# new tank 120cm/47inches tall - set up



## micsurg (6 Dec 2010)

Hi, does anyone have an experience with tanks of such height? I was trying to google but no great success only very general comments, nothing specific especially regarding lighting and plants on the ground. Any suggestions very welcome. Tank dimensions lenght - horizontal 75cm, height - vertical 120cm, width - horizontal 40cm. 
thanks a lot in advance!

micsurg


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## chrislove01 (7 Dec 2010)

I would suggest either tall growing stem plants, (cobomba springs to mind) or spot lamps with focused beam (Metal halide perhaps)  

Odd shape, do you mind me asking what its all about?


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## Tony Swinney (7 Dec 2010)

I had a 3ft tall x 3ft wide x 12"deep tank for my discus for a while, but it was no good at all for a planted tank, as you couldn't reach the substrate for planting, pruning, cleaning etc  It was virtually impossible to even position the hardscape - you had to reach down as far as you could then drop it into position - not recommended with rocks   

Tony


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## foxfish (7 Dec 2010)

Wow that is some tank!
Can I ask what thickness the glass (acrylic) is?
I once built a 8 x 4 x 4' tank for a public display, we had to use 25mm (1") acrylic as the 28mm recommended glass was to green to see through!!


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## Ed Seeley (7 Dec 2010)

Think you're going to have to think a lot about the light levels lower down and pick plants for the lower layers that don't need high light levels.  I'd look at scaping it with lots of wood with java ferns and moss tied to them.  You could then have a few plants that have very long leaves - Crinum calamistratum springs to ming as the leaves used to curl round and round my Rio 180 and would look great with the height to properly flourish.  Giant Vallis would work well too.  The problem with stem plants might be that, as light won't get to the lower leaves, they will just have leaves at the top and have bare stems lower down.

Maintaining it will be a PITA so low maintenance plants will be a must too!


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## micsurg (7 Dec 2010)

chrislove01 said:
			
		

> I would suggest either tall growing stem plants, (cobomba springs to mind) or spot lamps with focused beam (Metal halide perhaps)
> 
> Odd shape, do you mind me asking what its all about?



hi, thanks for suggestion. odd shape indeed, but that brings the challenge and safes space...anyway not yet convinced about the whole thing. the lighting and safety main issues..


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## micsurg (7 Dec 2010)

foxfish said:
			
		

> Wow that is some tank!
> Can I ask what thickness the glass (acrylic) is?
> I once built a 8 x 4 x 4' tank for a public display, we had to use 25mm (1") acrylic as the 28mm recommended glass was to green to see through!!



Hi, thanks for the comment, was hoping for acrylic, but turned out to be glass 12mm, not sure about the safety, its one piece bended on sides and attached to the back wall, reinforced base. checked some net safety calculators definitely not safe if fully filled but safe with water up to 110cm, hard to believe. especially after your comment... hmm, on the other hand it is mcuh smaller - 70x120x40cm any suggestions?
thanks


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## micsurg (7 Dec 2010)

Ed Seeley said:
			
		

> Think you're going to have to think a lot about the light levels lower down and pick plants for the lower layers that don't need high light levels.  I'd look at scaping it with lots of wood with java ferns and moss tied to them.  You could then have a few plants that have very long leaves - Crinum calamistratum springs to ming as the leaves used to curl round and round my Rio 180 and would look great with the height to properly flourish.  Giant Vallis would work well too.  The problem with stem plants might be that, as light won't get to the lower leaves, they will just have leaves at the top and have bare stems lower down.
> 
> Maintaining it will be a PITA so low maintenance plants will be a must too!



Hi, thanks for the comment, have similar thinking, do you thing anubias could tolerate "the darkness" as well? any suggestion for the lighting? thanks


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## foxfish (7 Dec 2010)

The length & width are not really the governing factors it is more the depth that defines the required glass thickness, 12mm is suitable for 600mm not 1200!!
You should be looking at 20mm minimum in my opinion as the pressure at the base of your tank will be very high, I would not be relying on silicone on its own either you should consider a steel frame.
You dont want to be relying on the minimum requirements to hold the pressure if you think there is any chance of ground  movement or any chance of knocking the tank!

