Create your own reef tank gallery! Is there a benefit to having more than one tank?

[Peace River]

Create your own reef tank gallery! Is there a benefit to having more than one tank?

We often talk about our reef tank, when in reality many of us have multiple tanks. Some people stop at two tanks, where others may have five, ten, thirty, or even many more! The additional tank or tanks may be a nano tank, a frag tank, a freshwater tank, a quarantine tank, another reef tank, a breeding tank, or other type of aquarium. Whether you have a grow out tank, hospital tank, or more than one reef tank, please let us know about your experience and if you find the effort more or less than twice the effort of keeping one tank. Additionally, is there a benefit to having more than one tank? If so, please share your thoughts and add any tips to maintaining multiple tank!

Photo by @Centerline


This QOTD is sponsored by: www.deltecdirectusa.com

“With dozens of protein skimmers, calcium reactors, media reactors and kalkwasser stirrers in operation, Deltec USA can speak from experience and help you with all your Deltec needs. Live customer support and a large inventory of products rounds out our mission to provide the best possible Deltec experience.”

 

[Ron Reefman]

I've had as few as one and as many as 4 along with 2 very big sump/refugiums (totaling over 600g). Now I'm down to just two 40g AIO tanks and one is inverts only. I'm finding these tanks much easier to care for than the bigger tanks. And having a spare tank for moving things around, holding new purchases or new collections (I live in SW Florida and do collect here and in the Keys) makes life easier.

 

[Reefer Matt]

The benefit to having multiple tanks with separate sumps is that if one tank goes bad, you have another to move things into or keep separated. You put all your eggs in one basket with just one tank. But putting some coral in a buddy's tank helps too.

 

[flashsmith]

I was overwhelmed with two systems. I was running an IM SR80 and a reefer 625xxl. The time it took to maintain both at the level I wanted was just too much. Started to lose interest and was frustrated with the expense. I recently took one down and sold it. And I'm back to really enjoying the hobby again. Moving things from tank to tank even in your own systems is risky. I learned this first hand. You could have a disease carrier in one tank and not even know it that can easily infect your other tank.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

More maintenance and potential for stress since you have to keep up with more than one tank. However, I think it can be cool running more than one tank.

 

[randomfishdude]

I don't know really. In some ways it is a benefit. You got a place for extra corals. Also a backup if fish don't get along.

But at the same time it's more maitinice.

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

I have 3 reef tanks now. 2 at home and one at the office. I like having at least 2 reef systems because I have had tank crashes and other bad events such as disease outbreaks that have been very discouraging and having a second tank that was still looking great helped keep me from getting too disheartened. I keep my favorite corals in both tanks so in case I lose the coral in one tank I can take a frag from the other to regrow it.

At home, I have a FOWLR tank and a ReefTank. There are just so many fish I like that aren't reef-safe that I wanted a second tank. I think a good compromise for a lot of people is to have multiple tanks plumbed together. This doesn't add much more maintenance but it lets you have a tank with that angelfish you love and another tank with the fleshy LPS that the angelfish likes to eat. My two tanks are in separate rooms at home but I am considering plumbing them together with an auto water changer or stenner dual head pump so I don't need to monitor the chemistry in two systems and I can simply exchange 30-50 gallons a day and have the parameters essentially equal between them.

 

[Idoc]

I think I would lose interest if I had two larger system tanks due to the maintenance upkeep. I currently keep one 75g tank with a 10g fish quarantine tank(s) as needed and a 20g "coral/invert" quarantine tank I just keep running all the time (just in case).

 

[Alexraptor]

Definitely, I've got four, ranging from 15 to 38 gallons. They let me keep things that ordinarily wouldn't go together (like a Mantis shrimp), and their a nice saftey net if something should start going wrong in one of them.

And somtimes its nice to just go with a different kind of scape.

My 15G has very random rockwork.
My 25g reef has a rock wall spanning the entire lenght of the tank.
My 25g mantis tank has a single mountain structure in the middle.
My 38g reef has A LOT of open sand and only a few rocks that dot the landscape, like islands.

 

[exnisstech]

I have 3 systems running. It's a pain at times but has some advantages. I have had coral that look miserable and deflated for weeks and sometimes I move them to another tank and they take off. This seems to be especially true for certain large fleshy lps. It also allows me to experiment using other reefing methods as I'm still have so much to learn. My oldest is 180g mixed that is finally pretty much on cruise control. I drip kalk with a doser and small water changes and that's it. The larger size allows me to keep larger fish which I enjoy.
I also have a smaller tank (reefer 170) that I keep a large blue haddoni as the center piece. I would never keep the haddoni in a tank with a lot of fish. Been there done that and it did not end well for many of the fish.
My newest tank is a reefer 300 that I started using dry rock, bare bottom and bottled bacteria. It is my first start up using bottled bacteria. My first time using a fleece roller and my first auto dosing pump so this one is another learning experience and also a but if an experiment. It's acro dominant so that is a challenge for me as well. I'm a tinkerer that gets bored easily and having more than one system helps to keep me active and interested.

I think a good compromise for a lot of people is to have multiple tanks plumbed together.

I somewhat agree. I had a 150g and a 180g plumbed into a shared 125g sump in the basement. Maintenance is greatly reduced but it's not without risk. Any disease in one is introduced to both. Velvet was the downfall for me

 

[mike89t]

I always thought it would be cool to have a second tank setup as a fish only tank with a kick butt Japanese Dragon Moray Eel and maybe a puffer fish.

