Lessons learned from big tank owners

[thakki]

Starting to gather some lessons learned from fellow reefers who own big tanks like 200+ gallons on things that you wished you could change after setting up everything. Open to any suggestions...here are few I can think of:

 

- Actual material glass vs acrylic (like acrylic better)...I think I have enough info on this from online forums...but feel free to comment

- Dimensions...like not less than certain height or depth or length

- Number of overflows, location, return lines and their location and any other modifications for accommodating equipment

- Painting back of the tank black or blue

- Sump size and location (below or different room)

- Plumbing...herbie vs bean animal...I currently have herbie style setup...like it

- Lights...T5 or LED's for a big tank...not sure if it matters...but want to hear on the lights too.

Edited October 8, 2015 by thakki

[epleeds]

My biggest gripe is my tank builder talked me into 1.5" plumbing. I would have rather done 1".

 

Other then that, 30" front to back is hard to aqua scape unless u have access to all sides of the tank.

[hlem]

If weight isnt an issue, I would do glass over acrylic, I've already scratch mine acrylic even tho I was very careful. 

 

Unless you have room to work all around the tank, I do not recommend more than 30" front to back and  and 24" bottom to top, unless you have extra long arms. length wise, go crazy 

 

I would pick bean overflow if you have the space, just because it allow more tank space. and clean without obstruction look. 

 

I do a mix of T5 and reefbrite sup, for cost and since I dont really care for sunrise sunset and all those fancy bells and whistles. 

[thakki]

Thanks Eric and Ha. Two people that I was actually thinking of sending PM's for suggestions have replied...thats great!

 

I have 72x36x24 in mind...but like you guys suggested...I think I should consider 30" depth instead of 36. 

 

How about the light fixture size...I know Eric you have T5's...any suggestions on the min size of the fixture for 72x30x24 tank? 

[sethsolomon]

.any suggestions on the min size of the fixture for 72x30x24 tank? 

 you will want something in the 8 bulb fixture size.   Or go 3x 400w halides  

[hlem]

Thanks Eric and Ha. Two people that I was actually thinking of sending PM's for suggestions have replied...thats great!

 

I have 72x36x24 in mind...but like you guys suggested...I think I should consider 30" depth instead of 36.

 

How about the light fixture size...I know Eric you have T5's...any suggestions on the min size of the fixture for 72x30x24 tank?

I have 8x80w and 2x reefbrite attached. You're welcome to come by and take a look. And my dimension is 72x30x20. So practically the same as yours Edited October 9, 2015 by hlem

[thakki]

 you will want something in the 8 bulb fixture size.   Or go 3x 400w halides  

 

I dont know about halides on acrylic...read its not recommended because of the heat.

[thakki]

I have 8x80w and 2x reefbrite attached. You're welcome to come by and take a look. And my dimension is 72x30x20. So practically the same as yours

 

Sure Ha...I will come take a look sometime. Thanks.

[BowieReefer84]

I would not setup a big tank unless I had a room behind it, or below it (basement sump) to keep all the STUFF we all accumulate.  And to keep water etc... I hate keeping stuff out in the open.

[sethsolomon]

I dont know about halides on acrylic...read its not recommended because of the heat.

oh yah totally missed the acrylic part. forget halide. VHO's are also an option  but you have to buy all your bulbs from manufacture direct is the only downside.

[thakki]

I would not setup a big tank unless I had a room behind it, or below it (basement sump) to keep all the STUFF we all accumulate.  And to keep water etc... I hate keeping stuff out in the open.

 

Thanks. I think I have the option of putting sump in a room next to the tank...so that was one of my questions...keep the sump under the tank or in a different room. I never thought of setting up big tanks...but since I have some options that are favoring that...it makes me go in that direction.

 

I will have space all three sides except the back...will that be a huge problem?

[lutz123]

I don't have my 200 set up yet, but one of my biggest concerns is humidity control. That also has me questioning whether I will put my sump and ato under the stairwell behind the tank. I have a 40 with a 20 gallon sump in my 12x12 home office right now with just rock and no light fixture, and the humidity is very noticeable. I know there are measures that can be taken, but I have no doubt there are some lessons learned there.

 

Btw, I love the dimensions of this 200dd. I never thought I would even want a tank that is 24 inches high, but honestly this 27 is great. I would never want to do intricate aquascaping or coral placement though after initial setup.

[hlem]

Thanks. I think I have the option of putting sump in a room next to the tank...so that was one of my questions...keep the sump under the tank or in a different room. I never thought of setting up big tanks...but since I have some options that are favoring that...it makes me go in that direction.

