I have 52 to work with, should i get a 48 tank?

[spiderman097]

I have about 52 inches to work with, one side is a wall the other is a ledge. I'd love have a 48 inch tank there, but this would mean I could never go behind the tank without dangling over the edge of the ledge.

What would you do if you were in my shoes?

 

[berje]

Get a 48" tank and make the stand go the whole length and center the tank on it.

 

[spiderman097]

And not care about going behind the tank or not?

 

[freezerrat]

If it's a bottom drilled tank I can't think of any typical issue that would cause you the need to get behind it. You can manage wires without getting behind it and I can't think of anything else that would be in back.

 

[ecoreefguy]

Custom!

 

[redstang]

How far is the drop off past the ledge? Could you use a latter to come up from the ledge side? Fish in the overflow is the main reason I can think of for getting access to the back of a tank.

Pretty sure if I were in your shoes, I'd do it but I don't always make the best decisions lol! But like you I'd know it's not an ideal situation. As suggested you could build an oversize stand. You could even build it an extra foot out the front giving you something to stand on if you ever have need to look over the top.