getting back in the game...

[merlin0883]

Hello all. I had a few tanks for several years, and had to sell most everything when I graduated from Texas State (I met several of you in San Antonio with livestock) a few years ago. I've been bouncing around and ended up in Panama City. I'm about to buy a house in Naples, and plan to be there for a while, so it's time to get another tank! I want a large tank (at least 150 gal--up to 300 gal), and I want it to be incredibly nice and as "maintenance free" as possible. Yes, I will keep up with my water changes and so forth, but hope that it is not a major hassle all the time like they have been in the past. The difference will be from having a 55gal with inadequate filtration, no sump, and barely adequate lighting (all HOB filtration, lights, in tank powerheads) to having a large tank (leaning towards 250-300 gal) with at least a 75 gallon fuge tank/sump tank with alternate lighting and macro-algae underneath (with a drilled tank and little to nothing of the filtration and powerheads visible) and the best equipment that is available to make this a well-balanced ecosystem that is eye-sore free! I know how everyone on here likes a new build-in-progress, and since I've been out of the game for a while, I need some updates on the latest technology. It will be a couple of months before I move, and a couple of months after that before I get too serious about it, but want to start tossing around build ideas and parts so that I can come up with a comprehensive list and start acquiring equipment as soon as I get down there and drawing schematics now. The plan was to have it against a wall that I could run the plumbing through and have a sump/fuge room. THis may or may not happen. If so, I'll likely have a 100-150 gallon fuge. If not, I'll have to put it underneath the show tank, so I'll be limited to a 75-100gal fuge. I want an oversized amazing skimmer (I can always turn it down), lighting on the fuge (probably HO t5's--whatever is best for macro-algae), maybe a canister off the fuge (just to make sure!), amazing water flow, a lot of live rock, the best sand (to DSB or not to DSB, that is the question!), and the best lighting. I've never had LED's. They hit the market about the time I was getting out. I'm pretty sure that's what I need, but yall know better than me at this point! I'll likely have mostly LPS (duncans, acans, brains, candy canes, etc) and softies (a couple of leathers, maybe colt or kenya, NICE shrooms, palys, jumbo palys), and a few nice SPS. I will have a couple of small wrasses (6-line, maybe a fairy or cleaner), a small angel (flame, coral beauty, or similar), a flame hawk, several tangs (purple, yellows, hippo, achilles--enough that they school and don't fight, also something I'm not up to speed on, will need recommendations on species and numbers), gobies, clowns, etc. May do fewer tangs and more other types of fish. Will figure that out once I decide on tank size. Want nice shrimps, crabs, n such. It needs to be a full, amazing reef tank with lots of life. The large fuge will help to expand the system so that I don't have to worry about having a few too many fish in the tank, as long as they're not stressed from overcrowding. So toss up some ideas. Pretend like money is no option. I may have to downgrade some stuff if I can't afford it, but would rather save to buy the best stuff even if it takes longer to get it all together.
Recommendations that I'm looking for:
1. Specific tank.
2. Lighting.
3. Sand bed--none, deep, or shallow, and type of sand.
4. RO/DI system and holding reservoir.
5. Place to find all the best plumbing for the tank/fuge/through-wall/RODI system.
6. Powerheads to pump the water back into the tank (tired of BS powerheads going out--want some that will last).
7. Ideas for the fuge.
8. Any other opinions.
9. Foreseen problems from those of you with experience plumbing tanks. I've never had a drilled tank. I assume that I need an overflow box and that gravity will take the water to the fuge. I want the skimmer in/on the fuge (intake or output side?). Yall get the idea. Let's get this going. I've been excited about this for a while. It's finally close enough to time to figure it out!

Thanks in advance!

[merlin0883]

Oh yeah, test kits, chemicals, and to dose or kalkwasser? Keeping the calcium and carbonates perfect has been difficult for me in the past. So maybe a reactor? Not sure.

[footballdude2k3]

I like this thread very much (Borat voice)

1. 300DD
2. EcoTech Radion Pros, prolly would need 3 for that tank
3. I do not like DSBs unless they are remote because you can bring them offline if you see anything bad happening
4. I have a Bulk Reef Supply 5 stage RODI system that has been great so far, I would find the white food grade containers for that much water, or a few Brute garbage cans
5. You can make the plumbing yourself, a mix of spaflex and PVC is what I would do
6. 2 VorTech MP60's, when you combine their wireless pumps and lights you can recreate thunderstorms, I am all about recreating nature, so that is what I would do.
7. Biggest you can afford/have room for, the more water, the more stable the system. I would prolly use a big tub from tractor supply, well I guess two, one for the sump, the other for the fuge
8. The more money you spend initially, the less you will want to replace things that you wish you would not have bough at first
9. I would have the skimmer in the sump, could get a really nice Reef Octopus Diablo or something.

