300 gallon reef ready Tank

[truegrit]

Ok so I know its going to cost a pretty peeny but I decided last year I was going to get into saltwater tanks. So I ordered a 300 gallon tank, and now I have it sitting where it will stay, Lord it is heavy....lol. I have read a number of books most of what seem to be out of date, talked to numberous folks, and read hundreds of threads on what seems to be like a hundred diff saltwater fourms. what Im wanting is everyones input on what all I need to get this tank running the right way, from the top to the floor, it has a 100 gallon sump tank. I have ideas of what im looking at just wanting the imput of folks that have been doing this for a while. I have an idea on live rock and live sand. I know to do it right you must take your time.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Welcome to Reefland and Congrats on your decision to enter the hobby with care!
Is this tank going to be a reef or fish only? There are a few important differences when it comes to equipment. Most people start as a fish only and end up converting to a reef down the line. If you may add coral and sensitive invertebrates, best to start it off as a reef tank. There's a in depth thread called Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium that should provide a good starting point. Lighting and filtration will have to be addressed once you get back to us on the type of tank you're planning to care for.
Oh ya, save yourself some trouble and invest in a RO/DI system as well.

[truegrit]

Reef i could of swore I put that in there lol I guess not Thanks

[chrisfont23]

Wow. That's a hell of a tank and going to be beautiful. Ask questions and take pictures. Good luck.

I would also invest in an ATO. Something tells me you'll need it in this heat.

+1 on the RODI system.

[truegrit]

Yeah I planed on running a ATO and I have a RO/DI system already running I breed Poison Dart frogs aswell so I kinda needed the RO/DI for them.

[chavez]

wow that's gonna be awesome! I'v got a 120 and i love it the only thing i wish is would have gone bigger!!! Wow you got poison frogs that's cool can you post some pics?

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Reef i could of swore I put that in there lol I guess not Thanks

Lighting, nitrate control, phosphate control and balancing calcium/ alkalinity/ magnesium are going to have the biggest impact on overall reef health. What are the dimensions of the tank? Can you post pictures of your current equipment and list your setup plans so far? Assuming your tank is taller than 24", you'll probably be better off with metal halide lighting. Do you plan on using a deep sand bed or shallow? How about a refugium? What type of flow do you plan on using (wave makers, power heads, closed loop system, etc...) Generally speaking, total flow (from all your pumps and powerheads) should be around 30x total system volume. So for your 300 gal DT and 100 gal sump, you should try to aim for 12,000 gallons per hour of flow.
IMO, the gallons per hour guideline is generic and depends on many more things than just total volume.
Let us know where you're at in the planning stage, what you wish to accomplish with the tank and maybe we can fill in the gaps with some specific answers you might be needing.

[twisted]

only 300 gal? thats barely larger than a nano.....
welcome to reefland! cant wait to see some pics of the build. if you do it right, you'll have a killer setup! just take your time and learn, learn, and learn some more. you found a great place to get good advice and info. good luck!!!

[The R/C Man]

Welcome to Reefland!

When I was designing my 375, one of the most important features to me are fail safes. Especially when running the plumbing. Try to run everything as direct as possible with a minimum number of joints etc. As you can imagine a small leak on that system can be a huge mess. I am assuming the tank is a reef ready tank? If so that helps considerably. Ensure your sump will handle the overflow of the tank when the power goes out. If you don't already know, multiply the L x W x H (to the bottom of the overflow slots) then divide that number by 231. That will give you how many gallons of overflow space you need in the sump. If you could post a picture or design idea that would help us point you in the right direction....

[The R/C Man]

Here is a bad copy of my design plan. Hopefully it will give you some ideas.... Oh, I have 4 pairs of darts currently and planning to get four more pairs and start breeding them.