Help me choose proper tank
 

It's been a really long time since I had my last tank and I stopped lurking these forums. (At least 15 years). My youngest son recently started his own aquascaping project and while driving him around to a few shops, I just fell in love again with the idea of a new tank now that the wife and I have more time on my hands.

We have a 16ft living room wall and I will remove the TV so this will be the masterpiece of the room. This being said, I have been doing my "homework" and notice that technology has changed dramatically over the past couple of years.

I was looking at an 8ft tank and thought that a 30" wide and probably 30" high would be a nice looking size, but it seems that everyone recommends a 25" high in order to be able to work with the tank and reach the bottom. (Both the wife and I don't have long arms. We are just 5'9").

I checked the planet aquarium website and see their tanks. 96"x30"x25" which I assume is 30" wide and 25" high, so I have a couple of questions for you to help me make a decision.

1) Should I stick with a 25" high tank or is it OK to go higher? I guess at that point it will have to be a custom tank, right?

2) Before you ask: I plan on reef & some fish.

3) I know that a lot of people prefer external overflow, but with 30" wide and I know the wife wants the tank as close to the wall as possible, will internal overflow work or should I just stop whining and go for the external?

4) Their Crystaline series does not have a 96x30x25, but their Mega-Matrix does. I assume I want the crystal front glass?

5) I have been reading a LOT over the last two weeks or so, but I will probably post a few more questions about what other gear should I get for the system (Skimmer, Pumps, Sump, Etc).

I will appreciate any help you can provide.

Also, should I really push for the 30" wide or will a 25" wide suffice?

It is really true that higher tanks are a pain to work in. 2 of our tanks are 24" high and one is 30". 30 inches is difficult but my husband is very tall so he can reach things with just a bit of difficulty. If I was going to get a brand new tank I'd go for one closer to 24".

Wide on the other hand is much better. 24" is narrow to aquascape and 30" is much, much nicer.

Thanks. I'll get the 30" wide and 24" high.
How about the internal vs external overflow?

We've always had internal overflows with no issue. Can't speak for external overflows. Maybe someone who has an external overflow can chime in.

Well, external overflow means more room inside the tank in other words. The other thing I can think of is the holes drilled for the overflow are on the back wall of the tank, higher up and not on the bottom glass. If the bullkhead / plumbing were to fail, you're not risking all the water out!

Thanks for the replies. After much debate, I ended up getting a RedSea 750XXL instead.