Tiny got me thinking....

[BCOrchidGuy]

Okay reading the thread about your ideal nano... Tiny said tall and thin... and it made me think.

 

I have a 77 gallon that is gathering dust, 16 inches front to back, 24 tall, and of course, 48 inches long..... If I was to set it up so it was veiwed from the side, I could build a hood that would allow me to conceal part of the top of the tank, I could put in a false back made out of plexi, and have a display area of 16in x 18in tall and 18in front to back, the remaining 30 x 16 x 18 inches could be used as a built in refugium..... That would give me a 22.5 gallon display area, and a 37.4 gallon refugium, heck I could even build the first section of the refugium to 24 inches tall and increase the refugium area all total to about 44 gallons all total. If I built the back divider on the display area out of black Plexi I could keep the refugium lighting seperate from the display area..... not really a nano but kind of a cool idea.... don't cha think?

 

***Edit***... or I could use a 20 or 33 and do the same thing.... yeah.. I'm gonna try it.

[tinyreef]

"tiny got me thinking." :

 

oh oh, collect the kids and hide the sharp objects! X)

 

 

you could also try zoning out the tank. front~fore reef, farther back~coral bommies or reef flats, and the far back could be mangrove or lagoonal (is that a word?). wave action from the front (vigorous) to overflows (slow action) in the back to the sump and then back to the front.

 

that's what i've been toying with in my head for my next big tank. viewable from all sides but each view a different biotope.

[BCOrchidGuy]

Interesting Idea Tiny.... I've got the 77 I could use but now Im thinking of the 45 or 33 or even the 20... the 45 would be great because it would be wide and short.... hmm... Im doing some drawings tonight.