Challenges of a Large Tank

[Derek]

I am planning on upgrading to a DSA 215 gallon tank within the next few months, probably mid-summer. I was wondering what the challenges of having a tank that large would be. Currently I have a 90 gallon tank and my cleaning time each week is less than half an hour. I actually rather enjoy the cleaning (even the scraping). Are their any maintenance challenges with big tanks or would it be considered a bit easier since there is more volume of water?

[offroadodge]

it realy just means bigger water changes, more power usage, bigger protien skimmer, bigger sump. MORE $$$$$$$$......... i want a bigger tank but id have to alter a wall to do it. That may be to come soon.

[reefman]

I would agree with offroaddodge. More of everything $$ wise, and of course WCs take a little longer because of the increased volume. A little more glass cleaning simply because there is more glass. Other than that, most everything for me is about the same with my 200 as it was with my 90.

Stephen

[cardsfan12]

I don't think you should upgrade. I think you should keep both!

Same as what the others said, just more glass and cash.

[acropoorer]

Isn't the challenge why we do it? Bigger, better, more stuff, but not really harder if you get a good setup. More risk is the biggest challenge -- very easy to end up with 10-15k in rare and exotic critters that you have to keep alive. BTW, I can help you fill it with coral.

[Brooks]

Isn't the challenge why we do it? Bigger, better, more stuff, but not really harder if you get a good setup. More risk is the biggest challenge -- very easy to end up with 10-15k in rare and exotic critters that you have to keep alive. BTW, I can help you fill it with coral.

Dale is definitely the one to help with the livestock! I got all of my SPS from him.

[Derek]

Isn't the challenge why we do it? Bigger, better, more stuff, but not really harder if you get a good setup. More risk is the biggest challenge -- very easy to end up with 10-15k in rare and exotic critters that you have to keep alive. BTW, I can help you fill it with coral.

Very true. I like the challenge of keeping different types of things together. Those of you who have seen my tank know that it is like Bangkok, the fish are fin to fin (not literally). I love me some fishes. I just want to be able to get some bigger fish, like a Sohal Tang and a Blue Face Angel.

[Derek]

it realy just means bigger water changes, more power usage, bigger protien skimmer, bigger sump. MORE $$$$......... i want a bigger tank but id have to alter a wall to do it. That may be to come soon.

Its a good thing that I make my own salt water now and have an RODI unit.

[muddybluewater]

I say do it.

Dale I would like to come by and pick up some things when I can get some $$$ together.

[WesleyB]

Everything'z bigger and better in Texas! With bigger tanks you allow the corals to reach their full potential. Dales tank can atest to that.

[rainbody]

Its worth it. Granted it does cost the extra $$$ but alot more flexibility. The larger the tank the slowly things change which give you alot of wiggle room when things start down hill BUT if something major happens ie pump leaks or fitting breaks its alot more water on the ground. I flooded my old apartment TWICE in a week from pump issue with my 180. The hundred gals of saltwater on the carpet made me question a big tank but its worth it. I wouldnt ever go bellow 150 for a saltwater tank again!

[Derek]

Its worth it. Granted it does cost the extra $$ but alot more flexibility. The larger the tank the slowly things change which give you alot of wiggle room when things start down hill BUT if something major happens ie pump leaks or fitting breaks its alot more water on the ground. I flooded my old apartment TWICE in a week from pump issue with my 180. The hundred gals of saltwater on the carpet made me question a big tank but its worth it. I wouldnt ever go bellow 150 for a saltwater tank again!

Thankfully I have tile flooring. Haha. I had that happen in an apartment before. It sucked. The hose came off of the pump and was shooting water all over the place. Thankfully overflow boxes keep the water from completely draining out.

[acropoorer]

The real challenge of a large tank is to build it yourself. If you want to give that a try I would be happy to share my experience. Still haven't got my new tank fired up yet but I'm very close. Hope to get it in the house about the same time as you, but I'm going to run it in the garage in the interim.

Sounds to me like you've made up your mind to go for it. Live the dream! Bigger is Better! All your friends think it's a great idea too.

[cardsfan12]

Its worth it. Granted it does cost the extra $$$ but alot more flexibility. The larger the tank the slowly things change which give you alot of wiggle room when things start down hill BUT if something major happens ie pump leaks or fitting breaks its alot more water on the ground. I flooded my old apartment TWICE in a week from pump issue with my 180. The hundred gals of saltwater on the carpet made me question a big tank but its worth it. I wouldnt ever go bellow 150 for a saltwater tank again!

