What do you consider a 'large' reef tank?

SS_Sean, thanks. Watch for the new Achilles that just went in this week. Won't be hard to miss he's big.

And yesterday I added (2) multi-bar angels. Tonight they were together inside the surge pipe outlet while the pump was off during feeding. Surge outlet is on the left end of the tank about 1/3 the way down. Watching them go in and out of the outlet is pretty cool.

Dave B
 
Surge tank is still running. 18 months ago switched to a motorized ball valve from the Carlson surge. No bubbles and no noise, so it's not as noticeable any more.

During the day the surge cycles every 30 minutes at the top and middle of the hour. Then starting around 5:30pm the surge cycles about every 90 seconds till lights start to go out around 1am.

On the weekends the surge turns on at 11am and runs in 2 hour increments. I have to pause it throughout the day to keep up with the evaporation top off during the summer months.

Dave B
 
Surge tank is still running. 18 months ago switched to a motorized ball valve from the Carlson surge. No bubbles and no noise, so it's not as noticeable any more.

During the day the surge cycles every 30 minutes at the top and middle of the hour. Then starting around 5:30pm the surge cycles about every 90 seconds till lights start to go out around 1am.

On the weekends the surge turns on at 11am and runs in 2 hour increments. I have to pause it throughout the day to keep up with the evaporation top off during the summer months.

Dave B

Awesome! I was wondering why I wasn't seeing the surge anymore, but then the camera isn't exactly the best. I know that's a completely different discussion, and not meant as an insult.

You build tank systems for a living, right?
 
SS_Sean, If you have thoughts on a better camera, please email or PM me. The camera I have now is the Axis 214, and I think it's one of the best available.

I don't build tanks for a living. Every couple of years I build a large system for a reef friend. I have probably designed/consulted/built 30+ large scale (600gal+) Systems.

Dave B
 
I'd say a large reef tank is one that you need 4 or more people to help you get it into your house. My 180 took 2 people and it doesn't seem that large to me. My 240 took 4 people and it was just massive in my opinion.
 
Weird, my 165g took four BIG dudes, and two of us hurt our backs. The glass is 5/8" thick. How thick is your glass?
 
I think it just depends on what we own that determines what a large tank is. 20 or so years ago when I started I. The hobby and owned a 29g .... I thought a 75g was huge

Then after owning a 75g.... A 150g was huge......

A year or so later I owned a 150g and thought 250+ was just huge.....l yea then a few years later I owned a 5ft 265g and a 8ft 240g....... And yes thought 300g plus was huge

Presently own a 10 foot 475g..... And its amazing how small it is when you start wanting to add fish

I do agree that dimensions to play a big role in how the tank looks size wise..... However a 500 gallon 4ft tank or 20 ft tank is still 500 gallons and good amount of water

Large to me I would say is 1,000 gallons or larger. Helped install a 2400g tank a few years back.... That thing was huge :)

And like stated system volume has nothing to do with tank size.... When purchasing fish its the tank dimensions that one worries about the fish outgrowing and not that it would outgrow tank volume
 
180 gallons; the tank is large enough that the average person would raise an eyebrow. Then again, a 5-gallon tank with a burst seam would seem huge in the moment.
 
My view of large has changed over the years, since I started in the hobby with a 6' long 135g tank, I don't really feel the large thin rectangle that's 6 feet long instantly makes it a large tank, when the tank starts to get width or depth that exceeds the standard 18-24 inches is when I start to feel a tank is getting "large"

However this forum has made me question what is "large" for me large is a size that takes a lot of effort and care to do, and quite honestly seems like 6 feet is a standard size in "normal" aquariums, yes it's on the bigger side of "normal" but it's not obscenely large. When I started this hobby approximately 10 years ago my draw would have dropped at a 180g tank, just the thought of 180g not a TOTM version, even though I had a 135g that seemed so much larger. A few years later I saw that guy from Thailand set up his 1000 tank thread (Chingchai I believe, I apologize if I'm butchering the name, its early and I'm still tired), and that was literal jaw on the floor big, then there's the guy up in Canada in the 1000g+ crowd, and another in Arizona, and another in... and then there's an even group of those that are between 500-1000 gallons and all ideas of "large being 180+" kind of went out the window.

So large is a relatively term, while the above mentioned tanks are definitely in the "large" category, if you're in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment a 100g tank will be large. Many years ago all my fish stuff left the living area and went into the "laundry room" area that basically is a room that's 25' x 15' with no furniture or any of that other than washer/dryer/sink so the 80g, 100g, 120g, 180g, tanks I've had down there at various times never really seemed "large", the 375 system I'm setting up may feel large (i'll know it once I can see it completed) but even if it doesn't I don't think I'll feel the desire to go larger because it might not be large but it'll be big :D

That said, we have local tank tours around here and seeing some of the smaller tanks some people have puts me in awe of what they have. Size doesn't matter, if the tank looks nice who cares how large it is. You could have 30,000+ gallon outdoor tank, if all your rocks look brown and covered in diatoms and the water is about as clear as a glass of beer you got a big tank of algae soup. While the hardware side of things could very well be impressive, bigger isn't always better. The Steinhart aquarium near me has a tank that's upwards of 220,000 gallons, while that's impressive the smaller tanks interest me a lot more because they are more grown in and "look nicer", 5-10 years if they can get massive coral colonies growing and healthy then maybe I'll change my mind.

