huge tank planning

[aquaenthusiast]

Dude just go live in the ocean if you want it that bad...

 

[fla2341]

Go here and spend a month reading this.
Planning, revisions, re-revisions, new alterations, equipment failures, all new equipment, etc, etc, etc.......Warts and all.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=18842572&posted=1#post18842572

 

[ludiNano]

Im going spend 2x that much in lighting on my 120g tank.... and thats only 25'' tall, i dont even think 400w mh will be enough for a 5' tank.

also 2x that much in pumps for tank flow not counting return pumps/ pumps to go to refugium.

how bout your filtration cost....

heating....

cooling....

your just trying to stir the pot. Good luck

1000 for EVERYTHING else.. ohhh your funny.

 

[thelizardkin]

I found a way to get cheap livestock find people with fish to big for them and take them for them

 

[NaClH20NMYVEIN]

I just took par readings on a 5' deep tank with 2x 400w radiums on vertex ballasts. We were getting 70 par at the sand bed or about 54" deep. Limited amount of corals that can grow with that par but it is possible. Bulbs were about 6 months old. The same tank has 3 of the new 100W Canon LED's. With thoes on and the halides off we were at about 150-170 par at the same depth. They are expensive though.

 

[RandyFolds]

I just took par readings on a 5' deep tank with 2x 400w radiums on vertex ballasts. We were getting 70 par at the sand bed or about 54" deep. Limited amount of corals that can grow with that par but it is possible. Bulbs were about 6 months old. The same tank has 3 of the new 100W Canon LED's. With thoes on and the halides off we were at about 150-170 par at the same depth. They are expensive though.

Photoinhibition for a ton of types of small polyped sclerinactian coral sets in below 300 um/l/s saturation. 70 mu/l/s is plenty of light to keep all sorts of corals, including plenty of acros, montis, and what have you.

Looks up Steinhart's research into PAR levels at depth. As I stated earlier in the thread, 1000w halides, SPS at 15ft. Steinhart had an experimental tank that was 18ft (thanks for the correction, Matt) deep (20,000 gallons) with ten 2000w fixtures 8ft above the waterline and recorded PAR values over 600 across the bottom. Even a single 2000w lamp pulled 295 at 15ft dead center, so you could probably scale back from the 20,000 watts and operate a little more efficient.

A quote from Matt Wandell of Steinhart fame, "Our current tank is 200,000g, 25' deep, and uses 1000W MHs exclusively. We have healthy Acropora down to about 15' or so. I think that a 12' deep coral tank would be very simple to light solely with 1000W fixtures."

 

[thelizardkin]

Photoinhibition for a ton of types of small polyped sclerinactian coral sets in below 300 um/l/s saturation. 70 mu/l/s is plenty of light to keep all sorts of corals, including plenty of acros, montis, and what have you.

Looks up Steinhart's research into PAR levels at depth. As I stated earlier in the thread, 1000w halides, SPS at 15ft. Steinhart had an experimental tank that was 18ft (thanks for the correction, Matt) deep (20,000 gallons) with ten 2000w fixtures 8ft above the waterline and recorded PAR values over 600 across the bottom. Even a single 2000w lamp pulled 295 at 15ft dead center, so you could probably scale back from the 20,000 watts and operate a little more efficient.

A quote from Matt Wandell of Steinhart fame, "Our current tank is 200,000g, 25' deep, and uses 1000W MHs exclusively. We have healthy Acropora down to about 15' or so. I think that a 12' deep coral tank would be very simple to light solely with 1000W fixtures."

wow very cool where is this tank i would love to see it

 

[dave.m]

San Francisco, CA


Dave.M

 

[Hexagon Mop]

Oh yeah!!!?? I'm gonna build a 10,000gal for $8K nah nah nah...

This sounds like a thread filled with obsurdity started only to see how many hits he could get. If he is serious, this is a disaster waiting to happen. BTW, the word "SHOULD" is a very dangerous word when applied to reefkeeping.

Like Chris Rock says: "You can drive your car with your feet if you wanted to but it doesn't make it a good idea"

 

[jimmyjames]

My advice... (if you ever decide to attempt this)... please don't put any fish in it... you would probably be just killing it....

I easily spent $5000 on my 180 gallon tank.. and that was being careful and getting what was needed.

I wish you luck if you are really determined to attempt this... but.. i hope you don't end up with a pile of cinderblocks and pumps and realize you have to come up with a whole lot of money to complete the job....

Besides, I highly doubt the electricity service to your place will even support the amount of electricity needed to run a 4000 gallon tank!!!

Just gonna tag along for a good laugh every once in a while.
Points for being ambitious though...

 

[DonaldLL]

It is obvious after reading all responses and observing the number of posts by each member, I am the new guy here. Maybe I have my calculations all wrong but at a cost of $10k for a 5000g tank, I can build my 220g for under $500? :spin2:

 

[someotherguy]

Food for thought - 4000 gal would require 25 pails of IO (a relatively inexpensive salt). Where I live, this would cost $40/pail. This comes to $1000. Isn't that the entire "extras" budget?

