Big Tank Pitfalls? (1 Viewer)

[majikmike9999]

Hi,
I am realitvly new to the hobby, I currently have a 29 Gallon Bio cube and a 12 gallon (i think) nano cube both set up as reefs. I have had the BC for a little over a year and done really well with it. I have done lots of research on mods for filtration, lights, pumps, etc. and to this point only removed the bio balls and replaced with live rock.

Anyway on with the story my family has completely fallen in love with the hobby, i have a wife and three young children and everyone will sit in front of the tank trying to see something new, well of course as it goes our interests have moved on to larger and more difficult coral and rather than spend money to upgrade our current system we have decided to go with a bigger tankl. Well we have one very large wall in our living room that has my bar in front of it well my wife thinks this is a great oppertunity to get rid of MY bar and passify me with a tank. well not just any tank would do so we were at one of the local shops in town that happens to be moving soon and she fell in love with one of the tanks there and we are planning to have it in our living room soon the kicker is that this thing is like 320-340 gallons, big jump from the BC.

So the question is what am i getting myself into? what should i be worried about? So far we are concerned about leaks? as we have heard that used tanks can sometimes be prone to leaking after being moved, especially the larger ones and that it can be a costly or nearly impossible fix? not to mention the damage caused by the water. how many people have experienced this first hand?

Secondly maintenance? i have always heard that the larger the tank the easier they were, since i have decided to take the plunge with this tank i have heard contradictary stories?

the other thing is the setup, as i am on a budget and probably going to have to put the complete system together a piece at a time what are the main components that i will need to get water in this thing to at least support sand and rock to get it cycling?

Also i am sure that i will be looking for some hands on help and advice from some of you kind folks in my area if nothing else for reassurance that i have a beautiful setup.

Thanks,
Michael

 

[thenewone]

ok thats a huge jump, but not impossible just to let you know that your looking at very expensive equipment the bigger the more expensive but thats not all your light bill will ski rocket water changes if you do one every 2 weeks you looking about 20 -30 bucks monthly my advise is to get the sand and the skimmer that to me is more important ohh and the rock but you can ask hongt713 he has a large tank and fishstick there really nice people that would be glad to help about helping im in lmk

 

[crvz]

Tank leaks arent common, so I wouldnt be terribly worried about that. It is important to ensure it has proper support and it's a quality tank, though. Do you know who built it, and is it new or used?

Other than that, I think costs are probably your first concern right now. A full blown reef tank of that size commonly costs in the tens of thousands of dollars, especially if you're buying all new hardware and livestock. Shopping used is a good idea, but at a tank that size, the used market may be thin. Before doing any hardware selection, though, you have to decide what you're going to keep in the tank. Have you thought about that yet?

 

[HongT713]

i have a DT thats 471gal and a sump thats 100gal and pluming a new 80gal tank to my main tank. When my DT was first setup for about a month it cracked, so i can say big tank equals big problems. If u decide to get a big tank just make sure ur stand is level. I personally love big tanks more to look at and more things u can add. If u and ur family have time pm me and i can show u my setup and help u answer some question in person

 

[majikmike9999]

The tank is one of the ones from ADG, I didn't want to say because i am looking for an unbiased opinion, it looks like i will probably be able to get the whole setup, so the equipment might not be so much of an issue, right now my main concern is the life expectancy of the tank itself because i obviously could not afford to replace it any time in the near future but my wife is worried sick of the idea of 300+ gallons on the living room floor. I have looked everywhere and can not find any solid info on how long a tank normally lasts. All of ADG's stuff is beautiful and i am sure that they would not be able to stay in business if it was not of good quality. that being said any opinions are welcome as like i said before i do not have much experience with this.

 

[crvz]

Under good to ideal conditions (primarily in terms of support), a quality aquarium should last 20 years or more.

 

[majikmike9999]

Oh yeah, looking at doing a reef figure i can gradually pic up frags, sand, rocks on here

 

[darrin]

you're probably looking at around $10,000 minimum to do it right... and thats with no rock, water or sand..

And my 200 gallon costs me around $125 a month in electrcity..

not to mention a $100 a month coral budget..

d

 

[majikmike9999]

Well I think it is probably a done deal, I got a smoking deal and should probably have the tank in a couple of weeks, unfortunately i am offshore at the moment so everything is going to hit at once. Thank you all for the info, invites, and offers to help and believe me i will be taking you up on it for sure. Next question obviously this type of tank is going to be a load on the one electrical socket i have where i am going to be putting it, what type of upgrade would be expected to be the norm? expected amprage load?

 

[d2mini]

I don't have anything else to add to this other than....

POST PROGRESS PICS!!!

 

[HongT713]

with a big tank so much things u can doo.. i still hav not even got my right side of the tank full yet

 

[majikmike9999]

Ok next question, looking for info on how to prepare for my tanks arrival IE placement of outlets height etc. Also i will be running a chiller and have been told that it will run best if it is placed outside the house which is no real issue since the tank will be going on an exterior wall, just curious about seeing how others have done the penetrations and also the finished project from the inside? Also what if any type of special pipework will be needed to plumb this bad boy up? ID, material, valves, etc.

