Amazingly stupid questions about going big!

[hakmazter]

OK, I have had salt water tanks for about 15 years now. I have live rock, a few fishes and when using an RO filter, I am able to keep some anenomies alive. That being said, I currently have a 55 gal tank that has 3 filters in the back on the left, bio balls in the middle, and a drop in pump on the right and it is all encased in the tank.

Here are my stupid questions.

Why doesn't someone design a setup like that in a large tank instead of having a large viewing tank and a sump tank and plumbing going all over the place?

Why do you need such large pumps for big tanks? I had a 36 x 18 above ground pool with a deep end (18,000 gallons) and it had a 1.5hp pump to circulate it.

Why does the glass or plexi need to be so thick?
The pool was made out of 1/16" rolled steel. I understand that it would be too small, but I see jacuzzi tubs made out of 1/8" fiberglass and they seem to hold fine?

I have alot of other questions, but I fugure this would be a good start. In case anyone cares, I want to build a 96 wide 30-36" tall and not sure how wide (24-48) tank.

Mike

[TTrout]

Why doesn't someone design a setup like that in a large tank instead of having a large viewing tank and a sump tank and plumbing going all over the place?
This would be impractical with a larger tank. Could you imagine a 300-600gal aquarium with half that size hanging off the back? ;)

Why do you need such large pumps for big tanks? I had a 36 x 18 above ground pool with a deep end (18,000 gallons) and it had a 1.5hp pump to circulate it.
Depending on the type of coral kept, high flow is needed for them to filter for food. You should try snorkeling in the Bahamas, if you don't pay attention the current will carry you pretty quickly.:eek1:

Why does the glass or plexi need to be so thick?The pool was made out of 1/16" rolled steel. I understand that it would be too small, but I see jacuzzi tubs made out of 1/8" fiberglass and they seem to hold fine?


Steel is definitely stronger than glass and I would imagine fiberglass is quite a bit stronger as well. Also, if your pool busts, it's not as big of a deal to have water on your lawn, where you might want the extra security so that you don't have a couple hundred gallons or more in your living room!:eek1:

A 96"x48"x36" would be a sweet tank. You should check out Oregon Reef (http://www.oregonreef.com)

[mflamb]

TTrout hit the nail on the head.
Big tanks are lots of work, but lots of fun.

[Atomikk]

I don't want to sound too harsh, so please don't take it personal. Before you start something this big, please do more research, as I can tell you are still a beginner.

Read things like tank footprint, surface agitation, backup power, water motion, remote deep sand beds, giant refugiums... and so on..

A big tank requires all of those things to consider, if not, implement.

[hakmazter]

I suppose you could say I am a beginner and no offense taken. I remember a quote about experience and if a person is doing the saame thing day in day out, do they have 20 years experience, or do they have 20 years experience of the same day. I see where you are coming from.

The tank setup I am talking about doesn't have anything hanging off of it. Lets say for easy discussion you have a tank that is 8 foot wide and 4 feet deep. Height is irrelevant. Now lets say you put a 8ft piece of plexiglass at the 3 ft mark effectively making a 8x3 tank and a 8x1 tank in the 8x4 tank. Now in the 8x1 section you put a pump in it and bioballs in it, etc..... That is the type of tank I am talking about. I think my current one is a Tenecor? I know it is considered a 40 gallon tank, but it takes 55 gallons of water to fill and it was $2200 with the stand.

I wish I knew how to draw diagrams like you guys.

[hakmazter]

It is a Tenecor Simplicity Plus setup. They have a diagram under filtration systems on their webpage.

[danskim]

Yes... TTrout answered pretty much the same way any experienced reefer would.
To answer your question about the false wall with filtration behind it.
You could do it, but since at the size you want your aquarium, it'd be made custom. That already costs quite a bit, and to use a considerable amount of volume from the display aquarium would be a waste IMO.
Having a sump, refugium, and other filtration/supplementation/etc outside of the tank makes it easier to work with and tweak. Extra water volume from the sump helps too.

Most reefers who go big also like to customize what goes in their setups, and an all-in-one kind of thing wouldn't be that appealing... at least that's what it seems like to me. Half the fun is setting it up yourself!

[jnarowe]

Jaccuzzis are not supported by their bottoms, but in fact typically hand from their lips. They are built totally different from tanks, and do not need to be see-through. Huge difference.

For return flow circulation, you don't need a very powerful pump, but you do need to provide a reef with lots of flow to keep corals alive.

And the reason why you wouldn't want a "false wall" install on a large tank is you would never be able to clean out the bottom and it would fill with detritus (read "turds") and become a nitrate factory. You have to have FULL access to all parts of the system in order to keep a reef healthy IMO.

Sumps provide maximum flexibility. For instance, I started with 50g sumps but then realized that I really need larger ones. I could shut the return pump down, close the valves, and swap out the sumps. With a built-in system you are asking about, you are stuck with what you got, and to be honest, I wouldn't trust any tank maker to do it correctly. There's just too much opportunity for it to be built wrong and then you have serious problems.

Just my 2 cents but they are worth a $1.49... "lol:

[tattooreef]

i agree with almost every1 on here that having a false wall would seriously inhibit the amount of water volume and the capability of expanding your natural filtration. and the reason for big pumps is for trying to maximize water flow to each area of the tank correctly, and make sure to get a pump that is high volume instead of high pressure as most sps do not like having a sharp jet stream on them as it will peel the flesh, but at the same time they have to have an incredible amount of flow on them to try ans simulate the current of the water on a natural reef.