How deep to go front to back

[steve fedyk]

If you were to biuld a tank what kind of depth would you go front to back.
36" or bigger like Steve Weast 90". Would like some input, and if you have seen a tank with a great depth I would like to know.

[i have crabs]

my 300g is 30" front to back and is sweet except you have to walk to the back of the tank to reach stuff all the time.
if i cant get rid of my big fish im considering a 72"x72" wich mite make reaching the middle a problem

[reptile guy]

The more depth the better it really does so much for the tank. If your building it I would go with 3 feet or 4 feet even though cleaning the back would be such a pain it would look so nice.

[mark]

You'll only get the feeling of depth by actually doing it, that's why Weast tank looks so good but really is 90" practical? How much space you got?

[Mikee]

I would go with 30-36" for sure.. on my next tank either 48x36x24 or 60x30x24 keeping it at about 180g.. honestly i prefer to have it wider (36") and not so long its all about depth! I have a 90 (18" wide) and while its a great size for beginning i would really love the extra width. After seeing 30" and 36" wide i dont think i would ever go back to a 18" or 24" wide tank.

[kem]

It all depends on how tall is your tank. Try to keep the width close to that, and the tank will be visually pleasing. Too tall and the tank will look narrow, too wide it will look shallow (although some people like it that way).
The maximum width depends also on the material used to make the tank, and how thick the glass or acrylic panels need to be to keep structural integrity.

[fkshiu]

Go as deep (front to back) as practically possible. The feeling of actually seeing a true ocean waterscape grows the deeper the tank is. As mentioned, Steve Weast's tank is exhibit #1 for this concept, but few people have the room for a tank of those dimensions.

[Jason McK]

Yup the deep the better.

fkshiu's tank is 18 high and 24 wide (front to back) it's one of the nicest dimentions of a tank I've ever seen.

J

[Delphinus]

Wow 72x72 that would be a swimming pool :) Maybe you'd need a catwalk over top of that to reach the middle. But think of the aquascaping possibilities!! I think I'll be busy on the day you need to wrestle that tank into your basement though...

[niloc16]

deep as possible. i'd rather a shallow tank and really deep front to back

[untamed]

Wow 72x72 that would be a swimming pool :) Maybe you'd need a catwalk over top of that to reach the middle. But think of the aquascaping possibilities!! I think I'll be busy on the day you need to wrestle that tank into your basement though...

Yup....I won't be doing it again....but if I did, I would go 6 foot square. With a strong acrylic tank, you can crawl around on top of it easily to access anything you want. I didn't know that at the time, so I limited myself to 4 feet of depth.

[JDigital]

^^ You wouldn't do a 4foot depth tank again?

My "dream" build would be a 7x5ft or 8x4ft.. but if 4ft is that bad for you, makes me wonder if I would like it... :neutral:

[i have crabs]

if i do build the 72x72 ill be getting it built in the house unless i do go acrilic, it will be a shrak/grouper tank so ill have minimal amounts of rock i think more like a public display with fake stuff even though thats a little fruity

[yeeg]

My tank is 4 feet front to back...It took some time to get used to but I wouldnt have it any less now that I've seen it...

To get it into perspective, imagine a sheet of 4x8 plywood...Then imagine that sheet of plywood being 3 feet high...Thats the dimension of my tank...

[muck]

It all depends on how tall is your tank. Try to keep the width close to that, and the tank will be visually pleasing. Too tall and the tank will look narrow, too wide it will look shallow (although some people like it that way).
The maximum width depends also on the material used to make the tank, and how thick the glass or acrylic panels need to be to keep structural integrity.
Welcome to Canreef kem.. :biggrin:

[steve fedyk]

The room is 10' wide by 12'-4"deep. I think 8' wide is a nice size, and I don't wont to go over 32" tall. Because its hard to reach the bottom.
At 8' wide I would be able to walk around the back and sides of the pool, ah I mean tank. I can go 36" to 60", quite easly.
The plan is to biuld a steel frame out of 1/4" angle and drop glass in or pylwood with fiberglass. I should be able to put plank on top to lay on to work in the tank. I just have to think light thoughts.