tank idea

[thekid55]

Hey guys

I think its time for me plan another tank, and man am i ready. So iv been thinking of 2 diffrent kinds of tanks. Either a 29 gal rectangle or a 35 gal hex. I have a small space in my room for it. i want to try to keep the noise low so no sump. Also i dont want to have a nasty hang on skimmer either. I want to run T-5s on it but if i go with the hex i dont know if it will be able to get enough light to the bottom. i only want to keep lps and soft corals so a MH system would be way to much light. And the bio load will be light with only 2-4 small fish. so please give me some advice and opinons. also if any one has tanks these sizes please post pics

thanks matt

[tims]

hey matt,
a big no for the hex,
i ran a 62 gallon hex, not easy to clean, not easy to have any type of flow, becasue they are soooo deep you need to run MH to have just about anything.in the need i could not wait to stop using it.
now if you are going for a mantis or something then i woudl say okay. but since you are having corals you will need lighting to be able to reach the bottom
you can still get away with a sump, just do a up and over version with the over flow, it is pretty quite.

[thekid55]

wow

i was really leaning to the hex because of the space issue and its a diffrent look then all my other rectangles. also a 65 gal is deep but i agree hard to get light on the bottom area. and i do like those brains and plates that rest on the bottom. where i want to put it is next to a closet where i can run pipes to a skimmer that sits level with the tank. i also am thinking a PVC pipe system that runs through out the tank to give good flow through the tank. also i was thinking a deep sand bed around 5 inches.

[JennM]

Hex tanks can be a trick to filter - and clean - as Tim mentioned.


IMO the 29 would be a better bet.

Jenn

[thekid55]

heres a pick of the rectangle

red = powerhead

blue = where water will be

black = piping

[tims]

not bad.
if you want to get rid of the power head you can do a closed loop system. the pump cna be on the floor and hidden

[thekid55]

with the powerhead out of the tank will it make noise. Also i really dont want to drill and the pump would have to be bigger for all that pressure.

[tims]

yes the pump would be a little bigger depending on which one you would use, yuou can do and up and over instead of drilling the tank. you can even have one in the hood at the top of the tank.( just an idea)

[thekid55]

i might do that thanks