System size question-?
- Thread starter ichthyoid
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I've always considered this to be the total system capacity, sump and everything.
Total system volume is what I consider- since the additives, skimmer, dosing, etc depend on this. Bigger the volume, the larger the system. Only exception is placement of fish when you need to consider swim space in addition to volume. So, 5 -50 gallon frag tanks linked on same sump would be a large system but not big enough for the tang patrol for example.
To answer this question we need to understand what each aspect references to. Tank size is the size of the specific tank that the individual organisms resides. Tank size usually refers to the size of the tank that the live stocks can live comfortably in (including swimming space). Total system refers to the total amount of water volume combined in the ecosystem. For example of you have three 50gal joined together, each tank is a tank size of 50gal, however the total water volume would be 150gal (assuming all tanks are completely filled and without rocks or sand).
Now that that's out of the way, there's no rule to what tank size constitutes a reef tank. The rule of thumb, however, is that the more the water volume, the more stable the tank tends to be. However when things go south, the harder it is to fix. There are reef tanks that run on 10, 5 and even 3gallons tank. Look up Pico and nano tanks. As long as you can keep up with regular maintenance and waste export, any tank size would work for a reef tank.
The next thing to keep in mind is what livestock you would like to keep in the tank. Every live stock has its specific tank size requirement for both swimming space and waste management. For example, it is unfair to put a tang in a Pico or nano tank. Some corals grow extremely large and might require constant pruning. Clams,on the other hand (like some other corals) can't be pruned and will grow very large.
To sum this up, figure out what livestock you'll like to keep, and have a tank that meets their needs. Hope this helps.
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Now that that's out of the way, there's no rule to what tank size constitutes a reef tank. The rule of thumb, however, is that the more the water volume, the more stable the tank tends to be. However when things go south, the harder it is to fix. There are reef tanks that run on 10, 5 and even 3gallons tank. Look up Pico and nano tanks. As long as you can keep up with regular maintenance and waste export, any tank size would work for a reef tank.
The next thing to keep in mind is what livestock you would like to keep in the tank. Every live stock has its specific tank size requirement for both swimming space and waste management. For example, it is unfair to put a tang in a Pico or nano tank. Some corals grow extremely large and might require constant pruning. Clams,on the other hand (like some other corals) can't be pruned and will grow very large.
To sum this up, figure out what livestock you'll like to keep, and have a tank that meets their needs. Hope this helps.
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System size is one thing but if you're asking where to post a build thread I'd say small, medium at best. You can have a 200 gallon system volume with a 40b display and 180 sump. Yes that 40b will have Hella stability but it's still a small display.
I'd also add that even though running multiple livestock tanks through a single sump you'll still have different parameters in each container of water. I mean virtually every parameter other than salinity will be different. We can continue that as a discussion if you like but my vote is still small.
I'd also add that even though running multiple livestock tanks through a single sump you'll still have different parameters in each container of water. I mean virtually every parameter other than salinity will be different. We can continue that as a discussion if you like but my vote is still small.
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