Diminishing return of water volume?

[Chris Abbott]

I am getting more and more stony corals so my dosing needs are going up. I wanted to start a discussion on the benefits of water volume. I am in no way interested in upgrading tank size until I move, but have considered throwing a 55 gallon drum into the closet by my tank and just simply circulating the water in and out of it to increase the water volume of my system and get closer to that rock solid stability we all want. Are there any drawbacks anyone can think of to this? Anyone got a spare food grade water barrel?

 

[ItzJustinN]

tagging along, thinking about adding a stock tank for the exact same reason/benefits

 

[mjpelikan]

Diminishing return of water volume?

I think it is a great idea! It is the same concept as having a 100-150 gallon stock tank as a sump. When I actually had tanks, I had a stock tank with 6-8" of sand, and bunch of rock. And I was VERY lazy about maintaining water quality... But had a fairly stable environment... Total water volume was a bit over 400g.

 

[ClownMan727]

Sounds like a great idea. I was thinking of something like that for water changes. Plumb the drum so it can be bypassed and drained while the rest of the system is running. Then fill with fresh water and mix the salt in there and when you get the new water to the salinity you want just open it back up into the rest of the tank. Easy water changes and added water volume to the tank.

 

[Chris Abbott]

I am thinking with a system this size ( approx. 50gallons total ) It would effectively cut in half my swings in most all values provided I add another heater to compensate. I am not sure how that much water without lighting would effect ph. If I do it it would basically be a sealed barrel with water pumped into it and drained back into the sump, with a way to prevent siphon. Just enough to mix everything together to dissipate changes in chemistry.

 

[South City]

I think it's a great idea too. I am planning in my 180 gallon display tank build to have over 250 gallons of water in my basement sump setup.

Part of that 250 gallons in the basement is going to be a 55 gallon drum that my display tank drains into first and that I can bypass for water changes in the exact manner that clownman described. The output from this drum will then feed my 150 gallon rubbermaid stock tank which will be my main sump. In addition to adding 50 gallons of water volume to the system and getting a quick and easy way to do 50 gallon water changes, I plan to set it up so that the drum acts as a detritious trap which will all get flushed out cleanly every time I do a water change and empty the drum.

Sounds like a great idea. I was thinking of something like that for water changes. Plumb the drum so it can be bypassed and drained while the rest of the system is running. Then fill with fresh water and mix the salt in there and when you get the new water to the salinity you want just open it back up into the rest of the tank. Easy water changes and added water volume to the tank.

 

[South City]

If you are looking for cheap food grade 55 gallon plastic drums, check out Craigslist. I bought 3 there at the beginning of the summer for $10 a piece.

 

[mpcart]

I also think increasing water volume is a great idea.

Honestly I'd go with a brute trash can for the additional tank. No matter what they say was in a used barrel - you just never know.

-Mike

 

[ItzJustinN]

would it matter if it wasnt inline? and that water was merely circulating through it?

 

[Pife]

I think detritus would settle and would need to be removed every so often.

 

[Schplitter]

I think detritus would settle and would need to be removed every so often.

I agree with this. What may help here is a powerhead or two to blast the bottom so you don't have this happen.

A couple more things to keep in mind:

1. Since you are adding more water volume you will need to increase your dosing to compensate for this.

2. Consider adding cheato and a light to this so you can increase your biological filtration and biodiversity.

3. You will probably have to add a heater or something to compensate for the increased water volume.

 

[EDJFA]

And don't forget about the cost of larger water changes on the extra water volume.

 

[Mr D smack]

And don't forget about the cost of larger water changes on the extra water volume.

What is this water change you speak of :blown: