It's Christmas and Daddy Needs a New Fish Tank

[Almon]

I am almost done refinishing my basement. I had taken down my 220g fish tank which I had up for fourteen (14) years. I opened up my basement by removing a few walls and now I want to build a custom fish room for the tank. The fish room will be customized to the tank.

 

But what tank and size do I use?

 

I was considering a 4' x 4' cube with two (2) visible sides as shown below. Glass Cages will make one for $1000. Jeff (NAGA) can probably make a custom acryllic tank.

 

 

Does anybody have any suggestions about the fish room, the tank size, or where to get it?

 

[epleeds]

i love my miracles tank.  Yes it more expensive then glass cages, but its so worth it.  You can customize any way you want it.  Personally, if space isn't a concern, maybe something like 8'x3'  It all depends on what you want in it.  I think a 4'x4' would be awesome.  but the way you have it set up in the picture, it would be very hard to get to the 3 sides from the back of it.

[sachabballi reef]

after 14 years wont it be hard to go to a 4x4? I would do what eric suggests and go longer...

[Cliff Puckstable]

I'm excited for your new build. Whatever you get, I'm sure it will be amazing.

[steveoutlaw]

Stick with the 4x4 cube.  It doesn't have to be rimless since it's going in-wall.  I've had glasscages and Miracles tanks and I have to agree with Eric, Miracles beats Glasscages in every category except price. 

[Viktoriia]

I bought a 125 rimless from great lakes aquarium. they did a really good job great prices.Delivered it right to my door and helped me position the tank.

[tomtom2245]

If it's going in a location like the picture, have you considered an 'L' shaped tank? I'm just picturing you trying to reach the front of a 4' cube and it not going so well. I've seen some cool L shaped tanks that have slightly different themes on each leg. Like mostly LPS down one side and then transition to SPS down the other.

[Almon]

Thanks, I'll check out Miracles and Great Lakes.

The 220g was 6' long. A long tank is nice and an L shape tank would be very cool. I don't have a great deal of room. I want a deep (front-back) tank this time. I have room to move the left wall more towards the window, but the front wall can only be a maximum of 5' from the back wall, due to the laundry room door, which will give me about 8"-9" to spare if I put in a 4' tank. That is not much room to work around the tank. It will be difficult getting access to three of the four sides.

Here is a top view. The second door to the laundry room by furnace is not there. I framed in the entire wall. There is only one (1) entrance to the laundry room.
 

[sen5241b]

Have you discussed the budget with your wife?

[epleeds]

Have you discussed the budget with your wife?

hahahahahahhahhhhaha....

[smallreef]

Have you discussed the budget with your wife?

I'm with Eric.....hahahahaha ha

If I ever thought of discussing a budget or costs of this hobby with my husband he'd probably decide 'we' didn't need to do it...

With that said...if he has decided that walling off the laundry room and all of the other construction is needed, then a little added thing like a small wall and new tank don't really add up,lol

[linkfalcon]

180

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[steveoutlaw]

Why not pull it out another 2 feet and go with a 6' x 4' tank?  Then you get the best of both worlds.  As for getting to the inside of the tank, you could always put access doors above the tank.  I currently have mine on hinges but I think I'm going to be going the magnet route.

[Almon]

A 6 x 4 would be awesome, but that might be a little extravagant. Although, it sure looks nice.

 

 

 

[epleeds]

you could go with the 300DD.  72x36x27.  Although it has the dual overflow and that might mess up the beauty of it with that front viewing pane.  I know that when i was talking with Miracles the difference between 24" depth and the 30" that i went with was only about $150.  That is due to the fact that they have to use one piece of glass for the bottom that is 36" i believe.  So if you wanted to go 36" it would only be about $300 more then the standard 180.  I know Felix at Reef Savvy makes some sweet tanks too, however I'm not sure of the cost. 

 

I was very happy with Miracles, some minor issues that I would change but overall, much better then going with a standard size. 

[matt]

Check RC classifieds....there was a 4x4 miracles in NC for sale when I was on there the other day

[epleeds]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2363620

 

link for your viewing pleasure

Edited December 31, 2013 by epleeds

[Almon]

Thanks. I looked at that thread. Buying used is a reasonable option, but I've always liked buying new. I think I get more value from being the only owner. I'm the same way with cars.

 

But I'm definitely open to various options. That Miracles tank is $1400. It's used, but also comes with a stand and sump. Pickup in Wilmington, North Carolina.

 

I've priced out a new 240 square from GlassCages, reef ready w/bulkheads and three (3) starfire sides for $1560 + $150 delivery.

 

I suppose I need to contact a Miracles reseller to get a quote on a new Miracles square.

 

Is that used tank in NC a good deal? What's your opinion? Would you buy it?

[mling]

Have you considered a long tank that can be viewed from 3 sides ?  You could have a 2' wide by 6', 8' or even 10' long; have a 2' gap between the wall and fish tank. You can still see the 4th side from the enclosed space.

In my tank, I have LR in the middle and can see all 4 sides; fishes love to do laps and I can see that Goby/Shrimp regardless of where is chooses to make his new barrow.

 

Kind of a distance for you but have you considered Incredible Corals in Manassas for a custom acrylic tank ?

 

I like the software you used to show your basement layout, what software did you use ?

[zygote2k]

You could always build it entirely yourself and build a tank like Justins 550 cube. It really isn't hard to build a fish tank. It looks like you'll only need 2 panes of glass too.

FWIW, Starfire scratches easily- snails love to carve their initials into it.

[Almon]

Snails scratch glass, really?

 

I don't know how to build a fish tank. That would save a bunch of money, but I'd be worried it would fail.

 

I was thinking about a tank viewable from three (3) sides for a different location. That would be cool. I don't think this location by the laundry room would work for more than two (2).

 

The software is SketchUp, available free from Google. It's actually very cool. I've also used it to frame the basement walls and design closet shelves. http://www.sketchup.com/download

[ctenophore]

I think your options for 4x4' tanks look pretty good.  I wouldn't consider building anything like mine for that size unless you wanted to make it significantly taller.  If you have to reach over a 4' span to get to the bottom front area, I'd recommend designing in a permanent walkway that puts the tank at knee level.  Plus a system that lets you slide the lights out of the way and some support over the top so you can sit above the tank and work comfortably.  I used old scaffolding and walk planks to do this for my tank a few months ago, and wish I had thought of it back when I first set it up.

[Almon]

A walkway....above the tank? Hmmm...that's brilliant.

[Almon]

I received a response from Miracles for a 240g 48x48x30.

 

All edges machine polished

3/4" glass all around

Tempered bottom with 8 holes, 5 for a closed loop and 3 for filtration

Internal 3 sided rectangular black acrylic overflow centered on back panel

Black vinyl applied to the back panel

Eurobraced

Shipping included to the depot in Elkridge for p/u

 

$ 3795.00

 

OMG. That's over the top. I can't justify almost 4K on a 240g tank. That's crazy talk.

[Almon]

I asked about the Miracles 240 square on craigslist in Wilmington NC. He received the tank in July 2011 and emptied the tank in June 2013. There are no visible scratches. There are six (6) holes in the bottom and six (6) holes drilled in the back, all for closed loop. Two (2) additional holes in the back to contain powerheads. It appears to a very good deal.