Let talk about large tanks (for questions related to large tanks)

[ClosetFishGeek]

What are you trying to get out of this thread?

The principles in keeping a small or large tank are the same, all your doing is increasing the size of the equipment used and dosing requirements for the most part. Everything is as important to a small tank as it is to a larger tank, from plumbing and equipment to dosing and maintenance. Larger tanks are much easier to keep stable and catch things before they go wrong. It all just gets tougher through husbandry and maintenance, and more expensive. And for some reason this thread feels like its going to be talking about equipment and what people are using to cut costs or something.

Granted with larger tanks there is more play in being creative with flow patterns, plumbing, rockwork, ect but its all just as important in a smaller tank. If anything smaller tanks can be alot more complicated to get done the right way due to size restraints, and because of that there is a simplicity factor that automatically happens.

As far as humidity, I have a 180g display with a good 40g between my frag tank and sump and the only time i feel the humidity is coming home after a long weekend, and even then its not too bad. If your having problems with humidity being destructive to your house then you have poor circulation in the room its in.

This has been very dificult for me. Getting the right flow in a large tank was very dificult for me. I had many areas with poor circulation even with 7 Vortechs & 4 Sea Swirls. I would include a version of a closed loop if I had to do it again. Look at Saxbys build from Deltec..... Very nice Idea.

 

[Wes]

I think MOST people do not know their actual gallonage...yet they dose, buy a skimmer, worry about X amount of turnover per hour, etc. based on the wrong figures. Maybe, they're actually doing a 25% water change, instead of the 20%, that they think it is! Do the majority know about 'guidelines' or actually test before they dose...probably not. Is it important, to know gallonage, to get therapeutic drug levels, if you had to dose for red bugs, or flatworms? Is it pointless to know actual gallonage, I can't answer that for anyone else, but with the amount of time and $ 'invested' into this hobby, I'd like as much info as possible. Sorry, pet peave!

SAYS WHO...or is it WHOM? :wink1:...I believe my use of the term 'gallonage', was proper, in that I wanted people to KNOW that I was referring to the actual # of gallons in the tank, not the tank builders 'overstated' (not even close) volume.

Oh No!!! My skimmer is larger, I have more turnover, and I do large water changes! I think the majority of people who dose DO test before and after they dose. If you just blindly dose based on your volume, actual or estimated, you are in for trouble.

For redbugs I always "overdose" So yes, still pointless to measure actual volume.

The problem with your reasoning is none of this is an exact science. All tanks consume ca/alk at different rates, skimmer ratings are always suspect, tank circulation isn't as simple as turnover per hour, size of waterchanges, etc. etc.

Even when dosing copper in my QT I always test the levels. It's foolish to blindly trust the dosing suggestions without testing. FDA doesnt care about Fish Meds. I always test and you know what? A rough estimate of volume usually gets you right where you need to be.

EDIT: Sorry about the gallonage thing. I guess it is in the dictionary so you win....Even though the spell checker doesnt like it.

 

[DrHarryLopez]

as someone, presently 'running' about 1400g, I think everyone, ESPECIALLY, large tank owners, should have a better idea of their ACTUAL gallonage... I have no idea, how full your sumps and frag tanks are, but I would guess that you probably 'run' somewhere around 350g. I comment on this because, it seems like many people don't really know how many actual gallons of WATER, they have, which, I think, might cause a problem when 'dosing' certain things...a '180g' tank with rock and sand, probably has less than 130g of water, most sumps/ refugiums are operated , way below, full capacity.
My new 450g tank holds about 380g of water, even less with rock and sand. When dosing any additives, that would be about 25% LESS! :shhh: A 120g reef tank, has about 80g of water (+ sump)...33% less than the owner thinks!



.

I agree i usually use 30% less as my total water volume.

 

[NYreefNoob]

lol gallonage is a word
http://www.yourdictionary.com/gallonage

 

[DrHarryLopez]

<O></O>
Let gravity do its thing for all plumbing. <O></O>
<O></O>

Gravity type plumbing is highly forgotten as many use pumps on their chillers.

My chiller gets fed from one of the tank drains and feeds into the sump, while the temp probe is in the main tank.