Have a look here http://www.poseidons-palace.co.uk/Aquar ... ulator.htm


POSEIDON'S AQUARIUM BUILDING CALCULATOR     
   Please modify SAFETY FACTOR value BELOW 2 UNSAFE / OVER 4 VERY SAFE     
      Length     Height     Width        Safety Factor        
        750 mm    1200mm    400mm            3      


      Glass Thickness:          18mm


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## micsurg (7 Dec 2010)

foxfish said:
			
		

> The length & width are not really the governing factors it is more the depth that defines the required glass thickness, 12mm is suitable for 600mm not 1200!!
> You should be looking at 20mm minimum in my opinion as the pressure at the base of your tank will be very high, I would not be relying on silicone on its own either you should consider a steel frame.
> You dont want to be relying on the minimum requirements to hold the pressure if you think there is any chance of ground  movement or any chance of knocking the tank!
> 
> ...




Hi, thanks a lot, just realized I forgot to mention that is rimless and apparently tempered glass was used, net says should be stronger... any suggestion to that. so far no success on google for rimless tank calculator....thanks anyway.


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## ceg4048 (7 Dec 2010)

micsurg said:
			
		

> Ed Seeley said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi,
   Actually this is really a misconception. Lighting is not really a problem. The light falloff will follow the inverse square law, which means that doubling the distance from the light lowers the energy by a factor of 4 (i.e. 2 squared). The implication is that at around 40+ inches the spectral energy will be a quarter of what it was at 20+ inches. This is not really a big deal because most people use lighting that is way over the top to start with. That's the primary reason that algal blooms are so prevalent. The less intense lighting level at 40+ inches will simply mean that whatever plants you use will grow more slowly than they would at 20+ inches. That also automatically means that algae will grow very slowly at those depths as well. There is therefore no need to limit plant choice just because of distance and light.

No...lighting is not your problem...getting CO2 to travel 47 inches in an unnatural direction - that will be your problem. If this is to be a CO2 enriched tank then you'll really need to think critically about flow and distribution - a lot more than you are thinking about light. If this is a non CO2 tank then the distance and light falloff actually help you, in which case the use of low CO2 plants such as ferns and moss are appropriate.

Cheers,


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## foxfish (8 Dec 2010)

I dont want to be negative as I now realise you have made a serious investment with you tank however I will tell you what I honestly think!
There are several reasons why toughened glass is not generally used in fish tank construction.
It is extremely brittle, there is no warning cracks or leaks just an explosion as the tank shattered into millions of pieces.
Even the slightest irregularity on the base can cause the tank to explode as there are no flex properties in the glass so a thick rubber or high density foam base is essential.

You can not drill or cut the glass.

At 4 foot tall tank could see 1000 lbs on the bottom glass section and over 740 PSI on the sides near the bottom, at the bottom seams the water weight would be trying push the seams apart, I would not personally trust silicone to hold this on its own.
Toughened glass is stronger than plate glass but, I cant find any calculations for pressure rating it either!

I was going to suggest that you used the tank as paludarium & only half fill it with water however you would really need a door to gain easy access & this would mean taking  one of the glass panels out & fitting some sort of upper half hinged glass door?
Sorry if I have given you caurse for concern & it may well be a successful & water tight tank?


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## dw1305 (8 Dec 2010)

Hi all,
I must admit I have the same worries as "Foxfish", and I would fill the tank completely 





> I was going to suggest that you used the tank as paludarium & only half fill it with water however you would really need a door to gain easy access & this would mean taking one of the glass panels out & fitting some sort of upper half hinged glass door?


I think it would make a brilliant paludarium as well, but I think it is one piece of glass? so you will have the problems of access for "gardening", as you won't be able to take a panel out.

cheers Darrel


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## micsurg (13 Dec 2010)

ceg4048 said:
			
		

> micsurg said:
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thanks a lot for the valuable comment. it makes a lot of sence. Thanks!


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## micsurg (13 Dec 2010)

foxfish said:
			
		

> I dont want to be negative as I now realise you have made a serious investment with you tank however I will tell you what I honestly think!
> There are several reasons why toughened glass is not generally used in fish tank construction.
> It is extremely brittle, there is no warning cracks or leaks just an explosion as the tank shattered into millions of pieces.
> Even the slightest irregularity on the base can cause the tank to explode as there are no flex properties in the glass so a thick rubber or high density foam base is essential.
> ...



No thanks, I was actually worried as well and since the concerns remained I decided not to go for it. Thanks. I have not given up the idea though completely just need to save more money to have it properly built


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## foxfish (14 Dec 2010)

It might be worth importing a custom built acrylic tank from the States or at least looking into that avenue.


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## micsurg (14 Dec 2010)

foxfish said:
			
		

> It might be worth importing a custom built acrylic tank from the States or at least looking into that avenue.



all right. sounds like a plan! to be honest never thought of it. thanks for the suggestion.

cheers 

r.


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