Very large FOWLR tanks.

[chasekwe]

I always see about somebody doing some 1,000+ gallon reef tanks in their house.

I'm curious to know if there is any real reason to do such a large FOWLR tank if you don't plan to keep sharks. From reading it seems that even the largest fish won't outgrow a tank much larger than 400 gallons. So aside from the obvious ability to fit more fish in a larger tank is there any merit to having a 1000+ vs 500 gallon FOWLR?


Also what is the largest width and depth you could see being neccesary in a FOWLR tank? Is 3 feet wide enough for about anything or is 4 really better and Is a 24" depth vs 36" not figuring in substrate very important? I know that some angels/triggers/tangs/groupers get really quite huge.

 

[stevebydac]

Some fish would benefit from a 1000g tank. Rays for instance would love that much open bottom. Also the bigger morays. I love the tesselata moray, it is gorgeous, but it gets at least 5' maybe even 8'. You really shouldn't keep a fish like that in even a 400g tank.

Plus in a 1000g tank, you could keep multiple big triggers. An undulatus is hard to keep with other fish, but you could likely put one in there with a Queen or Clown and they would be ok.

I wish I had that kind of cash!!! Keep dreaming.

 

[ReefWaters]

Larger schooling fish like jacks and snapper would do better in a 1000+ tank compared to something smaller. Depending on the species, even that might be too small. I would think that any fish would do better the larger the tank gets.

 

[ZC]

The best benifit of a 1000g system....you could put on goggles and a snorkel and hang out with your fish! lol j\k..... ok so i prolly would do that, but that's just me.

 

[sunfishh]

What if you want big grouper. A 1000 gallons would be perfect

 

[Petstorejunkie]

i wanted to do a tank that was at least 1000 gal, but after looking at how much it would cost, and what a pain it would be to scrub, i have decided to do a 3000gal pond in the basement. i hve multiple puffers now on avg 2 to a tank, and eventually want to put them all together, since these guys can be territorial, i want to give themplenty of space so they dont destry eachother. this aso prevents me from having to have a dozen or so 210gals lined up around the house. lol

 

[ReefWaters]

Ponds are a great idea but how will you view the animals inside?

 

[eljefe3]

The bigger the tank, the bigger the fish and eels that you can put in there. I've got a 3 foot tessalata, and it doesn't look that big.

 

[Absint Reefer]

on the subject of indoor ponds I have a 150-200gl indoor pond that I have an arawana, paroon shark and gaint sea pearch in. I think it measures 48''x36''x28'' ya its FW but still cool

 

[Petstorejunkie]

i had always thought that you would lose alot of the beauty by only viewing the saltwater fish from above, but after seeing several salt ponds, i now know that is not true, and you actually get to interact with them even more.

 

[Absint Reefer]

very true^^^

 

[LRS078]

Ponds, if properly aquascaped, can be great for viewing. You can also do cool stuff like create a "circle" with an island in the middle. That way you can hang out on the island and watch 360 degrees of fish and they can get some serious "runway" on the circular setup. Gives you much more freedom than the glass box route above 500 gallons for a fraction of the price.

What I am curious about is doing a pond that is aquascaped on top but has underwater "viewing ports" on the sides but haven't seen anything done like that yet.

 

[ReefWaters]

"viewing ports" made out of glass or acrylic should be pretty easy to do. You just have to lay down to see through them!

 

[ReefWaters]

eljefe3 ... that is an amazing tank. Do you have any more recent pictures we could see?

 

[viggen]

1000G tanks aren't horrible to do. I helped install 2 - 1100G tanks & 14 300 to 600 gallon tanks in a guys basement a few years back, it was like going to the zoo!! The 1100 g's were saltwater centered in a room in the basement & the other tanks were all freshwater on the surrounding walls. No clue why he wanted it that way, it all should of been salty.

If I had the funds & room in my house I would definantly have a 1000+g FO tank. I was offered a 900 gallon tank for $3,000 but I simply do not have the room.... also I am about $2,990 short in funds to buy that tank