85 Gallon Hex Tank

All,
I may have the opportunity to get an 85 gallon (that's the approximation) hex tank with stand and sump and metal halide lights.

The thing is over six feet tall on the stand. The major question I have is reef application.

A tank that deep would have a hell of a time with light penetration right?

How well would it work for a fowlr tank?

I imagine cleaning to be a nightmare but for the right price I'm willing to work with it.

 

it probably would be fine with a 400 halide.

as far as aquascaping goes, it would be difficult unless you fashion a permenant piece with pvc or silicon.

Personally I think the dimensions would probably limit you to the type of fish you can get, although you could get some cool ones.


honestly it wouldn't be my first choice for a tank, but I tend to like rectangles.

 

I've always been a fan of traditional as well, waiting to see what kind of price i can get for it because it's currently out of use at a pet store that doesn't want it. It is in fantastic shape but they don't like cleaning it and want to get rid of it.

If I do get it i would want, as you described, a pre-made formation that can be lifted in and out as one piece.

 

You could build a christmas tree looking piece that has lots of ledges. That way you could put some corals in there at different depths without making shadows. Just an idea.

 

I would think FOWLR would work as long as you got smaller fish like Chromis, Grammas, Firefish and Blennies. I like the Christmas tree idea for the rock if you were to attempt a reef. Look into LED with 3 watt Crees as their penetration is good up to 48".

 

Thanks for the tips. I don't even have it secured yet but I wanted to see the potential from a bunch of experienced people to see how much I wanted to pursue.

 

I say go for it. Put up some pictures if you get it as this tank would be really cool. I like things that are not normal and common and this would definately be it. You could even use a pipe to hold up the rocks and double as an overflow. Better yet use two pipes in the rocks one for the overflow and one for your return. Hang the light from the ceiling and put the tank right in the center off your kitchen with a bar surrounding it. That would be amazing! lol

 

get it hex tanks are cool ;D

although I kinda do wish I woulda got a big cube instead but pretty much decided gonna keep hex tank fish only with some easy coral an then get a small all in one for my room.

 

Hex tanks are really cool, but tough to work on if deep. Also tough to aquascape, you will not have as much realestate as a traditional tank. kstafford003 idea sounds good, some kind of pilar with lots of ledges. You'll probably need to read up on making pilars, you'll need some sort of support rods, adhesive, even do some drilling, but it can be a very spectacular setup if done right.

Edit: I agree with the 400MH, just get a good reflector, such as a lumen-bright etc...