Big tanks are a trap :p

[Bruttall]

I love my, not sure what to call it, 300g DT, 125g sump, 75g salt reservoir, 50g Rodi, etc. Lets go with Half of Sea World. I like that. I only had a 75g "starter" tank for about 45 days before putting everything in my big tank. But I see the struggles of the people posting here with smaller systems a lot. Issues I don't seem to have. Not that my tank is perfect, far from it. I struggle to grow GSP, but yuma shrooms Bounce for me. Acans do not do well at all, but birdsnest is nuts, same with stylo, grows like a weed.

I have struggled with wild torches also, they do not last. I learned not to buy them.

I do not chase perfection. I have aptisia, asterina stars, vermatids. They are all the devil, but it gives me a chance to get some Berghia Nudi's, and Harlequin Shrimp, and well, yeah vermatids are the devil. I scratch the tubes open every so often and drop in another handful of bumble bee snails.

I automated a 3g a day water chance recently, after nearly a year of no water changes at all. I do not do anything with my sand at all, the sand sifter goby does that, but I have pretty good flow in my tank, 350 gyre on either end running opposite each other, 3x mp40's on the back wall with a Reef Crest, lagoon and nutrient surge custom program I made thru the MXM module on Apex.

I know I need a newer picture, this one is wore out, but I am in the process of changing the back ground color, decided the black is just to dark, I want my reef brighter. Thinking about maybe going with a white back ground. Probably make up cardboard panels that fit behind tank and test drive it.

 

[Bruttall]

Are you sure?

Was Garf's old aquarium 439 gallons... or was it 528 gallons

Bonus questions: How many pints of beer is that?

Either 3512 Pints or 4224 pints of beer, no idea what size his tank was. But Pints I know ;p

 

[BeanAnimal]

Either 3512 Pints or 4224 pints of beer, no idea what size his tank was. But Pints I know ;p

No Sir, it can't be both. There is one correct answer.

 

[Kmst80]

Are you sure?

Was Garf's old aquarium 439 gallons... or was it 528 gallons

Bonus questions: How many pints of beer is that?

Hahaha pints...
In germany we wouldn't touch anything less than a liter , that's close to 2 pints in one glass

 

[BeanAnimal]

Hahaha pints...
In germany we wouldn't touch anything less than a liter , that's close to 2 pints in one glass

But can you provide the correct answer?

 

[Garf]

What is that in gallons? Sounds very large!

No idea. Was a 6x2x2 display, 5x2x2 cryptic fuge and 2, 4ft sumps. Until I had a disaster with the display tank.

 

[Kmst80]

But can you provide the correct answer?

Well 439 gallons would be 944.3340602199 pints. Accurate enough

 

[BeanAnimal]

Okay - Garf has let me down, which is somewhat understandable given that he lives in a place that can't decide on main courses.

Therefore, I was not not sure if he would provide me a conversion in:

Imperial Gallons at 4.54609 Litres per gallon
or
US Customary gallons at 3.7854125 liters per gallon

Ohh where were we beer....

An imperial fluid ounce is 1⁄20 of an imperial pint, 1⁄160 of an imperial gallon or exactly 28.4130625 mL.

A US customary fluid ounce is 1⁄16 of a US liquid pint and 1⁄128 of a US liquid gallon or exactly 29.5735295625 mL, making it about 4.08% larger than the imperial fluid ounce.

But alas if we do the math the Imperial pint is 568 mL and the US customary pint is 473 mL

And even though those zany brits switched to the metric system in the 1971, it was decreed long before (in 1824) that all food and drink be served in Britain and it colonies shall use imperial measures.

So therefore It would take 3519.508 imperial pints from Garf's local pub to fill his 2000 Litre tank that holds 528.3441 US Customary gallons.

Phew... no wonder they can't decide if they really want beef or ham.
But - you do get a bigger beer so...

 

[BeanAnimal]

Well 439 gallons would be 944.3340602199 pints. Accurate enough

May want to check you math, us or imperial

 

[907_Reefer]

Everybody knows 439 gallons is only 9.5 months worth of beer, in a best case scenario.

 

[Kmst80]

May want to check you math, us or imperial

Haha...must be a mix of both.
See that **** would not happen with the metric system, a litre is a litre no matter if you are in Germany, France or Switzerland etc.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Haha...must be a mix of both.
See that **** would not happen with the metric system, a litre is a litre no matter if you are in Germany, France or Switzerland etc.

Yes Sir, but you are in Australia... and that is another mess with pints. You see they told the brits to stuff their imperial pints and decided to come up with their own system

570 mL for a "pint" in Most of the country, but in South Australia a "pint" is 3/4 of an Imperial Pint or 425 mL


Sort that one out...

 

[907_Reefer]

*7.95 months.

Edit, imperial months.

 

[907_Reefer]

I'll see myself out.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No Sir, it can't be both. There is one correct answer.

Anything more than 5 pints and all answers will look correct.

 

[Quietelk]

Are you sure?

Was Garf's old aquarium 439 gallons... or was it 528 gallons

Bonus questions: How many pints of beer is that?

It's 5333 NSW (Australia) schooners of beer. This is useful information.

 

[Fishy Guy]

AFR and 4g weekly water changes is all I plan to do. Run a bag of carbon here and there or maybe some Purigen if I feel the need. Only filter floss to keep the water a little more clear.

I’ve already ordered Tampa Bay live sand and fish from Dr Reef. That should all arrive in the next 2-3 weeks since the hurricane pushed sand delivery back.

While the tank only has rock and water, it has still been a ton of fun picking everything out since I have severely limited myself to keep with my main goal of KISS. Every decision is based around “How would I get my best friend into the hobby and make it easy for them.”

Please do a build thread! This sounds awesome.

 

[Tahiti]

I know the feeling! Started with small nano tanks and last year decided to go with a 65 gallon and immediately regretted it. Now I'm back to a 10 gallon tank and couldn't be happier.

 

[EuphyllinOHk]

Coming from the freshwater world, the same advice of "bigger is better" is pretty common. I think this is true, but I feel like aquarists don't take advantage of the stability. I'm a big fan of lighter stocking lists, because it keeps my tank stable. I put less food into the tank, relative to the tank size. When fish die, I notice them gone pretty quickly. I haven't had to shuffle my setup to accommodate age-based grumpiness or chronic shyness because my fish all have plenty of personal space. Not to say that I mind maintenance, it's actually pretty easy, but stocking lighter has greatly reduced maintenance in my humble 29g.

It seems like the pros of a larger tank have to do with "capacity" and not "stability". I've yet to see a 180g with 40g sump marine tank stocked with two clowns, a shrimp goby, and the luckiest blenny in the hobby, because the stocking options you get at larger tanks are too tan(g)talizing. You will still run into nutrient issues, and issues in general, and still have to do some amount of maintenance. Some of these may be unique to larger tanks. With a larger setup, you will have additional options to build in that stability, if you want to pay up for them. I would say that the vast majority of people pick the size that they do for the stocking list they want and can afford, with stability as an afterthought.

I think the conversation ought to be more "pros v cons" rather than a blanket "bigger is better". Promoting best practices for setup, cycling, stocking, maintenance, and troubleshooting will make smaller tanks far less intimidating to people looking to get into the hobby. There are absolutely pros to smaller tanks that could make the hobby far more palatable and there are absolutely dealbreaking cons to a larger tank that could scare away someone at the door. One of the best parts of this hobby is that there doesn't seem to be a singular "right way" and this conversation should reflect that.

 

[BeanAnimal]

It's 5333 NSW (Australia) schooners of beer. This is useful information.

So important that a schooner is legally defined, as is a middy. Not sure about pots, handles or butchers or sevens.