How big can I go???

[ianryd]

I'm seriously considering an upgrade from a 75 to something much bigger. Let's say 300-500 gal. mixed reef with refugium sump. I have up to 7 ft long, 7 ft tall (wall height), and up to 29" deep to work with (more if I remove my door frame to the room). The room is in the basement so weight is not an issue. I have sufficient electrical. My only constraint is that I don't have space for a fish room, so I want to run everything under the tank in the stand. Water station is in the room adjacent. I currently use a brute can to make water and schlep it back and forth. I don't mind doing this, but bigger tank means bigger water changes. I could possibly build water storage in my laundry area or outside so I could have more water on hand.

My current tank is a 75 with a fuge and everything I need is inside the stand. I run 2 part, a skimmer and an ATO. I'd like to keep this bigger setup simple as well. So, without remodeling my entire basement......how big do you think I can go?

 

[SPR1968]

You can go as big and space will allow really, and if your going to do it, I would go as big as you can or you may start itching for bigger later on.

But be warned, bigger means bigger and more expensive equipment is needed.

I would recommend you sort an auto water change system as part of the basic design as it will make your life much easier. I use apex DOS

 

[BayouReefer]

Well a 180 gallon tank is 6’long by 29” high by 24”deep that’s about all you have room for considering your cabinet needs to house sump and skimmer you will need cabinet height of 32” which puts you at 5’ before lights and hood if you want one. So 180 gallon with floor to ceiling cabinet tank and hood

 

[BayouReefer]

If you have it custom made go with seven feet keeping other dimensions the same that gives you 210 gallons

 

[BayouReefer]

And honestly if you go with a tank that is higher than 30 inches your putting half your face in the water to reach the bottom unless your in the NBA that is.

 

[Jagg]

I'm seriously considering an upgrade from a 75 to something much bigger. Let's say 300-500 gal. mixed reef with refugium sump. I have up to 7 ft long, 7 ft tall (wall height), and up to 29" deep to work with (more if I remove my door frame to the room). The room is in the basement so weight is not an issue. I have sufficient electrical. My only constraint is that I don't have space for a fish room, so I want to run everything under the tank in the stand. Water station is in the room adjacent. I currently use a brute can to make water and schlep it back and forth. I don't mind doing this, but bigger tank means bigger water changes. I could possibly build water storage in my laundry area or outside so I could have more water on hand.

My current tank is a 75 with a fuge and everything I need is inside the stand. I run 2 part, a skimmer and an ATO. I'd like to keep this bigger setup simple as well. So, without remodeling my entire basement......how big do you think I can go?

Size is no object, line the walls and use the whole room!

 

[ScottR]

It really depends. As SPR1968 said, bigger means bigger equipment and $$$. Think about your needs. If you want an acro grow out tank, Yu probably don’t need to go that big. If you want lots of tangs, triggers, etc then a larger tank will be perfect.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Use your imagination. The factors that will best answer your question is:

- budget and costs
- available room/space
- total weight when filled
- glass or acrylic
- stocking plan

and if you’re going to do this...GO AS BIG AS POSSIBLE

 

[Magellan]

I mean theoretically you could buy a new house and build it around a giant swimming pool sized tank. Make a budget and go from there

 

[fishguy242]

vetteguy said it all ,happy reefing

 

[ianryd]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Gives me some stuff to think about. To be clear, the wall its going on is about 20 ft long, so there will be plenty of room to get to the sides. The stairwell it has to come down has a 90 degree corner with a ceiling height of just over 7 ft where the tank will have to be stood on end to turn. Thats where my 7 foot length came from.

The marineland 300 deep is 72x36x27 so that should fit my space requirements.

I know its not going to happen overnight and I have lots of thinking and research ahead of me, but I'm glad to know that a bigger tank is a possibility for me!

 

[ianryd]

Use your imagination. The factors that will best answer your question is:

- budget and costs
- available room/space
- total weight when filled
- glass or acrylic
- stocking plan

and if you’re going to do this...GO AS BIG AS POSSIBLE

Thanks for this! Right now Im just in the dreaming stage, these simple questions should help me dial it in!

