Diving in with a large tank

[SteelShark]

I'm looking forward to it too! I have a new 120 and would have loved to go bigger. That 30 high and 30 deep is amazing. I will definitely follow the build thread to see what you do with it.

There are some advantages of going bigger like more water volume means things will be more stable if you make a slight mistake. It will be more work for water changes and more scraping of glass. But the flexibility of inhabitants in a tank that large more then makes up for it in my opinion.

The stability will be nice, and I think the extra work will make for a nice hobby!

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Awesome, thank you! I will start up a Build Thread, I didn't really understand what that meant initially, now I get it. I will definitely check out the local group, and yes - N VA. And, that book looks great. Thanks again!

let me be among the first to say ... <drum roll> ... CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

I see your spiffy new Build Thread Badge !!! WAHOO !!!

 

[SteelShark]

let me be among the first to say ... <drum roll> ... CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

I see your spiffy new Build Thread Badge !!! WAHOO !!!

Ha - thanks!

 

[Celestion]

Looks like glass , .....

 

[SteelShark]

All me sloe , hLooks like glass

Does it? Definitely acrylic.

 

[shakacuz]

welcome aboard the r2r board!

 

[SteelShark]

welcome aboard the r2r board!

Thanks!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello! I unexpectedly came into possession of a very nice large tank, and I have nearly zero experience! Not going to lie, I'm fairly intimidated, and I've come here so I can learn how to do things the right way. I know it would have made more sense to start out small and work my way up, but I didn't expect to receive this tank and I didn't pick it out, so here I am. I actually got the tank over a year ago, and I have been too nervous to do anything with it, so it has sadly just sat in my garage until I finally decided I can do this.

The tank is acrylic and about 230 gallons (60"x30"x30"), with an acrylic stand and canopy. It is not plumbed and it has no equipment - just the tank, stand, and canopy. I've attached a couple of pictures, please pardon the messy garage and the fact that I still haven't even finished removing all the packing material, put the doors on, etc.

This may be ill-advised based on my near-zero experience, but I want to make this a reef tank because... well, because they are awesome and I can't bring myself to do anything less with such a nice big tank. I have a little experience with small (10 gal or less) freshwater tanks, but no experience with saltwater, reef tanks, etc. All I know about reef tanks is what I've learned from watching the BRS "52 Weeks of Reefing" series.

Fortunately, I have a good place to put the tank - a tiled room on a concrete slab with no direct sunlight.

I think my first step is to figure out how to drill holes and plumb the tank, which sounds terrifying. I'd like to get that out of the way while the tank is still in the garage, before I move it inside. In parallel, I need to figure out what equipment I need - lights, pump, sump, etc. I'm also going to figure out how to run a dedicated electrical line.

I know there is a wealth of knowledge already posted here, so thank you to everyone who has added their experience already. I'm now off to search and learn more!

Tank is a beauty and always having larger tanks, I can say bigger is better and more forgiving. My biggest attraction to large tanks is ease of maintenance

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[CoralB]

Welcome !!!

 

[jsker]

Really nice tank.

 

[Fishy888]

Hello and welcome to R2R! People here are friendly, knowledgeable, and ready to help. Hopefully you’ll start a build thread. We’d love to see your build as it progresses.

As several have stated there are many advantages to a larger tank. They tend to be more forgiving than smaller tanks because of the volume. You’ll also be able to keep a larger array of fish and corals. I’m excited for you!

 

[gibbers]

Hello! I unexpectedly came into possession of a very nice large tank, and I have nearly zero experience! Not going to lie, I'm fairly intimidated, and I've come here so I can learn how to do things the right way. I know it would have made more sense to start out small and work my way up, but I didn't expect to receive this tank and I didn't pick it out, so here I am. I actually got the tank over a year ago, and I have been too nervous to do anything with it, so it has sadly just sat in my garage until I finally decided I can do this.

The tank is acrylic and about 230 gallons (60"x30"x30"), with an acrylic stand and canopy. It is not plumbed and it has no equipment - just the tank, stand, and canopy. I've attached a couple of pictures, please pardon the messy garage and the fact that I still haven't even finished removing all the packing material, put the doors on, etc.

This may be ill-advised based on my near-zero experience, but I want to make this a reef tank because... well, because they are awesome and I can't bring myself to do anything less with such a nice big tank. I have a little experience with small (10 gal or less) freshwater tanks, but no experience with saltwater, reef tanks, etc. All I know about reef tanks is what I've learned from watching the BRS "52 Weeks of Reefing" series.

Fortunately, I have a good place to put the tank - a tiled room on a concrete slab with no direct sunlight.

I think my first step is to figure out how to drill holes and plumb the tank, which sounds terrifying. I'd like to get that out of the way while the tank is still in the garage, before I move it inside. In parallel, I need to figure out what equipment I need - lights, pump, sump, etc. I'm also going to figure out how to run a dedicated electrical line.

I know there is a wealth of knowledge already posted here, so thank you to everyone who has added their experience already. I'm now off to search and learn more!

Similar in size to mine that is slowly coming together. Youll
Love it..

 

[ScubaShane]

Thats a great tank! Believe it or not, bigger is easier due to more water volume which gives you more wiggle room for error. That 30" deep will allow you to have a better aquascape. Thats actually a perfect size for a reef! Also, that tank has an overflow built in. I don't think you need to drill. look on the bottom or through the overflow for holes. Welcome into the hobby and to Reef2Reef!!

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Hello, and welcome to the channel.

 

[Wrassenaround]

Welcome to Reef2Reef! Glad to see you have started a build thread. I'll be following along!

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[SteelShark]

Tank is a beauty and always having larger tanks, I can say bigger is better and more forgiving. My biggest attraction to large tanks is ease of maintenance

All things aside, I probably would have started smaller just to learn my way up, but yes - certainly benefits to a larger tank!

 

[SteelShark]

Thank you!

 

[SteelShark]

Welcome !!!

Thank you!