[bugj51]

youre gonna want a controller as well

[merlin0883]

So I found an all glass Marineland 300gallon dd aquarium on the marineland site. I love the dimensions. 72long, 36deep, 27high. Perfect. It has a cornerflow in both back corners. At a quick search, I could not find a price for them--any recommendations for a site that sales them? Also I'm not entirely sure about the drilled holes in this tank. As is, I would still have to use in-tank powerheads. I was thinking about having a few (like 3) holes drilled in the bottom of the tank and spread evenly from left-to-right (a little closer to the back of the tank than the front--like 12" from the back) with double-nozzled return jets that I could hide with my rock-work. I've seen this done before, but have never used them. Is this a good route to take, or are the extra hole just begging for more trouble with extra places that might leak?

[merlin0883]

Lighting. So I found Radion xr30w Pros. I assume this is what was mentioned? Is the 30w the highest output? I found them in one store for $899. I assume that I could find them for perhaps a little cheaper if I did some digging. They don't appear to be very wide though. I haven't found a dimension for the entire hood, but it looks like they're about 16" wide and 12" deep. If so, 3 may not cover the tank well. I may need 4-5. I don't mind if the ends of the tank are a little dim--I can put low-light corals there. I just don't want the tank to be light-deficient or look weird because of too little light. How far above the tank can you mount these? I don't want bubble popping and covering the lenses with salt all of the time. I also don't want concentrated beams of light--or a "spotlight effect" from each bulb. Do they blend well? And as for the controller comment, I assume that you mean a light/powerhead combo controller? If so, I agree, but don't know anything about them. I assumed that the lights would come with one.

[merlin0883]

DSB remarks. Are you saying to go with no-sand, or to have a shallow sand bed? I personally like having sand, but don't want to have to deal with the DSB harboring phosphates after a few years like has happened to me in the past. So I leaning towards a shallow sand bed of crushed coral. Sound good?

[merlin0883]

I have a BFS RO/DI system that I got from Aquarium Design when I lived in San Marcos. It needs a new membrane and all new media. I found it to be a little inadequate for my 55gal tank, but I think it's because I'd hook it up, use it to make enough water to do a change, and unhook it. I've heard that not having it plumbed to allow water to continuously circulate is bad for the membrane. I plan to fix this in the future with a bigger system that is plumbed to a water line. Sound good?

[merlin0883]

Powerheads. I'm digging the vortechs. They aren't cheap, but if they do what they claim, I'm ok with it. I'm sure some of you actually have these. How many would I need for the tank if I do use in-tank powerheads, which I probably will now that I've checked these out--2? 3? 4? Would it be better to use 2 of the next size down on each side or one of the 60's on each side? Seems like the 60's may blast over a 20lb rock...

[BBQHILLBILLY]

If your going big, look into closed loop tanks. Biggest sump you can fit in stand, observing room for external reactors and external pumps and big skimmer.

[merlin0883]

Skimmer. Wow. Octopus seems to have quite a few more to choose from than they did a while back. There are soooooooo many. Don't even know where to begin...the Diablos are apparently newer. That doesn't necessarily mean better, though. Any experience with these? Do I need the one with the controllable pump? I think that this model is for in-tank, which is NOT what I want, but am not entirely sure...Also, in the past, my HOB octopus was great--until the pump went out. Man, I don't care to deal with poorly designed pumps any more. I'm very over it, and it's even been a while since I had one. Hopefully the pumps for their higher-end skimmers are better...?

[merlin0883]

Out-of-tank powerheads. The vortechs are nice, but any info on pumps to get the water from the sump/fuge back to the tank?

