Big Tank Opinions

[pelicansreef]

OK this may seem a odd question. However, I think the only dumb question is the one you didn't ask.

My wife and I started in the hobby 30 years ago and have been keeping aquariums every since from a small 20G freshwater tank to our current 220G Mostly SPS reef and her 90G mixed reef. I do all he manual labor and she does the color picking and fish feeding. She also gives me direction if I get too far out of line. We have very nice tanks and have had reasonable success growing and propagating coral. We have most of the latest equipment and a high level of automation on both of our tanks.

I just turned 70 and am comfortably retired. My wife is just as passionate about the hobby as I am and we love to travel up and down the east cost to frag swaps, Reef A Palooza's and MACNA type events. We drove 800 miles Sunday (400 miles each way) to pick up a great deal on a 200G water tank for our mixing station upgrade. The question is this! We are thinking about upgrading our 220 to a 450G . Some of our friends and family think were nuts! Although were 70 and 65 we don't feel like were old. I can drive 16 hours nonstop and although I will be tired I can't say it bothers me that much. I love messing around with the tank and rarely feel like it.is work. I feel like the bigger tank will give me a whole new opportunity to add more corals and fish that we don't currently have because of size constraints. I don't really put a lot of thought in to what others think but I do respect the opinions of the people on this forum.

Is 70 too old to be thinking of a mega build or is it a perfect cap to a wonderful life in this hobby

 

[blaxsun]

I say go for it! It's not like there haven't been numerous issues with any kind of travel plans for the past few years or going forward over the next few years.

My grandfather was woodworking into his 80's and still riding his bicycle in his early 90's. "You're only as old as you feel" he once told me.

We can all sleep when we're dead.

 

[brode]

OK this may seem a odd question. However, I think the only dumb question is the one you didn't ask.

My wife and I started in the hobby 30 years ago and have been keeping aquariums every since from a small 20G freshwater tank to our current 220G Mostly SPS reef and her 90G mixed reef. I do all he manual labor and she does the color picking and fish feeding. She also gives me direction if I get too far out of line. We have very nice tanks and have had reasonable success growing and propagating coral. We have most of the latest equipment and a high level of automation on both of our tanks.

I just turned 70 and am comfortably retired. My wife is just as passionate about the hobby as I am and we love to travel up and down the east cost to frag swaps, Reef A Palooza's and MACNA type events. We drove 800 miles Sunday (400 miles each way) to pick up a great deal on a 200G water tank for our mixing station upgrade. The question is this! We are thinking about upgrading our 220 to a 450G . Some of our friends and family think were nuts! Although were 70 and 65 we don't feel like were old. I can drive 16 hours nonstop and although I will be tired I can't say it bothers me that much. I love messing around with the tank and rarely feel like it.is work. I feel like the bigger tank will give me a whole new opportunity to add more corals and fish that we don't currently have because of size constraints. I don't really put a lot of thought in to what others think but I do respect the opinions of the people on this forum.

Is 70 too old to be thinking of a mega build or is it a perfect cap to a wonderful life in this hobby

Absolutely not!! Do what keeps you happy!

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

They could be equal in maintenance, if not easier with the larger size. You do all of the same things, there is just more water volume. Going from only a 90G to 450G, that would be a different story. The only big time suck is getting it up and running -- after that, it's easier. And, you can probably use most of the gear you already have.

If you've had a 6 foot tank, you can easily scale to and 8 or 10 foot tank.

 

[Delloman]

Build in auto water chance if you have not already less lifting.

 

[Idech]

What matters is how you feel, not what other people think. You can have better health at 70 than other people at 50. So go for it, you know best !

 

[pelicansreef]

Thanks to all for the reply's. We have thought about it for a while and have addressed the physical issues. We have full Neptune systems including ATO's on our current tanks so I can't believe the additional water volume will be a big issue. I am in the progress of updating the water mixing station. The new water tanks are big enough to handle a 40% change on the current system and will be good for a 20+ % change on the bigger system with extra barrels for up to 70% change.

The only real concern is the cost of taking the wife to any show where $$$corals are available. Heck I'd rather take her to a jewelry store than a coral show......The jewelry store would be a lot cheaper.

 

[Delloman]

Lol

 

[AlexG]

I would say the size of the display does not change the amount of maintenance needed if a system is designed properly. Making sure everything is easily accessible for maintenance along with a solid water change station will go a long way to making it easy to maintain. I think the only big changes in time needed would be stocking, coral placement, cleaning the glass, and feeding the fish. All of those things though tend to be the fun part of the hobby except cleaning the glass. A good walking platform that folds out in the front of the tank or is fixed behind the tank is also a plus to consider. Lots of room above the tank with a tall canopy if you have one.

