Any Experience building reefs in columnar tanks?

[editfish]

Hi-
We've been tempted to purchase a columnar tank (about 16"W x 19"D x 72"H -- Approx. 55 gal) but were wondering about the plausibility of building a reef tank using TUFA or perhaps another type of rock/plaster/etc system. I'd like a sand bottom, and would love to have the rock vertical along the back of the tank, with a variety of ledges, caves and crevices so that some coral or anemone could be placed higher so as to be nearer the light. Any experiences or recommendations?
Thanks!

 

[reeferx]

I think garf's web site has info on making rock.
Vertical tanks aren't natural for the fish and if you are planning on having live corals, lighting will be a problem.

 

[aquaman2]

for taller you cant have as many fish because of the less surface area for the bacteria to grow, and the only way to get the lighting corals need for a deep tank like that is metal halide wich might not be strong enough for the corals all the way at the bottem of a 72 inch deep tank.

 

[reeferx]

This post made me remember something that probably is one of the biggest reasons not to have one. Maintenance.
When I used to maintain people's tanks for extra money in NYC, there was this one guy who had one of those 5 foot tall skinny acrylic tanks from Sharper Image full of freakin' goldfish. I hated that tank. Why? Cleaning the glass. Think about it. I had to stand on a chair and have a scrub pad on a long extension and it still was hard to clean. And if a fish dies, forget about it! It sucked.
Novelty tanks like this look cool on the set of Star Trek, but the reality is nobody wins.
lol