Thoughts in Progress: My Big Tank

[vetteguy53081]

Wow- Love the kitchen, the wall unit and tank !!!! I spend a lot of time in my home office so that is where my cube and drop off tanks are

 

[ludnix]

So realistically, what is the biggest size someone might would consider for a home tank.

Not sure how many gallons but this is about as biggest I think you should go.

Do you have your scuba cert?

Joking aside you have a beautiful home and those tankspiration photos are gorgeous. I think large built in tank would look amazing in that office.

 

[Bleigh]

The best thing I ever did was put my tank in the wall that backs up to the garage. I built a closet in the garage put the tank out there. Cut a hole in the wall and framed it. Not only does it look like a living picture but I can spill all the water I want and it is in the garage. I ran the filter lines into the basement so everything is out of the house but the important view.

That's super smart. I am not sure if my garage would be big enough for a room though.

 

[Bleigh]

Not sure how many gallons but this is about as biggest I think you should go.

Do you have your scuba cert?

Joking aside you have a beautiful home and those tankspiration photos are gorgeous. I think large built in tank would look amazing in that office.

Oh my god! If only I could have a tank like that in my house! I did tell someone today that I should just open a store so I have an excuse to buy all the tanks.... and then sell them to other people

EDIT: I just noticed that was photoshopped into my office doorway!!!! *crying laughing*

 

[JayKim]

If you can dream it, you can build it.

 

[slapshot]

That's super smart. I am not sure if my garage would be big enough for a room though.

It’s just a closet. Big enough for the tank and me.....barely. Just a thought since you said you have a garage wall. Good luck, have fun!

 

[Bleigh]

It’s just a closet. Big enough for the tank and me.....barely. Just a thought since you said you have a garage wall. Good luck, have fun!

Do you have any pictures? I’d love to see what it looks like!

 

[Bleigh]

So, I thought I posted this in this thread, butI posted it in the biocube one. So if you read that one, ignore this.

I went to a new location for one of the LFS's. I told him I was thinking about a 300 gallon and was checking out his 300 gallons on the floor to see how big they seemed. The ones he had were really wide (3-4 feet possibly). I said I didn't want the extra wides and would rather go longer because i know I'd never be able to reach the back.

I felt like he was talking me out of a tank that size. He told me he thought I would really be okay with a 120. I volunteered some of the fish I might like one day and that they needed a bigger tank. He told me if I only put in 5 fish and got a great filtration system, I could really get by with a 120g or 150g. "The filtration is really the only thing that matters." He said the fish I was talking about may not grow full size, but that was okay. I was thinking to myself, "doesn't that mean their growth is stunted and really not okay"?

I'm not in a rush at all and want to make sure I get things right. I don't want to spend a ton of money just to decide it's not what I wanted (too small or too big).

I know for a fact that I don't want to go smaller than a 180 tank and he was telling me I'd be okay with something smaller than that. So my question is, why? Would I really be better off staying closer to the 180-200g range instead of 300g or was he just trying to get me to buy something he currently had on the floor? If it is the second, I'll totally ignore him. However, if a 300 gallon is going to be too big, I don't want to regret that purchase. Right now that's what I'm making my plan around.

For the record, I volunteered pictures of the room and fish species after he kept telling me I'd be okay with something smaller. He also didn't ask about budget.

 

[crusso1993]

So, I thought I posted this in this thread, butI posted it in the biocube one. So if you read that one, ignore this.

I went to a new location for one of the LFS's. I told him I was thinking about a 300 gallon and was checking out his 300 gallons on the floor to see how big they seemed. The ones he had were really wide (3-4 feet possibly). I said I didn't want the extra wides and would rather go longer because i know I'd never be able to reach the back.

I felt like he was talking me out of a tank that size. He told me he thought I would really be okay with a 120. I volunteered some of the fish I might like one day and that they needed a bigger tank. He told me if I only put in 5 fish and got a great filtration system, I could really get by with a 120g or 150g. "The filtration is really the only thing that matters." He said the fish I was talking about may not grow full size, but that was okay. I was thinking to myself, "doesn't that mean their growth is stunted and really not okay"?

I'm not in a rush at all and want to make sure I get things right. I don't want to spend a ton of money just to decide it's not what I wanted (too small or too big).

I know for a fact that I don't want to go smaller than a 180 tank and he was telling me I'd be okay with something smaller than that. So my question is, why? Would I really be better off staying closer to the 180-200g range instead of 300g or was he just trying to get me to buy something he currently had on the floor? If it is the second, I'll totally ignore him. However, if a 300 gallon is going to be too big, I don't want to regret that purchase. Right now that's what I'm making my plan around.

For the record, I volunteered pictures of the room and fish species after he kept telling me I'd be okay with something smaller. He also didn't ask about budget.

