Tips for keeping a HUGE reef tank...

[mehaffydr]

Recently, I purchased MRc orca pro 2. Awesome performance!
Also BK 300 is good too for your size tank

I am glad you like the MRC Orca Pro 2 as that is what I have fro my 1100 gallon tank as soon as I get water in it. I was wondering if it was a good choice but its hard to find anyone who has one.

 

[MARK M. DAVIS]

Start with the end in mind. Determine what you’d like in your tank and plan accordingly. Rely on some level of redundancy. The larger the system the larger the cost. Equipment is life support thus, having spares is important. Talk with a guy like Andrew Sandler. He has a 17K display tank. His setup is way overkill for most but, he knows equipment. Quarantine and dipping for pests will be very important, too. Having enough room to work and room for equipment is imperative. Don’t just dive into this project without talking to a number of experienced hobbyists (Look at their past successes with similar setup). This hobby is not a one size fits all approach. Some people just throw in a mixed bag of inhabitants but, often, see their dream turn into a unsightly graveyard.

 

[Streetcred]

I've had 2000L for around just over 15 years ... never again! It is not just that they are bigger ... everything is exponentially bigger in 3 dimensions. Chemical replenishment is not just silly little 5L jars ... it is 50L every fortnight of everything and that takes up a huge amount of space ... bulk chemicals and mix storage. And, so it goes on !

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Keeping...not.setting up... id salt just in case. A monthly budget. My biggest 250-300g tank i could spent a small fortune on every month. Make or pick a monthly budget and stick to it! If you need two months to get what you need. Wait! The tank aint goin no where. It weights more than a metric ton. Lol
D

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Say*

 

[LDH]

people have nailed it in the above... I have a 700 gallon system and I will add that a huge amount of water volume is great for stability except for when it isn’t. I poisoned my tank with a steel wiper blade in a UV and when Triton told me to change a large volume of water it amounted to 260 gallons. Can you do a 260 gallon water change if something goes wrong?

 

[Laith]

I've had 2000L for around just over 15 years ... never again! It is not just that they are bigger ... everything is exponentially bigger in 3 dimensions. Chemical replenishment is not just silly little 5L jars ... it is 50L every fortnight of everything and that takes up a huge amount of space ... bulk chemicals and mix storage. And, so it goes on !

I know what you mean ;Happy.

I love the description of everything being bigger in 3 dimensions. Very true. More equipment to maintain and exponentially more product required. I order 150kg of salt at a time, etc etc.

But even with the added tank requirements, at the end of the day, when I sit in front of the tank and just enjoy watching it, for me it is worth it all. The added dimensions and depth just make it mesmerizing.

So until that changes for me, I'm still very content that I upgraded! ;Joyful

 

[Humongous]

So I'll chime in here as I normally just read a lot but don't write back much. My display is 1000 gallons plus another 500 in sump/grow out. I've been through it all, algaes, ich, and an almost complete crash due to a simple refractometer out of calibration. It was a rookie mistake made by a 20 year hobbyist. So the following is in no particular order.

1. Plan, Plan and then look at failure points in your plan. Easier to account for bottlenecks and failure points on paper.

2. All equipment will break or fail at some time so have a backup ready to go. Heaters, pumps, lights not as critical but no heat and no flow equals failure.

3. Consider the fact that in large "stable" water volumes issues creep up very slowly until they reach a critical mass. If you're not careful in checking your water parameters things can go south quickly. It's not even close to relevant on performing a 50% water change on 1500g like it is on say a 180g tank.

4. You don't have to buy the most expensive equipment. You need to buy reliable equipment that is readily available.

5. Take your equipment list and calculate how much energy costs are going to be. I've seen people set up large systems, spend lots of cash, and then have their jaw hit the floor when the monthly utility bill arrives.

6. I would recommend a Triton method, ReefMoonshiners, or whatever trace element ICP combo you prefer because for me it's way cheaper in the long run than water changes.

7. Ozone is your friend.

8. The last thing I would add is your level of control and automation. This one hits me personally so I'd like to share my thoughts with everyone. When you have systems this large I would advise against using hobby grade control packages. I have had my Apex fail three times in two weeks. Flat out failures, no alarms sent, just really lucky I was home when it happened. They system said everything was fine, but all the power was off. I'm not going to say what company failed, you can PM me for that info if you want because I'm not throwing them under the bus here. It's just that you need to be aware that hobby grade is just that, it's not an industrial platform. When you total the amount invested in tank, gear, and livestock you owe it to yourself to build or have someone build a Programmable Logic Controller. I'm doing that now and I'll never ever go back to hobby grade. So far the cost of building it is a little less than a full blown system with multiple control bars, modules etc etc. In my field we use PLC's to run industrial, food, biotech plants and they work. Again, it's not a negative towards the hobby grade equipment, but is it worth losing thousands of dollars of livestock over controller?

