Going to a bigger tank?

[WhiteVelvetStarfish]

Hi All,

 

I currently run a 16g biocube LED.  I love the tank, but being a bigger guy, it's hard to get my hands in the back chambers or into the tank in general to mess with anything.  I'm also unable to keep a lot of livestock I'd really like to have, so I'm starting to price out and prepare for a bigger tank.  

 

I'm thinking something in the ballpark of 100-130 gallons.  I know that there are a lot of considerations and I'd love to hear what the community thinks!  Maybe I'm missing something on my checklist here.

 

I know such a tank would weigh well over 1,000 pounds and I'd likely have to setup braces in my basement to support the weight (this would go on the ground floor).  Is there anything else I'd need to be considering?  I was going to have an architect/contractor come through and examine the load bearing beams to see if they can handle this weight.  Is this overkill or standard?

 

I'm planning to keep some of the following livestock and I'd love to hear thoughts as to whether I should be considering a bigger (or maybe even a smaller) tank.

 

• Blue Hippo Tang (I know I should probably have a 10,000 gallon tank to satisfy some of the people on here, but I'm doing my best :P)
• Mandarin Fish (old tank is too small to support a pod population and this is one of my favorite fish)
• Nems
• Various SPS and LPS

 

Obviously, there will be other things added as I go, but these are the main types of things I plan to keep.  I know that I'll likely need something in the ballpark of T3s and I'll need some good pumps.  Looking for recommendations/pricing on tanks, tank sizes and equipment!

 

Thanks in advance everyone!

[jservedio]

It's not necessary for a tank that size, and loads of people don't add support. However, unless you're sitting on a slab foundation, it's not a bad idea to add support in - your floors won't collapse or anything, but you will get some deflection. It's also peace of mind.

 

It's a very small amount of weight (structurally speaking) and if you are even somewhat handy can do it yourself - how you do it would depend on the construction of your home and where you are putting the tank. You aren't altering the load-bearing structures of your house, so you don't need a permit or a structural engineer or anything. If you aren't very handy and just want to be certain you are good - just give a regular general contractor a call and let them take a quick look. Assume about ton with the stand, tank, water, rock, and sump. It's 1000 lbs just for water in a 120.

[Naekuh]

larger the tank the more stable it is and harder for it to crash.

At the same time, the larger the tank at that size the exponentially more expensive it gets to stock it, as well as get equipment proper for that tank. 

 

Just imagine going from a single Radion 15 to moving onto multipul Radion 30's, and large protein skimmers are expensive as hell.  

Getting live rock for a 16lbs.... compared to 100-130lbs...  at 5-6 dollars per lbs... i would honestly not be suprised if the total cost to setup came out almost the same price as a used car. 

 

Also water changes on that level, man, if i had to do 20 gallon water changes weekly or bi weekly even, id think id honestly shoot myself.

I dont know how people with large reef's do it, hence i love watching them on the forums when they do it, but i would really shoot my self if i had to maintain such a monster reef.  

[Clown79]

17 hours ago, Naekuh said:

larger the tank the more stable it is and harder for it to crash.

At the same time, the larger the tank at that size the exponentially more expensive it gets to stock it, as well as get equipment proper for that tank. 

 

Just imagine going from a single Radion 15 to moving onto multipul Radion 30's, and large protein skimmers are expensive as hell.  

Getting live rock for a 16lbs.... compared to 100-130lbs...  at 5-6 dollars per lbs... i would honestly not be suprised if the total cost to setup came out almost the same price as a used car. 

 

Also water changes on that level, man, if i had to do 20 gallon water changes weekly or bi weekly even, id think id honestly shoot myself.

I dont know how people with large reef's do it, hence i love watching them on the forums when they do it, but i would really shoot my self if i had to maintain such a monster reef.  

So true.

A friend has a 180g and he has 4 radions on it. That's just the beginning of the equipment list.

 

Doing a waterchange, takes a lot of water!

[Naekuh]

6 hours ago, Clown79 said:

A friend has a 180g and he has 4 radions on it.

good grief.. thats like 3200 dollars just in lights.... lol..