I cant decide 220 or 300

Thanks Karsco, yea I just looked at the DAS (Dutch Aquarium systems) site again not be confused with DSA, yea according to LFS in my area DSA went belly up right after Christmas.
So I just watched a video from Mr Saltwater on YouTube and he said DAS has been in business since the 70's which really gives me a good feeling and I love their stands really nice looking and I actually like the dimensions better not as wide as the DD so it will fit better up against the wall and not in the middle of my living room.
Lets see if they call back i think I tried getting a hold of them before and they never responded, which is not really a good thing
 
I cant decide 220 or 300

I ordered mine from planet aquariums. You are correct that DSA is out of business. Miracles is very reasonably priced and well built and I almost went with them but planet is a few hrs from me and ship to my local store for free so that did it for me. Also there was a member that ordered a tank from exotic aquariums out of Florida and his tank was really nice. I got a quote from them too and their pricing was good. Again with free shipping and a cheap price I chose planet over them.

Here is his build thread.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2519090
 
Just talked to Kurt from DAS, really nice guy and took the time to explain everything and give me the options that they have and i think I am going to go with them i like the dimensions better and its cheaper than marinland, thanks clownsrcoo, i am going to check out those other two before I put in my order.
 
I am probably out of the norm here, but with cost being a big factor, that seem like a sh!t ton of $$ for just 80 gallons more.
I am always saying to myself and reef pals, wow I can't believe how much $$ I have in my system and I am only @ 230ish gallon total water volume. Things get expensive very quickly.

I vote 220 gallon and put a little more $$ into some higher quality equipment(will save more in the long run), from what you are saving from the up front cost of what the 300 gallon would cost for just the basic equipment and be happy! 75 gallons to 220 gallon is still a big jump is tank size.
 
I had the same dilemma and went 220. Quite frankly, the $$$ needed for just 80 gallons more was more than I'm willing to spend. And I LOVE the 300DD foot print. I figure that size will have to wait until the kids are out of the house. Heck, I may even go bigger. Pretty sure you'll be happy with either tank. I get the whole regret thing as I'm a buy once cry once kind of guy. Also helped that I got a great deal on a 220 tank/stand/canopy with starphire front on from my local club. Best of luck whichever way you go!
 
ClownsRCoo said:
What are the dimensions of the tank you like from DAS?
Click to expand...

280Gal (96x26x28) 36 inches on the DD just seems way too deep for most spaces, I am glad I got on here and talked it out with you guys, went to my new house and put a tape measure out and it is just too overwhelming for the room.
 
RedStangGA said:
I had the same dilemma and went 220. Quite frankly, the $$$ needed for just 80 gallons more was more than I'm willing to spend. And I LOVE the 300DD foot print. I figure that size will have to wait until the kids are out of the house. Heck, I may even go bigger. Pretty sure you'll be happy with either tank. I get the whole regret thing as I'm a buy once cry once kind of guy. Also helped that I got a great deal on a 220 tank/stand/canopy with starphire front on from my local club. Best of luck whichever way you go!
Click to expand...

Thanks, yea nothing wrong with the 220 that's more than double heck triple the tank I have now. So yea if I cant decide on the 280 DAS I will probably just go with the Marienland 220 of the shelf and save myself a ton of money
 
Couple of questions i cant find any answers on are
1. Which is better in sump or external protein skimmer.
2. How far you call you run your plumbing lines for the sump if its on the same level, or is it just a matter of the pump that has to push the water back to the aquarium from the sump.
 
I cant decide 220 or 300

These are my opinions:
External vs internal skimmer- I can't say one is better than the other. Each has pros and cons. I prefer internal because I don't have to worry about leaks in anymore plumbing that way. Downside is you can only go so big with an internal one so its not possible for giant setups. Some smaller internal ones also have the pump located inside the body which basically decreases the skimmers useable space. Some internal ones also use specific pumps that can't be changed with any ole pump. So when the pumps needs replacing you have to buy that same pump.

