Tips for keeping a HUGE reef tank...

salty joe

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Ill tell you from experience in going through 2 AC units in 4 years both Mitsubishi split systems in my sump room. NO i repeat NO AC system in that room will survive the saltwater humidity even with exhaust fans churning out the indoor air. I had to design a AC system that is a central AC unit, outdoor condenser, indoor regulator. The difference is that my return to the unit is not in the sump room. All AC guys were telling me you cant do that. I told them you know your business and i know mine. Fresh air from another clean air room takes in the air and blows the cold air in to the sump room. No more salt creep humidity destroying my units anymore. Im going on 7 years now with this unit. No rust or problems anymore.
I can add a lot here nut i see most people brought up the main issues.
Just make sure your sump room is super large, youll be spending more time there that you will anywhere else in your house.
I lucked out, the guy who installed my HVAC said not to put a return in my fishroom for that very reason.
I wish I had a bigger fish room. I filled it up with a big tank. Not much elbow room but I can manage.
 

Buckeye Hydro

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Because you'll be making lots of RODI water, plan on properly pretreating the water delivered to the RODI, and configure for a 50% or even higher recovery with a recycle function. Pretreatment is key.

Russ
 

Buckeye Hydro

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All depends upon the quality of the feedwater. Hardness needs to be removed with a softener if you want to run with a high recovery rate. On commercial set ups, where the membranes get pricey, a softener is pretty much a mandatory pretreatment. And then there's carbon as you mentioned - sized either to deal with chlorine, or with chloramine. Other common contaminants can include iron, h2s, manganese, and silica.

Russ
 

jtf74

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Ok. What have you guys found to be really important advice for those planning to keep a reef that's 400+ gallons? Share you tips!
Mine is only around 300 but having an easy way to pump out old water and pump in new water to do a water change and having a dedicated freshwater makeup sure makes life easier.
 

flagg37

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- Quarantine everything. Corals, fishes, everything.

- Build a mix station.

- Plan a good electrical system.

276CBA9C-6BAB-4E52-9F70-9E7D5DF0849C.jpeg
What even is that?
 

FishTruck

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Here is what not to do. Do not put 200 lbs. of live rock in your sump and then forget about it for two years. Then, on a whim, do not pull out all the live rock (trying to find out why your nitrates are stuck at 40 ppm) and realize there is about 40 lbs. of detritus in your sump. Do not then attempt to get rid of said detritus with 50 filter socks and having to take your sump off line while you frantically try to get that stuff out (erroneously assuming that just siphoning the crap into your back yard and making new salt water would have somehow been harder). After three days, do not then say "screw it" and turn the whole thing back on to get your roller-mats involved (while also blowing that detritus all over the whole system), since your hands are chapped and bloody from cleaning filter socks and you are fed up, because your wife then wants to know why your have been living in the fish room for three days... and the product or your work is that the display tank now looks like an unflushed toilet.
 

McPuff

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Here is what not to do. Do not put 200 lbs. of live rock in your sump and then forget about it for two years. Then, on a whim, do not pull out all the live rock (trying to find out why your nitrates are stuck at 40 ppm) and realize there is about 40 lbs. of detritus in your sump. Do not then attempt to get rid of said detritus with 50 filter socks and having to take your sump off line while you frantically try to get that stuff out (erroneously assuming that just siphoning the crap into your back yard and making new salt water would have somehow been harder). After three days, do not then say "screw it" and turn the whole thing back on to get your roller-mats involved (while also blowing that detritus all over the whole system), since your hands are chapped and bloody from cleaning filter socks and you are fed up, because your wife then wants to know why your have been living in the fish room for three days... and the product or your work is that the display tank now looks like an unflushed toilet.
+1 descriptive. :0)
 

BackToTheReef

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Here is what not to do. Do not put 200 lbs. of live rock in your sump and then forget about it for two years. Then, on a whim, do not pull out all the live rock (trying to find out why your nitrates are stuck at 40 ppm) and realize there is about 40 lbs. of detritus in your sump. Do not then attempt to get rid of said detritus with 50 filter socks and having to take your sump off line while you frantically try to get that stuff out (erroneously assuming that just siphoning the crap into your back yard and making new salt water would have somehow been harder). After three days, do not then say "screw it" and turn the whole thing back on to get your roller-mats involved (while also blowing that detritus all over the whole system), since your hands are chapped and bloody from cleaning filter socks and you are fed up, because your wife then wants to know why your have been living in the fish room for three days... and the product or your work is that the display tank now looks like an unflushed toilet.

