rogergolf66
im an addict lol
We'll I don't have a 300 but my twin 120s are linked together total cost went up user double when I added the second 120 gal tank. Good luck
Go big, or go home..
- Thread starter toddmau5
- Start date
Isladelmar
New member
I think I spend less monthly on a bigger tank than I did with smaller tank . Smaller tank I was buying additives water changes every2 weeks or weekly . Changing bulbs or lighting thinking my lights were bad when it was my parameters swinging . Bigger is better more stable calcium reactor no need to buy additives dc pumps for flow less watts leds less watts less water changes once a month or add biopellets then water changed once every 6 weeks
I have heard from some people not on the forums that with the bigger tanks their parameters stay not stable and require less water changes. I would eventually like to switch to calcium reactor vs dosing but I think that's a little ways down the road
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Would love to hear his input
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Isladelmar
New member
Once you see how easy it is and less yearly cost you'll wish to switch along time ago
Planefanatic
New member
Todd,
I currently have a 90gal with led d120's protein skimmer and 1 wp-40. I am in the process of building a 220 acrylic and cost was and still is an issue to me. Yes the light bill will go up, of course salt would go up as well. CrazyEyes and Hoohoodillio have been helping me with my set up as I build it. I have had many nights talking to them of power bills, calculating the total wattage per day that the tank would consume, and then multiplying that wattage per day by 30, then multiplying that by the cents per kilowatt. It all depends on what you will be running for a return. I am going to be running a Jebao dc 12000 for my return, only burns 85watts at full, so when it is turned down it'll run at a lower wattage. Its all in how you set up your filtration. When we calculated it out, the amount was about $20 bucks more a month. Of course all that could be wrong if we miss calculated. in the end as stated by other reefers if you wont be using metal-halides then it shouldn't be too much
I currently have a 90gal with led d120's protein skimmer and 1 wp-40. I am in the process of building a 220 acrylic and cost was and still is an issue to me. Yes the light bill will go up, of course salt would go up as well. CrazyEyes and Hoohoodillio have been helping me with my set up as I build it. I have had many nights talking to them of power bills, calculating the total wattage per day that the tank would consume, and then multiplying that wattage per day by 30, then multiplying that by the cents per kilowatt. It all depends on what you will be running for a return. I am going to be running a Jebao dc 12000 for my return, only burns 85watts at full, so when it is turned down it'll run at a lower wattage. Its all in how you set up your filtration. When we calculated it out, the amount was about $20 bucks more a month. Of course all that could be wrong if we miss calculated. in the end as stated by other reefers if you wont be using metal-halides then it shouldn't be too much
Sorry didn't see this, if you look I'm sure it's the only 265 on craigslist
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ChadRaay86
New member
Oh, its tall lol. I'm 6'8" and I can reach the bottom of the tank on my tippy toes (just barely)
The 265's dimensions are awesome, not too deep with and extra foot of room for your required tang collection
I'd say go for it and if you're worried about cost, just build smart. Use low energy pumps, LEDs, a shorter photo period, reef crystals, marco rock and most importantly filter socks! By using the oft dreaded filter socks you'll cut down on your need for everything else (e.g. ROWA phis, GAC, Biopellets, etc). Let me know if you need (or want) any help planning. I'm an analyst by trade, so I've researched quite a bit in regards to bigger systems
Haha, thanks for the compliment. Its a work in progress right now, but it does have potential
If everything keeps growing as fast as it is, I'll have some pretty cool frags available for you in the future I hate it too, because I want a 600 now :headwally: Don't start big in the reefing hobby because all you'll want to do is go up!
Straight_Chaos
Reefer
As long as your water change setup/ RODI is dialed in and you can make large amounts of water 20-50 gallons for WC, 20 or so for ATO , you should be good to go. Equipment willneed to be upscaled, larger return, skimmer, more light, flow, etc.
If I had the time and money of course I would go big again, The 700 gallon tank I seen on here was very tempting! Borderline to big but Bigger is better!
Not a big difference except the larger scale for everything, Electricity, WC, ATO, glass scraping, feeding, etc. Water parameters are more stable with the increased volume.
I went from a 55 to a 200 gallon system then down to a 20L then to a 40 breeder.
I just didn't have the time to maintain a larger system. I have a lot of other hobbies, MX, Diving, Spearfishing, Fishing, my Dog, etc but an up coming move is what sealed the fate of the 200. A 20L was a hell of a lot easier to transport.
I miss the room I had with the larger tank, The stability, The larger fish I could have and the more overall live stock.