9. Coming back to reliable equipment, we all know that if it's made for a niche market you pay a premium. Do a little research and you can find equipment that works just fine for aquarium use that is made for another bigger market.

I could go on, but I'll stop there for now. Good luck with any new big tank build, I love mine even with all the ups and downs.

 

[salty joe]

9. Coming back to reliable equipment, we all know that if it's made for a niche market you pay a premium. Do a little research and you can find equipment that works just fine for aquarium use that is made for another bigger market

Like Ranco controllers

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I will chime in, i have around 800 gallons flowing around in my system.
In the order of absolute neccessity.

1. Stand by generator. I have a propane powered one. I instaled it myself and spent 2k. Couple months ago i heard it running. Ohh.. the power is out. Went downstairs, everything just humming along. Priceless.

2. Qt qt qt. I have two 40 gallon breeders. You are an absolute fool for just dumping fish into a large aquarium...ask me about the total loss of 8 tangs i had for 5+ years from just dumping some anthias in the tank.

3. Floor drains!!

4. Pvc trim and 100% silicone it to the floor. Water spills are typically of the large variety.

5. Apex or similar

6. Insulation.. i live in a temperate climate.. it holds the heat in the room and lowers heating costs.

7. High power exhaust fan that is temperature and humidity controlled.

8. Cash. Cash always helps

 

[salty joe]

7. High power exhaust fan that is temperature and humidity controlled.

What kind of fan do you have?

 

[Laith]

...

4. You don't have to buy the most expensive equipment. You need to buy reliable equipment that is readily available.
...

9. Coming back to reliable equipment, we all know that if it's made for a niche market you pay a premium. Do a little research and you can find equipment that works just fine for aquarium use that is made for another bigger market.
...

If I had a separate fish room where I could have placed my sump and all the other associated pumps, skimmers etc, I agree with the above 100%. The best choice would be reliable and readily available as well as using equipment normally used outside the reef tank market to avoid paying that premium. Keep in mind that reliable and readily available does not always mean efficient so do your research and don't choose cheap just because its cheap.

My sump and related equipment is located under the DT which sits in the living/dining area of my house. So I had an additional non-negotiable criteria: silent running.

So either I didn't look hard enough or it was just not available around here, but anything that was reliable, not expensive and/or normally used outside the reef tank market was louder than I (or my wife) was willing to put up with and would have eventually ruined the whole experience.

As part of my planning, I visited quite a few large reef tank installations. The lucky ones that had a separate fish room and were using the reliable, easily replaceable equipment were happy with the equipment choices they had made. And they were happy for not paying that premium. But the fish rooms sounded like the engine room on a ship. Then again, it didn't matter because you couldn't hear it unless you were in the fish room.

The ones like me who had to have the equipment under the DT and also tried to use reliable, easily replaceable stuff just ended up having that engine room noise moved to where the DT was.

So yes, I did pay a premium for that additional criteria but I'm glad I did. The DT and all related pumps and equipment give me a background noise level in the living/dining room when next to the tank of between 30 and 35dB. Basically a low hum (the decibel app on my phone calls it a "quiet whisper" ;Happy) . Wife and I are happy!

The only noise issue concerns the exhaust fan that pulls air from above the tank to outside through the wall. The speed of the fan is managed by an air temp/humidity sensor through my Profilux. Up to about 80% speed the fan is basically inaudible. But from 80 to 100% fan speed it starts sounding like a jet engine. But it rarely gets above 80% speed and I'm working on finding a fix that would avoid those speeds altogether...

Sorry for the longish post but some of the reefers I visited who had that reliable easily replaceable equipment under their DT would have liked to seen a post like this before making their decisions on equipment.

 

[Rogueaquariums]

Ok. What have you guys found to be really important advice for those planning to keep a reef that's 400+ gallons? Share you tips!

Having redundancy as well as automation is key imo.