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry
 

markmiller639

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Anybody interested in getting a monster reef now? I removed stock from the tank a year ago and have had it just circulating with the lights off. We were going to convert to rays or larger fish and just decided we have to much on our plate. It is a 320 gallon center overflow Island tank, 80 gallon sump, custom powder coated steal stand, and custom solid wood cabinet with 360 degree access(10 doors) and canopy(not shown). These pics are from today without any cleaning, nt old photos, what you see is what you get. I don't even want to think what I have invested in it but would like to see it go to a true hobbyist and more importantly can get it out of my house without damage. I don't mind some phone support but do not have the time to hold a newbie's hand in setting it up. As far as the advice on a large tank is if it is setup properly with an auto-fill the water parameters are much more stable, they can be maintenance free outside of feeding, cleaning and periodic water changes. Haven't literally touched the tank in a year and the salinity is at 1.023, PH of 8.0 with zero phosphates. If interested let me know and I can discuss the build further? Thanks
 

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Steve Fast

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Here is what not to do. Do not put 200 lbs. of live rock in your sump and then forget about it for two years. Then, on a whim, do not pull out all the live rock (trying to find out why your nitrates are stuck at 40 ppm) and realize there is about 40 lbs. of detritus in your sump. Do not then attempt to get rid of said detritus with 50 filter socks and having to take your sump off line while you frantically try to get that stuff out (erroneously assuming that just siphoning the crap into your back yard and making new salt water would have somehow been harder). After three days, do not then say "screw it" and turn the whole thing back on to get your roller-mats involved (while also blowing that detritus all over the whole system), since your hands are chapped and bloody from cleaning filter socks and you are fed up, because your wife then wants to know why your have been living in the fish room for three days... and the product or your work is that the display tank now looks like an unflushed toilet.
Yep sounds like something I'd do... So many things I'd do or design differently now with hindsight
 

Shooter6

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Anybody interested in getting a monster reef now? I removed stock from the tank a year ago and have had it just circulating with the lights off. We were going to convert to rays or larger fish and just decided we have to much on our plate. It is a 320 gallon center overflow Island tank, 80 gallon sump, custom powder coated steal stand, and custom solid wood cabinet with 360 degree access(10 doors) and canopy(not shown). These pics are from today without any cleaning, nt old photos, what you see is what you get. I don't even want to think what I have invested in it but would like to see it go to a true hobbyist and more importantly can get it out of my house without damage. I don't mind some phone support but do not have the time to hold a newbie's hand in setting it up. As far as the advice on a large tank is if it is setup properly with an auto-fill the water parameters are much more stable, they can be maintenance free outside of feeding, cleaning and periodic water changes. Haven't literally touched the tank in a year and the salinity is at 1.023, PH of 8.0 with zero phosphates. If interested let me know and I can discuss the build further? Thanks
Is that glass or acrylic? I know back in the day the octagon and half octagon tanks were prone to failure. Ive not seen one in a long time. This is back when the bow front,wave,and ball acrylic tanks were the designer tanks to have if you could afford one. Same time wet/dry trickle filters were the gotta have equipment to run a reef lol.
 

Sean Clark

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Here is what not to do. Do not put 200 lbs. of live rock in your sump and then forget about it for two years. Then, on a whim, do not pull out all the live rock (trying to find out why your nitrates are stuck at 40 ppm) and realize there is about 40 lbs. of detritus in your sump. Do not then attempt to get rid of said detritus with 50 filter socks and having to take your sump off line while you frantically try to get that stuff out (erroneously assuming that just siphoning the crap into your back yard and making new salt water would have somehow been harder). After three days, do not then say "screw it" and turn the whole thing back on to get your roller-mats involved (while also blowing that detritus all over the whole system), since your hands are chapped and bloody from cleaning filter socks and you are fed up, because your wife then wants to know why your have been living in the fish room for three days... and the product or your work is that the display tank now looks like an unflushed toilet.
I can not help but get a sense of experience from this. The entire piece of art that this post is however is phrased in a negative connotation leading me to believe that this is not the voice of experience so much as it is the the anti-voice of anti-experience. This makes me feel much better knowing that this sort of situation could never actually happen. Sign me up for the HUGE reef tank.
 

Coralsdaily

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The one thing I regret even before receiving the tank is realizing the height is longer than my arm.
what do you guys use for maintenance in depth beyond your reach?
 

Brian_68

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Make sure you are retired and / or you allow adequate time to properly maintain. At times it can seem like another job, not a hobby.
 

Laith

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The one thing I regret even before receiving the tank is realizing the height is longer than my arm.
what do you guys use for maintenance in depth beyond your reach?

My tank glass is 90 cm high... I use long Tunze tongs with the grip at the end (get two in case you drop one!). A dive mask helps you see into the water from above better.

And something high to stand on so you lean over the tank.

It does make things more complicated. But for me it's worth it: I love the extra dimension you get with the top to bottom depth.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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