pros and cons of 1000 gallon reef tank

[fishlover1478]

i will be thinking about for a long time and i'm willing to spend the money

 

[WillH]

Great idea if you want to spend $20k+ on equipment. It won’t be cheap and if you also don’t want to support a $300+ electrical bill per month it’s a horrible idea. But if you are not worried about cost, go for it!

20k? For the lights maybe...!

 

[brandon429]

anyone who runs a 1000g tank without rocket level uv=asking for trouble. unrecoverable trouble

buy two pond sterilizers rated for 10k gallons, run 'em.

 

[Ed Hutchings]

i am just curios to know what people think.

Maybe a little background on yourself. Number of years in the hobby, level of expertise, etc. Otherwise the premise of the thread is a little self absorbed.

 

[SeaDweller]

pro: looks great IF you know what you're doing

con: expensive, maintenance can be a bear. everything that comes along with a 1000 gallon DT will be expensive (more lights, pumps, heating, etc). If you have to ask the public about it, tbh, it's not for you.

 

[AlexG]

If you are willing to go on a journey that involves lots of planning and dedication then I would say go for it. My two displays total around 1200 gallons with the system volume between 1600-1700 gallons. I have been up and running for just over 2 years and there are ups and downs like any aquarium. There will be a lot more to consider in the planning such as humidity control, structural support for the weight of the aquarium, and equipment which might be more cost effective to build DIY.

 

[ca1ore]

What do I think …..

I think you need to tell folks something about your experience in the hobby and your goals for the tank. Absent that, really no way to offer anything other than 'if it's your first tank, then it's a really bad idea'.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Its completely up to you if good or bad and how much money you have. Its gonna take easily into the hundreds of thousands just to get it going and stocked, not too mention the ongoing costs.

So if money isnt a problem, go for it!!

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

im setting up a 1000 gallon aquarium and i want to know what you think

If within budget, go for it. Don't be like those folks ,who buy a truck, and gas prices go up then they complain, gas to high. They knew what they were getting into. They have no business owning one. They can't afford it.

 

[Montiman]

I used to work at an LFS that had an 8ft x4ft x 4ft, 950g Reef Display. It was amazing but it came down because it was basically one employee's full time job to maintain that tank. I wouldn't be able to maintain a tank that large because I don't have the time for the needed maintenance. Some things you learn about big tanks.

Cost per gallon often goes down even though total cost goes up.

Infrastructure cost is often overlooked. You will need to deal with running extra electrical lines as well as dealing with humidity.

I don't normally QT but QT is a must on a tank this big. As stated above I would also consider UV.

Lighting doesn't need to be as strong as you would think if going mixed. The big tank at the shop I was at was lit by 4 400W Halides. I have seen people use that much light on a tank a quarter the size. Halides make much more sense on big tanks because you don't need alot and the water volume absorbs the heat.

Waterflow can also be reduced. proportionately. 2 tunze wave boxes put a 6in standing wave in the 950 gallon tank. If you go with large power heads fish often get sucked in so closed loops and waveboxes make more sense than on smaller systems but getting 50x turn over in a 1000 gallon is ridiculous. 20x will feel like a lot of flow.

 

[fishlover1478]

What do I think …..

I think you need to tell folks something about your experience in the hobby and your goals for the tank. Absent that, really no way to offer anything other than 'if it's your first tank, then it's a really bad idea'.

i have been keeping fish for 3 years and i'm obsessed with reefs and big tanks and i really like doing tank maintnence

 

[lpsouth1978]

i have been keeping fish for 3 years and i'm obsessed with reefs and big tanks and i really like doing tank maintnence

I would ask around. Find out how much time people with monster tanks spend maintaining them. After only 3 years keeping fish I feel it is easy to think that a monster tank would be awesome. Also you always hear that going big is best, but there is such a thing as too big. I would plan on getting home from work each day and spending several hours working on the tank. A system that size will not be something that you can sit back and watch after only 20 minutes of working on it like you can a small reef.

Just make sure you REALLY know what you are getting into before you take that plunge, otherwise you WILL grow to regret it.

 

[Jon Fishman]

I deliberately cut down dimensions to make my 8’ tank only 145 gallons or so. More volume makes every other thing increase in cost

 

[fishlover1478]

I would ask around. Find out how much time people with monster tanks spend maintaining them. After only 3 years keeping fish I feel it is easy to think that a monster tank would be awesome. Also you always hear that going big is best, but there is such a thing as too big. I would plan on getting home from work each day and spending several hours working on the tank. A system that size will not be something that you can sit back and watch after only 20 minutes of working on it like you can a small reef.

Just make sure you REALLY know what you are getting into before you take that plunge, otherwise you WILL grow to regret it.

good idea. also i have a ton of freetime. do you know of anybody with a monster tank

 

[ca1ore]

Many - monster tank forum here on R2R.

 

[AtlCPA]

I like to think of it this way. You're looking at $4-5k just on rock needed for a system that size. That sucks to have to spend that much on just rocks.

And like someone else mentioned, thousands $$$$ in lights

 

[mrpizzaface]

I wouldn’t be suprised if this cost you $100,000.
I would also suggest having this installation designed and installed by a company ( like Chris Benner or Tenji) with experience installing and maintaining tanks at this scale.

 

[ca1ore]

Just as a potential point of interest …...

I have a 450 but have been musing on the possibility of having a much larger tank post retirement (not all that many years off). I put together a conceptual thread with thoughts and even some costs (both what I'd need and what I already have). It's a BIG number unfortunately.

Monster Build - Simon’s (Mostly Conceptual) 1,600 Build

I’ve never had a build last more than 4 years. Sometimes the result of a house move, but usually due to boredom and the itch to upgrade. Reef tank is like a closet - crap just expands to fill the available space. I’ve got a one year old 450, and it’s eseentially full. If the past is any guage...

www.reef2reef.com

Aquarium, Overflow & Stand - $10K (Glasscages sells a 730 for $5K; could save money by going plywood IF you have the DiY skills)
Lighting - $10-15K
You're going to need a big pump - Dolphin or something comparable - $600
Temp - depending on where you live cooling will requires something like a 1HP Tradewinds ($2K); heat exchanger for heat ($1K).
Flow - not a lot of good options for huge tanks. Hydrowizard is crazy expensive. Army of MP60s perhaps, or a really big closed loop - $5K ish.
Rock - maybe make your own - there are some good threads around of DiY rock. Who knows how much.
Sump/plumbing/misc - $3K.

Food for thought .....

 

[wrasse hole]

I feel like the equipment/maintenance cost everyone's listing is just the tip of the iceberg! You're potentially looking at renovating a large section of your home for structural, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC.

I definitely want to see this build thread though, so you should definitely do it.

 

[Ed Hutchings]

A good friend of mine had a 600ish system for years. The display was 10 feet long and about 460 gallons. It was setup around 07-08. He owns a pretty good size construction company so resources and the entire build was no big deal to him. At the time the hardware was roughly 30K total. Tank, plumbing, circulation, lighting, controller, skimmer, filtration, etc. I'm sure the livestock run through there over the life of the tank was well into the tens of thousands of dollars.

He ran that tank for years. Finally taking it down about 2 years ago due to home remodeling and he was tired of paying more than a grand a month for maintenance.

There's no such thing as a 1000 gallon system "on a budget". So I would assume cost will easily exceed 50K possibly double that. Building a reef system is like building a high performance car. Add up your total budget, and when you think you've included everything, go ahead and triple it.