 

[Pntbll687]

OK this may seem a odd question. However, I think the only dumb question is the one you didn't ask.

My wife and I started in the hobby 30 years ago and have been keeping aquariums every since from a small 20G freshwater tank to our current 220G Mostly SPS reef and her 90G mixed reef. I do all he manual labor and she does the color picking and fish feeding. She also gives me direction if I get too far out of line. We have very nice tanks and have had reasonable success growing and propagating coral. We have most of the latest equipment and a high level of automation on both of our tanks.

I just turned 70 and am comfortably retired. My wife is just as passionate about the hobby as I am and we love to travel up and down the east cost to frag swaps, Reef A Palooza's and MACNA type events. We drove 800 miles Sunday (400 miles each way) to pick up a great deal on a 200G water tank for our mixing station upgrade. The question is this! We are thinking about upgrading our 220 to a 450G . Some of our friends and family think were nuts! Although were 70 and 65 we don't feel like were old. I can drive 16 hours nonstop and although I will be tired I can't say it bothers me that much. I love messing around with the tank and rarely feel like it.is work. I feel like the bigger tank will give me a whole new opportunity to add more corals and fish that we don't currently have because of size constraints. I don't really put a lot of thought in to what others think but I do respect the opinions of the people on this forum.

Is 70 too old to be thinking of a mega build or is it a perfect cap to a wonderful life in this hobby

Why would your age stop you if you can physically do it?

I think it's something that would be awesome to take on. As you said your "comfortably retired" and have the time, energy, and I'm guessing budget to take on the project.

Do what you want with your money, you can't take it with you in the end. Be happy and build something awesome.

And I would suggest a 450g peninsula, because I think peninsula tanks are awesome.

 

[ColoredRock]

Is 70 too old

We can all sleep when we're dead.

This and this.. do what you love... you are only as old as you think you are.

 

[James_O]

Go for it! As mentioned above, adding an auto water changing station will make things a whole lot easier. An auto dosing system might also help too.

 

[pelicansreef]

We are now looking at which tank manufacture we like the best. Planet Aquariums make a very nice looking tank and I have a LFS owner locally that just installed a 450+ tank from Glass cages and he said the quality was every bit as good as the custom tank builders he works with. The Glass cages tanks are a bit less from a cost stand point and I have seen a number of really good reviews recently. I really like the idea that we can get it built the way I want it. We have the people we need locally to do the actual install so I guess we will make a decision in the next month or so and then go with it.

 

[Delloman]

I plan to get my costom L tank from glass cages get the armored seams such peace of mind when cleaning with a razer. I have also heard good things and they have been building tanks for over 15? Years

 

[JumboShrimp]

I’m ready for your Build Thread. NOW!

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

I plan to get my costom L tank from glass cages get the armored seams such peace of mind when cleaning with a razer. I have also heard good things and they have been building tanks for over 15? Years

sounds exciting @Delloman. Thanks for the consideration. Looking forward to supporting your journey!

 

[pelicansreef]

sounds exciting @Delloman. Thanks for the consideration. Looking forward to supportanksting your journey!

Joe: What kind of backlog are you currently facing? We are looking to get a [96" X 30" x 31"] or [ 96" x 36" x 31"] but have had several LFS guys say that tank maker's are running 3 months or more back logs on bigger tanks.

 

[McPuff]

Joe: What kind of backlog are you currently facing? We are looking to get a [96" X 30" x 31"] or [ 96" x 36" x 31"] but have had several LFS guys say that tank maker's are running 3 months or more back logs on bigger tanks.

Definitely go for it! And definitely go with the 36" depth (front to back). You won't regret it!

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

Joe: What kind of backlog are you currently facing? We are looking to get a [96" X 30" x 31"] or [ 96" x 36" x 31"] but have had several LFS guys say that tank maker's are running 3 months or more back logs on bigger tanks.

ouch.... 3 months or more..... ouch.....

We could see this coming and decided we didn't want to participate in any shortages. We jumped ahead of this national challenge and have about 500,000 lbs of glass on the property with more on the way. Called on all our sources and stocked up for the winter.

The Glass Cages build time is the same as prior to the pandemic. Typically about 5 to 8 weeks depending on the build. Highly custom could tank 10 weeks.

Let us know how we can support next.

 

[Kent E]

I’d say to have a few younglings around to assist with the tank as you get older, think ahead, if its a 10 year tank you’ll be 80 and may not have the energy to do all aspects required. Think also of the opportunity to teach and train another with all the knowledge you have.