[merlin0883]

Skimmer. Wow. Octopus seems to have quite a few more to choose from than they did a while back. There are soooooooo many. Don't even know where to begin...the Diablos are apparently newer. That doesn't necessarily mean better, though. Any experience with these? Do I need the one with the controllable pump? I think that this model is for in-tank, which is NOT what I want, but am not entirely sure...Also, in the past, my HOB octopus was great--until the pump went out. Man, I don't care to deal with poorly designed pumps any more. I'm very over it, and it's even been a while since I had one. Hopefully the pumps for their higher-end skimmers are better...?
Okay. Found a site that actually tells a little about these. Narrowed it down to Diablo 350 or Diablo DCS 300. THe 350 is powered by 3 pumps and controlled by output valve restriction. The DCS 300 in powered by one DC pump, and is controlled by altering the electrical current that the pump receives. Not sure which is best. Not sure if there are better brands out there...

[BBQHILLBILLY]

make sure you design your sump to fit these hungry skimmers, I have a 7ft sump, and it wouldnt fit

[reefreak]

Check out the maxspect razors for lighting.

[merlin0883]

make sure you design your sump to fit these hungry skimmers, I have a 7ft sump, and it wouldnt fit

Was your sump too narrow?

[BBQHILLBILLY]

i could have fit the diablo, but i would have to trim the top bracing, didnt wanna do it, remember sw has to go on the side of the skimmer,
for sure monster skimmer needs monster extra wide sump:bigsmile:unless you go external

[merlin0883]

Check out the maxspect razors for lighting.

So far--
Radion xr30wPRO--$899X4=$3600. 12" wide, so wouldn't cover whole 72" tank unless higher above water and spread them out a lot, which MAY be just fine, but I'm not sure. Total of 175wX4=700watts. Very controllable.

Maxspect razor r420r @160watts. 27", so X2=60" of 72" tank covered, with less control. X3=90", overhanging tank and wasting light. So X2@$500=$1000.

Maxspect Mazarra MZP01 complete system with 4 modules @ 60watts each=240 watts and $2100. Prolly need two sets, so 480 watts and $4200. Very controllable, and easy to adjust modules with the hood system that comes with it. Not sure if I'd suspend or use hood system. May even need 3 sets, so that's 720watts and $6300. More bulbs spread out with variable lenses seems like the lights should blend better than on the Radions. Can't afford 3 sets though, so that would put me at 480 watts for the tank. Not sure how many watts/gal are recommended for LED's. I'm used to halides and t5's.

[alton]

Go with Buckeye field Supply on replacing your filters and Membrane. On the 300D you have to ask for them now, they are not a stock item anymore. Being a person who has one if if I was to do all over again I stay with 30" versus the 36". I am 6'4" and I hate the fact I cannot reach stuff in the back. Ace has a 250DD but since he has his as an island he can reach all the way around. Lighting big tanks the edge still goes to MH, but hey if you have the money go for it. I use 3 x 250w MH lumin bright pendants (825 watts total) with Radium lamps that average 16 months before changing.

[footballdude2k3]

So I found an all glass Marineland 300gallon dd aquarium on the marineland site. I love the dimensions. 72long, 36deep, 27high. Perfect. It has a cornerflow in both back corners. At a quick search, I could not find a price for them--any recommendations for a site that sales them? Also I'm not entirely sure about the drilled holes in this tank. As is, I would still have to use in-tank powerheads. I was thinking about having a few (like 3) holes drilled in the bottom of the tank and spread evenly from left-to-right (a little closer to the back of the tank than the front--like 12" from the back) with double-nozzled return jets that I could hide with my rock-work. I've seen this done before, but have never used them. Is this a good route to take, or are the extra hole just begging for more trouble with extra places that might leak?

If you like extra holes, put that in there, there is always risk when a tank is drilled, but it shouldn't be enough to deter you if that is what you want. I think you might have to go with a custom tank if you want to drill the bottom, pretty sure that would be tempered.


Lighting. So I found Radion xr30w Pros. I assume this is what was mentioned? Is the 30w the highest output? I found them in one store for $899. I assume that I could find them for perhaps a little cheaper if I did some digging. They don't appear to be very wide though. I haven't found a dimension for the entire hood, but it looks like they're about 16" wide and 12" deep. If so, 3 may not cover the tank well. I may need 4-5. I don't mind if the ends of the tank are a little dim--I can put low-light corals there. I just don't want the tank to be light-deficient or look weird because of too little light. How far above the tank can you mount these? I don't want bubble popping and covering the lenses with salt all of the time. I also don't want concentrated beams of light--or a "spotlight effect" from each bulb. Do they blend well? And as for the controller comment, I assume that you mean a light/powerhead combo controller? If so, I agree, but don't know anything about them. I assumed that the lights would come with one.