I almost think we should start a new thread just for "Oops I flooded the house stories". Mine goes a little something like this. I was living in downtown St. Louis, in an old warehouse that was like 80-90 years old and had been recently converted into lofts. I had the original hardwood floors that really looked great and added some character to the place. Unfortunatly, they were not water tight, so if you spilled a glass of water it would leak through to the loft below.

I was going out of town for a couple weeks on a snowboarding trip and informed my room mate that he didn't need to do anything to my 55 gallon minireef set up. I read somewhere that you were better off not feeding them at all for a couple week period rather than risk having someone who doesn't know what they were doing over feed and cause big problems.

So about a week in, I was cruising through the terrain park and my phone rings. I get to a stopping point and check the voicemail that was left. My roommate in somewhat of a panicky voice explains that the tank was making a funny noise, so he started messing with it. Here we go. Turns out it was my prizm protein skimmer(would never buy one of those ever again) making the noise. So what does he do? He pulls a hose out of my canister filter while it was still plugged in and managed to pump 30 of my 55 gallons out onto the floor before he unplugged it. He said when he ran to the loft below us to see if it had leaked through he could already hear the poor girl screaming when he approached the door. When she opened it he said it looked like a monsoon downpoor right in the kitchen "area"(since the floor plans are basically huge open rooms with a couple bedrooms attached). He then went to each loft underneath and all the way to the ground floor it was the same rain storm. We lived on the fifth floor and managed to flood four other lofts.

So I thought ok this sucks because we are going to have to buy our neighbors allot of new stuff, but more importantly my reef is going to die and I can't do anything about it because I sitting on the side of a mountain halfway across the country. Fortunatly my roommates girlfriends dad breeds fish and knew a little something about the hobby, so he came over and fixed it right up. I didn't loose a single fish! And we were never asked to replace anything from our neighbors. Lucky Lucky.

If you made it to the end, sorry so long winded.

Edited February 27, 2010 by cardsfan12

[fishypets]

The bigger the thank the more room for corals! Do it and don't look back. Just make sure you do it right the first time and buy first class equipment the first time. If not you'll end up paying more in the long run.

[Derek]

The bigger the thank the more room for corals! Do it and don't look back. Just make sure you do it right the first time and buy first class equipment the first time. If not you'll end up paying more in the long run.

Definitely. I don't skimp on my equipment.

[Derek]

The real challenge of a large tank is to build it yourself. If you want to give that a try I would be happy to share my experience. Still haven't got my new tank fired up yet but I'm very close. Hope to get it in the house about the same time as you, but I'm going to run it in the garage in the interim.

Sounds to me like you've made up your mind to go for it. Live the dream! Bigger is Better! All your friends think it's a great idea too.

What do you mean by the build? Like the sump and plumbing setup? I already have most of that planned out.

[chrisfowler99]

What do you mean by the build? Like the sump and plumbing setup? I already have most of that planned out.

I'm guessing he means actually building your tank:

http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/10009-360-gal-diy-reef-tank/page__p__64193__fromsearch__1entry64193

[offroadodge]

(build like the whole tank...... So from my stand point, i started my new 120g in JULY 2009 and Its already to small. Have no more room for corals. I REALLY want a bigger tank but I would have to have someone babysit my corals and fish cause id have to have the room completely empty to go bigger. The space is there but id have to tanke out part of my closet. If i knew then it would be this away, I would have went way bigger to begin with.

[Derek]

Its worth it. Granted it does cost the extra $$ but alot more flexibility. The larger the tank the slowly things change which give you alot of wiggle room when things start down hill BUT if something major happens ie pump leaks or fitting breaks its alot more water on the ground. I flooded my old apartment TWICE in a week from pump issue with my 180. The hundred gals of saltwater on the carpet made me question a big tank but its worth it. I wouldnt ever go bellow 150 for a saltwater tank again!

Ah okay. Yeah, I'm planning on buying the full setup, stand, canopy, and tank. I'm a disaster when it comes to construction. Haha.

[rainbody]

Dont think youre even confined by take size. Ive seen people cut through floors into their basements for space for sumps and I myself went through the wall into the garage. While Id love to have 500g of viewing area its just not possible unless I have a house built with it inplace. But adding volume through the use of large sumps or refugiums located away from viewing area is a huge benefit and something to think about as you build your new system. Granted you dont get to house TONS of corals but you get the advanges of the large system without the loss of floor space in the house. It was hard enough to carve out 6' by 2' block for the 180, my wife would kill me if I came home with a 500 gal system and asked for 8' by 4' block.

[JamesL]

I almost think we should start a new thread just for "Oops I flooded the house stories".

We do It is a little old, but I found it using the search: Flood Stories