I have to entirely disagree with the LFS guy. Especially if you mentioned the different possible fish you are interested in keeping. A standard 120 is 4 x 2 x 2. I would not keep the majority of the fish you want in a 4 foot tank. Especially so in a community setting. I've had all.of the fish you are interested in and, IMHO, a 300 would be the smallest I would go with a community of those fish. Just my $.01 as I'm too broke to pay the full $.02. Some people may disagree with me but that is their prerogative.

 

[Leadfooted]

Too many store owners take the wrong approach to customers like you. He should have heard "300 gallons" and that's it, next step, take you where you can sit down, pull out some glass/aquarium manufactures catalogs allowing you to use your imagination and creativity to see the options available. YOU will make the determination on gallon size as you explore shapes and sizes, the gallons are irrelevant. The focus should be on placement, aesthetics and most important listening/understanding your vision.

 

[Bleigh]

I have to entirely disagree with the LFS guy. Especially if you mentioned the different possible fish you are interested in keeping. A standard 120 is 4 x 2 x 2. I would not keep the majority of the fish you want in a 4 foot tank. Especially so in a community setting. I've had all.of the fish you are interested in and, IMHO, a 300 would be the smallest I would go with a community of those fish. Just my $.01 as I'm too broke to pay the full $.02. Some people may disagree with me but that is their prerogative.

Glad to have reassurance on the larger size. I'm sure all the fish would technically be okay, aka they wouldn't die, in a smaller tank, but I'd like them to be healthier than "not dead". lol

I think I may be too broke for even a 1 cent by the time I'm done with this. So, I'll take all the 1 and 2 cents I can get!

The idea of only being able to do 5 fish after spending a nice sum, either way, is saddening to me also. I'd rather just do it right. Go big or go home.... Or go big then stay home to watch the tank? lol

 

[Captain Quint]

What a great thread and all the brainstorming is interesting and easy for me to envisage.

A 120g is a good tank and considered a nice sized tank but limits are there for sure. I can tell you that an eight-foot tank is nice with all the swim room and easy to section off as far as lighting as many lights (not all) tend to be geared toward 2-foot increments.

I can picture you with a 180g but I confess my eight-foot 300g tank was a hassle to keep up with proper full out the cleaning of all taking up to 6 hours...just my humble opinion of course.

Please keep spitballing with everyone until an idea sticks and enjoy the process.

BTW, your home is beautiful and the idea of a Murphy Bed or variation of is brilliant.

 

[Bleigh]

Too many store owners take the wrong approach to customers like you. He should have heard "300 gallons" and that's it, next step, take you where you can sit down, pull out some glass/aquarium manufactures catalogs allowing you to use your imagination and creativity to see the options available. YOU will make the determination on gallon size as you explore shapes and sizes, the gallons are irrelevant. The focus should be on placement, aesthetics and most important listening/understanding your vision.

Yeah! Thank you for all the support.

I may need to go back in earlier in the day during the week when they're not so busy. See if they react differently - if so, I can chalk it up to them being busy. If not, well, I'll know.

God I'm so excited. I do wish I could just go and buy it all now. I'm going to try to get that massive desk on craigslist this weekend. Hopefully it will be out soon and I'll be one step closer to the goal.

 

[crusso1993]

What a great thread and all the brainstorming is interesting and easy for me to envisage.

A 120g is a good tank and considered a nice sized tank but limits are there for sure. I can tell you that an eight-foot tank is nice with all the swim room and easy to section off as far as lighting as many lights (not all) tend to be geared toward 2-foot increments.

I can picture you with a 180g but I confess my eight-foot 300g tank was a hassle to keep up with proper full out the cleaning of all taking up to 6 hours...just my humble opinion of course.

Please keep spitballing with everyone until an idea sticks and enjoy the process.

BTW, your home is beautiful and the idea of a Murphy Bed or variation of is brilliant.

Hey @Captain Quint - happy all went swimmingly with your daughter's surgery!

Was your 300 a FOWLR? Also, if so, what fish did you home and how often did you perform the "6 hour cleanings"? What did the 6 hour cleanings entail?

 

[Bleigh]

What a great thread and all the brainstorming is interesting and easy for me to envisage.

A 120g is a good tank and considered a nice sized tank but limits are there for sure. I can tell you that an eight-foot tank is nice with all the swim room and easy to section off as far as lighting as many lights (not all) tend to be geared toward 2-foot increments.

I can picture you with a 180g but I confess my eight-foot 300g tank was a hassle to keep up with proper full out the cleaning of all taking up to 6 hours...just my humble opinion of course.

Please keep spitballing with everyone until an idea sticks and enjoy the process.

BTW, your home is beautiful and the idea of a Murphy Bed or variation of is brilliant.

That's a very good point! Cleaning may be difficult independent of the width. How often did you do that 6 hour clean? I guess I need to also consider the cost of having one of the aquarium companies coming in for maintenance if it does get to be too time consuming. Or perhaps I could have one of those companies come in a few times a year to do the deep cleaning if I can keep up with regular maintenance. I will def have an ATO and a system to automate water changes and such, plus one of the dosing systems, I forget the name of the one I was looking at. I feel like all of that will make it a little easier. *Hopefully* *Fingers crossed*

(Thank you! Also, thanks for inserting the correct name of the bed. )

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Go big or go home.... Or go big then stay home to watch the tank? lol

I love this. "Go big and stay home to watch the tank." That is my vote lol.

