215 gallon vs 400+

567234ta

567234ta

New member
I have a 215 gallon tank i plan on setting up, but im reconsideringon what i really want to do.
I may want to sell my 215 and go bigger, since i don't really have any parts for it yet or anything other then the tank itself.
I am going to make my own stand, so i was thinking.... why not go bigger??

What would be the difference between doing a 215 and say a 430? when you get that big do you need special equipment that will cost 10X more then a 215?
looking for any advice before i just settle... I did that before with a girl and it was something that made me very unhappy for years. while certainly a different situation i don't want to just settle unless realizing the cost of something that big is way out of my budget.
 
Obviously everything will cost twice as much: twice as much water to fill, twice as much salt, twice as much water to change regularly, etc. etc. BUT ten times better setup potential, ten times better selection of large fish possible, etc. etc. You haven't said what dimensions you are considering or what kind of tank you want. This will affect light penetration and determine what sort lighting you will require, what sort of water movement, what sort of filtration, etc. etc.

There are lots of experienced people here on RC who can give good advice, but you will need to give a clearer picture of what you want to do.

Dave.M
 
As above a 400+ will burn through your wallet in a blink of an eye, a 215 however may take two blinks.
Before you establish which tank size to use you need to spend some time calculating the running costs. set up costs are pretty easy to work out but ongoing running costs are what too many dont consider. As Dave says above stuff like RO membranes, additives, salt, electricity costs will differ greatly between the two tanks. If you can comfortably afford 400+ then it would be worth it.
Why not keep the 215 and use it as the sump?...or maybe a compromise can be made and go for a 300 ish?
Best of luck with it.
 
If you can afford it don't think twice. In the future ones everything is set and the corals start growinf you should be able to make some money of it. I know this is not a way to look at things, but you never know. Good luck.
 
I really don't have enough experience with saltwater yet to know what monthly and yearly may run. Does anyone have a rough estimate?
 
I really don't have enough experience with saltwater yet to know what monthly and yearly may run. Does anyone have a rough estimate?

..........I believe you have answered you own question....going from a 55 g to my current 120g was twice as expensive, and my dream setup is a 210 gallon for when I have my new home. Look into costs of equipment and costs of an emergency replacement of that equipment if it happens to fail. Water salt ELECTRICITY in your area. Good luck
 
I figure that my 280g tank cost between $100-150 a month between electricity, water and additives. I would consider my tank to be more energy efficient than a lot of other tanks of comparable size that are running a full blown coral system. The electricity is going to be your biggest cost increase when you increase tank sizes.
 
I would suggest doing what I did when I was in your shoes. I bought a 225 on craigslist and then discovered RC and all it's glory. I considered selling the 225 and going even bigger to keep up with the big tanks in this forum. I'm glad I didn't because I made a couple big mistakes and learned a lot. So that now with my new 300 Starphire I know exactly what equipment I want to run. I'm also now aware of a couple pitfalls to avoid. Experience and knowledge in this hobby is priceless. Seriously. I also now have a bunch of big coral colonies to transfer to the bigger tank that I've grown from tiny frags. Luckily I have another spot to put the new tank so I can run them both at the same time and transfer corals one by one. I would not want to do a big move all at once with a fully stocked 215 so that's another thing to consider.
 
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man so many factors to think about!! I know right now my electric bill is not even noticable with all i have running. Several pumps, 3 100 watt metal halides, heaters and uv lights. I have about 1000 gal; of freshwater koi tanks setup while im redoing my 10k gallon pond in my backyard. Once completed the electricity will be much less then i have now for the pond, like at least half because i wont have to run so many seperate pumps and no lights.

My LFS owner has been very helpful in guiding me with stuff and the main thing ive discovered is i have to listen to him. I have a 150 right now i just put live sand in, cloudy as a bucket of soymilk, i asked him and he said a filter sock or powerhead polisher would help. I was back 2 days later to get those items from him after coming here and reading all about it LOL.

My eventual plan is to have one large tank and a small QT tank that i can use in case of emergency of any type. I will also have a power backup in case of power outages also.

In setting up the 150 gal i have realized just how awesome big tanks are, i mean bigger is so much better, like compared to my 55 gallon which was really nice this 150 is amazing. I look at the size of my 215 sitting there and wow, just how beautiful it would look setup and populated. So thats why im thinking lets do this, 3'W 3'H 7' L = 470 Gallons :eek2: if i went another foot taller to 4' it would be 630 Gallons. There's just no one word that defines how nice that would be.
Originally i estimated 8k for my 215 gal setup complete, i see now that it's not nearly that much if i do it myself. So i should be able to do a big tank cost wise.
 
567234ta said:
So thats why im thinking lets do this, 3'W 3'H 7' L = 470 Gallons if i went another foot taller to 4' it would be 630 Gallons.
Click to expand...
I love it when you talk dirty!

If you're going to go custom, you also have to think about whether you will go acrylic or glass. If you go glass you will want your main viewing panes to be of Starphire (low iron) glass. Costs escalate quickly.

Dave.M
 
dave.m said:
I love it when you talk dirty!

If you're going to go custom, you also have to think about whether you will go acrylic or glass. If you go glass you will want your main viewing panes to be of Starphire (low iron) glass. Costs escalate quickly.

Dave.M
Click to expand...

i have pretty much decided that im going to do it, put it in the wall which will save on decorative stand costs, and go with acrylic. talked with the wife and she sounded excited about it, so YES!! 630 gallon it is.
 
The larger the surface area the greater the potential for gas exchange. You can get around this by spending more on gadgets, but it's just a good design principle. Also, the wider the tank the more depth of field you get, allowing for much greater design possibilities (an artsy-fartsy way of saying you can make it look real cool).

Dave.M
 
dave.m said:
The larger the surface area the greater the potential for gas exchange. You can get around this by spending more on gadgets, but it's just a good design principle. Also, the wider the tank the more depth of field you get, allowing for much greater design possibilities (an artsy-fartsy way of saying you can make it look real cool).

Dave.M
Click to expand...

I see, thanks for that.
 
here is my 150 that will be at 1.018 SG for my 4 green spotted puffers. I just ordered 150 pounds of reefsaver rock from Bulk Reef Supply so it will actually be a while before the fish go in it.
I love how big it is compared to what i had. I can't even imagine what a really big tank would be like. :eek1:
0420012322.jpg

0421012344.jpg
 
I will mention... Light penetration to the bottom of the tank. If you are going reef on this big of a tank keep in mind what you want to keep at the bottom. Keep in mind deeper tank higher wattage MH you probably want to run.


Also how long are your arms? I have a HECK of time trying to arrange things on the bottom of my 3 foot deep tank (I probably need a ladder not a chair).

Thats all I can say working with my "deep" tanks!
 
docstomper said:
I will mention... Light penetration to the bottom of the tank. If you are going reef on this big of a tank keep in mind what you want to keep at the bottom. Keep in mind deeper tank higher wattage MH you probably want to run.


Also how long are your arms? I have a HECK of time trying to arrange things on the bottom of my 3 foot deep tank (I probably need a ladder not a chair).

Thats all I can say working with my "deep" tanks!
Click to expand...

yeah i was thinking about this the other day when i was trying to reach the bottom of the 150 in pic. 4' is way too tall lol
 
567234ta said:
i have pretty much decided that im going to do it, put it in the wall which will save on decorative stand costs, and go with acrylic. talked with the wife and she sounded excited about it, so YES!! 630 gallon it is.
Click to expand...


You might want to reconsider going with acrylic. It scratches way to easily. I had one once. I will never do it again.
 
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