Externals can use any pump you want. Can go huge in size if needed. But is just another area for potential leaks. Pump is also external so I guess it cuts down on the overall heat going in the tank too. Takes up valuable space in a stand if you need it. If they overflow and you don't have it draining into something it goes all over your stand or fish room
 
Do yourself a favor and skip the 300 and step it up a couple notches and go straight to the 450. You will thank me later mang.
 
Lol, the other day i was reading a thread about a guy asking for information on how to make his swimming pool into a reef. I think im pretty set on the DAS 280
 
Well I pulled the trigger and just put in my order for the 280 DAS, they said like 30 days for delivery. Now the wait begins and search for a sump and skimmer begins
 
I have the 8' 375 from das great tank ,... Love mine built like a tank and the cleanest seems I have seen , but I agree with fdawg ... It's been almost 1.5 years(still don't have skin) and I wish I went bigger and not 30 deep. some great advise above , I like the post about saving for exactly what you want and enjoying the 75 while you can , it took me about +1 year to see the results in a large tank..stock it fully , stable ,growing tank. I only recently added expensive coral and fish.Point is if you gonna wait 1 year to have a mature stable environment it might as well be exactly what you want.
 
I don't think I can really go much bigger for the size of my house/living room without it looking ridiculous. An 8 foot tank i think is pretty good that's double what I have now and I don't want to be tank poor I still need to change the water and as the guy on BRS tv said salt aint cheap.
 
oddly enough i'm about 10-15 minutes from DAS but have had the hardest time getting responses from them ... I know most manufacturers dont sell direct to the public and some do only for custom work... figured i'd contact them seeing as though they are actually closer to me than any LFS that sells larger or custom tanks... been about a month and no response to voice or email yet.. doesnt stop anything for me since im in my planning phase but eventually i'd love to talk to those I contact!
 
druzzelle said:
oddly enough i'm about 10-15 minutes from DAS but have had the hardest time getting responses from them ... I know most manufacturers dont sell direct to the public and some do only for custom work... figured i'd contact them seeing as though they are actually closer to me than any LFS that sells larger or custom tanks... been about a month and no response to voice or email yet.. doesn't stop anything for me since im in my planning phase but eventually i'd love to talk to those I contact!
Click to expand...

Yes I had the same issue and I was ready to give upon them, I am 50 years old and I like talking to a real person before I drop a few thousands dollars. I still have hard time buying stuff online I like to touch feel and walk out the store with my stuff when I hand people money, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way anymore.
My suggestion is to keep calling them and try pushing the different buttons I pushed 2 yesterday and talked to a really nice guy named Kurt. And the other thing is you can send them a quote request, My guess is that they probably get so many BS calls that they probably just limit to people who put in actual requests, so I put mine in yesterday and lets see if they call me back. I will keep you guys informed how it goes.
 
TonyB13 said:
Yes I had the same issue and I was ready to give upon them, I am 50 years old and I like talking to a real person before I drop a few thousands dollars. I still have hard time buying stuff online I like to touch feel and walk out the store with my stuff when I hand people money, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way anymore.
My suggestion is to keep calling them and try pushing the different buttons I pushed 2 yesterday and talked to a really nice guy named Kurt. And the other thing is you can send them a quote request, My guess is that they probably get so many BS calls that they probably just limit to people who put in actual requests, so I put mine in yesterday and lets see if they call me back. I will keep you guys informed how it goes.
Click to expand...

I completely understand that! I'm a disabled vet... but moreover i'm the type that likes to actually go home with what I purchase as best possible! with something this substantial I really do expect to have some conversations with the vendor to help answer questions and ease my concerns and find out if they are the right route for me to go... i've heard great things about them from people that got in contact but also have heard my own "hard to get in touch with" stories from others as well
 
druzzelle said:
I completely understand that! I'm a disabled vet... but moreover i'm the type that likes to actually go home with what I purchase as best possible! with something this substantial I really do expect to have some conversations with the vendor to help answer questions and ease my concerns and find out if they are the right route for me to go... i've heard great things about them from people that got in contact but also have heard my own "hard to get in touch with" stories from others as well
Click to expand...

Thank you for your service and sacrifice, I have another 7 years left before I get to retire. Yea I am not sure why they are being that way I don't understand, my dad was a business man and this goes against all business sense maybe they will see this post and make some changes
 
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