 

I will have space all three sides except the back...will that be a huge problem?

If you have an option to put sump and equipment in a different room... DO IT! It'll make everything so much easier and cleaner. 

[davidm]

second the issue of humidity - In yrs past, with MH's over a 180 gal tank + 50 gal sump I was going through 3.5 gallons a day of evaporation - and that caused big problems in humidity in the house and attic.  Now I have the tank and sump covered, use LED's and the evaporation is 1/2 gal a day.  With a skimmer you don't need to worry about drops in oxygen even though everything is covered.

[thakki]

I don't have my 200 set up yet, but one of my biggest concerns is humidity control. That also has me questioning whether I will put my sump and ato under the stairwell behind the tank. I have a 40 with a 20 gallon sump in my 12x12 home office right now with just rock and no light fixture, and the humidity is very noticeable. I know there are measures that can be taken, but I have no doubt there are some lessons learned there.

 

Btw, I love the dimensions of this 200dd. I never thought I would even want a tank that is 24 inches high, but honestly this 27 is great. I would never want to do intricate aquascaping or coral placement though after initial setup.

 

Hmm...you brought up a good point. I always had this in my mind...will have to start thinking about measures to de-hudify the basement. I am sure lot of reefers on this forums have their tanks in the basement...wonder what they are doing? running a dehumidifier?

[thakki]

second the issue of humidity - In yrs past, with MH's over a 180 gal tank + 50 gal sump I was going through 3.5 gallons a day of evaporation - and that caused big problems in humidity in the house and attic.  Now I have the tank and sump covered, use LED's and the evaporation is 1/2 gal a day.  With a skimmer you don't need to worry about drops in oxygen even though everything is covered.

 

Good suggestion. Thanks.

[sethsolomon]

Hmm...you brought up a good point. I always had this in my mind...will have to start thinking about measures to de-hudify the basement. I am sure lot of reefers on this forums have their tanks in the basement...wonder what they are doing? running a dehumidifier?

I run a dehumidifier for my 150g with 400w halides

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[thakki]

If you have an option to put sump and equipment in a different room... DO IT! It'll make everything so much easier and cleaner. 

 

Yes. I would like to do that...only concern is avoiding accidental overflows...need to think about auto shutoff feature if something bad is to happen. 

[Origami]

Glass, glass, glass. I had a 180 eurobraced acrylic tank at one point and it was a long, demanding and tiresome chore to scrape coralline algae off of the panels for fear of not scratching the soft acrylic panel. With glass and a razor, it's a 2 minute job.

 

-- The downside of glass is it's heavy and, depending upon where you will set the tank up, you may have extra considerations to think through beforehand like, "How am I going to get this 300# beast down the stairs?"

 

With large tanks, I like to have an equipment room behind the tank that includes access to extra power, running water and a drain. That's where my sump goes and all the utility plumbing.

 

Personally, I've always vented the fishroom area so that it had an intake into the home HVAC system. This allowed me to add humidity to the house in the winter (good for the baby grand) and to use the AC as a dehumidifier. My home stays at a fairly constant 50-60% RH most of the year.

 

I painted the outside back and sides of my tank blue just so I wouldn't be looking back into the fishroom (since it's a built-in). I can't say that I have any real opinion about that or how it would compare to a black background. Copps uses a flexible black insert in his tank as a background. This allows him to periodically remove and clean it so that it stays clear of coralline and other growth. 

 

I've had MH, T5's and LED's for lighting. I'm using LED's now, but had a lot of good experiences with T5's. Coral coloration when I used T5's tended to be more pastel for me. Others have observed this, too.

 

Since I have a lot of room and some noise isolation in the fish room (behind the tank), I use an external (Reeflo) pump for the system. The pump is plumbed in using unions on the intake and pressure sides for quick replacement. I like to keep a spare pump of the same make and model available for those times when I need to replace a pump. The pump and plumbing are isolated with short stretches of spaflex flexible PVC to help reduce conducted noise. I like to build in manifolds with extra valves for future equipment.

 

Think in advance about how you can make water changes easier. Having a drain nearby is a must. Lugging buckets is really tiresome if you find yourself needing to perform a 100-gallon water change. The easier it is, the most likely you are to do them.

 

Automation makes life so much easier. A controller makes the hobby more enjoyable.

 

I put a webcam back in my fishroom so that, if I'm out of town and something happens there, I can watch and direct somebody to the right place to take care of the problem.

 

Put the tank closer to eye-level for most people. It makes it easier to enjoy. Unfortunately, that means that you'll probably need a step-stool when getting into the tank for maintenance. Think carefully about the top-to-bottom depth of the tank. When the depth gets much deeper than you can reach (armpit to fingertip distance), retrieving things that fall to the bottom of the tank can be a pain.

