Large aquariums > 100 gallons

feemia

feemia

AC Members
Mar 20, 2007
381
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16
South-Central Washington
I'd like to get some opinions from anyone who's had experience with both large (100+ gallon) aquariums and smaller aquariums. I'm going to try to be succint so you don't get bored before you get to the end of my post :)

I currently have the following overstocked tanks:
1 - 60 gallon
2 - 20 gallon long
1 - 5 gallon
1 - 20-30 gallon tub

My husband ( and the dog and the cat) are fed up with the amount of time that I spend maintaining my tanks and I'm starting to get frustrated as well. I haven't had much luck finding homes for the extra fish, so I've been thinking about getting a single larger aquarium, but we're on a pretty tight budget right now.

Today I found a 150 gallon tank and stand on craigslist for $200 and I think I might be able to talk my husband into it, if I agree to give up ALL my other tanks. I could put my shrimp, nano fish and betta into in-tank refugiums, kind of like the the tank in this thread. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128386&highlight=bangladesh

I know that maintaining the single 150 would take up less time than maintaining all of the separate smaller tanks, but would I regret it in a few years? Some of my fish aren't long-lived, so in 2-3 years my fish population will be reduced naturally. If I got the 150, would I someday be wishing for my 60 gallon back? How much more expense and work is a 150 compared to a 60?
 
As far as work, a 150 isn't much more work than a 60, just takes a little longer to drain and fill. Although it would be a lot easier if you chose the fish you wanted to keep and set up a solid community rather than trying to keep separate little refugiums in a larger tank. Taking care of those separate areas would negate having one tank rather than several smaller ones IMO.
 
Having multiple tanks from 5-100 gallons, each one has its own interest. I could not and will not combine any of them for many reasons. Each one holds a special interest and it would mean letting go of that interest. My fish are lowest on the pole for needed attention but it doesn't mean I can neglect them any more than I can neglect my wife. The key is to find a balance. It takes me 15 min to feed all the fish and the lights are on a timer. The only time required is maintenance. I perform all my maintenance after everyone has gone off on their day and it is "Me Time". I have found that I do not enjoy the big tanks quite as much as I do the smaller ones. All the smaller ones are each a different story so I get to see a new story with each one instead of seeing the same story over and over.

Don't get me wrong, I won't give up my larger tanks. I just think of losing the smaller ones narrows my diversion too much. I need the diversion. Do you? If yes, then how much diversion do you need? Find a balance and you will answer your question as to what is right for you.
 
chances are, if you are spending that much time maintaining your tanks you are doing something wrong.

even with overstocked tanks, a quick water change once per week is usually all that is needed.

could you post more about your feeding schedule, water change shedule etc?

I maintained 8 tanks totaling 340 gallons of water with huge fish for the last 15 years and its really very little work. All it takes is about an hour and a half set aside once per week to do the changes and thats it. feeding each day is a 5 minute job.

maybe we can help.
 
12 Volt Man said:
ps could you get the 150 and keep the the 60 and 20?

that would be cool!
Click to expand...

That actually would be ideal :) I could store the 60, keep the itty-bittys and the inverts in the 20, and put all the rest in the 150. But, I doubt my husband would agree to that.

I usually spend most of my Saturday on maintenance. I did recently purchase a python for water changes on the 60, which is saving me quite a bit of time.
 
I'd keep a smaller tank for a Q tank, it's the best thing you can do for fish health. You don't have to keep it set up all the time.

I just got a python too :) but it's not as miraculous as I was hoping for. It's slower & weaker to vac but refills are nice :grinyes:.

Do you have room to store some tanks for a while rather than getting rid of them? Once you get stuff you like it's cheaper to keep than replace, you just might change your mind & your husbands too ;). I have all kinds of stuff in my basement.
 
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feemia said:
That actually would be ideal :) I could store the 60, keep the itty-bittys and the inverts in the 20, and put all the rest in the 150. But, I doubt my husband would agree to that.

I usually spend most of my Saturday on maintenance. I did recently purchase a python for water changes on the 60, which is saving me quite a bit of time.
Click to expand...

What exactly do you consider maintenance? Seems like you are spending to much time for "routine" maintence. Even with a "manual" Gravel vac it should'nt take that long to maintain even a handful of tanks.
 
feemia said:
That actually would be ideal :) I could store the 60, keep the itty-bittys and the inverts in the 20, and put all the rest in the 150. But, I doubt my husband would agree to that.

I usually spend most of my Saturday on maintenance. I did recently purchase a python for water changes on the 60, which is saving me quite a bit of time.
Click to expand...

how are you water changing the tanks?

how much are you removing, are you ageing water (which is not necessary but takes time etc)?

we need to figure out why the water changes are taking so much time.

1/3 or so is all that is needed once per week, so you are looking at say a little over 100 gallons total at 1/3 which is still only about 30-35 gallons per week.

which shouldnt take all day...

we should be able to look at what you are doing and cut down the time considerably.

but I would STILL get the 150 if you can :)
 
I usually change 20-35% every week. In between hauling buckets of water outside, I waste a lot of time picking snails out of the tank, removing frogbit that's starting to yellow and replacing plants that my crayfish has uprooted. He very ungracefully walks over the top of them or pushes them out of his way.

It also takes about 1/2 and hour a couple of times a week to test the water in all the tanks and add supplements for my plants and snails. I try to test the water twice a week because I have occassional nitrite spikes, which I assume is due to the tanks being overstocked.
 
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