 

[carbene]

I love this. "Go big and stay home to watch the tank." That is my vote lol.

I put a 600 gallons system in my small bedroom. Now it looked like I'm growing weed at night through the windows

 

[Bleigh]

I put a 600 gallons system in my small bedroom. Now it looked like I'm growing weed at night through the windows

Woah!!! Is it the frame for your bed? That would be amazing! It kinda reminds me of the cartoon caption contest for last month. [emoji1]

 

[Servillius]

No worries, large sheet of plexiglass to block off that opening, few buckets of salt and she'll be right as rain!

I would move the furniture out first though. That's just me.

I currently have a 29 gallon biocube. To say I've fallen in love with salt water tanks would be an understatement. So I know I am going to upgrade, but am not totally sure to what yet. I'm certain there's all kinds of things that I have not thought about, and I know there are tons of things I have thought about, but still have no clue what to do. I decided to go ahead and start this thread to keep everything in one place. This will be a slow and a long project. There's a lot of other things I have thought about that I did not include here, but the post was already getting long.

What I HAVE decided is that the new tank will go in what is now my office (pictures below). I have decided to move my office upstairs. I have two guests bedrooms, one of which rarely gets used. My thoughts is to put a wall-bed in here for the few times I need a second room, but otherwise, this will be my main office space. My current office is right off the front door on one side (the big opening) and the kitchen on the other, so it tends to be a little loud, so moving my office away from all the excitement seems like a good move either way. (The giant desk is going to go away .)



I think this is a good spot because the garage is on the other side of the wall. This will allow me to do some direct plumbing for ATO and water changes.

I think I want to tile the room. It is an 11 X 16 space. One issue is that since this room is right off the entry, it need to look really nice, additionally it needs to match the kitchen, which was finished with a remodel about a year ago now (Pictures below). The doorway is into my current office. I like the idea of the fish tank in this room too because it is out of the way, but still very visible.



I know that I want to keep some fish that are not reef safe at some point (harlequin tusks, butterfly fish, trigger fish, etc.). I am not sure if this is the best tank to have has a FOWLR, or if I should plan that adventure for sometime in the future. There's noting to say that I can't add another tank on the opposite wall as a FOWLR at some point. I really love corals, so if I'm going bigger, I feel like it should def be a reef tank initially.

These are my inspiration pictures. I know I want to keep a desk space, because I want the room to stay useful and I'm sure I'll enjoy being able to work where I can watch the tank(s). I do like the look of an open top (with crating of something to keep the fish from jumping), so I'm not sure I would want top cabinets. I like the third picture with a hanging light over the tank in lieu of can lights.





I am also planning on tiling the room. That is what I am currently pricing out. I know I want a drain in the room, just in case there's an accident and water goes all over the room. (Hopefully it will never be needed, but I do have a 5 year old boy who is decidedly unaware of his surroundings and even less aware of things that may break around him). I'll update the post later with tile ideas.

Let me know what you think of the ideas!

 

[Mastiffsrule]

So, I thought I posted this in this thread, butI posted it in the biocube one. So if you read that one, ignore this.

I went to a new location for one of the LFS's. I told him I was thinking about a 300 gallon and was checking out his 300 gallons on the floor to see how big they seemed. The ones he had were really wide (3-4 feet possibly). I said I didn't want the extra wides and would rather go longer because i know I'd never be able to reach the back.

I felt like he was talking me out of a tank that size. He told me he thought I would really be okay with a 120. I volunteered some of the fish I might like one day and that they needed a bigger tank. He told me if I only put in 5 fish and got a great filtration system, I could really get by with a 120g or 150g. "The filtration is really the only thing that matters." He said the fish I was talking about may not grow full size, but that was okay. I was thinking to myself, "doesn't that mean their growth is stunted and really not okay"?

I'm not in a rush at all and want to make sure I get things right. I don't want to spend a ton of money just to decide it's not what I wanted (too small or too big).

I know for a fact that I don't want to go smaller than a 180 tank and he was telling me I'd be okay with something smaller than that. So my question is, why? Would I really be better off staying closer to the 180-200g range instead of 300g or was he just trying to get me to buy something he currently had on the floor? If it is the second, I'll totally ignore him. However, if a 300 gallon is going to be too big, I don't want to regret that purchase. Right now that's what I'm making my plan around.

For the record, I volunteered pictures of the room and fish species after he kept telling me I'd be okay with something smaller. He also didn't ask about budget.

I think I know where you went, did it start with a N, or there was also a 300 DD at the place starting with an A. I am guessing it was the N and one of the owners was not the one giving the advice.

The 180 I have is 6 foot which I like, the 220 also runs 6 feet.

And stop posting pix that make everyone jelly. I live in a van down by the river and you don’t see me bragging;Smuggrin