Thanks

 

[flexrac]

is this tank long or tall, what are the dimensions, lighting could be an issue for coral growth if the tank is too tall, hong can explain. i'm off on fridays and can assist in plumbing if you need help.
best thing is to have a plan layed out.

as far as plumbing, several ball valves will be needed. is the tank reef ready, or hang on overflow?

what type of lighting comes with it?
if you are getting a complete setup, is'nt it plumbed already?
can you afford a ro unit?

 

[majikmike9999]

72x36dx30h single overflow left hand offset Stand and Canopy 38dx90.5hx75.25 wide

72" PFO Reef light fixture 3 x 400 watt metal halide w - ballast
1/ 2 hp. chiller with controller
PM skimmer, collection container, pump
Iwaki main pump
Sump
Live rock
RODI mixing station

This is pretty much what i am looking to have to set up the tank

 

[FISHSTICK]

Since you already pulled the trigger and bought the tank, get ready to bit the bullet. Big reef tanks are a pain-in-the-azz! If you need more advice on big reef tanks and maintenance you can ask Quoc(aka fishcraze).

I don't know what equipment you have already but everything will have to be big enough to handle a reef tank this size. If you take any short-cuts with equipment you will drive yourself crazy trying to get things right.

I know you are going to need a nice size chiller, at least 1hp. I have a 270 and had a 1/2hp but had to upgrade to a 1hp. This has to be the right size or it will just run all the time trying to cool the tank. Next, I'm sure your not going to be dosing manually in a tank this big. If you decide to add hard coral will probably need a calcium Rx or a kalk Rx. This is to save money on supplementing the tank with calcium, magnesium...etc. I would try the kalk Rx first, b/c it doesn't require much to operate, like a Calcium Rx. You will also need water containers to hold fresh water and saltwater mix. You can find these at the tractor supply store. If you don't have a R/O unit you might want to invest in one, instead of hauling water from the water mill at the grocery store. another thing you will need is a nice size skimmer(spend as much as you can on the best skimmer you can get for this tank). This is like the heart of the tank next to the return pump and speaking of return pump make sure you don't skimp on your return pump. This pump has to be reliable. Most people use reeflo pumps and Dolphin Amp Master pumps on big tanks. There are some better pumps, but cost more(as if these don't...lol!) Also, with this being a reef tank you are going to need some flow in the tank. You can either do a closed loop set-up, which will need another nice size pump or add some nice powerheads. If you go with the closed loop the tank will have to be drilled in several places, being on bottom sides or back. If you go with the powerheads you will need a few to move this much water. I don't know if you have made this decision already or not but these sucker aren't cheap either. I would stick with the high end popular brands if you do go with powerheads. You'll save money in the long run. I would think about the lighting also, which is better is personal opinion(T-5, MH...etc) lots of good lighting to choose from. You will need a big sump if it did not come with one. I would just plan everything out, get it on paper what you would want your set-up to be. feel free to ask any questions.

 

[HongT713]

thats a big tank cant wait to see the build!

 

[majikmike9999]

Yeah me either LOL (nervous laughter)

 

[FISHSTICK]

Yeah me either LOL (nervous laughter)

I'm sure you'll be alright if you take your time. Tagging along for the build. When will you take some pics of what you already have?

 

[majikmike9999]

man it is going to be fast since it is already an existing setup, so nothing yet, i am actually offshore right now and trying to put it all together for when i return home.

newest questions are powerheads? and how many, type? I saw the vortechs and noticed at fish gallery they only had one 40? on their big reef what kind of flow rate is nominal i am also looking at the koralia? i have one of those in my BC what is the best bang for my buck? Fishstick i was actually following your build when you did it and have the same question about the sand bed myself, i have a DSB in my BC and it tends to get pretty dirty after a while i was thinking of a BB tank but believe i have finally decided on a very shallow sand bed any ideas? oh yeah i have also seen the eggcrate on the bottom of the tank i think in puffersrules tank is this common? advantages / disadvantages?

 

[FISHSTICK]

Your substrate will have to be a nice size grain if you go with the Vortechs or you will have to adjust the flow. These things move alot of water, I think at full power they are 3200gph and on low they are like 500gph. They also have a strong undertow that will shift your sand bed if you use the sugar grain sand. I had this problem at first and switched to the special reef grade sea-floor. I like this better b/c I can run my Vortechs on full blast and not have a sand storm. I've seen at plenty tank that are BB and have awsome looking tanks. The only thing is it doesn't look natural. The Koralia is a good pump, it just takes away from tank, being so bulky. I think DSB, SSB, or BB all depends on what "you like". I did just a 2" bed in the front and behind the rocks is just almost nothing. I think they use the egg crate to keep the rock work from falling. I don't really know.