1000 gallon tank information/question

[ezlife]

Hello everybody,

This is my first post with this forum, i am a newbie so i hope this question is appropriate here.

I can buy a 1000 gallon acrylic aquarium for about $3000 USD is that a good deal? NO filters, pumps, stands, etc. are included, this is JUST the tank.

I dont know much about aquairums this size or the setup or cost. What should i expect or what do i need to know? How much will the accessories run me? (like the stand, filter system, etc.)

Are acrylic pretty durable and last forever? I dont want to buy a tank and have to throw it in the trash a few years down the road because the plastic hazes or turns yellow or whatever. Thank you.

 

[Garry thomas]

would this be your first Marine tank ? sounds like it ? the best advice i could give ....... read lots and then some more and start off on a smaller scale to get some xperiance, i run 500+ gallon system and i can assure you , it is time consuming GT s wales

 

[Newts]

The cost of that tank is nothing compared to how mutch you'll spend outfitting the tank with lighting,rock,sand,and pumps.That is if its going to be a reef tank.Your electrical bill will almost double probably.As GT said if this is your first marine tank you need to read up alot!Otherwise you will waste vast amount of cash.As far as a tank stand goes many reefers build thier own stands.

 

[Garry thomas]

stands Hmmmm.... forgot about that? i built my stand out of 2.5mm walled 2inch box section steel.. What u must understand is that any tank is heavy but when you start talking swimming pool proportions, that stands got to be strong and very accurate.As a gallon of sea water is over 10 pounds in weight think about?

 

[texman]

As far as the tank size goes, I agree with the previous posts in that the cost of the tank is the tip of the iceberg. I have a 500g reef tank which so far has cost me in the range of $25000 in "hardware" (pumps, lighting, chillers, calcium reactors, skimmers, sumps, refugium, topoff systems...) I have about 1000lbs of sand and 1000lbs of rock plus about $40,000 in corals, inverts and fish,and it is only now starting to look "full". I sometimes regret getting a tank this large, not because of the cost, but because of the time and effort involved in keeping it healthy and looking good. Water changes involve 75 to 100 gallons of new RO water/salt each time. I have to say that the thing which bugs me the most is scraping coraline algae off the acrylic. Every weekend, I burn up my forearm muscles scraping the stuff off the walls of my tank for 2 or 3 hrs. If I were to go with a big tank again, I would probably go with a glass tank, not directly because of the scratch resistance, but so that I could use a metal scraper instead of the useless plastic ones. If you were going to go with that tank, I would suggest a FOWLR system.

 

[Garry thomas]

tex some people dont appreciate that running a large reef tank could be made into a full time job.. Apart from the huge amount of wonga involved to buy the equipment needed, there's the running costs, i know my tank costs me a wad and i try to do things on the cheap, lately. If i knew then what i know now, i probally would have stuck to my 7FT tank!
GT s wales

 

[Kendall]

The price for the tank is very cheap! Make sure it is at least 1.25" or better yet 1.5" acrylic, depending on dimensions. Your stand will need to hold 10,000 lbs of weight. Your floor needs to be able to support 10,000 lbs. of weight.

Are you planning a reef or fish only?
For a reef...

Equipment costs...around $8,000 + for pumps, lighting, calcium recator, skimmer, sump, plumbing, etc. You set everything up, alot of DIY work.

Livestock??????? Live rock alone will cost $7500!!

Consider weeks of planning and set up

Running costs.

Electric bill $300+ per month
Water changes $100+ per month
Light bulbs $600+ per yr.
Maintenance 15 hrs per month min.

It is all a question of money and time and love of the hobby. If you do not have enough of each you will regret it.

If you have enough, you will love it

 

[Garry thomas]

To true but looking at it from another point of view, you could be a millionaire with a huge tank, but not have a successfull one if the KNOWLEDGE or relavant experiance is not available? I'm still learning by the day! GT s wales




ITS NOT JUST DOWN TO MONEY?

