Over 30" deep tank

[surgeonfish]

My tank is 48" deep. As the tank is triangular, it is over 5' to the back corner. I think it would be o.k. if you had a fish only tank. However, with a reef tank I usually try and add corals attached to large rocks. It is hard trying to aquascape using long tongs. I have frequently lost small corals or frags that got knocked over and fell into a crack or hole and just couldn't reach it or couldn't grab it. The large tongs are pretty clumsy and large. I have tried using laparoscopic surgical instruments but these are still too short. When we redo our basement, I am going to build a 250 gal reef tank and it is going to be < 30" and convert my upstairs tank into a fish only system. My recommendation is to go shallow.