Maintenance of Big Tanks

[drcrook]

I’m preparing for a big tank. It will be designed into a house im designing and building. I was wondering about folks experience with maintenance. Cleaning the glass to dealing with water changes etc. ive had tanks before much smaller, but at this size, what have you done or would do differently to reduce personal time invested in basic maintenance. My goal is to spend more time on the fun parts of growing, fragging, watching growth and less on the constant monitoring, cleaning etc.

Thanks, David

 

[ycnibrc]

With glass it will be much better than acrylic since you don’t have to slow down to prevent scratches. Water change can be automatically if u wish. The main thing that u need to know is big tank will cost much more to maintain so be prepare.

 

[ThaBeast]

My last 3 tanks have had auto water change. However if I had the opportunity to design a large tank into the building of a home I would make sure I could quickly add a large amount of fresh saltwater quickly For things like a massive water change

 

[Ernie Mccracken]

Is there going to be an equipment room behind the tank? How many gallons we talkin'? Sky is the limit. First 10 that come to mind:

• Think about glass vs. acrylic. Glass is much easier to maintain, but silicone is not a forever material, especially in saltwater. If the tank has to last indefinitely, acrylic is the choice.
• Large utility sink with easy access to tap, RO/DI, and saltwater
• Ladders aren't fun. Build a platform around/behind the tank to stand on.
• Sump elevated off the floor with open access, not buried underneath the stand or on the floor
• Plan for big boy equipment. Dehumidifier/air exchanger, separate electrical sub-panel, UV, Ozone, floor drain, motorized canopy, built in redundancies, robust backup power plan, big ol' mixing station, etc.
• Plan your flow (BIG) ahead of time and keep your scape away from the panels. Forget about fine grain sand on a huge tank.
• Think about little things like removable overflow weir teeth, since cleaning 3-4 feet worth of overflow teeth isn't fun
• If/when you get tired of scraping algae and want to hire someone else to do it, it helps if there is an easy way for them to access your tank (i.e. not in the middle of your kitchen).
• However large you think your fish room needs to be now, you're going to wish you had made it double
• If you have any pet projects or non-standard ideas (an awesome carlson surge, dump style algae filter, separate anemone tank, etc.), this is your chance.