First Saltwater Aquarium

[Jacque333]

Hello Everyone,

I'm looking for advice from experienced saltwater fish keepers. I am in the process of setting up a tank for my parents and need more info before I start. here are the parameters I have so far

Cylinder shape
40" diameter
84" tall
leaning towards FOWLR
sump/refugium located remotely (filter equipment will be located in the sump)

So far I have only requested quotes from some custom acrylic manufactures so I have plenty of time to change the game plan if necessary (the only thing I know as a definate is where it will be located).

What I need to know is the types of fish that will be ok in this tank, how many, and ideas for the set up. I am not set on any stocking idea at this point, but I was thinking a community tank

Any advice will be appreciated since the more research I do the more confused I get

Thanks in advance!

[jgranata13]

HOLY COW!! That's a 450gal tank! You could probably do anything you want to in there. My only cautions would be that you're going to spend a lot on filtration and pumps just because of the water volume. Keep in mid also that this is just the volume without considering the volume of the sump.

Another thing to consider is maintenance. I feel like if you're planning such a big tank, you probably know what you're doing, but a height of 84" seems like it would present quite a problem in cleaning.

Lastly, I know you said you're leaning towards FOWLR, but if you do decide to ever add photosynthetic corals, you're going to need some mad lighting on there to penetrate all the way down.

I hope you'll do a build thread because I'd actually be very interested to see how the tank shapes up if you decide to go with this design.

[jgranata13]

Ok I completely looked past the fact that this is your first time doing saltwater.

After using my floor tiles to measure out a rough picture of the size, I would very strongly suggest you go with something shallower and wider. It seems like stacking rock is going to be a nightmare and getting good flow with no dead spots through the structure even worse, especially since this is your first tank.

I definitely think "boxier" tanks are better for saltwater because the space in all directions allows you a lot more options in terms of building your rock scape.

As for cleaning, it would probably also be a nightmare.

[Jacque333]

I agree with shorter and wider tanks being better, but it's not my floor space so i have to keep to a certain footprint. I will however suggest a shorter height even if i don't make it wider

[jgranata13]

I figured that was the problem. Maybe you could do a square base with 40" sides? At least it would give you 27% more volume than a cylindrical tank with the same height (which means you could go down to 5' and keep the volume the same).

Also I personally don't like curved tanks just because everything gets distorted. Also I'd expect a prismatic tank to be a lot cheaper to have built than a cylindrical one.