 

[ianryd]

And honestly if you go with a tank that is higher than 30 inches your putting half your face in the water to reach the bottom unless your in the NBA that is.

Well, I do enjoy snorkeling

 

[nereefpat]

Standard 180s (6x2x2) are great tanks.

To me, the challenge with large tanks is lighting and flow. If you go wider than 2' back to front, then you are usually looking at multiple rows of lights. If you want to use LED, it would take a LOT of LEDs. T5 or Halide would be my recommendation. For tanks longer than 6', flow becomes more difficult, because most pumps don't push water farther than 6 feet. Gyres can. You can also look into pumps on the back wall.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

I'm seriously considering an upgrade from a 75 to something much bigger. Let's say 300-500 gal. mixed reef with refugium sump. I have up to 7 ft long, 7 ft tall (wall height), and up to 29" deep to work with (more if I remove my door frame to the room). The room is in the basement so weight is not an issue. I have sufficient electrical. My only constraint is that I don't have space for a fish room, so I want to run everything under the tank in the stand. Water station is in the room adjacent. I currently use a brute can to make water and schlep it back and forth. I don't mind doing this, but bigger tank means bigger water changes. I could possibly build water storage in my laundry area or outside so I could have more water on hand.

My current tank is a 75 with a fuge and everything I need is inside the stand. I run 2 part, a skimmer and an ATO. I'd like to keep this bigger setup simple as well. So, without remodeling my entire basement......how big do you think I can go?

Do not, I repeat do NOT forget to account for a large and robust water change system (not talking automatic, just the ability to make and change large amounts of water, trash cans and buckets wont work). It will play the difference in whether or not you can recover from a situation or fall to a disaster. It's like riding a motorcycle without gear, those that do it just haven't crashed yet.

As others mentioned the need for bigger and better equipment also don't forget that price may play a huge role in much needed space savings. One thing that hit me hard was once my system took off I could no longer manage to use a simple dosing pump and bottles to dose from and I had to go with a rather large calcium reactor. As the demand grows the equipment doesn't scale the best and bigger volume also means MUCH bigger sump/skimmer/everything else. All my equipment could fit under my 300G but it would be so tight i'd hate working on it and you need to be able to work on your system without hating it or you will let things lapse.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

Standard 180s (6x2x2) are great tanks.

To me, the challenge with large tanks is lighting and flow. If you go wider than 2' back to front, then you are usually looking at multiple rows of lights. If you want to use LED, it would take a LOT of LEDs. T5 or Halide would be my recommendation. For tanks longer than 6', flow becomes more difficult, because most pumps don't push water farther than 6 feet. Gyres can. You can also look into pumps on the back wall.

Agree, lighting and flow are the biggest challenges. I have two MP40's and two 350 gyres and still not enough flow (corals in certain areas suffer). Lighting also very expensive; in my 96x30x24 running 6 radion XR30 G4 Pros wasn't even close to enough, added 8 48inch T5 and still low par is certain areas. Just added two 48" Oprhek blue plus LED bars and will still probably need two more...lighting is a MAJOR expense.

 

[ianryd]

Do not, I repeat do NOT forget to account for a large and robust water change system (not talking automatic, just the ability to make and change large amounts of water, trash cans and buckets wont work). It will play the difference in whether or not you can recover from a situation or fall to a disaster. It's like riding a motorcycle without gear, those that do it just haven't crashed yet.

As others mentioned the need for bigger and better equipment also don't forget that price may play a huge role in much needed space savings. One thing that hit me hard was once my system took off I could no longer manage to use a simple dosing pump and bottles to dose from and I had to go with a rather large calcium reactor. As the demand grows the equipment doesn't scale the best and bigger volume also means MUCH bigger sump/skimmer/everything else. All my equipment could fit under my 300G but it would be so tight i'd hate working on it and you need to be able to work on your system without hating it or you will let things lapse.

This is one of my biggest hurdles I think. I just dont have much space for storage. I could maybe fit a 150 gallon vat in my laundry area. The lighting and flow thing is something I havent started thinking about yet, but thats why Im here-ideas and input from yall!