Lessons learned from big tank owners

[Marc Weaver]

I have a glass 220 gallon 72X24X30, which replaced a custom acrylic tank.  I will NEVER own an acrylic tank again.  If you are not on top of your game as far as cleaning, you will scratch it easily.  You have to keep ahead of the coralline and clean the acrylic daily to keep from having to scrape it, which causes scratches even with a plastic scraper.  A few things I wish I could do over or differently:

 

The 30" height is a waste in my opinion.  I wish I would have went with a 180 which is the same form factor, just 24" high.  It really is quite a chore to do anything near the bottom of the tank that a grabber can't do without getting my shoulders wet.

 

I also would have went with an external coast-to coast overflow.  I bought a reef ready and do not like the corner overflows.  They take up lots of room.  A friend of mine has the same tank without the corner overflows and it looks much nicer in my opinion.

 

I started out with three Evergrow D120 LEDs.  I had to add three more to get nice, even light coverage.

 

I located the sump in the basement, which was a great decision.  There is so much more room to work than with an under-tank sump.

 

 

[thakki]

I also would have went with an external coast-to coast overflow.  I bought a reef ready and do not like the corner overflows.  They take up lots of room.  A friend of mine has the same tank without the corner overflows and it looks much nicer in my opinion.

 

 

Thanks for the info. Can you share more info on this "external coast-to coast overflow".

[s2nhle]

If you are willing to drill the tank, there is a synergy reef overflow that is real nice. you can see it from this link.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/synergy-reef-overflow-16-inch-synergy-reef-systems.html

[Scubaguy]

After reading this post I thought I would throw in my 2 cents.. for what its worth. 

 

I tried to think about maintenance first.. and decided a 96x24x24/glass aquarium was the way to go for my desires. I built it at bar height, with a small ledge that can hold my weight all the way around it. 

 

I also went with LEDs to keep the electric bill and heat down. 

 

I have a monster sump with room for expansion under the tank. 

 

I did paint the back of my tank blue so i didnt see the pipes in the back. 

 

Good luck..

 

Richie

[AlanM]

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.

 

I'd vote glass, as much room front to back as you can fit, bean animal overflow, which means you'd get a custom tank or drill cause they don't come stock with them.  Black back.  Sump in different room if possible, below if not.  Metal Halide is gold standard for growing coral, but has significant downsides in power and heat.  LED does work, but is very straight-line directional, so shadows are harsher, just my experience.  It's also my experience that LEDs don't last as long as "they" say because drivers fail, emitters fail, lenses turn brown, etc. T5 is great for growth and eliminating shadows.  In between halide and led for heat and power.