doing a 300 gal - asking for advice

[sarens]

doing a 300gal mixed reef and would really like some of you folks experienced and expert opinions
-tank will be 120" x 24" wide x 26" tall

doing a new tank soft corals, anemones and fish, wondering what peoples thought are on equipment

here is what I am thinking:
-100 gal sump
-Ehiem in sump pumps
-Reef Octopus SRO5000
-Apex unit
-three 57 watt Aqua UV
-refugium in sump (no clue on this yet, will be my 1st one)
-lighting I'm still investigating
-MP60 with (2) smaller power heads for movement

-would love to hear some experts opinions (currently I have a 120 gal)

 

[Finland]

On a 10 foot tank, is 1-mp60 and 2 smaller powerheads going to be enough circulation?

 

[Tigerdragon]

I would look at gyre xf150 pump poss 2 one on ea end for a tank that big. Other wise you are looking at at least 4 big powerheads for flow like rw20's

 

[ChrisKirkland]

doing a 300gal mixed reef and would really like some of you folks experienced and expert opinions
-tank will be 120" x 24" wide x 26" tall

doing a new tank soft corals, anemones and fish, wondering what peoples thought are on equipment

here is what I am thinking:
-100 gal sump
-Ehiem in sump pumps
-Reef Octopus SRO5000
-Apex unit
-three 57 watt Aqua UV
-refugium in sump (no clue on this yet, will be my 1st one)
-lighting I'm still investigating
-MP60 with (2) smaller power heads for movement

-would love to hear some experts opinions (currently I have a 120 gal)

I would loose the UV and have 4 MP60's or similar power heads for flow. You could also always do a closed loop.

 

[dlondono]

Dont loose the uv's, you will regret it later

3 57w may be overkill. 80w or two 57w.

Also look at Jebao 55w uv, $100 and it does the same thing, ballast, quartz sleeve, bulb, water flows in and out. There is nothing sofisticated or complex about uv's

 

[ChrisKirkland]

Dont loose the uv's, you will regret it later

3 57w may be overkill. 80w or two 57w.

Also look at Jebao 55w uv, $100 and it does the same thing, ballast, quartz sleeve, bulb, water flows in and out. There is nothing sofisticated or complex about uv's

I have a 300DD and I never use UV, I don't see the need for wasting the money and electricity on them. Look up some posts about UV use in the reef on here. Just my .02

 

[dlondono]

UV sterelization has been proven to aid in algae control and Ich parasite
Uv when properly installed and operated works, regardless of tank size

Its great to hear that you can run the tank without uv and never had ich outbreaks that kill fish and cause $$ loses, most of us are not as fortunate

 

[TylerS]

I have a 300DD and I never use UV, I don't see the need for wasting the money and electricity on them. Look up some posts about UV use in the reef on here. Just my .02

I've read enough posts about people giving up the hobby after losing most of the fish due to itch to know that I'm running UV no matter what. It's really not that expensive to run compared to the time and money invested in a tank. The algae control is a bonus to me.

 

[Agioniko]

It will also keep our water clear. I would increase circulation. What kind of corals will you be putting in.

 

[nctinter]

What size tank are you coming from?

 

[sarens]

What size tank are you coming from?

currently have a 120 gallon, 60 x 18w x 26 tall with 40 gallon sump, no refugium

 

[sarens]

seeing your comments, thank you very much, I run a UV now and IMHO I do think it helps with alge and ich, knowing they cost money to buy run and bulb replacement I do still want them and understand it is a polarizing topic
-seeing common thought about more flow so thinking to add more heads for flow

 

[sarens]

It will also keep our water clear. I would increase circulation. What kind of corals will you be putting in.

just softs, shrooms, leather, zoos and if I get real brave I would love to venture into some easier LPS

 

[Trainwreck618]

Two mp60' and a couple mp40's would do you well, but if you don't want to shovel out the money for the mp40's check out the jabeao wp40's. They are really great power heads that move a lot of water. I do not prefer them for my display because of cords but I do use them on frag and qt tanks, they really are amazing, don't let the price fool you. Also, as far as lighting goes, I would look into t5 mh combos. Trying to light a tank that long will get expensive quick with leds.. That being said I prefer leds now that I understand how they work. They can be tricky at first. Your skimmer is awesome, I run the same one on my 300 and there is a couple hundred more gallons worth of tanks connected to the sump. And lastly, keep the uv's if you will not be strictly quarantining. I chose not to run them but I have strict quarantine procedures that take the risk away. Have fun with your build!

 

[jjk_reef00]

Depending how the tank is layed out you could start with 1 mp 60 on each side of the tank.

Use 1 uv, but do not rely on it to control paracites. Make sure to properly QT all your fish or you will regret it on that large of a tank.

 

[sarens]

Depending how the tank is layed out you could start with 1 mp 60 on each side of the tank.

Use 1 uv, but do not rely on it to control paracites. Make sure to properly QT all your fish or you will regret it on that large of a tank.

thanks for the advice, I have been doing QT for the last 2 years, did something stupid in my current 120 and now have ich, planning on running all fish thru the QT before moving any into the new 300 gal., then let my 120 sit fallow before I move any of that rock or inverts over

-got an opinion on how long to sit fallow?

 

[Trainwreck618]

6 weeks should be fine, 2 months if you really want peace of mind

 

[sarens]

6 weeks should be fine, 2 months if you really want peace of mind

yea I will do the 2 months, that is the safe way, thanks

 

[jjk_reef00]

thanks for the advice, I have been doing QT for the last 2 years, did something stupid in my current 120 and now have ich, planning on running all fish thru the QT before moving any into the new 300 gal., then let my 120 sit fallow before I move any of that rock or inverts over

-got an opinion on how long to sit fallow?

From here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2159738

It says:
"I normally encourage a minimum of 9 weeks of a tank being fallow in order to eliminate the parasite; obviously 12 weeks would be better still."

I left mine for 14 weeks because I am paranoid but that was years ago.

There are a lot of great stickies in that forum with a ton of information about disease thanks some of our knowledgable members.

 

[sarens]

From here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2159738

It says:
"I normally encourage a minimum of 9 weeks of a tank being fallow in order to eliminate the parasite; obviously 12 weeks would be better still."

I left mine for 14 weeks because I am paranoid but that was years ago.

There are a lot of great stickies in that forum with a ton of information about disease thanks some of our knowledgable members.

thank you very much, I read everything on that sticky, very good information, just see a range of opinions on duration, I like your 14 weeks, I am a patient man and never want to go thru this again, one and done and 100% QT after this, in the immortal words of X-Files "trust no one"; everything is going thru my QT before it gets into my DT
-excellent site with tons of knowledge, hopefully I get experienced enough someday to offer some meaningfully contribution