[gmerek2]

I have to run a dehumidifier in basement with tanks. It seems to run non stop. Right now I have 450g total of water though with sumps, QT tanks etc. They have battery operated water alarms you lay on ground that can notify your cell phone and make an annoying noise in case of overflow. RODI is most likely to overflow in my house because I forget about it. I have a emergency shutoff valve I need to install.

[thakki]

Glass, glass, glass. I had a 180 eurobraced acrylic tank at one point and it was a long, demanding and tiresome chore to scrape coralline algae off of the panels for fear of not scratching the soft acrylic panel. With glass and a razor, it's a 2 minute job.

 

-- The downside of glass is it's heavy and, depending upon where you will set the tank up, you may have extra considerations to think through beforehand like, "How am I going to get this 300# beast down the stairs?"

 

With large tanks, I like to have an equipment room behind the tank that includes access to extra power, running water and a drain. That's where my sump goes and all the utility plumbing.

 

Personally, I've always vented the fishroom area so that it had an intake into the home HVAC system. This allowed me to add humidity to the house in the winter (good for the baby grand) and to use the AC as a dehumidifier. My home stays at a fairly constant 50-60% RH most of the year.

 

I painted the outside back and sides of my tank blue just so I wouldn't be looking back into the fishroom (since it's a built-in). I can't say that I have any real opinion about that or how it would compare to a black background. Copps uses a flexible black insert in his tank as a background. This allows him to periodically remove and clean it so that it stays clear of coralline and other growth. 

 

I've had MH, T5's and LED's for lighting. I'm using LED's now, but had a lot of good experiences with T5's. Coral coloration when I used T5's tended to be more pastel for me. Others have observed this, too.

 

Since I have a lot of room and some noise isolation in the fish room (behind the tank), I use an external (Reeflo) pump for the system. The pump is plumbed in using unions on the intake and pressure sides for quick replacement. I like to keep a spare pump of the same make and model available for those times when I need to replace a pump. The pump and plumbing are isolated with short stretches of spaflex flexible PVC to help reduce conducted noise. I like to build in manifolds with extra valves for future equipment.

 

Think in advance about how you can make water changes easier. Having a drain nearby is a must. Lugging buckets is really tiresome if you find yourself needing to perform a 100-gallon water change. The easier it is, the most likely you are to do them.

 

Automation makes life so much easier. A controller makes the hobby more enjoyable.

 

I put a webcam back in my fishroom so that, if I'm out of town and something happens there, I can watch and direct somebody to the right place to take care of the problem.

 

Put the tank closer to eye-level for most people. It makes it easier to enjoy. Unfortunately, that means that you'll probably need a step-stool when getting into the tank for maintenance. Think carefully about the top-to-bottom depth of the tank. When the depth gets much deeper than you can reach (armpit to fingertip distance), retrieving things that fall to the bottom of the tank can be a pain.

 

Very good suggestions. Thanks.

[thakki]

I have to run a dehumidifier in basement with tanks. It seems to run non stop. Right now I have 450g total of water though with sumps, QT tanks etc. They have battery operated water alarms you lay on ground that can notify your cell phone and make an annoying noise in case of overflow. RODI is most likely to overflow in my house because I forget about it. I have a emergency shutoff valve I need to install.

 

I probably have to think about doing the same. 

[thakki]

Lot of good suggestions and feedback...I am thinking of a custom tank...so lot of room for improvements...extra hole here and there that matters...would like to hear your experiences on 

 

- Number of overflows, location (inside (corner or middle) or outside), return lines and their location and any other modifications for accommodating use of equipment like pumps

- Lights...T5 or LED's for a big tank...leaning towards T5's...what size of fixture would be enough for a 72x30x24 tank?

[DaveS]

I have a 210 with other accessory tanks tied together- probably 300G total.  Like Tom said, glass, glass, glass if you plan on doing SPS.  I had an acrylic 210 that I ripped out and replaced with glass.  Took tons of time, energy and money without changing tank size but I don't regret it at all.  Scraping now coralline takes 2 minutes instead of 2 hours.

 

My tank is 30" deep which is annoying since my arms aren't long.  Also, when you get to that depth, T5's don't penetrate as much so you best options for growth lower would be LED or MH.  I'm off the LED bandwagon and back to 3x400W MHs.

 

Others have given lots of good suggestions so I just recommend really going through what is being said and follow up to fully comprehend the advice. 

[Bruleyii]

You could always do a combo lighting. LED's with T5's or vise versa.