They will cover more room than what the fixture is, picture it like a headlight in fog, it has some spread, as an example, I am doing a generic 120w set of LEDS, will do three of them in my 6 foot and get plenty of coverage, the whole fixture is 16x9, with the lights not taking up the whole thing, but it covers 2'x2'


DSB remarks. Are you saying to go with no-sand, or to have a shallow sand bed? I personally like having sand, but don't want to have to deal with the DSB harboring phosphates after a few years like has happened to me in the past. So I leaning towards a shallow sand bed of crushed coral. Sound good?

Yes, I personally hate no sand, love the look of SSB, but if you wanted a DSB for the extra filtration, I would do a remote DSB because if you start having problems, you just remove that one from the system.


I have a BFS RO/DI system that I got from Aquarium Design when I lived in San Marcos. It needs a new membrane and all new media. I found it to be a little inadequate for my 55gal tank, but I think it's because I'd hook it up, use it to make enough water to do a change, and unhook it. I've heard that not having it plumbed to allow water to continuously circulate is bad for the membrane. I plan to fix this in the future with a bigger system that is plumbed to a water line. Sound good?

you should be fine either way, just get something that measures TDS, 0 is ideal, 1 is a warning, replace by 2


Powerheads. I'm digging the vortechs. They aren't cheap, but if they do what they claim, I'm ok with it. I'm sure some of you actually have these. How many would I need for the tank if I do use in-tank powerheads, which I probably will now that I've checked these out--2? 3? 4? Would it be better to use 2 of the next size down on each side or one of the 60's on each side? Seems like the 60's may blast over a 20lb rock...

I love VorTechs, I was having a problem in a 40b with cyano a few years back, had 3 Koralias in there, replaced with one MP20 which they do not make anymore, problem cleared up in a couple days


Out-of-tank powerheads. The vortechs are nice, but any info on pumps to get the water from the sump/fuge back to the tank?

I like Eheim returns, just look for the size that gives you the amount of flow through your sump that you want


Okay. Found a site that actually tells a little about these. Narrowed it down to Diablo 350 or Diablo DCS 300. THe 350 is powered by 3 pumps and controlled by output valve restriction. The DCS 300 in powered by one DC pump, and is controlled by altering the electrical current that the pump receives. Not sure which is best. Not sure if there are better brands out there...

Love these things, a ton of power and usually very energy friendly.

[StevenSeas]

Alright Ill bite on this one. I love planning out over-the-top setups for myself and customers its definitely one of the funnest parts of my job.

Tanks - Marineland no longer makes the DD tanks so I would go with either a DSA or Planet Aquariums 300g with PVC bottom. Pre drilled with corner or back overflows (your preference) and also pre drilled fro a closed loop on bottom with 1x 2" intake in the center back and then 4x 3/4" returns drilled on 2' from each end and 1' from the back and the front. And use a reeflo Dart/snapper hybrid pump to run the closed loop with an ocean motions 4 way.

Sump - Id go with a big sump as you will need to accommodate roughly 22.5 gallons of drain down for a tank with the 72*36 footprint. So I would go with a 48x24x16 sump refugium dimensions. That will give you about 35g of extra water holding capacity in the event of power failure. Also you have plenty of spare room to put the equipment. I would run 4x 7" filter socks, skimmer chamber, refugium chamber, to a section for the return pump intake. I would use a reeflo dart/snapper hybrid or possibly a hammerhead pump here as well so that it can feed your reactors, UV and the tank

skimmer - my preference being something along the lines of the reef octo diablo 300 or larger, or potentially the reef octopus POV series. I love the DC controllable pumps on these make feeding easy as well as using ozone easier.

Misc equipment -
UV go with uv sized for 400+ gallons, I like aqua ultraviolet for brands
Ozone - ozotech is a great company they make ozonators for more than just fish tanks and they are commercial build quality and have variable output which is nice when you need to crank it up cuz you over fed or are fighting a disease outbreak
GFO reactor
Carbon reactor
dosing pumps, I like the Bubble magus here cuz you get get 3 and then add up to 11 of them. I would start off running a bacteria source such as Microbacter7, reef biofuel, and a coral food mix
either a Calcium reactor or Kalkwasser reactor dependent on your coral goals, looks like mostly LPS so I would say save your money and go with a kalkwasser reactor
An Auto top off system either by and independent float switch or controller such as the neptune apex or the reef keeper elite.

Lighting, definitely would go with Radions either the Gen2 or Pros. Pros are nice as you will get more pop of color in the LPS from the near UV spectrum that is added as well as a more rounded color spectrum from the extra yellow. I have found that having all the LEDs in the same cluster with the same optics as opposed to multiple clusters has led to much better color blending and color rendition. I would say either 4 or 5 of these lights they cover roughly a 2x2 square. I have a customer with 3 on a 200g and it looks good. I would mount them 10-12" above the water and stager them with 3 in front and then 2 in the back.

And I would go with 4 mp40s for flow. less is better here (less output from 1 point source that is) you dont want to blast your corals with a jet of water you want a moving wall of water. multiples will serve you better.

This is how I plan on setting up my "realistic" dream tank lol

[merlin0883]

Go with Buckeye field Supply on replacing your filters and Membrane. On the 300D you have to ask for them now, they are not a stock item anymore. Being a person who has one if if I was to do all over again I stay with 30" versus the 36". I am 6'4" and I hate the fact I cannot reach stuff in the back. Ace has a 250DD but since he has his as an island he can reach all the way around. Lighting big tanks the edge still goes to MH, but hey if you have the money go for it. I use 3 x 250w MH lumin bright pendants (825 watts total) with Radium lamps that average 16 months before changing.

I hear ya on not being able to reach the back well. An no, mine will NOT be an island tank. So this is a genuine concern. However, it seems that normal 300gal dimensions are 96X30X25. Man. 8' is a LOT of wall space. This is a decision that will have to be made once I know exactly where I am putting the tank.

[merlin0883]

Go with Buckeye field Supply on replacing your filters and Membrane. On the 300D you have to ask for them now, they are not a stock item anymore. Being a person who has one if if I was to do all over again I stay with 30" versus the 36". I am 6'4" and I hate the fact I cannot reach stuff in the back. Ace has a 250DD but since he has his as an island he can reach all the way around. Lighting big tanks the edge still goes to MH, but hey if you have the money go for it. I use 3 x 250w MH lumin bright pendants (825 watts total) with Radium lamps that average 16 months before changing.

I'm not opposed to MH's. I had two 150watt vipers on my 55gal. I had to change the bulbs about every 8 months though, because of the heat I guess. I definitely didn't get the colors that I wanted though. I tried the 10k, 14k, and 20k's. I ended up sticking with a 14k and a 20k, placing most of the orangish/reddish stuff under the 14k, and the bluish/greenish stuff under the 20k. I also had 2-48" HO t5's that spanned it, one actinic and one super actinic. The colors still never really moved me, though! But I like this. Any particular reason you give the edge to MH's over LED's...other than the money! I'm not rich, just want to do it up as perfectly as I can the first time, even if it takes a little longer to get it all together. Also, maintenance, as you all know, is a big money suck. How long do the LED bulbs last? Will I come out ahead on bulb replacements in the future if I get LED's?

[merlin0883]

Alright Ill bite on this one. I love planning out over-the-top setups for myself and customers its definitely one of the funnest parts of my job.

Tanks - Marineland no longer makes the DD tanks so I would go with either a DSA or Planet Aquariums 300g with PVC bottom. Pre drilled with corner or back overflows (your preference) and also pre drilled fro a closed loop on bottom with 1x 2" intake in the center back and then 4x 3/4" returns drilled on 2' from each end and 1' from the back and the front. And use a reeflo Dart/snapper hybrid pump to run the closed loop with an ocean motions 4 way.

Sump - Id go with a big sump as you will need to accommodate roughly 22.5 gallons of drain down for a tank with the 72*36 footprint. So I would go with a 48x24x16 sump refugium dimensions. That will give you about 35g of extra water holding capacity in the event of power failure. Also you have plenty of spare room to put the equipment. I would run 4x 7" filter socks, skimmer chamber, refugium chamber, to a section for the return pump intake. I would use a reeflo dart/snapper hybrid or possibly a hammerhead pump here as well so that it can feed your reactors, UV and the tank

skimmer - my preference being something along the lines of the reef octo diablo 300 or larger, or potentially the reef octopus POV series. I love the DC controllable pumps on these make feeding easy as well as using ozone easier.

