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Reefers with tanks 120g+, any regrets?

Krak256 said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

For you guys with larger tanks, how do you manage water changes? Do you all have water change stations? Right now for my 80g, I make RODI the night before into a rolling bucket that holds 10g.
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I have a 100g poly container for salt water, and a 40(ish?) gallon brute for RO/DI water, as much as I wish I had 2 poly containers that large I didn't really have the room nor could I justify the expense, but the size of my containers is only partially a solution to the problem, I've found the key to doing things no one wants to do like water changes is having a system in place to do them easily. So I run piping from my water (in the garage) through what is effectively a knee wall (it's not in the attic but small wall hiding the foundation downstairs), and from that a hooked hoses so that I can get RO/DI water and salt water with just a turn of valve (also on the end of the hoses) without having ugly brute containers right next to my tank. Then I built a drain directly into the floor so any excess water goes straight there. No buckets needed. Also I decided on a larger water change less frequently than smaller more frequent water changes which technically are better, but I really did have a plan of doing a Trition type of system... just never got that far into it.

In the past I've made water in a brute, wheeled it over, and drained to another brute and gingerly try to wheel that over to a sink but yeah... this was easier in the long run.
 
thanks for the insight everyone.

I think I am going to get a 5 ft tank. the next question is, height of 24 inches or 20? I hear some people don't like how deep 24 is as it makes maintenance more difficult and lighting intensity needs to increase if you want to keep sps at lower depths.
 
my biggest regret with a big tank was how tall it was. I enjoy the lagoon/frag tank height of 12” way more. No more sticking in your whole arm to move a coral that fell off its mounted spot.


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Krak256 said:
thanks for the insight everyone.

I think I am going to get a 5 ft tank. the next question is, height of 24 inches or 20? I hear some people don't like how deep 24 is as it makes maintenance more difficult and lighting intensity needs to increase if you want to keep sps at lower depths.
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You don’t want to have to find a step stool to reach the bottom of your tank, so look into the height of the tank+stand and depth of tank, and make sure you can get everywhere in the tank easily.
 
get 27 or 30 inches deep
if you have a 3"sand bed, then it's back to 24"
and fish do not like to swim up and over your reef if there's not enough room
I have a 30" high 300 now and have had all the shorter heights
 
JVU said:
You don’t want to have to find a step stool to reach the bottom of your tank, so look into the height of the tank+stand and depth of tank, and make sure you can get everywhere in the tank easily.
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I disagree, and keep a step stool right next to my tank. Not a big deal. Takes 5 seconds to setup and 5 to put away
 
I used to do the brute with the dolly as well. But, I now have a 50g mixing container that is plumbed to the tank. So, I just mix the water, pump out 50g from my DT plumbed into an outdoor drain, then turn the valve and pump the fresh water in. Super simple for me.
 
svreef said:
BRS founder
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Ah, him. Yeah I was jazzed about seeing his tank but then too many of his videos are just him and his co pilot sitting in chairs talking for an hour.. so I've largely stopped watching their stuff. I'm sure I miss some stuff, but honestly it's their own damn fault for pushing me away.

That said, Marc Levenston(?) (Melev's Reef) has a long walk board that allows him to slide it right into his stand and walk an entire side, then remove it afterwards. Neat idea, but something that I would only consider for a rather large tank, a "tiny tank" like a 120 (Wife: There's something wrong with you people!) a simple plastic foldable stool is good if it's too high for you.
 
1. Tank size is limited by available space, the length of your arm, the number of ridiculous looks you can handle from a non-reef keeping spouse (if applicable), and your wallet.
2. There is never enough space. This sounds silly, but it's really not much harder to run out of space in a 10+ foot tank than it is in a nano, I know this first hand. The main difference is that you get to have big colonies instead of little ones. Obviously the fish options change a bit.
3. If you move frequently, that gets a lot harder, not just the issue of having a tank too big to safely move with X number of people (my tank weighs the same amount as my car), but the logistics of moving that much livestock.
4. The cost of operation is higher, as is the cost of a mistake. Losing all of your montipora to a nudbranch is unfortunate, but not a huge loss in a nano, it can be a much bigger loss in a much bigger tank. There's something painful about putting a bowling ball sized coral colony on the back patio to dry in the sun because you don't want to risk infecting another system*. Simple things like "just get a packet of fluconazole" can become "just get 20 packets of fluconazole" at 20x the cost. The mistakes are just as easy to make, but the cost (and effort) of fixing them are higher.
5. I'd still do it again, and plan to in fact.
6. I need a stepping stool to work in that tank, but I also need a stepping stool to work in most of the tanks over 75 gallons that I've been in. This is more to do with wanting a tank that is viewed at a standing height rather than a sitting height. I've never found keeping a stepping stool nearby to be that big of a deal, and at some point I will likely integrate a walkway system. Sometimes it really is easier to just walk across the top of the tank to do something. My wife has a picture of me crouched on top of the tank working on something that she uses to remind people I'm crazy.

*Yes, I understand dipping and quarantining. When your friend who swears his tank is clean has the bottom blow out of a fully grown in 150 gallon reef in the middle of the night and you're the only person in the rolodex with tank space there are few options. I took a risk and paid for it.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Ah, him. Yeah I was jazzed about seeing his tank but then too many of his videos are just him and his co pilot sitting in chairs talking for an hour.. so I've largely stopped watching their stuff. I'm sure I miss some stuff, but honestly it's their own damn fault for pushing me away.

That said, Marc Levenston(?) (Melev's Reef) has a long walk board that allows him to slide it right into his stand and walk an entire side, then remove it afterwards. Neat idea, but something that I would only consider for a rather large tank, a "tiny tank" like a 120 (Wife: There's something wrong with you people!) a simple plastic foldable stool is good if it's too high for you.
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Levenson. He's basically DFWMAS's version of Mike (Coral Reefer), with a bit of nutty professor mixed in to keep things interesting. He kept trying to be less active and we (when I was active in that club) would always find a way to keep him coming back.
 
I have a 180. A 44 gallon brute garbage can is still just a 24% water change. It takes one bag of IO salt per water change.

I have two 44 gallon brutes. I fill one up next to the tank. Dump in one bag of salt, which gives me 1.026ish. The i siphon out 44 gallons into another brute. I use a mag5 pump to refill the tank, then I put that pump into the waste water to pump it into the kitchen sink. A bigger pump would make it faster, but I use what I have.
 
Vincerama2 said:
I have a 180. A 44 gallon brute garbage can is still just a 24% water change. It takes one bag of IO salt per water change.

I have two 44 gallon brutes. I fill one up next to the tank. Dump in one bag of salt, which gives me 1.026ish. The i siphon out 44 gallons into another brute. I use a mag5 pump to refill the tank, then I put that pump into the waste water to pump it into the kitchen sink. A bigger pump would make it faster, but I use what I have.
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I’m sure I could trade you a bigger mag drive if you want
 
Krak256 said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

For you guys with larger tanks, how do you manage water changes? Do you all have water change stations? Right now for my 80g, I make RODI the night before into a rolling bucket that holds 10g.
Click to expand...
I don't change water. Used to be religious but now only change water once in awhile when i have issues tondeal with. Otherwise, just top off ATO
 
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