What Height Do You Suggest?

proton · Apr 26, 2007

hi guys,

well i have decided to make my own tank, i want to fit it into a corner in my lounge it can only be 33" in lenght max and width 18" max. How high should I make the tank? I wanted to make it about 33" in height too (a square tank), is that too high, can I go higher? give me your opinion guys. I can get a custom tank for around Â£120 and stand for Â£150. :blink:

andywg · Apr 26, 2007

I would be very surprised if you get a 33" high custom tank for that price. The moment you start going over 24" tall you are into thick glass. From what I recall, 12mm takes you up to around 30", but above that you are looking at 15mm glass.

15mm glass costs in the region of Â£3 per square foot more than 12mm. I would assume a similar price hike from 10mm to 12mm, so the price of tall tanks goes up very swiftly.

Miss Wiggle · Apr 26, 2007

what do you want to keep in it? that'll dictate the height that you need as a minimum and you can then work from there with what extra you want/can afford

vinylman · Apr 26, 2007

When deciding on the height of the tank, don't forget you'll still have to do maintenance in it, and have to reach over when putting in plants and taking them out. Try to get the tallest tank you can without having to use steps to reach over into it. It may sound stupid, but people HAVE injured and killed themselves overbalancing onto a tank and breaking it.

Miss Wiggle · Apr 26, 2007

vinylman said:
When deciding on the height of the tank, don't forget you'll still have to do maintenance in it, and have to reach over when putting in plants and taking them out. Try to get the tallest tank you can without having to use steps to reach over into it. It may sound stupid, but people HAVE injured and killed themselves overbalancing onto a tank and breaking it.

your not wrong there, mistake i made with our big tank. i'm 5'6" so not tiny but not tall either really, I have to climb on something to get to the bottom or back of the big tank. it is a bit of a ball ache for me to maintain. however Ian can reach into the back of the tank fairly easily but struggles to do filter maintenance cos he can't crawl into teh cupboard like i can. swings and roundabouts i guess!

vinylman · Apr 26, 2007

Teamwork, eh?.

proton · Apr 26, 2007

The custom tank was 36"Lx24"Hx12"W @ Â£107, glass @ 10mm thick, after measurments I realised it would be only 33" L. I was considering another Planted Tank with Community fish or Puffer fish, the small kind, not sure if I want Pygmy Puffers, or the ones that are about 5" big (i think).

cheesy feet · Apr 26, 2007

I would go wtih as high as you can get,well atleast which you could reach into (not over 30 inch)

proton · Apr 26, 2007

lol as long as my arm you mean? i will be going home tonight and measuring my arm... will be a funny sight...

KhaosInc · Apr 26, 2007

I'm just shy of 6', and have fairly long arms, my tank is 30" deep, and unless I'm partway through a waterchange, its shirt off and face plant in the tank to be able to reach the bottom with anything but my fingertips. Personally, I don't mind this, but you might want to ponder if you will.

The-Wolf · Apr 26, 2007

something else to consider is the size of 'off the shelf' backgrounds.
most rolls of plastic background only come in 18" there are a few in 22".
any kind of 3d background is not going to be over 20" high, unless you pay silly money for it.

I had trouble finding a background for my 30" high tank
the juwel poster background XL is the only one that suited this.

of course you could have no background at all or even paint the back
but it is still worth keeping in mind.