# Large tank maintenance



## belltold12 (Feb 4, 2014)

I've been watching a lot of youtube videos about huge plywood tank installations and the wheels are turning in my head for a 10'L x 5'W x 4'H (1500g ish) tank for when I finally buy a house with a decent size garage. 

I'm just curious though.... How do you maintain these beastly tanks or do you set them up so they pretty much maintain themselves? In other words, it would take a looooooong time to vacuum 50 square feet of substrate, not to mention a 400-500 gallon water change once a week would cause the water company to knock on my door for sure lol. 

So how do these guys do it? Hire a weekly aquarium service?


----------



## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Welcome to the forum

that's a very good question, but unfortunately I don't have such a tank. That's a question you might want to ask the makers of the youtube videos. They would know.


----------



## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

Most do hire a maintenance service but they also generally under-stock and over-filter to try and keep the tank going happily for as long as possible between water changes.


----------



## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Weekly water changes certainly aren't a requirement.



I fully intend to have a massive enclosure like that, and can assure you that I'm not paying anyone to maintain it for me. Agent13 will do it ;-)


----------



## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

jaysee said:


> Weekly water changes certainly aren't a requirement.
> 
> 
> 
> I fully intend to have a massive enclosure like that, and can assure you that I'm not paying anyone to maintain it for me. Agent13 will do it ;-)


Haha.. That i will! Im a anal about perfect clean tanks and i refuse to hire someone. 
That size most certainly will haveva sump.. And water changes mostly will be done from the sump tank. It would either need an automated plumbing set up.. Or use a pump to make water change faster for the whole volume of the sump. I already use a sump pump to speed up water changes on occasion.. And then id use probably my eheim vac for quick substrate vac


----------