Good point Joe

 

[DrHarryLopez]

Common doc. If you can afford a 220 you can afford a camera.

hahaha
Its the time to look for a DSLR and learn how to use one that i don't have :splitspin

 

[Wes]

lol gallonage is a word
http://www.yourdictionary.com/gallonage

i stand corrected, however, "staycation" was just added to the dictionary.

 

[DrHarryLopez]

I have 250g display with 100g sump and have no idea what my actual volume is nor do I feel it's important.

I can tell you exactly how much I dose everyday. The directions based on water volume are just guidelines. You should never dose anything without testing. All tanks are different regardless of water volume.

That is why I feel it's pointless to determine actual water volume.

p.s. The term is volume, not "gallonage". Sorry, pet peeve.

Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

You guys from down south, I thought ya'll were gentlemen? Gallonage is in the dictionary.

 

[DrHarryLopez]

What are you trying to get out of this thread?

The principles in keeping a small or large tank are the same, all your doing is increasing the size of the equipment used and dosing requirements for the most part. Everything is as important to a small tank as it is to a larger tank, from plumbing and equipment to dosing and maintenance. Larger tanks are much easier to keep stable and catch things before they go wrong. It all just gets tougher through husbandry and maintenance, and more expensive. And for some reason this thread feels like its going to be talking about equipment and what people are using to cut costs or something.

Granted with larger tanks there is more play in being creative with flow patterns, plumbing, rockwork, ect but its all just as important in a smaller tank. If anything smaller tanks can be alot more complicated to get done the right way due to size restraints, and because of that there is a simplicity factor that automatically happens.

As far as humidity, I have a 180g display with a good 40g between my frag tank and sump and the only time i feel the humidity is coming home after a long weekend, and even then its not too bad. If your having problems with humidity being destructive to your house then you have poor circulation in the room its in.

Funny how you addressed the diferences btwn smaller and larger tanks. :tongue1:

 

[DrHarryLopez]

Large tanks are easier...But this is a "mine is bigger than yours" thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

Don't read into it or extrapulate. It is wat it is, a thread about large tank concerns and discussions. If you don't have anything to contribute, don't.

It all good as we say in Brooklyn. :inlove:
Sucks when it rains.

 

[tosiek]

Wes, Albano is right about the gallonage thing and there is nothing that you can say or rhetorically argue that will change that fact. Everyone should know what their gallonage actually is within a gallon or two, and understand that their 100g tank actually only has 80g or so of water, ect.

If you care or not in following that is your own choice and im sure more people don't know and don't need to know than there should be. Me included. But there is absolutely no reason to start an argument between the fact of the matter and your opinion on the subject. You know what they say about opinions.

 

[Wes]

Gravity type plumbing is highly forgotten as many use pumps on their chillers.

My chiller gets fed from one of the tank drains and feeds into the sump, while the temp probe is in the main tank.

Good point Joe

the only problem i can think of w/ gravity feeding a chiller is if you only have one overflow. Overtime, the coils build up gunk and slow up water flow. This could be dangerous if the delta P gets to a point where gravity isnt enough to push water through the chiller coils and you overflow the display.

 

[Wes]

Wes, Albano is right about the gallonage thing and there is nothing that you can say or rhetorically argue that will change that fact. Everyone should know what their gallonage actually is within a gallon or two, and understand that their 100g tank actually only has 80g or so of water, ect.

If you care or not in following that is your own choice and im sure more people don't know and don't need to know than there should be. Me included. But there is absolutely no reason to start an argument between the fact of the matter and your opinion on the subject. You know what they say about opinions.

Tosiek, both you and Albano are wrong about the gallonage thing and there is nothing that you can say or rhetorically argue that will change that fact. It is pointless to know actual volume if you follow the simple rules of reefkeeping. Saying it is important to know your exact volume is not a Fact at all, It is an opinion. And I am allowed to state mine. If it were a fact, most of us would not have a successful reef tank since we do not know actual "gallonage"

 

[tosiek]

Funny how you addressed the diferences btwn smaller and larger tanks. :tongue1:

There is 0 difference aside from everything getting larger, especially the hole in my pocket =0) The thread was turning into a "lets post our equipment" thread for larger tanks which is the only reason i posted. Hopefully someone would have corrected something that i missed or started off on a topic about flow in larger tanks and rock formations, or the ability to segment area's into specific types of coral or something. Albano got the ball rolling but then a fight broke out. Sigh.

 

[DrHarryLopez]

What do you pay in electric to run these tanks?

My bill is up about ~$200/month during this past spring n ~$120 in the winter. I hate to see the summer bills! I'm trying to be as efficient as possible. I had a discussion with Jarret Shark about having my lights go off earlier at say 83deg rather than just have them go off in emergency mode ie 84deg. I can prog the controller after an hr or so if there shut off as a result of temp. I haven't done this yet just a thought.

 

[Wes]

Don't read into it or extrapulate. It is wat it is, a thread about large tank concerns and discussions. If you don't have anything to contribute, don't.

It all good as we say in Brooklyn. :inlove:
Sucks when it rains.

I have contributed quite a bit actually. And "mine is bigger than yours"

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

Doc did you fix the programing yet

 

[DrHarryLopez]

This has been very dificult for me. Getting the right flow in a large tank was very dificult for me. I had many areas with poor circulation even with 7 Vortechs & 4 Sea Swirls. I would include a version of a closed loop if I had to do it again. Look at Saxbys build from Deltec..... Very nice Idea.

I aggree too, If i had to do this again i would incorporate a closed loop. I bought a wavebox and it does move all the water, but i need much stronger flow inside the tank. So in retrospec I don't think it was a good buy for me at ~$650.

 

[reefs4life]

I run a 210G AGA Reef-ready 72X24X29 mixed reef tank with about 250lbs of LR and 400lbs of Southdown Playsand LS. Fish consist of a foxface, sailfin tang, yellow tang, baby yellow belly hippo tang, 5 percula clowns, purple pseudochromis, pajama cardinal and flame angel.

My return pump is a Reeflo Hammerhead which has a 5 outlet manifold. It runs out of a 55G sump (hopefully upgrading it soon). On the manifold 2 of the outlets are for the returns on the 210. I modified my overflow boxes so that I didn't keep the tube intended for a return, both tubes drain now, so I have 2 1" and 2 3/4" drains.

My return tubes are built to come up over the tank at the same places where the original returns would be but each tubes is split into three; the first split is for a regular return loc-line, the other is for a spray bar type thing that goes between the two overflow boxes (each split return makes half of the spray bar), and the third split is a tube that goes half-way down the tank and faces towards the sides. I have 2 Koralia 3's in the corner because that's the only place I was getting no circulation. The other 3 outlets are for the following; one goes to a 20G tank that I modified that I will use as a seahorse/planted tank with a pure mud substrate, the other goes to a 30G X-High fuge with LR and a lot of macro and one that I shrunk for my calcium reactor, Korallin C-1502. Might add my old 75G to the system if no one buys it, maybe raise fish and stuff in it or maybe keep a shark. The skimmer is an ASM-G4+, works like a beast.

My lighting consists of 3 250W Phoenix bulbs on IC ballasts and 390W of PC actinics. My lighting schedule is Actinics on 2 hours then off as soon as MHs go on for 8 hours and then 2 more hours actinics right before MHs go off. Temperature control includes 3 120mm computer fans for MHs and 500W and 300W heater running off of an aquamedic temperature controller. I usually keep my water temperature around 78F and salinity around 33ppt (1.024/.025). I use an AWI 75gpd RO/DI with a float valve directly in my sump for top-off. And lastly I dose Kent Marine Strontium and Molybdenum, Essential Elements, Tech-M (magnesium) and Tech-I (iodine).

I think that's everything lol if I missed something let me know

Fortunato

 

[DrHarryLopez]

the only problem i can think of w/ gravity feeding a chiller is if you only have one overflow. Overtime, the coils build up gunk and slow up water flow. This could be dangerous if the delta P gets to a point where gravity isnt enough to push water through the chiller coils and you overflow the display.

Fortunately the differtial pressure is great when my chiller is much lower than the tank's overflow. In the Fall I do disconnect the chiller and flush the plumbing.

In any event, good point.