How hard is it to maintain multiple large tanks?

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aaronb

Candiru
MFK Member
Mar 20, 2011
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Cawker City, KS
My wife told me after she's done with school she's fine with me getting as many big aquariums as I want. I was curious how much work it'll be, because I don't want to get more than is manageable. Right now we're thinking a 500 gallon cicla tank, a 300 gallon jag, flowerhorn and friends tank, a 180 gallon saltwater, a 180 gallon angelfish and discus tank, a 55 gallon tropical tank, and possibly a 240 - 300 gallon native tank.

What are your opinions on all that? Do you think we could keep up with maintenance? I love fish keeping, so I wouldn't be lazy about it. I just don't want every spare moment to have to be used for maintenance. Hopefully I'll have auto water changes, so I think maybe feeding, changing filter socks, and occasional gravel vacs will be it. Well I know the saltwater one will be a little different. Thanks.
 
The bottom line is you will get out of it what you put into it. Large tanks do take a lot more of your time and there is more fish to take care of which can equal to more fights and seperating...etc. Don't get me wrong, I say go for it, but it's not going to be as simple as setting up an auto water change, changing a sock here and there :)
 
aaronb said:
My wife told me after she's done with school she's fine with me getting as many big aquariums as I want. I was curious how much work it'll be, because I don't want to get more than is manageable. Right now we're thinking a 500 gallon cicla tank, a 300 gallon jag, flowerhorn and friends tank, a 180 gallon saltwater, a 180 gallon angelfish and discus tank, a 55 gallon tropical tank, and possibly a 240 - 300 gallon native tank.

What are your opinions on all that? Do you think we could keep up with maintenance? I love fish keeping, so I wouldn't be lazy about it. I just don't want every spare moment to have to be used for maintenance. Hopefully I'll have auto water changes, so I think maybe feeding, changing filter socks, and occasional gravel vacs will be it. Well I know the saltwater one will be a little different. Thanks.
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I would go with a lot of tanks, lots of large tanks..............The thing is, breeding..........Once you get situated with the main setups, you have fish that breed..........And when they breed, you feel a natural obligation to become a scientist and start rearing and hatching too..........This means more tanks............Now more tanks for the breeding section can mean a mess of 55 gallon tanks lined up, or two or three 100g tanks for just a couple species............
 
Best is to figure how many tanks you can effectively maintain when your not in the mood to be maintaining tanks. Life doesn't always co-operate with our hobbies.
 
Another thing to consider is cost. Upfront and longterm(power, water, food, supplies, etc)
I think my largest tank is the easiest to keep simply because I did tons of research before I set it up and put maintenance high on my priority list. That being said, it still occupies a fair amount of time.

My advice? By the largest tank you can afford and house and start there. Go one at a time and you'll get a feel for what's involved and the commitment it takes. Better to have one or two badass setups then a ton that take up all your time and not get the real attention they deserve. Start with the 500 gallon cichla setup and see how it goes.
 
Well I planning on adding one maybe every 6 months to see how the maintenance is to deal with. I know there is a little more to it. I was trying to say that I was going to attempt to set them up in a way that would make the maintenance easier.

Right now with my job I have I'm only home on Saturday and sometimes Sunday. I was changing water and cleaning a 210 gallon aquarium. That is until it broke. In the process of replacing it. As well as a 92 corner, two 55s, and a 54 corner tank all on Saturday morning. I had no problem keeping up on them with only one day free. Even if I didn't feel like it I told myself I had to and after I started I actually enjoyed the maintenance. Most of the time as soon as I wake up I immediately think time for maintenance and happily do it.

I am going to switch to a job before then that I'll be home, so I'll have more time for that. Plus my wife said she'd help with tank maintenance then. Instead of making me do all the work. LOL
 
Simple answer: Keep your set ups as simple as possiable, it makes the hobby far more enjoyable (and cheaper) be extra cautious about this aspect in the SW side of the hobby. In many cases spending the up front cash on good quality skimmer, LR, sand, lights and a nice wad of cheto can go a lot further than thousands of dollars in high tech PITA equpiment trying to make up for those items can. A pair of large tanks 1 fw 1 SW would keep you more than busy and intreseted for quite some time before you get them just the way you want. At that point decide how much more you want if any. Just my opinion and how I would approach the situation. But the easiest way to keep the hobby from turning into a nightmare is homework....read read read and take advice with a grain of salt.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Yeah I spend my free time everyday reading up on aquarium stuff. Whenever I bring up that I read something new about aquariums my wife now says surprise surprise. I hope to learn everything I can, because I always want my fish to be as happy and healthy as possible. I guess I have a while to figure out what to do on the tanks. I'm happy to hear more opinions though. I'm just happy to have a wife that likes this hobby and is willing to go along with getting those tanks if I decide to.
 
I look at it as not being hard at all to maintain any size aquarium, it just requires alot of time.
 
When I understocked a tank it is a breeze to maintain. When I go through the mood where I want lots of fish and I "comfortably" stock (did not say overstock because they were not full grown...) my tanks, I notice a lot more maintenance is required with multiple large water changes per week. Right now I only have a 120g and 210g running, but am moving all stock to the 210g and selling the smaller one. Any more than one tank and its too much time for me.
 
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