Reefreef Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Hello there, A friend in portland told me about this site. Hopefully there are some Tacoma people around. I dont have a tank yet, but I want to start out with a pretty big tank. Something like 1,000 gallons. I dont see many tanks like that around. Is that too big? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Welcome! I don't know of anyone locally with a tank that large, but we do have at least a 400g or maybe 600g in the area. If you want to find others with very large tanks, take a look at this forum on Reef2Reef: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/monster-tanks-400g.1046/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicknjo Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Welcome, I'm out in yelm so not to far from you. 1k tank is definitely something big lol. So much to take into account but if you got the space, the funds and enough structural support under your floor for 4 tons of water that would certainly be something special. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorW Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Welcome [emoji4] and WOW 1,000 gallons!! That is absolutely big by most people's standards I'd think. That's something I'd expect to see at an Aquarium or maybe a Zoo. I think most would consider a 200 gallon large, 1,000 would definitely take a lot of time and $$$$, especially for a first tank. Do you have a tank builder in mind? I don't know much about the whole structural support topic with larger tanks (I've never owned anything larger than a 120) but in your case I'd almost guarantee it's a topic you'd need to look into lol. Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MERKEY Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Hello and welcome!! I am on whicbey so not a terrible ways away hahah If you do find someone with that big of a tank close let me know as I want to see it also lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 wow, that is enormous! It's do-able, but not common. Common advice is to expect to spend $40-50 per gallon for a new well-appointed setup. I might actually expect a little higher for this level of tank because some of the parts break across to the commercial side. You probably want at least a 200g sump and 50-100g topoff reservoir, redundancy like crazy, monitoring all over, including power consumption monitoring (a good way to ensure pumps are still working, for example, is the watts they're pulling). 1000 gallons, I'd probably plan on extremely long or cube-ish enough that you can actually get in the thing. I'd think maybe 13-16ft long, 4ft wide, and 2-2.5ft tall so you can mostly reach everything (assuming you have complete access front and back). or I might do something like 5-6ft long, 4ft deep and 5-6 ft tall and plan to get in the thing at least every other week for maintenance. Honestly, if I was doing more than 800g, I'd probably try for 1500-2000 and just plan on snorkeling for maintenance. In any case, I'd try to plan on a 200g sump with 100g topoff in a separate 100sq ft room dedicated to supporting the tank, preferably more like 200sq ft room. What inhabitants do you want? predators? corals? sponges? clownfish? tangs? the inhabitants you're attracted to probably dictate more than anything else. Oh, and I'm up near Bothell, not too far from Tacoma. From my experience, Barrier Reef (Renton) and Saltwater City (Bellevue) would both be excellent LFS for you, I also like Denny's in Kirkland, but that's getting kinda far for you. not sure what else is down your way, but I think I've heard good things about Sierra's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxkenny90xx Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Hey reefreef I'm in tacoma as well. My only advice for a tank that large is if you build it out of plywood you'll save thousands. Dominic over at aquarium paradise in lakewood has a large plywood tank in the store that he had built, I'd go talk to him about it. That tank is also where my puffer Gilbert lives now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefreef Posted April 28, 2020 Author Share Posted April 28, 2020 how do you see inside a plywood tank? I don't understand 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxkenny90xx Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Lol the front pane is usually acrylic. The rest is plywood. I think the owner at aquarium paradise said it cost like 1500 or 2000 to make opposed to having an acrylic tank built and shipped for like 15,000 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxkenny90xx Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Don't quote me on those exact #s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorW Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 Lol the front pane is usually acrylic. The rest is plywood. I think the owner at aquarium paradise said it cost like 1500 or 2000 to make opposed to having an acrylic tank built and shipped for like 15,000I'm curious about that too, I'm guessing the tank itself isn't actually plywood or you'd have a giant saltwater mess lol. You say the front panel is acrylic, what about the rest? I was wondering this yesterday when I saw itSent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorW Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 Oh my gosh I just looked up plywood tanks, I never knew this was a thing! Apparently they're built for very large tanks. Three sides and the bottom are plywood while the front is thick glass or acrylic, they use some sort of strong epoxy or something to coat the actual plywood and I'm assuming paint the inside black or blue. Interesting [emoji848], honestly if that's what you have to do for a giant tank I think I'd stick with something under 500 gallons lol. That seems like a lot of work Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 Although this thread stalled in February, it's short and read it. Pretty good pictures on making a large plywood tank. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/500g-reef-tank-build-saga-a-guide-on-what-not-to-do.685724/ And another thread about building an 800g plywood tank. A longer thread, but includes build and full year of life. Including what it takes to start populating a tank this big. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/atomics-800g-plywood-in-wall-with-fish-room.545869/ Enjoy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susp1cious Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 1k tank is crazy, I love it. I live in Olympia, I would love to help out if I can, once all this quarantine stuff is over of course. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxkenny90xx Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 Lol ya I know plywood sounds funny but for a large tank it's 100% the way to go. The main downside is that it is built in place and can't ever be moved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefreef Posted April 29, 2020 Author Share Posted April 29, 2020 I would love to ask my friends "hey, can you help me move my 1,000 gallon tank! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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