But to not be completely wishie washie on the actual question, I guess I would say if there's not a stock size in that dimension (ignoring a couple inches one way or another) and it needs to be custom made (again ignoring a couple inches), then it's a large tank. 6' x 2' x 2' 180g IMO, not really large, big yes but not large, 6'x3'x3' yeah that's large
 
My view of large has changed over the years, since I started in the hobby with a 6' long 135g tank, I don't really feel the large thin rectangle that's 6 feet long instantly makes it a large tank, when the tank starts to get width or depth that exceeds the standard 18-24 inches is when I start to feel a tank is getting "large"

However this forum has made me question what is "large" for me large is a size that takes a lot of effort and care to do, and quite honestly seems like 6 feet is a standard size in "normal" aquariums, yes it's on the bigger side of "normal" but it's not obscenely large. When I started this hobby approximately 10 years ago my draw would have dropped at a 180g tank, just the thought of 180g not a TOTM version, even though I had a 135g that seemed so much larger. A few years later I saw that guy from Thailand set up his 1000 tank thread (Chingchai I believe, I apologize if I'm butchering the name, its early and I'm still tired), and that was literal jaw on the floor big, then there's the guy up in Canada in the 1000g+ crowd, and another in Arizona, and another in... and then there's an even group of those that are between 500-1000 gallons and all ideas of "large being 180+" kind of went out the window.

So large is a relatively term, while the above mentioned tanks are definitely in the "large" category, if you're in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment a 100g tank will be large. Many years ago all my fish stuff left the living area and went into the "laundry room" area that basically is a room that's 25' x 15' with no furniture or any of that other than washer/dryer/sink so the 80g, 100g, 120g, 180g, tanks I've had down there at various times never really seemed "large", the 375 system I'm setting up may feel large (i'll know it once I can see it completed) but even if it doesn't I don't think I'll feel the desire to go larger because it might not be large but it'll be big :D

That said, we have local tank tours around here and seeing some of the smaller tanks some people have puts me in awe of what they have. Size doesn't matter, if the tank looks nice who cares how large it is. You could have 30,000+ gallon outdoor tank, if all your rocks look brown and covered in diatoms and the water is about as clear as a glass of beer you got a big tank of algae soup. While the hardware side of things could very well be impressive, bigger isn't always better. The Steinhart aquarium near me has a tank that's upwards of 220,000 gallons, while that's impressive the smaller tanks interest me a lot more because they are more grown in and "look nicer", 5-10 years if they can get massive coral colonies growing and healthy then maybe I'll change my mind.

But to not be completely wishie washie on the actual question, I guess I would say if there's not a stock size in that dimension (ignoring a couple inches one way or another) and it needs to be custom made (again ignoring a couple inches), then it's a large tank. 6' x 2' x 2' 180g IMO, not really large, big yes but not large, 6'x3'x3' yeah that's large

Well said...
 
Well, this is the 180+ gallons forum, so obviously someone at RC decided to draw a line in the sand there. I agree with others above that this should be a measure of the display tank only. It makes me laugh to see people come on here with smaller tanks and try to add the sump, the refugium, the automated top-off, the glass of water by their bedside, plus any other excuse they can think of just to be here on the large tank forum.

Let's face it, with a reef tank you need room for the corals to grow and the fish to swim. You're not going to get that with a 100 gallon display tank. So sorry. Move on.

Dave.M

this makes absolutely no sense Dave ... a shark will not have fun in a 100G ... but clown fish would .... there are different fish out there ...

large tank section, is for systems that are larger, and have special needs .... different than smaller ones, thats the only difference, not swimming room nor coral growth room.

FYI, there are ALOT of tanks on here, with larger coral colonies than over 1K gallon tanks ...
 
Well, no-one ever accused me of going with the crowd. ;) You raise two points and I will address them separately.

I don't know anyone who puts only a couple of clownfish in a large aquarium. People put tangs and angels in that need room to swim as they grow. Instead, I see too large a fish in too short an aquarium. I see too many fish crowded into too small an aquarium. This is unfair to the fish and doesn't do anything to enhance the display.

Similarly, I see tanks with too much rock so that their corals are already nearly at the surface. The owners will be fragging constantly and the colonies will never get a chance to spread and acquire a proper shape. Sorry, this is not my idea of a well proportioned display. Get some of Josh Jensen's DVDs to see what real reefs look like and compare that to what you are designing.

Each to his/her own, of course, but the OP has asked about an entirely subjective topic so naturally we should all have the right to our opinions. I don't see how anyone can be right or wrong on this topic.

Dave.M
 
oh of course, I respect your opinion as well.

but with an aquarium, ppl try to duplicate different things.

if you are duplicating the open ocean ... then sure, you need large triggers, angels and tangs, and a huge tank, over 2K. gallons.

but for duplicating a reef environment, you can simply choose smaller fish with one or two larger ones, and have what we call "minimalistic aquascaping to have larger corals.

not sure if you have been to the Ripleys tank in Toronto ? I gave them 6 large colonies. all SPS, which came from my 200 G system which is considered small. 2 of the stags were reaching 20" in height. .... [luckily I was moving as they were opening]

but yes, Large is subjective and different to everyone ... what I disagreed with was your point about smaller tanks not working out, or not having room :)
 
To me, about the point that you cannot fit most of the stuff you need under your stand, its a large tank. When you need a "fish room", you probably have a large tank. You don't see too many nano's with a fish room. I think there are varying degree's of "large", just ask my two ex-wives.
 
Allmost said:
not sure if you have been to the Ripleys tank in Toronto ?
Not yet. I am waiting for the weather to ease up a bit. It is a 2-4 hour drive each way for me to get to Hogtown so I want to be sure I can get there in my old crate and not get stuck in the cold or a sudden storm. Probably very early in the Spring on a weekday so I won't have to face the crowds. Hoping to work in a visit with Peter at the same time. I'm definitely planning to spend several hours there, though.

Dave.M
 
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