 

[Moser]

i might be moving and the house is perfect for a huge tank it has a daylight bacement with a huge storage room and concrete floors i would love to build a tank 16'x8'x5' that would be 4800 gallons i would love a reef but i have a few ?
how much light would i need i was thinking having islands of rock and focus the light on them would 6-7 1000w mh and 4 20' vhos work
what kind of turnover rate
what kind of skimmer
the body will be 16"x8"x8" cinderblocks with a clear window in the front how thick should it be and would be cheeper glass or acrylic

It's a shame you've been given a hard time about this. You obviously have had large reef tanks already, so you're not going in with your eyes completely closed.

As long as you get the basics right and use the resource wisely, you can make it happen!.

You might get away with lower light or no corals on the floor of the tank and have large bombies with SPS and use only 400w halides, or use just one or two 1000w halides, just scape appropriately.
You also don't need halides for the first six weeks or so, only actinics, so don't rush out and buy bits you don't need straight away. Add the halides as and when you stock up can also help.

Use small frags and not large colonies.

By a smaller rated skimmer to start and double up when your reef is more mature.

Use less live rock, more open scape.

Don't have any Gem Tangs etc etc.

This all helps to keep costs manageable.

As mentioned, don't skimp on flow/ pumps. Without them, you will get all sorts of problems later. You can't get away from the amount of salt you need, so essential things need to be budgeted for...... Don't forget bulk discounts. Always useful!.

Start out with softies and build up slowly..... I'm sure you can make it work. :celeb3:
:wave:

Mo

 

[albano]

IMO...

You obviously have had large reef tanks already,

you think it's obvious ??????????
I don't think he has a clue!

use only 400w halides, or use just one or two 1000w halides, just scape appropriately.

I believe Randy has already posted on that subject...

You also don't need halides for the first six weeks or so, only actinics, so don't rush out and buy bits you don't need straight away.

build a monster set up, and a month or 2 later (with a full tank), try to install a lighting system...??????????

Use small frags and not large colonies.

make sure the front pane, is a giant magnifying glass, so you can see them ?????????????

Buy a smaller rated skimmer to start and double up when your reef is more mature.

start with a skimmer rated for a few thousand gallons, then buy another bigger one, you can't possibly lose more than a $1000 or so, selling the used skimmer...that will save $ ?????????

Use less live rock, more open scape.
Don't have any Gem Tangs etc etc.
This all helps to keep costs manageable.

get more LR... forget the gem, it's DEFINITELY NOT in the budget (along with just about, everything else) !!!!!

 

[thelizardkin]

that was not the budget it was a estimate

 

[thelizardkin]

i made a model of the tank on sketchup

 

[JoshuaG]

Make a long story short, this tank now has all new filtration (except for sump), lighting, plumbing, thousands of dollars more in fish, all new rock work, a part time fish guy, and to top it off, I put it in a custom built wall unit, which is 20 feet long. My $1,000 dollars is now closer to $55,000 or $65,000 (need to do the accounting) with monthly expenses around $500 - $800 each month. Yes, this is on a 250 gallon tank.

The end.

You spent $65000 putting together a 250g tank?

 

[hpfunk]

now after seeing your sketch I would like to have 100k at least to do a project that big, preferable 300k

on that note can anyone provide a link to that 65k 250gallon I want to know where all the money went?

 

[Moser]

IMO...


you think it's obvious ??????????
I don't think he has a clue!

Yes!. Here's a quote!
"Right now I have a 420 gallon reef 7x3x2.5 a 210 freshwater 6x2x2.5 and a 240 vivarium 4x2x4 "

That counts as a large system in my book!

I believe Randy has already posted on that subject...

Yeah, I think he agreed?

build a monster set up, and a month or 2 later (with a full tank), try to install a lighting system...??????????

You install rails that alloq you to move the lights. You can then add lights later!!!

make sure the front pane, is a giant magnifying glass, so you can see them ?????????????

If it is a deep tank, there will be some magnification front to back. But with a stable system, the frags will soon grow!!. Many people have done this before, so why not now???

start with a skimmer rated for a few thousand gallons, then buy another bigger one, you can't possibly lose more than a $1000 or so, selling the used skimmer...that will save $ ?????????

I wouldn't buy a bigger one, just two the same. Add the second as and when the stock dictates!. You don't need to skim for several thousand gallons when you start a system?!!!!
The redundancy of 2 skimmers is also helpful imo.

get more LR... forget the gem, it's DEFINITELY NOT in the budget (along with just about, everything else) !!!!!

That was my point..... stick to cheaper stock..... You also don't need masses of live rock!!. The usual estimations are well over what you actually need to acheive biological stability....

The guy was asking for some friendly advice, not a kick in the teeth and the 5 kicks in the ribs when he's down!!!!!!!.

 

[d3hree]

The guy was asking for some friendly advice, not a kick in the teeth and the 5 kicks in the ribs when he's down!!!!!!!.

good point, well made Mo. When I think back to the early days of your thread and the abuse you got when you were asking questions. Now look at your tank...it is, will be, one of the nicest tanks in Europe.

Looking at the sketchup pic and how the tank is divided could you put a partition down the centre and have half FOWLR and half reef?..having 50% fish only would help with lighting costs at least.