Need advice on a new 300 gallon

[kozwalter]

Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum. Just found out from a friend
I had a 17 gallon Nano at home and it is very stable .
Livestock
It had one percular, 1 small purple tang, one algae blenny, a small yellow gobie, one maroon clown, one green chromis.
All been living for the past four months, no problem.

Coral;
I have zoos( lots of them), Siphonogorgia Godeffroyi, mushroom, 2 torch, Sea mat.
Also got a bubble anemone who is occupied by the maroon clown.
And lot of cau. plant.
And i have a Porites on top which been growing
My secret to keep all this stable is I change water every week, 5 gallon.

Now here is what I need advice on;
I am thinking of setting up a 300 gallons reef.
What dimemsion is good for tank size ( let say I can get it custome build)
I was thinking about getting a solaris LED light, is it good ?
or what light should I consider?
How big of a sump do I need?
What type and size of skimmer to use ?
Do I really need a chiller if my lightning is LED?
and any other advice you can think of...
Because I know it a whole different story from a 17 gallon to 300 gallons, not to mention cost.

[dannieboiz]

If you're deciding on a 300 you better make it happen fast. That size tank is not anywhere near enough space for your poor little purple tang.

[kozwalter]

Yup, he is growing fast and I want to make it fast , otherwise, I have to trade him in

[Elite]

To Reef Central and BAR Forum
You will have a lot of good advises here.. starting with your 17G tank.




This will be a good thread ..

[sfsuphysics]

I am thinking of setting up a 300 gallons reef.
What dimemsion is good for tank size ( let say I can get it custome build)
Seriously? It's a preference thing, what do you have room for, what do you want to see? You can get a really long tank, or a taller tank, or a tank with more usable room (i.e. a semi-cube design). If you want to save money stick with the standard sizes, if don't mind spending the bucks go with what peaks your interest, cut out some cardboard and stick it on the floor to give you an idea of a footprint it'll be and how you'll enjoy it, access it, maintain it.

I was thinking about getting a solaris LED light, is it good ?
or what light should I consider?
IMO (and many others too ), no. While LEDs might be the future of the industry some day, it ain't today. It's over priced for what it does. Want decent lighting? Use Lumenarc reflectors and MH setup you can find, deeper tanks you might want 400w bulbs, but if you're not that deep or not keeping too many hard corals 250w isn't bad either.

How big of a sump do I need?
Hard to say, enough room to house all the equipment that needs to fit in there, plus room for a power failure when the tank drains a bit. If you have a really fat skimmer, obviously a bigger sump. I don't think there's any formula for how big you need.


What type and size of skimmer to use ?
Can't honestly say with a tank that large. Also depends upon your budget, there are a lot of high end skimmers out there H&S, BubbleKing, EuroReef, Deltec. IMO Ask over in the Large Tank Forum.

Do I really need a chiller if my lightning is LED?
ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY! If you need one with MH lighting you damn sure need one with LEDs of similar brightness, simply because the heating of your tank is going to be primarily from radiative means with lights, basically light energy entering the tank. Don't by the hype of the PFO fixture.

and any other advice you can think of...
While larger tanks tend to be WAY more stable, they also have an issue of when they go out of whack it's incredibly hard to correct them. Not to mention there is a LOT of maintenance on larger tanks that is leaps and bounds more than a small nano. Think about what you're doing and if you really want to do it before doing it. If it's about a tang in a larger space might want to consider another person's tank. You can also do a smaller tank too, 100-180 gallon size usually has ample room for a tang or two.

[Psionicdragon]

Originally posted by kozwalter
Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum. Just found out from a friend
I had a 17 gallon Nano at home and it is very stable .
Livestock
It had one percular, 1 small purple tang, one algae blenny, a small yellow gobie, one maroon clown, one green chromis.
All been living for the past four months, no problem.

Coral;
I have zoos( lots of them), Siphonogorgia Godeffroyi, mushroom, 2 torch, Sea mat.
Also got a bubble anemone who is occupied by the maroon clown.
And lot of cau. plant.
And i have a Porites on top which been growing
My secret to keep all this stable is I change water every week, 5 gallon.