 

[Rogueaquariums]

If I had a separate fish room where I could have placed my sump and all the other associated pumps, skimmers etc, I agree with the above 100%. The best choice would be reliable and readily available as well as using equipment normally used outside the reef tank market to avoid paying that premium. Keep in mind that reliable and readily available does not always mean efficient so do your research and don't choose cheap just because its cheap.

My sump and related equipment is located under the DT which sits in the living/dining area of my house. So I had an additional non-negotiable criteria: silent running.

So either I didn't look hard enough or it was just not available around here, but anything that was reliable, not expensive and/or normally used outside the reef tank market was louder than I (or my wife) was willing to put up with and would have eventually ruined the whole experience.

As part of my planning, I visited quite a few large reef tank installations. The lucky ones that had a separate fish room and were using the reliable, easily replaceable equipment were happy with the equipment choices they had made. And they were happy for not paying that premium. But the fish rooms sounded like the engine room on a ship. Then again, it didn't matter because you couldn't hear it unless you were in the fish room.

The ones like me who had to have the equipment under the DT and also tried to use reliable, easily replaceable stuff just ended up having that engine room noise moved to where the DT was.

So yes, I did pay a premium for that additional criteria but I'm glad I did. The DT and all related pumps and equipment give me a background noise level in the living/dining room when next to the tank of between 30 and 35dB. Basically a low hum (the decibel app on my phone calls it a "quiet whisper" ;Happy) . Wife and I are happy!

The only noise issue concerns the exhaust fan that pulls air from above the tank to outside through the wall. The speed of the fan is managed by an air temp/humidity sensor through my Profilux. Up to about 80% speed the fan is basically inaudible. But from 80 to 100% fan speed it starts sounding like a jet engine. But it rarely gets above 80% speed and I'm working on finding a fix that would avoid those speeds altogether...

Sorry for the longish post but some of the reefers I visited who had that reliable easily replaceable equipment under their DT would have liked to seen a post like this before making their decisions on equipment.

Agreed % since all of your equipment is under the DT, you want everything running silent. You do pay a premium for good equipment but then again you pay for quality.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Assure your floor/room can support size and weight
Have necessary equipment for upkeep, dosing and flow
Have plenty of salt on hand- You will need it- Mark my word.
be prepared to invest in lighting- again you will need it.

 

[Ledo]

- Quarantine everything. Corals, fishes, everything.

- Build a mix station.

- Plan a good electrical system.

 

[salty joe]

And they were happy for not paying that premium. But the fish rooms sounded like the engine room on a ship. Then again, it didn't matter because you couldn't hear it unless you were in the fish room.

I have an engine room too.

 

[jdiefenbaugh]

Having run reef tanks from 20 gal - 25,000 gal in size, planning and budget are of course the biggest things. You need plan for anything and everything to go wrong, from power outages to equipment malfunctions, and I have told people whatever budget they have in mind, to at least double or even triple it, as it will cost more than you think. I don't really think there is much difference in keeping small, or big tanks, but I will say a problem in a large reef is really a large problem. Whether it's trying to catch a misbehaving fish, a pathogen, or algae outbreaks, there is a huge difference in dealing with it in a large tank. Oh, and QT, QT, QT! Everything must be run through a careful regiment as to avoid introducing unwanted pathogens. It's extremely difficult even for the most trained aquarists, but your odds go up considerably when you're dealing with hundreds of fish/corals, and just a handful.

 

[1ocean]

Make a budget, and then double or triple it...

yep for sure...ask questions about products and buy equipment that works. and or save $ up to buy what you really want. Don't buy a cheaper item or the one you really don't want, cause in the end you will buy the one you really wanted. I did this with lights on the 140 I have, but now got 4 Gen5 Xr 30 blues for the 300 in the build process. Lived and learning experience for me...

 

[bklynreef]

Ill tell you from experience in going through 2 AC units in 4 years both Mitsubishi split systems in my sump room. NO i repeat NO AC system in that room will survive the saltwater humidity even with exhaust fans churning out the indoor air. I had to design a AC system that is a central AC unit, outdoor condenser, indoor regulator. The difference is that my return to the unit is not in the sump room. All AC guys were telling me you cant do that. I told them you know your business and i know mine. Fresh air from another clean air room takes in the air and blows the cold air in to the sump room. No more salt creep humidity destroying my units anymore. Im going on 7 years now with this unit. No rust or problems anymore.
I can add a lot here nut i see most people brought up the main issues.
Just make sure your sump room is super large, youll be spending more time there that you will anywhere else in your house.