 

[Kendall]

Agreed

 

[dgasmd]

The price of the tank itself is good. Like said before, it is only the tip of the iceberg. I disagree that taking care of a large tank is much more than a small one. I ahve now a 360 gal tank with a 100 gal sump Yes, setting up, tunning, and stocking was much much more time consuming and costly, but once things are running just right I spend 1/3 the time I used to spend on my previous 125 gal dripping kalk and all this other stuff. It was definately much more work and time consuming. The main difference is solely on planing. If done right, the larger tank should take much less time in maintenance. Yes, water changes are 100 gal instead of 20, but I still run the RO/DI unit to a container, mist the salt overnight, and heat it just the same. It takes me the same amount of time and less work that doing the 20 in the 125 because I now have a way of draining water fast and a good pump to put it back fast. It is all in planing.
I most definately would not start with a tank this large. You will do so poorly that you will get angry and sell it all in a few weeks loosing a lot fo money and the interest that got you to it in the first place. If you don't want to let the opportunity go, buy the tank and sit it in your garage for the next few months while you read here and on reefcentral.com for hours daily. Then, start to gather the right equipment and set it up right the first time. By then, you would ahve had another tank to play and learn with for months.

 

[ezlife]

Thanks for all the good replies. To answer the question on my background, I have set up 10, 29 and 55 gallon aquariums before. With those its pretty simple.

From what i understand with big aquariums, a plumming system of some sort needs to be in place. As far as changes, i plan on sticking a hose in the tank that vaccums the gravel, then using a garden hose and filling it back up.

by the way, I PLAN ON USING THIS FOR FRESH WATER ONLY. No reefs, protein skimmers, or anything of that nature. I have NEVER set up a salt water system.

I would like to raise arowanas (dragonfish), pacus, piranhas, sharks, things of that nature.

What about acrylics longivity? Does the plastic last pretty long? Do i have to worry about hazing or turning yellow or anything of that nature?

Right now the owner is using it for a reef/salt water setup, but i want to do freshwater, will that be a problem? Thanks...

 

[Anonymous]

Dude, your in the wrong forum.

Louey

 

[ezlife]

There is a possibility that i would use it as a reef/salt. Its one of the decsisions i will make after i get the tank. I just had some basic questions and its the reef fans that usually have the huge tanks.

 

[texman]

I haven't had a fresh water aquarium in many years (used to have about 10 of them breeding african ciclids). As far as the acryic goes, the advantages are its light weight, it is more transparent than standard glass (thick glass looks green), and the seams are chemically welded, making it virtually leak proof for life. It should not yellow with time as plexiglass does. It is much softer than glass, however, and can be scratched by metal and rocks, etc. For use with a low maintenance FW system, I would think that it would be better than glass. As I mentioned before, I feel that the main disadvantage in a reef system is the fact that a metal scraper cannot be used to remove coralline algae.

 

[rotorh60]

Wow,
I thought I was outgrowing my 225 Reef, and already have my significant other talked into a 750 Reef. You are talking a 1G Freshwater rig. I already know the cost upgrade for a Reef setup in that size, and I know a Fresh in that size is next to nothing, compaired to a reef. So my questiion is this: do you have the tank, and if so, what is it's dimensions? I would love a Reef tank 36" wide, 27" tall; rockscaping and, coral placement would be a dream come true....

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
It is true that acrylics do yellow and craz under UV, but in past several decades, the plastic industry were able to get away with the problem with additives and better resin. However, if left outdoor, acrylic does not last forever. But for several years, it should be fine. If you want to use it for freshwater setup, and outdoor, consider digging a pond.

A 1000 gal used tank for $3 grands is about right, but it all depends on the condition and the construction. You can have welder make a frame for you for less than 2 grands, but that's depends on finish and construction and material. For freshwater, you can go a long way with just powder coating on square tubing, or even wood frame if the tank is not very tall. Your can setup your tank for less than 7 grands total (3 for tank, 2 for stand, and maybe 2 more grands for pump, pipe, filter, etc), about the same as a 100 gal reef setup.

For freshwater, you can grow feeder goldfish for $0.02 each, or exotic fish that is worth more than a few grand per fish.

 

[Leopardshark]

unless you have a BIG wallet, don´t buy it because 3000 is nothing compared to all the equipment you need to run a decent tank.
Freshwater???..... i´d go for a 30 gal max.

 

[outerbank]

price is probably ok to good if the tank is nice.

I would not desire a tank that large for salt or freshwater unless my home was lierally built around the tank (or unless I wanted the worlds largest housepet pacu or channel cat.)

Scott