Now here is what I need advice on;
I am thinking of setting up a 300 gallons reef.
What dimemsion is good for tank size ( let say I can get it custome build)
I was thinking about getting a solaris LED light, is it good ?
or what light should I consider?
How big of a sump do I need?
What type and size of skimmer to use ?
Do I really need a chiller if my lightning is LED?
and any other advice you can think of...
Because I know it a whole different story from a 17 gallon to 300 gallons, not to mention cost.

Depends on length or width and your preference.

I like long tanks so I can see across, but I have a friend who has a wide tank which is also nice.

Get lumenarcs for your lighting needs.
Sump - 60-120gallon with baffles
Skimmer - VOLCANO! or something around that level.
Chiller depends on where you live and how hot it is
Also need a huge bank account for the expenses that you will incur especially electricity bill.

[stubbsz]

Originally posted by sfsuphysics




Do I really need a chiller if my lightning is LED?
ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY! If you need one with MH lighting you damn sure need one with LEDs of similar brightness, simply because the heating of your tank is going to be primarily from radiative means with lights, basically light energy entering the tank. Don't by the hype of the PFO fixture.

Not sure I agree with that. If you are in Livermore and your tank is in a sun-room then yes. I'm keeping my tank under 83 today and it's hot and I'm not running AC, although it's getting uncomfortable and I've lost the will to work and started answering RC questions.... so it may have to go on soon. I'm in San Jose. Seriously, if your room stays an OK temp you can keep a pretty good temperature with strategically placed Fans... I have one in the sump and a bunch in the canopy.

-Adrian

[Qwiv]

OK, you have a 17 gal tank for 4 months with a bioload that is about ready to explode and you think your ready for a 300 gal??? Unless your made of money, which if you are I would like to pick your brain, a 300 gal is a bad idea.

Try taking care of a 90 for a year or two. Your wallet will thank you.

[Psionicdragon]

Hes an IT guy! they make 6 digit figures !!!!

If he is made of money, a 300 g would be a good idea since it gives you more room for error. But thats just me.

[dannieboiz]

Originally posted by Psionicdragon
Hes an IT guy! they make 6 digit figures !!!!

Man, that's gotta be the joke of the year.

Out of all the IT guys I know (trust me I know a lot, I'm in SJ) I can name 2 that makes 6 figures.

But Qwiv's got a point. However, if I had to do it all over again, I'd jump straight into the biggest I can afford and fit into my desire location. I upgraded 3 times in 4 years each time beside the last, I doubling the size. And no I didn't start with a 6g nano . I'm beginning to think that I should of just doubled again on my last upgrade.

Point here is that, if that tickle his pickles, then let it be. It might be the smartest thing he's gonna do in his reefing career.

Lets not harrass the fella and lets give some advise.

[sfsuphysics]

Originally posted by stubbsz
Not sure I agree with that. If you are in Livermore and your tank is in a sun-room then yes. I'm keeping my tank under 83 today and it's hot and I'm not running AC, although it's getting uncomfortable and I've lost the will to work and started answering RC questions.... so it may have to go on soon. I'm in San Jose. Seriously, if your room stays an OK temp you can keep a pretty good temperature with strategically placed Fans... I have one in the sump and a bunch in the canopy.

-Adrian

I was specifically addressing the whole point of "With the PFO LED setup you don't need a chiller..." statement the company makes, not if you need a chiller in general. Really don't like that marketing campaign they've done with that.

[dannieboiz]

With that much water volume, I don't think you need a chiller. Water temp will rise so slow that it would be cool before it gets leathal? I dunno just thinking out loud.

you should be able to get away with with a bunch of fans. There are a lot of people that use just fans w/o a problem.

[jedininja]

Originally posted by Qwiv
OK, you have a 17 gal tank for 4 months with a bioload that is about ready to explode and you think your ready for a 300 gal??? Unless your made of money, which if you are I would like to pick your brain, a 300 gal is a bad idea.

Try taking care of a 90 for a year or two. Your wallet will thank you.

While I completely agree that his tank is way overstocked and stocked way too quickly, I dont see the point of taking care of a 90 first. In the long run, it will take more money to upgrade twice. At least with a 300g, he wont be able to afford to max out the bioload very easily.

[sidog1]

I personally like wide tanks and think they really add to the tanks. In regards to lighting, there are alot of t5 options as well as metal halides. Like Mike said, led's are just not cost efficient as this time. So maybe a wide tank with a couple of t5 fixtures, Sfigilo has some nice t5 fixtures...

[dannieboiz]

Before we make any equipment suggestions, especially lightings. I think kozwalter need to figure out the dimension that would fit in his space. It's obvious that kozwalter does not have any idea what the dimension of a 300g tank may be. He got it all reversed, you figure out the dimension before you get the volume

[Psionicdragon]

8 feet by 24 inches by 30 inches is a standard tru vu 300 gal .

[kozwalter]

Wow, thank for everyone advice.
The reason I want a big tank is because I don't want to have to redo it again. I had hear from other that if you can do it , should do it big.
As far as room. I delicate on room in my house for fish. Currently, I have serveral tanks that house cichlids and arowana. The size of the tank is 570 , 300, 65
and then the nano 17 gallon which is salt water.
I have a perfect room for a 300 gallon that can be 7ft accross.
My neighbor had a solaris led which was very impressing when he show me. it allow him to program it which such thing like cloud, moon, slowly dimming as it like in nature.
He have serveral acropora which are doing real good. He got the led refur and it was not too bad. Plus he said that the electric bill when down alot compare to the metal halide he was using before ( halmilton 400w)
I think that I will get a big EuroReef skimmer.
I am still debating whether to get a chiller or not.
My house seem to stay very cool, even on day like today. i live on the east side of san jose.

[Elite]

Any pics of your fresh water tanks?? I really like to see the 570G and 300G.

[kozwalter]

this is the nano

[kozwalter]

this is the 300 gallon

[Elite]

How about the FW tanks??

[dannieboiz]

You'll be the 3rd 6 figure IT guy on my list.

I think a wider tank will be nicer. Since you can house a 7ft tank, TruVu have a 72x24x24 which is a 210.

If you go the custom route, 72x30x30 would be a bada$$ size. But then again, you gotta pick a tank that's porpotion to the space in that room. You don't want to be the tank to take up all of the living space.

[sid700]

I'm interested in buying your nano once you upgrade.

I've decided that ease of maintenance takes priority in planning for a tank. I plan on having my tank for a long time, so if I don't enjoy something - like hauling water for water changes - I'll find ways to make it easy for me to perform this essential maintenance.

So, think about how you are going to maintain your tank and whether the space and location that you have will accomodate the needed tasks. Do you have enough outlets? Enough amps? Near a sink and drain? How easily can you access pumps, outlets, etc? Can humidity be a problem? If power goes out, what happens? What happens when you go on vacation?

my 0.02 cents.

[kozwalter]

Sid700 had a great advice. Maintenance is what i have to think of.
Right now Humidity is not so bad because of the high ceiling. I had build in a drain pipe in the fish room so when I change water, all I do is run a hose down to it. For fresh water tank, when the power go out, all you reallly need is the battery pump and I got that on all of them. It detect the plug and when there are no power it turn on, this had save my fish in the past. I do have really costly fw fish.
But for sw, I guess i have to get a UPS. I do have lots of those laying around, just have to figure out the size that I need to use.
And there are amp, I have one xtra outlet of 20 amp in that room now , do I need more?
Man, this sound more and more like building a network room, back to what I used to do .

[Elite]

I don't know how big your UPS is but the small one for PC doesn't last long. For tank this big, I would get a generator.

I don't think 1 20AMP is good enough but that will be depending on what kind of equipment you are using. Have at least 2x20amp, 3 if you can.