I was surfing around on-line and found a guy that had set up a 2000 gallon aquarium in his basement. While it'd be *really* cool to have such a tank, I can't help but think what a pain in the butt that thing would be to maintain (I do a 1/3 water change on my 55 gal every week; a similar water change would involve nearly 700 gal of fresh water on a 2000 gal tank!). What kind of maintenance would be required on a tank this size?
maintenance on large aquaria
- Thread starter askham1025
- Start date
Well pond filters get pretty big, or a pool filter lol. A direct hookup to a sewer line for removing water. Hip waders? hehehe. Well if you've got enough money to build, setup and stock a tank that size, you could probably hire someone to help with maintenance part time.
PS - is there any pics? I'm curious to see what he did.
PS - is there any pics? I'm curious to see what he did.
Seaman
Shrimp gumbo, shrimp salad etc...
yea it wouldnt be hard to make a "auto drip" system that would constantly be adding more water and then overflowing water down a drain, so its constantly changing water. BUt man that water bills on a 500g change a month probbably arent toooo pretty.
OrionGirl said:
On my 240 gal, I don't change my water that much as other since I only have 14 fish in it and thats a lot of extra room for them to fill with growth hormones and waste.
As for filters, I would customize it so that water would first go thorugh a canister filter of some sort in order to remove all the large gunk, then to a wet/dry for bio, then to the main pool filter, preferably diatomaceous earth than sand, so then the D.E filter wouldnt get clogged. But then how are you going to heat it.. use a spa heater or a solar heater on the roof? LoL. That guy could change the water by having the same system that breeders use so then it automatic, but not constantly change that water everyday.
If the guy charged admission to his aquarium.... Maybe teach the fish some tricks... lol
Heck if the guy set it up right he could have an almost perfectly self-sustaining ecosystem
Tight waterproof cover to catch evaporation, tons of plants, bugs... man that would be so cool!
Heck if the guy set it up right he could have an almost perfectly self-sustaining ecosystem
Tight waterproof cover to catch evaporation, tons of plants, bugs... man that would be so cool!OrionGirl said:
I would add that large volumes are only more stable because people tend to overstock smaller tanks. A large tank stocked with proportionally the same volume of fish as an overstocked 10 gallon is just as inherently unstable. A 100 gallon tank with 300 kissing gouramies is no more stable than a 10 gallon tank with 30...
People tend to stock larger tanks lighter, proportionally speaking, which can make them more stable than overstocked smaller tanks. Just don't want anyone to think that a huge tank can be overloaded with a fish without risk of crashing...
Jim
Setups that large are often so perfectly plumbed in that changing water is just a matter of turning two valves- much easier than some of our "smaller" versions.
Debra Mark
Wench Boots!
We have a 3240g tank in our family room & it is probably one of the easiest tanks we've ever had with regards to maintenance. My husband does a water change of about 600 gallons every 15-20 days - to drain the water, he backwashes the 3 swimming pool filters and to fill he has the hot/cold water lines plumbed right into the tank. We have never used a heater, the water is heated as it goes through the pump and remains at a constant 82 degrees F. Granted, there are some challenges with a tank this size - to clean the inside of the glass, my husband has to physically get in the tank with a mask & snorkel. Any housekeeping of plants/driftwood/rocks is done at the same time. Also, once a fish is in there, he's generally in there until he's a floater.
Last edited: