Prefer 1 long tank or 3 smaller ones?

[xaflatoonx]

I have a 10 foot space where i am wanting to place a tank.

my plan was to put a 65 inch tank in the middle - Main dislplay
a 2x2x2 50 gallon tank on the left - for nems and clowns only
a 2x2x12" 35 gallon tank on the right for frags

would you do that?

or scrap all that and put one giant 10 foot tank?

because i wont have space for a frag tank anwhere else...
nor can i have a nem/clown harem ... since my main display with be sticks too - i didnt wanna put a nem in there.

thoughts?

 

[Pockets]

if you have the funds and the time to maintain it all. I say why not lol

 

[JoshH]

I'm trying to remember who it was that has a setup similar to the one you were thinking of. He has a giant clam in one, sps in another and Lps in the 3rd. It looked pretty awesome

 

[xaflatoonx]

if you have the funds and the time to maintain it all. I say why not lol

haha... its not about that...

i am just wondering if its "better" to go with one GIANT tank... rather than have that split.
i am seeing these threads with 10 footers - and i LOVE the space they have ... and the luxury of keeping some VERY nice sized fish...
but then - with a split - i can keep a frag tank going, and a clown/nem harem...

i am so torn.. lol

 

[xaflatoonx]

I'm trying to remember who it was that has a setup similar to the one you were thinking of. He has a giant clam in one, sps in another and Lps in the 3rd. It looked pretty awesome

i think i know who you are referring to... i remember his centr tank with the GIANT clam... it looks pretty nice.
that was actually one of those inspiring threads for what i wanted to do... and i think what i have in mind would look even nicer - since it will be on the same stand... instead of three separate ones...

 

[Troy V]

I have a 10 foot space where i am wanting to place a tank.

my plan was to put a 65 inch tank in the middle - Main dislplay
a 2x2x2 50 gallon tank on the left - for nems and clowns only
a 2x2x12" 35 gallon tank on the right for frags

would you do that?

or scrap all that and put one giant 10 foot tank?

because i wont have space for a frag tank anwhere else...
nor can i have a nem/clown harem ... since my main display with be sticks too - i didnt wanna put a nem in there.

thoughts?

I wrestled with this as well. I planned on going with a 10' 600ish gallon tank. It would be an awesome looking tank. But then I remembered another reason why I got rid of my 240 and 60 gallon frag tank next to it for this current system.(besides the clam out growing it) I like the idea of being able to take any tank or tanks off line for any reason. I can now treat individual tanks, or if I move, I can easily take 2 tanks off line, move them to the new home. Cycle the system, store the coral, and finally move the center tank. There is 1'5" between tanks so it is very easy to go between them, and even behind them if needed. I must say I have enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. Like you said it is nice to have species specific tanks. I can concentrate on specific needs rather than a generic regiment. I like your idea of a singular stand design. It will look amazing! Cheers!

 

[JoshH]

Found him ^^^^ :cool::cool::cool:....


Kidding he found us:rolleyes:

 

[Troy V]

Ha! Kindred insomniac spirits! I am addicted to this stuff. I need help;)

 

[xaflatoonx]

Haha. That’s the guy I was talking about as well. Thanks for posting Troy.

I really appreciate and value your input.
And you have reinforced my plan about the split tanks.

I am hoping to get that build started some time this year - and looking forward to your support and input there as well.

 

[Xavierwally]

Hi, the best part about this hobby is we can do whatever comes to our head. The real question will be which way will be the easiest to handle and cost effective?

 

[xaflatoonx]

Hi, the best part about this hobby is we can do whatever comes to our head. The real question will be which way will be the easiest to handle and cost effective?

Absolutely.

Cost difference would be minimal I think.
It’s the structure that concerned me.

Just didn’t know what I wanted.

 

[JoshH]

What about the structure concerns you?

 

[xaflatoonx]

The plumbing. The flow of water.
If it’s 3 tanks - all of them will be plumbed to one sump down in the stand.

How the water flows to each - and what I will have to do for a water change. It just makes it all complicated.

But I am sure once I get it on paper - I can sort that out. Plus - gurus at R2R are always there to guide.

 

[Zack K]

I vote for 1 tank. If the tank is 10’ long. Why can’t you have a harem of clowns in the Anemone, and sticks? You have 10’ to work with! That’s a lot of room.
Custom 525 Gallon Drop-off tank?

https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php...eads/Custom-525-Gallon-Drop-off-tank?.350045/

 

[xaflatoonx]

Thanks Zack. Andexcelent point.
And I have always wondered how people with sos dominate tanks able to keep a bunch of nems as well. Since anemones move and walk around the space.

But that’s my concern. I don’t wanna be worried about the anemones stinging sps and walking around

 

[JoshH]

The plumbing. The flow of water.
If it’s 3 tanks - all of them will be plumbed to one sump down in the stand.

How the water flows to each - and what I will have to do for a water change. It just makes it all complicated.

But I am sure once I get it on paper - I can sort that out. Plus - gurus at R2R are always there to guide.

I think if you're doing a split system it might be worth it to have atleast your SPS tank on it's own sump given your going to have to be dosing it exponentially more than actually needed in the other systems. Having a separate sump will keep your dosing costs lower in the long term and make for slightly less of a plumbing headache. Splitting return flow to two tanks instead of three would be much easier as well.:)

 

[Zack K]

Thanks Zack. Andexcelent point.
And I have always wondered how people with sos dominate tanks able to keep a bunch of nems as well. Since anemones move and walk around the space.

But that’s my concern. I don’t wanna be worried about the anemones stinging sps and walking around

This is @Bacon505 system than he just tore offline recently. He might have some more insight on how he did it. The Anemones are bottom center.

 

[Bacon505]

I have a 10 foot space where i am wanting to place a tank.

my plan was to put a 65 inch tank in the middle - Main dislplay
a 2x2x2 50 gallon tank on the left - for nems and clowns only
a 2x2x12" 35 gallon tank on the right for frags

would you do that?

or scrap all that and put one giant 10 foot tank?

because i wont have space for a frag tank anwhere else...
nor can i have a nem/clown harem ... since my main display with be sticks too - i didnt wanna put a nem in there.

thoughts?

I think it depends on how much work you want to put in your system. More tank required more maintenance. If you’re like me and keep things simple, i would do a decent size tank and work around it. A 10’ tank will have plenty of space under your stand to have both a sump and a frag tank all plumb into one system. Or you can run a frag sump.
In term of anemone, plan your rock layout properly and you should be ok keeping those nems. I have 11 nems for a while all in the center with no issue.

 

[xaflatoonx]

Thanks bacon505.

I completely agree. I genuinely think the risk is manageable. Moreover - a 10ft tank would be bad butt to look at! lol.

 

[Bacon505]

Hahah yeah, it's also up to what you decide to host in your system. If you’re planning to do sps domminant tank, i would go shorter but wide. You get more growout room instead of long and narrow. Sps like staghorn and braching will filled a narrowed tank really fast.