Misc equipment -
UV go with uv sized for 400+ gallons, I like aqua ultraviolet for brands
Ozone - ozotech is a great company they make ozonators for more than just fish tanks and they are commercial build quality and have variable output which is nice when you need to crank it up cuz you over fed or are fighting a disease outbreak
GFO reactor
Carbon reactor
dosing pumps, I like the Bubble magus here cuz you get get 3 and then add up to 11 of them. I would start off running a bacteria source such as Microbacter7, reef biofuel, and a coral food mix
either a Calcium reactor or Kalkwasser reactor dependent on your coral goals, looks like mostly LPS so I would say save your money and go with a kalkwasser reactor
An Auto top off system either by and independent float switch or controller such as the neptune apex or the reef keeper elite.

Lighting, definitely would go with Radions either the Gen2 or Pros. Pros are nice as you will get more pop of color in the LPS from the near UV spectrum that is added as well as a more rounded color spectrum from the extra yellow. I have found that having all the LEDs in the same cluster with the same optics as opposed to multiple clusters has led to much better color blending and color rendition. I would say either 4 or 5 of these lights they cover roughly a 2x2 square. I have a customer with 3 on a 200g and it looks good. I would mount them 10-12" above the water and stager them with 3 in front and then 2 in the back.

And I would go with 4 mp40s for flow. less is better here (less output from 1 point source that is) you dont want to blast your corals with a jet of water you want a moving wall of water. multiples will serve you better.

This is how I plan on setting up my "realistic" dream tank lol

Are those tanks acrylic or glass? And does it matter? Plus I can't find them online. I found DSA tanks, but up to like 200gal, maybe 250. As for the sump--I'm looking for a lot more volume there. Maybe a 75-100gallon fuge and also a sump about the size that you describe--IF I can put it on the wall where I want it so that I can plumb through the wall to the garage and seal in a room in there for all this stuff. If not, I'll just have to do an under-tank sump like you described. Also, would you run UV all the time? I was told (way back when) to only run it if you had an algae bloom or ick, because it kills all the good stuff in the water too. And ozone? I've seen a little about it in the past couple of days, but have never seen it in use or had a recommendation to use it. What's the purpose? Don't know anything about GFO reactors. I assume carbon reactors are just a canister full of carbon? Won't that strip good stuff out of the water too? I like the dosing pump idea. What chemicals would you set up to automatically dose though? And I thought a Kalkwasser WAS a calcium reactor??? Is it for alkalinity? Definitely an outo-top-off system. And why LED's over MH's? And someone agrees with more smaller powerheads, I see. Sounded good to me. Sorry for my ignorance in some of these areas. I had an awesome tank at one point. I just want to make the "perfect" tank if I'm going to get into it again, and I've never had any of the reactors and other nice gadgets, so I'm completely unfamiliar with them!

[StevenSeas]

Are those tanks acrylic or glass? And does it matter? Plus I can't find them online. I found DSA tanks, but up to like 200gal, maybe 250. As for the sump--I'm looking for a lot more volume there. Maybe a 75-100gallon fuge and also a sump about the size that you describe--IF I can put it on the wall where I want it so that I can plumb through the wall to the garage and seal in a room in there for all this stuff. If not, I'll just have to do an under-tank sump like you described. Also, would you run UV all the time? I was told (way back when) to only run it if you had an algae bloom or ick, because it kills all the good stuff in the water too. And ozone? I've seen a little about it in the past couple of days, but have never seen it in use or had a recommendation to use it. What's the purpose? Don't know anything about GFO reactors. I assume carbon reactors are just a canister full of carbon? Won't that strip good stuff out of the water too? I like the dosing pump idea. What chemicals would you set up to automatically dose though? And I thought a Kalkwasser WAS a calcium reactor??? Is it for alkalinity? Definitely an outo-top-off system. And why LED's over MH's? And someone agrees with more smaller powerheads, I see. Sounded good to me. Sorry for my ignorance in some of these areas. I had an awesome tank at one point. I just want to make the "perfect" tank if I'm going to get into it again, and I've never had any of the reactors and other nice gadgets, so I'm completely unfamiliar with them!

Both companies will make custom tanks to any deminsions using glass. I would recommend going with a PVC hybrid bottom since the tank is 24+ deep that way if you drop a rock there is a whole lot less chance of the bottom breaking.

If you go with an in stand style sump the above sump system would work very well. It is basically (just larger) what I am running on one of my customers 200g tank and he his having amazing growth, and colors of corals and has a large amount of fish in there as well. If you have the space to do a larger system then thats great and will make life easier but a system like this would work wonders as well.