 

[shakacuz]

i’ve actually been against having multiple tanks as this just adds to the maintenance list of things, or multiple points of failure.

my GF in recent months has been convincing me to at least setup a second tank as a failsafe (for things going haywire) and as another tank to move things to in the event of not having space for fresh cut frags

 

[GARRIGA]

Guessing by multiple one might consider QT, grow out and display might be mixed plus species only such as having a giant anemone or other wants that would not play well with the reef such as predators or angle dominated tank. Although I'm leaning either SPS dominated or not. Seems that's the simplest approach vs trying to make everything happy.

 

[Nemo&Friends]

I have 3 tanks, one FOWLR, one with macro algae and small shy fish, and one fish less, with some more macro. Several tanks allow to diversify. I do not keep any corals, so my maintenance is not much. The fish less tank requires almost no care. I just thought it could be useful one day.
I could not grow macro in my big tank, as the rabbit fish eats all algae in a blink of an eye.

 

[SaltyCabbage]

When I was deep in fw I never had less than 5 tanks running. Mainly two displays, one quarantine, and two extras for plant scraps, fry, and impulse purchases. It’s too easy to have multiple fw tanks running.

With salt I have the two displays, one frag tank, and one quarantine. I don’t see myself starting another tank without taking one down.

I can’t image only having one system setup, I need a place for extras and it let me impulse buy without worry of space or most requirements.

Maybe if I didn’t have a dedicated room I would feel differently.

 

[twentyleagues]

Last time in I had a 125g and a 120g upstairs plumbed to the basement into the rest of the "system". In the basement I had 3 100g rubbermaids as the sump 2 300g rubbermaids 1 for non reef safe fish and one had 2 bamboo sharks and a coral cat shark, a 90 lps nps tank and a 75g refugium with a crocodile pipefish and a pair of dragon pipefish. Running everything off 1 return pump and gravity tied it all together, made maintenance easier, but basically made having a sps reef and a mixed reef on the same system a little more challanging.

 

[shrimpnreefdude]

That's such a loaded question. Having one tank has the benefit of getting your undivided attention! Having multiple tanks begins to compound the time, effort, and funds needed to properly maintain them. I am currently working on my second reef tank. I went from a 13.5gal to a 50 gal. Not so big that it would bankrupt me, but it's already reducing the kids' Christmas funds.

my GF in recent months has been convincing me to at least setup a second tank as a failsafe (for things going haywire) and as another tank to move things to in the event of not having space for fresh cut frags

Uhhh...that sounds like wife material to me Shaka...

It’s too easy to have multiple fw tanks running.

Oh my gosh! If this isn't the most real statement ever.


Currently caring for 6 different fw tanks that are my wife's male Betttas and a larger female betta sort sorority tank. Then I've got multiple caridina shrimp tanks, with room to expand to 12 tanks. I do get some joy out of caring for all the tanks though. A sense of purpose and they bring me joy personally observing the animals. But also, it brings enjoyment to my wife and youngest child. Makes it worth it. At times , it feels like we have gone overboard. Thankfully, I have a wife that just doesn't care in the least. She knows it's cheaper than therapy!

 

[vlangel]

Like the majority, I voted pros and cons to multiple tanks. When I first started reefing 25 years ago I got so excited to have multiple animals but not all the animals fit in my first 40 gallon tank. Then not all the animals fit in my 90 gallon tank plus some were not compatible with others. So I bought a cheap 125 gallon tank with a 70 gallon sump. Finally I had the room to have any and everything I wanted. Life was perfect! Then a parent got sick and needed a lot of care from me. All of a sudden there was not enough time in the day or energy to go around for everyone and the parent was the priority. I sold all my livestock and the 3 tanks and downsized to a single 36 gallon. After I was no longer needed to be a caregiver I again upgraded to my current 56 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump/fuge. I no longer am interested in caring for multiple tanks, ( unless the sump/fuge counts). I have had this tank up since 2016 and am content.

 

[LPS Bum]

Create your own reef tank gallery! Is there a benefit to having more than one tank?

We often talk about our reef tank, when in reality many of us have multiple tanks. Some people stop at two tanks, where others may have five, ten, thirty, or even many more! The additional tank or tanks may be a nano tank, a frag tank, a freshwater tank, a quarantine tank, another reef tank, a breeding tank, or other type of aquarium. Whether you have a grow out tank, hospital tank, or more than one reef tank, please let us know about your experience and if you find the effort more or less than twice the effort of keeping one tank. Additionally, is there a benefit to having more than one tank? If so, please share your thoughts and add any tips to maintaining multiple tank!

Photo by @Centerline


This QOTD is sponsored by: www.deltecdirectusa.com

“With dozens of protein skimmers, calcium reactors, media reactors and kalkwasser stirrers in operation, Deltec USA can speak from experience and help you with all your Deltec needs. Live customer support and a large inventory of products rounds out our mission to provide the best possible Deltec experience.”

Absolutely. I have a large reef and an even bigger FOWLR. The reef is all about the corals, and the FOWLR is all about the fish that eat them (Angels, Butterflies, Puffer, etc).

Best of both worlds. Downside is cost and maintenance.

 

[paragrouper]

Reckon I’ll find out if I ever convince my other half to get a second tank.