[Jim_D]

Just out of interest what do you classify as a Big tank ?

There seems to be so many varied opinions on this, for me I would classify a large tank as anything 5' x 2' x 2' and over.

[charlie]

I'd say 180 and over.

[Ninong]

I used to think that 300 gallons was a big tank but now I think that big tanks start at 375 gallons and up.

[scubadude]

Originally Posted by Ninong

I used to think that 300 gallons was a big tank but now I think that big tanks start at 375 gallons and up.

LOL yeah 300 is almost a Nano George! I think you have been staring @ Steve West's tank pictures too long



Im kinda w/ Charlie on this one...180g+ ....here again this is in the eye of the beholder. I think if someone has had say a nano for a while and thats all they had they may post a thread "starting a big tank" then when you get into the thread you find out its a 75g

[The R/C Man]

Ditto on the 180 and up..... Then again, maybe 240 and up would be more appropriate. That way you can fill the middle size tank nitch. Say 125 - 240....

[Poseidon]

LOL I would have to say it depends on how big of a hole you have to fill with the tank....


I have a 135 and it is looking pretty small to me!

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by scubadude

LOL yeah 300 is almost a Nano George! I think you have been staring @ Steve West's tank pictures too long

No, I've been reading Reef Central's "Large Reef Tanks" forum too much and wishing that they had made the minimum size larger than 180-gallons.

I think a nano tank is 20 gallons and under. Anything larger than 20 gallons but smaller than 100 gallons is a small tank. Tanks that are at least 100 gallons but less than 300 gallons would be medium sized tank and tanks that are at least 300 gallons would be large tanks. How's that? Better?

Then we have to decide on a minimum size for very large tanks.

[tatuvaaj]

Watching my 212 gallon tank I must say it looks very small to me. So for me big tanks start at 500 gallons

[scubadude]

Originally Posted by Ninong

I think a nano tank is 20 gallons and under. Anything larger than 20 gallons but smaller than 100 gallons is a small tank. Tanks that are at least 100 gallons but less than 300 gallons would be medium sized tank and tanks that are at least 300 gallons would be large tanks. How's that? Better?

Then we have to decide on a minimum size for very large tanks.

Well alot of ppl dont consider 20g small enough for a nano, but FWIW Im with you on this thinking. The nano size is another thread though

I would say that medium sized tanks wouldnt be larger than 240 cuz that is the largest size that most manufacturers offer as a standard, before you get into a custom tank So with that being said wouldnt anything larger than a 240 be considered a big tank in a manufacturers eyes? See now you have me changing my way of thinking Ninong

[Ninong]

Rocky,

The cheapy U.S. glass tank manufacturers, such as All-Glass, stop at 180 gallons. (P.S. -- That statement was based on their obviously outdated website but zhenya is considering a 215-gal All-Glass tank that is 72x24x29.) Oceanic used to stop at 210 gallons (84x24x24 which they called 200 gallons) as their largest standard size tank. I'm not sure what they consider their current largest standard size but I believe they consider 240 gallons to be a custom tank even though they have produced a lot of them. As you know, Oceanic now offers a wide range of larger custom tanks, including a popular 500-gal bowfront: http://www.oceanicsystems.com/products_custom.html

The U.S. acrylic tank manufacturers have always listed large sizes on their websites. Tenecor lists sizes up to 1300 gallons: http://www.tenecor.com/ultraquarium.php And most of the large acrylic tank manufacturers have built custom tanks much, much larger than that for public aquaria, restaurants and hotels.

The European tank manufacturers, even the ones working with glass, are offering 300+ gallon tanks as standard now, with larger sizes available on a custom basis. Deltec offers a fully equipped, plug-n-play version that is larger than 300 gallons. The SoftLine Bowfront Aquarium in Porsche Silver pictured here is larger than 300 gallons: http://www.deltecaquariumsolutions.com/aquariums.php

I think that five years ago a 180-gal tank was considered a large tank by U.S. hobby standards but today it's considered nothing special.

P.S. -- The reason you will see pictures of David Saxby's reef aquarium at the bottom of the Deltec page is because he's a principal owner of the company.

[vtec si]

I'm with Tatu' My 180 gal seems small! Can't wait for my 450gal . I feel like a little kid waiting for chistmas.

Martin

[kevinpo]

A large tank is 360 gallons and up IMO. There are quite a few 96"x36"x24" acrylic tanks. All Glass and Oceanic both make 215 gal standard tanks. Larger than that and they have to be custom ordered. Very large tanks start at 750 gal. IMO.

Regards,
Kevin

[Jim_D]

Thanks for the replies, my suggestion of a big tank starting at 5x2x2 is starting to look like a nano.

[tatuvaaj]

I must confess that my opinion might be influenced by the fact that I've worked in a public aquarium...

[orion25]

In reality, a large tank is about 125gallons to me. In nature it would be 1,000,000 gallons!!!!!

[jiggly75]

300 and up

[Reefland]

I find this interesting. I wonder what the answers would have been say 4 years ago before 300+ gallon aquariums were encountered failrly regularly.

[middlemark]

I think there should be `large tanks' and `custom tanks' ... allowing the 180+ people to play ... but also realizing that that 350+ range is a whole 'nother thing.

Great, now my present dream 150/180 is a `little tank'.

Perhaps large tank could mean something big enough to be buried in?

[Poseidon]

Originally Posted by middlemark

I think there should be `large tanks' and `custom tanks' ... allowing the 180+ people to play ... but also realizing that that 350+ range is a whole 'nother thing.

Great, now my present dream 150/180 is a `little tank'.

Perhaps large tank could mean something big enough to be buried in?

LOL!!!

That means I need something BIGGER!!! I stand about 6'3"!!! I sure don't want to be lopped off at the ankles!!!

[zhenya]

Eventhough I also think that large tanks are from 300+ and more, the 215g tank that I am considering will be huge for the space that I have in my house.

So, BIG is as big as your eyes are telling you it is. Having two tanks smaller than 200 gallons for few years will make me think that this 215 gallon is pretty big, to David Saxby or Steve Weast it'd look like a nano, I am sure.