43 Gallon Desk Tank

[superduperwesman]

To be honest it's been quite some time since I've visited canreef. Things have been so busy with work, building my garage, developing my basement but it actually looks like I'm into a bit of a lull now so I've decided to plan my new tank.

We're currently developing our basement (currently being mudded, decided to hire that out) and I had a nice little spot picked out for a 6" fish tank but as it turns out... my wife has decided that she'd like the entire office for her craftroom. As such, I'm in need of a place to keep a lot of my office type stuff and somewhere to toss down the laptop so I've had to reassess the tank situation.

I want somewhere to keep a lot of stuff that currently has no home (camera equipment, filling, etc.) so I've decided to basically half my tank size.

I think I'm going to set up a space ion the downstairs hall way similar to what's in a show home near our house:


And instead of doing a 6' tank I'll do a 36" x ~24" x ~14" (12.5" water height)
so it'll end up something like this:


So that'll put me at ~ 43 gallons vs the ~86 that I had originally planned by using the entire area for tank.

However, I'm not sure if this is the best idea. I need desk / storage space but I really do want a tank that I can keep some tangs in. This means one of two things.. I'll get sick of the tank because it's not what I want or I'll put tangs in it anyway.

They nice thing about this location is that right behind the back wall is under the stairs which can be used as a fish room. I already installed a laundry sink during the development and have room for a frag tank, sump, mixing jugs etc.

So what do you think? I want to give my wife the office so that in return she lets me run with the tank a bit (she gets her hobby so I get mine) but I still need office type space.

[phi delt reefer]

I would make the tank 72" long x12" deep x18" tall

narrow but the full rear span but taller and narrower so you can still get a tang or two in there.

make the desk 18" deep and 72" long and use a laptop as your computer. Make the above tank cabinets the full ceiling height or just go with an open concept system like in the pictures you had above.

I would tape out a 3'x2' square on your dining table to get a feel for that size of desk. Its pretty small and you wont be able to spread out a couple books or what not when you need to do some "real" work . I just roughed it out myself and i felt like i was in grade school again, lol.

[DiverDude]

FWIW, I wouldn't put a computer (laptop or otherwise) anywhere near a reef tank. Splishes, splashes, jumping livestock, you name it -and none of it is compatible with electronics.

[Myka]

I wouldn't put a tank near a computer either. If you absolutely must have a Tang (seriously? There are cooler fish for sure!) then don't even think about building a 43 gallon tank, build one suitable for a Tang.

[superduperwesman]

Originally Posted by phi delt reefer

I would make the tank 72" long x12" deep x18" tall

narrow but the full rear span but taller and narrower so you can still get a tang or two in there.

make the desk 18" deep and 72" long and use a laptop as your computer. Make the above tank cabinets the full ceiling height or just go with an open concept system like in the pictures you had above.

I would tape out a 3'x2' square on your dining table to get a feel for that size of desk. Its pretty small and you wont be able to spread out a couple books or what not when you need to do some "real" work . I just roughed it out myself and i felt like i was in grade school again, lol.

Yeah I thought about this but I'm torn ahah a 36" desk is better than no desk. Still gives me room to layout receipts or a document while I enter or do stuff on my laptop... but a 72" tank is also better than a 36" aside from lighting it ahah

[superduperwesman]

Originally Posted by DiverDude

FWIW, I wouldn't put a computer (laptop or otherwise) anywhere near a reef tank. Splishes, splashes, jumping livestock, you name it -and none of it is compatible with electronics.

Yeah I was a little worried about this but I was thinking to have my laptop in one of the cupboards on the top and only have it down in the work area when I'm using it? Or possibly have it on a pedestal to avoid catastrophe in the event of a minor overflow. Doesn't help with splashing tho. In the even of a major overflow I have bigger problems then my computer ahaha and it is insured.

[superduperwesman]

Originally Posted by Myka

I wouldn't put a tank near a computer either. If you absolutely must have a Tang (seriously? There are cooler fish for sure!) then don't even think about building a 43 gallon tank, build one suitable for a Tang.

Yeah i know tangs aren't the most amazing of fish but the wife likes them and they are also well like by lots of people (oh I like that yellow one). Plus they are a nice way to add some colors.

This guy has a couple in his 40 gallon breeder which is 36 x 16 x 18

http://www.marshreef.com/TOTM/2009/Dec09/

[superduperwesman]

I don't need a lot of space for occasional work, it'll be basically just as good as any of these. I do value your opinions I'm just trying to have the best of both worlds. Prob not be the best idea which is why I'm working to justify... question is, is it possible to justify or is it still just a bad idea? Some would maybe even say crazy...

[Myka]

Originally Posted by superduperwesman

This guy has a couple in his 40 gallon breeder which is 36 x 16 x 18

Doesn't make it ok imo. What do you do when they outgrow the tank? The Hippo will outgrow the tank in a matter of months. They might just get stressed out and die though, so that would fix the problem I suppose.

Sorry, but I don't understand the point of planning to keep a fish in an unsuitable environment. I reeeeeeeeeeeeeally want a Moorish Idol, a Copperband Butterfly, and a Queen Trigger. But I won't put them in my tank because it is unsuitable for them. I think it's obvious that I don't want them that bad otherwise I would setup a tank to house them.

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Myka

Doesn't make it ok imo. What do you do when they outgrow the tank? The Hippo will outgrow the tank in a matter of months. They might just get stressed out and die though, so that would fix the problem I suppose.

Sorry, but I don't understand the point of planning to keep a fish in an unsuitable environment. I reeeeeeeeeeeeeally want a Moorish Idol, a Copperband Butterfly, and a Queen Trigger. But I won't put them in my tank because it is unsuitable for them. I think it's obvious that I don't want them that bad otherwise I would setup a tank to house them.

I think we need to be careful with how we define an unsuitable environment, I always get a little annoyed when people seem to think they provide better conditions because they have a slightly bigger tank. Sorry but I don't buy into a lot of these minimum tank sizes as a hippo tang for example will outgrow a 230 gallon tank just like it will in a 43 gallon. Sure it will out grow a smaller tank faster but what does that matter. In comparison to the natural habitat of many fish the difference between a small tank and large tank is literally a tiny fraction of a percent, hardly justifiable in my mind.

Tangs will do fine in that tank but some will outgrow it quickly so provided you're OK with that go nuts. I'm sure you could even work out an exchange policy with a LFS where you purchase small fish and then 6 months down the road trade them in for the same fish but smaller Nothing wrong with that.