Getting into reefs, ?s on 125g+ for office

[Mattbk]

Hi all! Glad to find such an awesome and supportive local community on here.

I just moved into a new Soho office and after a lifetime of admiring reef aquariums am going to treat myself to one. So I've been lurking on here, visiting stores, getting advice and have begun a wishlist and question list. I would love anyones 2?.

The tank will be next to a glass wall so has to be visible from both sides, I'm looking at 125g to 180g either 60" or 72" long to use as a divider. Does this make things especially tricky? Center overflow or corners? I see used tanks like this, this or this. Any gotchas, things to look out for when buying used?

From my readings I'll likely avoid acrylic and go glass, seems a bit safer. I'm a bit concerned about weight, although we had a bunch of heavy guys jump up and down in the spot we'll have the tank, that's the same, right?

And how about buying used whole setups from people getting out of the hobby like this or this? I often see decent deals including everything. How hard is it to move everything and get it stable? Would you go this route or build up from the tank?

I may work with a service or consultant individual for help on setup, getting stable and then playing backup assist to me with ongoing maintenance (I'll be doing it too, just sometimes travel and get busy!). Any recommendations?

Sure I'll have more questions as I get into things and hopefully I can give back someday.

-Matt

 

[cmantis]

If you want it visible from both sides I would go with what is called a peninsula style where the overflow is on one end. That way three sides (the two long sides being most important are fully visible. If you do decide to go this route you probably won't find one used but certainly worth looking.

 

[Kworker]

If you want it visible from both sides I would go with what is called a peninsula style where the overflow is on one end. That way three sides (the two long sides being most important are fully visible. If you do decide to go this route you probably won't find one used but certainly worth looking.

+1.

You could potentially try to find a nice used tank in the dimensions your interested in that is not reef ready, checking to make sure its not tempered glass. Either drill one of the sides yourself or find a glass shop that will do it for you. You can buy over flow kits.

I bought a kit from glass holes.com and it came with the bit, and overflow with gaskets and necessary plumbing. Drilling a tank is not as hard as one would think.

 

[b-ridge]

I had a tank custom built and I have my overflows on the side of the tank in the middle. Tank is a divider being seen from my dining room and living room

 

[Nandez13]

What floor is your office on and how old is the building?

Don't underestimate how heavy a tank that big can be. Can you tell if the area you're planning to put it in happens to run along a beam?

 

[debbythefowler]

i have an old (14year) Dutch Aquarium 220 Gallon that I had custom drilled in the center. The tank is 72" long, 24" wide and 30" high (but height is irrelevant). The overflow in the center is 18" x 7" and has 5 drilled holes. 2 for flow out of the tank to the sump, 2 for return and one dry! (that means that the PVC pipe in it is 3" above the top of the overflow. I'd recommend a 2" wide dry hole. The two long sides of the overflow have the slots for water to drain, and the 2 short sides are where the returns are positioned.

If I were doing it 'all over again', I'd probably do the same thing, but I'd have a 2" dry hole (rather than 1") and I'd choose a more neutral color overflow. I've only been a reef tank (fowler for many many years) since post-sandy, and the blue overflow is finally beginning to be covered with palys and other softies.

good luck.

ps. I never checked anything regarding the floor. I live in a loft in Chelsea.

 

[albano]

2 for flow out of the tank to the sump, 2 for return and one dry! (that means that the PVC pipe in it is 3" above the top of the overflow. I'd recommend a 2" wide dry hole.

???? Sounds like the 'dry hole' is an emergency overflow, but I doubt that it should be 3" above the overflow... Is it lower that the top of the tank?

 

[debbythefowler]

the 'dry' one is to allow you to run wires for things like lights and u/w pumps without the wires hanging on the outside of the tank!

 

[albano]

the 'dry' one is to allow you to run wires for things like lights and u/w pumps without the wires hanging on the outside of the tank!

Gotcha! Thanks