I recommend running UV all the time. If you have a proper flow through rate the larger animals such as copepods wont really be impacted. Also IMO when you turn it on just to fight a problem you are already in for a battle, I rather prevent losses rather than try to mitigate them. I think the good that it does outweighs the potential bad when you are considering how much you could possibly lose in livestock to ich or corals to an algae outbreak.

Ozone breaks down double carbon bonds in a large carbon chain. The larger the carbon chain is the easier it is for our eyes to pick it up and see it. So ozone breaks these compounds down into much smaller ones which does a couple of things: Makes the water visually clearer as well as leaves a "charged" carbon on the end of the chain which helps it attach better to the polar walls of the bubbles that are formed inside the skimmer. (basically turbo-charges the skimmer) Ozone also acts a little like hydrogen peroxide in that it does help some in fighting pathogens that may make their way into your tank.

GFO is short for Granular Ferric Oxide, which is basically a fancy form of iron rust that absorbs phosphates and to some extent silicates from the water. This helps prevent algal blooms

Carbon as you know absorbs dissolved organic compounds from the water which will result in clearer water with no "fishy" smell

A reactor is the most efficient way to run either of these chemical filtrants as it forces water to pass over each and every granule of filter media which greatly increases the surface area that is in contact with the water and will remove that much more "bad stuff" as well as last longer.

kalkwasser is a way to add calcium (and possibly mag and strontium depending on the kalk used) back into the system. A kalk reactor doesnt have any dosing regulation based on consumption, and is typically tied into the auto top off line. Since this is the case I typically use this to help maintain levels and then dose back up to the ideal level once a week or every 2 weeks depending on the calcium demand of the system.

Initailly I would dose:
Microbacter7
Reef Biofeul
Zooplanktos M or L (food for the LPS)

then once the chemical demands settle out and stay pretty even I would look at adding calcium, strontium, iodine, magnesium, alk, potassium, and trace elements

and dont worry the only way to learn in this hobby is ask and listen to everything with a grain of salt... and very careful planning before taking the plunge... But it is always going to be a fun ride :)

[alton]

I'm not opposed to MH's. I had two 150watt vipers on my 55gal. I had to change the bulbs about every 8 months though, because of the heat I guess. I definitely didn't get the colors that I wanted though. I tried the 10k, 14k, and 20k's. I ended up sticking with a 14k and a 20k, placing most of the orangish/reddish stuff under the 14k, and the bluish/greenish stuff under the 20k. I also had 2-48" HO t5's that spanned it, one actinic and one super actinic. The colors still never really moved me, though! But I like this. Any particular reason you give the edge to MH's over LED's...other than the money! I'm not rich, just want to do it up as perfectly as I can the first time, even if it takes a little longer to get it all together. Also, maintenance, as you all know, is a big money suck. How long do the LED bulbs last? Will I come out ahead on bulb replacements in the future if I get LED's?

With a 6 x 3' foot print you will have 3 sections 3' x 2'. With the list you have given you are looking at 600 watts of led versus my 825 watts of MH. With my pendants being vented on top they raise the water temp only about 1 to 2 degrees max in the summer, in the winter you will have to run heaters. Three coralvue luminbright pendants, ballast and Radium lamps run about $1K versus $2.5K? Your savings in electricity would be about $340 in 5 years and lamp savings of $720 in 5 years for a grand total of $1,060.

You missed the fun we had a few months ago with which is better LED or MH?

Steven that stinks with the Marineland DD, I guess if something happens with my 300D I will get my choice of which new tank I want? Marinelands warranty has always been great, so I am not worried.

[StevenSeas]

Steven that stinks with the Marineland DD, I guess if something happens with my 300D I will get my choice of which new tank I want? Marinelands warranty has always been great, so I am not worried.

Last I heard was they were clearing them out of the warehouses and I haven't ever heard back on availability so I believe that they are no longer being mass produced. I would assume that they would either give you whichever new tank you want or possibly make you another 300DD, it would just then be "custom". And yes their warranty service typically has been very good through out the years.

And in the debated between LED vs MH there is no true winner on a broad scale just on a personal preference level. And I prefer to be able to change my tank to toilet bowl blue, to red, to green and anywhere inbetween with the change of a dial instead of bulbs ;)

[alton]

I will have to admit the LED colors have come along way and the tanks do look nice.

[merlin0883]

You missed the fun we had a few months ago with which is better LED or MH?

This is unfortunate. I'll try to dig it up. Is it in the general discussion?