If I had the time and money of course I would go big again, The 700 gallon tank I seen on here was very tempting! Borderline to big but Bigger is better!
Not a big difference except the larger scale for everything, Electricity, WC, ATO, glass scraping, feeding, etc. Water parameters are more stable with the increased volume.
I went from a 55 to a 200 gallon system then down to a 20L then to a 40 breeder.
I just didn't have the time to maintain a larger system. I have a lot of other hobbies, MX, Diving, Spearfishing, Fishing, my Dog, etc but an up coming move is what sealed the fate of the 200. A 20L was a hell of a lot easier to transport.
I miss the room I had with the larger tank, The stability, The larger fish I could have and the more overall live stock.
jokeefe727@aol.com
Okeefes Reef
BIG tank small problems. Small tank BIG problems. That's been my experience.
ZeroBullChip
New member
I went from a 75 to a 125 and the difference was noticeable.
sirrealism
New member
Very Interesting thread. I 2 am making the switch. I have A 90g, 55/55, 40b, and an 8g bio. I was going to go with a 150 I got from crazyeyes "sitting in my garage" until a friend of mine came up with a 275g "sitting in my garage" Its 96"x24"x30" . I have not been so excited about a tank since I got into the hobby 15 years ago. I was going to use the 150 for the sump just to have more water but the 150 is 29" tall so the stand would have to be almost 4' tall and I think thats just 2 tall. This 275g is taking me a long time to get all of the equipment together and build the stand. Plus with 4 other tanks time is limited. Plus my garage is a big mess. I have another 4 tanks in there plus a few more in storage. I cant wait to have just 1 big tank. 1 water change 1 set of tests 1 filter sock to change ect
Ted_C
Active member
Nothing could be more true. That's what really did me in on my 120. A water change was a two day affair because I live in an apartment and didn't have the room for a dedicated water change station or the plumbing to automate water production. I would fill 5 gallon buckets full of RO/DI and transfer it to a garbage can for mixing. To make the 40 or so gallons I would use every two weeks on a water change was taking me 12+ hours of continuos monitoring of RO/DI production (around 1:19 hours to make 5 gallons of water).
In my plans for the 300 galon tank:
I require my own home where I can run plumbing wherever I want - so I can send the RO/DI waste straight to the sewer and send the saltwater from a water change straight to the sewer and plumb freshwater pipes to the RO/DI input.
I require a saltwater mixing station (saltwater tank / Pure Water (ATO) tank) with dedicated RO/DI that fills and stops automatically. I'll be topping off the tank manually instead of automated (because of the risk of changing the salinity while you sleep when something goes wrong).
I already have my skimmer (Avast cs3 fed with an eheim 1260) and sump (90 gallon custom made - probably will only run 50 gallons through it). I kept my neptune Apex lite - will probably need new probes for it.
I have the plans for the returns in my head and have the plans for stand building and all of that other stuff.
I am planning on going real big with the lighting - a 72" geisemann spectra (empty) fixture that I'll be putting in 400 W radiums, T5's and maybe some dimmable blue LEDs for a moonlight simulation.
anbosu
New member
I just finished setting up a 360 that I upgraded from a 156. If you get the right equipment, the running costs won't be THAT much higher. If you're running T5/MH then yes, it will cost a lot more to run like Roger mentioned.
You will use a lot more water, so you will want to consider a water mixing station, ATO, and perhaps an automated water change system. I am still trying to figure out those details, but the tank is just cycling for now so I still have plenty of time.
You will use a lot more water, so you will want to consider a water mixing station, ATO, and perhaps an automated water change system. I am still trying to figure out those details, but the tank is just cycling for now so I still have plenty of time.
I keep 40gallons of salt water mixed up and ready to go at all times. This might be a bit ghetto, but I have the ro/di plummed strait into the sump on the 90 so I just top it off that way. If I upgrade I'll either run the line to the big tank or get another 40gal can to have di on hand and either add a reservoir or pump the water across the room
Straight_Chaos
Reefer
You will want to upgrade you Top off as my 200 would lose aprox 20 gallons a week or 10 days. That can be a great swing if you miss a day especially if you use Kalk.
Bigger tank more stable but larger surface area= more evap.
And my luck all my houses have been under insulated so I leave house fans on low to help circulate air which adds to evap,
The way I look at it Evap for me is good I can use more Kalk BUT i have ATO not manually topping off. My 40 breeder uses 10 gallon 10-14 days I think, I don't really Log any more
