# soo....



## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Now that I have a few days off between the holidays, the wife wants a larger tank in the living room since the tank in the basement is now in Jason's basement 

Currently it's a 20g with 10g sump and i'm thinking of the same height and width but thinking of going 36". So i'm thinking of something around a 30g and my dream dimensions would be something like 36lx12dx18h since I really...really...don't want anything bigger in my living room (it's small enough in there already) with my 20g becoming a sump/refuge possibly.

Although I have a 23g right now that I could use also as a DT but who knows....

Any ideas? Anyone have a tank like this?


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## notclear (Nov 5, 2011)

You need to think big. My living room is super small and I only have a spot of 9' x 2'. Then I put up my dream tank of 160G there!


Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Tapatalk


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

notclear said:


> You need to think big. My living room is super small and I only have a spot of 9' x 2'. Then I put up my dream tank of 160G there!
> 
> Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Tapatalk


Please keep the "you need to go bigger" comments to a minimum please.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank*

i love the look of a 65 gal tank ,36 in footprint ,or a 40 gal breeder ,i love the way mine is looking .


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

I'll 2nd tom g...a 65gal (36" x 18" x 18"). The extra 6" back to front makes a world of difference.

JM2C


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

wtac said:


> The extra 6" back to front makes a world of difference.
> 
> JM2C


That's what she said!!!
But as I said before i'm looking for something in the 30g range just simply for the size problem I have with my living room and I'm also not interested in anything larger for this room. If I want anything bigger I'll put it in the basement.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank*

go in the middle dude 40 breeder u will love it .............expecially if u are doing a sump.............come on dude giverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

As much as I would love to put a 40g (I love that size) the width of 18" is to much, The whole unit can't stick out past the entertainment unit that it's going to sit next to so that's why I was looking at a 30g or so. 

Strict sizes on this one!!


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank*

ok point taken dave ............it really doesnt stick out that far but i get it .......have u tried building a cardboard box replica of the size to see if its feesable .mine is not drilled so it sticks out quite abit with the hang on back refugium and hob skimmer .but i love the footprint only thing i dont like is the tank on the stand is too low.
anyways dave im glad u are looking for something maybe big als on boxing day will have something u will like .saw a octagon tank at NAFB today but didnt ask any questions about it .


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Good idea Tom! I'm going to take some cardboard now and try to make some mockups of what I think might be good dimensions. Although i'm fairly sure the 40g breeder might not work your idea is pure genius!

Also, I'm going to be doing a corner overflow or middle overflow since I already have a rear overflow and the plumbing for it takes up another 3" behind the tank which could be used for saltwater goodness inside the tank instead.

I'll keep you guys posted of what happens.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank*

dont make too much of a mess i dont want your wife to kick my ass ..lol
i hope it works out ,as everyone says on here bigger is better .lol
plus bonus idea on the overflow being on the bottom will save u room on the protruding from the wall.
cheers and merry christmas dave 
tom


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Greg gave me a tank a while ago, i think it's a 30G, it's the one he got from Miricles for free I think. I don't know the dimentions and I am not at home but it might fit your bill and you can have it. I will be home Boxing Day. I still have the Reefkeeper lite too BTW.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

If it's the one that I had seen already I'll take it and the Reefkeeper! Sorry about not keeping in touch Jeff but work was nuts the last few months and my tank paid for it a bit 

Although it seems like work will be slowing down so far for the next few months.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

She's letting you go bigger?! LOL Awesome 

That cardboard mockup is a great idea... I wish I did that with my 90. lol


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Ya that's the one. If Greg sees this thread maybe he will chime in with the dimentions otherwise you'll have to wait till boxing day. I am pretty sure it's bigger then 20G. It is a pretty sexy tank!


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

are you heading to SUM for boxing day?


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## NVES (Apr 21, 2010)

You could always pull the entertainment unit out another 2-3" to match a 40 tank size.

So far my fav size of tank is a 55g.

All the best,
Aaron


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

If you can come over and convince my wife that she's going to lose more room in the living room then i'm all for it


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank*

LMAO.............what did she think when u set up the box .......
my wife has decided she doesnt want my project in the living room ....
i was and am so pissed ......................


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Well Tom took me out to see a tank that he had seen that could possibly fit in my house but unfortunately the side of the tank was cracked and the tank was sitting outside with ice in it already. It might be a good tank for someone else.

I'm still thinking the tank Jeff is giving me is the perfect size. Pretty sure it's a 30g or so.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank*

i was thinking it was for your basement lol 
well th emeasurements are 48in x 31 1/4 x 24 in
cracked 1/2 in glass on side 
has eurobracing and tank stand all could use some work
cheers


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

yeah it totally would have been for my basement but then there's the problem of getting that beast down the stairs! 

And like Tom said its 48l x 24d x 31h....yep 31 tall

I calculated it to be 142g tank


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## Nicholas (May 6, 2012)

Fesso Clown, I am looking to buy a reefkeeper if your selling, and altcharacter isn't buying it.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

hijacker!!!


