they were an absolute pain to get out and clean, so again I replaced them with 2 MP40’s at each end. If you did this you would of course need some space at the sides. Having said this, if your thinking along modification lines like this, I would buy a different system.
The S650 is very good, and does what it says, it’s a self contained system and works very well, it just as you learn in the hobby, sometimes there are better ways.
Or you can just replace the value (leave it wide open) by adding a gate valve inside the cabinet to control the down flow which is what I did some time ago.
If you go for the S650 you don’t need any side space as all the pumps (4) are along the back wall (other than to clean the glass)
I will pre-warn you they were an absolute pain to get out and clean, so again I replaced them with 2 MP40’s at each end. If you did this you would of course need some space at the sides. Having said this, if your thinking along modification lines like this, I would buy a different system.
The S650 is very good, and does what it says, it’s a self contained system and works very well, it just as you learn in the hobby, sometimes there are better ways.
