Looking at new tank(s)

[Neonguy95]

Looking at either getting 240 or 300. Glasscages.com have some great prices. What kind of lighting? I found some lighting on ebay. That combined VHO and halides. 300 watters 48" so I would need 2 of them. They sell for right around 500 a piece, just need bulbs.

What do you guys think? Gonna run a sump on this tank, probably use a 29 gallon for it.

Just gathering ideas.

[Red Sea Purple Tang]

Ooooo....Rusty diving into the big boy tank......

Glasscages.com is awesome. Very tempting.

The lighting will depend on what you want to keep. Always answer this with the future in mind so you're not having to replace $1000 worth of lights.

The 240L is a sweet tank.

Because you're at a depth of 25", personally, I would go with 400w Metal halides. And at a length of 8 feet, I'd go with four. Depending on the MH bulbs you choose will determine the amount of supplimental light to add. IE: If you go with 10k or 65k Halides, you would be looking at adding some actinic tubes to the hood.

Sometimes getting the hoods already assembled can be more expensive than having a custom hood made and adding all the lighting parts (reflectors, bulbs, ballasts, etc...) together seperate.

Some advice on picking lighting is to see some bigger tanks with different halide set-ups. John Stephens is running a 65k on the left with a 10k on the right. I'm running 20k's. You can get a great idea on what your tank will look like this way. But again, plan your lighting with the end in mind. You may not want to do clams and SPS now, but smacking 1000 watts of VHO on a tank could kick ya in the butt later.

Just to make things more fun, the types of halide bulbs you choose will make a difference on the ballasts.

As far as the sump. 29g will be way to small. You will wind up having 2g of water in the thing just to make room for the water that will enter the sump in an event of a power outtage. With a tank that long, 8', personally, I would use a 55g or larger or even custom sized to fit a sump/fuge combo. This will also have bearing on the design of your stand.

Don't mean to drop the info bomb on ya. If you want more specific bulb/ballast info, let me know, or give me a call and you can stop by.

[Neonguy95]

I will probaby take you up on the offer to stop by. This is still in the early planning/saving stages.

Building a motor for the car first, so I still have quite some time.

[LargeJohn]

Anthony has already given you some good advice--as usual!

You can decide what creatures you want to "ultimately" keep and design your system (tank, stand, lighting, and sump) with this in mind. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that you have to buy everything on the first day. For example, if you decide on Metal Halide with VHO supplementation, you could start with 2 or 4 VHOs and add the halides before you decide to keep SPS or clams.

The sump will affect the design of your stand. That is the area that I wish I had given more consideration to. You might be very surprised if you compare the cost of setting up a 55 gallon sump versus getting a custom-made acrylic sump that can be set up to your specifications (i.e. refugium, skimmer chamber, return area). If you're planning to keep many calcium consumers (SPS, LPS) you will probably want to make room for a calcium reactor, and you'll probably want to make plans for an auto-topoff system.

Sounds cool!!! Keep us posted.