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## Nicholas (May 6, 2012)

I said if you weren't buying it!


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## Playing God (Dec 13, 2012)

I have the size tank you seem to be wanting - 36 x 12 x 18 tall. I love it, the height is phenomenal for vals! the problem is it only took me 2 months to get used to that size and I started catching myself dreaming of something bigger.
Whatever you decide, make sure it's enough of a change to keep you happy for a while. 

Perhaps it might be good to get opinions from friends who AREN'T fish enthusiasts for impartial spacing ideas (as most of us fish fanatics tend to think a 100g tank would look good in the bathroom!)


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Ha....yeah I have no worries about the size since we've always said we want something that fits in with our living room. I wouldn't even think about putting a 65g in here since my kids run all day around the tank and you can see he tank bounces a little bit. I couldn't even imagine putting a large tank in and watching it tip over.

The large tank was always meant for the basement.


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## Playing God (Dec 13, 2012)

True enough, 65 gal of water looks significantly smaller in a square tank than on a living room floor


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## Announce (Aug 27, 2008)

I don't know what kind of space you are dealing with but I always have loved the look of 60 gallon cubes, with a 20g sump maybe?


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

so I should forget my dream size and just go with something that won't look good or I won't be happy with?

sounds like a plan!


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## Announce (Aug 27, 2008)

altcharacter said:


> so I should forget my dream size and just go with something that won't look good or I won't be happy with?
> 
> sounds like a plan!


Sorry I must have missed something was just sharing my 2 cents...


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

It's ok, nobody reads the actual posts anymore. Alot of people just feel they will throw in their two cents on the above post without reading the first or more important posts. All of us do it.

As I was saying in the original post, my dream size is 30g for the living room and I don't want to go larger.
This was more of a "what do you think of that size" type of thread rather than a "convince me to put a 100g in my living room" thread.

And your two cents is always welcomed, although in a week the penny will be banished


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## Announce (Aug 27, 2008)

altcharacter said:


> It's ok, nobody reads the actual posts anymore. Alot of people just feel they will throw in their two cents on the above post without reading the first or more important posts. All of us do it.
> 
> As I was saying in the original post, my dream size is 30g for the living room and I don't want to go larger.
> This was more of a "what do you think of that size" type of thread rather than a "convince me to put a 100g in my living room" thread.
> ...


Well from my skimming I noticed mention of several other tank sizes and figured I would follow suite.

If you are looking for advice for a 30gallon tank, personally if it were me setting it up I would forgo the sump, particularly in a living room as they make a fair amount of unnecessary noise (however does give you room to play). A 30 gallon with a strong canister filter, filled with mainly live rock, and good maintenance should be fine, perhaps rimless with a pendent light if you are looking for a sleek modern look (however rimless can be a bad idea with the pesky fingers of little ones).

I tend to run smaller tanks with heavy biological filtration and don't use skimmers as they dont seem to (in my experience) be worth the hassle.

Keep in mind this is my opinion based on my experiences with tanks this size, there are several right ways to run a marine tank and 100 different ways not to, but the biggest key especially with smaller tanks tends to be regular maintenance.

hth, just my nickel (I want to be relevant in a week)


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Thanks for all the advice and it was all very valid and informative! 
I have a sump right now on my 20g and you can ask anyone that comes over that it runs very silent and i'm hoping that the 30g does the same thing but we'll see since I'll be adding in a skimmer (biggest reason for the upgrade)

Pendant light might be an option since the wife wants something that looks good rather than something that looks homemade.

The mother-in-law just gave me some cash for christmas so this helps out the plan very well!!


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## Flexin5 (Nov 12, 2011)

I think you can make that 30 gallon with your dimentions look amazing. at the end of the day it's YOU who will be looking at it the most so go with the size that you want. any other way and you'll regret it, it's not like you can easily change out the tank. 

have you decided what lighting your going to use? when i was setting up the 10 gallon in the condo, it was in the living room, so i couldn't have it all janky looking. maybe those par led bulbs with the ikea lamp covers would look good?

also, i say use the 20gal for the sump. reason i say that, is because i personally like the look of tanks with next to no equipment in them. hide everything in there. are you planning on doing two corner overflows?


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I'm planning on doing a tank 30-35g depending on what I can get and I'm thinking of either a corner or middle overflow. I would like to get a fairly virgin tank and drill the holes myself of course since it's more fun that way.

As for lighting, I'm not 100% sure yet what I want. I could go with T5's again since as Greg says "they're the shit!" and yes I do like the color they give off. Or I could just do a LED build and not worry about changing bulbs out. I should probably figure out the lighting first before the tank.

And yes I'll be putting a 20g in as a sump/refuge since the biggest reason we're upgrading is to put in a skimmer.

We'll see what happens as time goes by...but I just figured out that this is my third saltwater tank in 2 years! This one that's here now is 15 months old and doing alright except the mini tank crash due to my part.


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