If you know large tanks--please read--240 gallon

r2odie

r2odie

Member
Hi. I am in the process of purchasing a glass 240. It comes with a huge wet/dry driven by 2 Iwaki pumps, a 30RLXT & a 40RLXT. It also has an Ocean Clear canister filter, 2 uv sterilizers-a 40 watt Emperor Aquatics and a 15 watt Aquanet Systems, driven by a small powerhead in the sump. I will be purchasing a protein skimmer & lighting.
My question is: what, if any, other equipment will I need?? and do I need to use all that it comes with??
I would like to keep the system as simple as possible.
Thanks very much!
 
All you need is a GOOD skimmer in a sump with carbon and a GFO. Then for the tank some circulation and lights
 
i would also recommend removing the bio balls that comes with the wet dry and putting live/base rock in there. also, a quality skimmer will probably cost as much as the tank, at least from my experience.
 
I highly agree. If you are setting up a REEF tank a wet/dry filter is no good at all. If you are setting up a fish only tank then a wet/dry is ok. But for a tank that size you should get a custom made sump. I highly recomend it! And make sure you get a very good skimmer! (Euro Reef, Deltec, ETSS, PM). There is alot of other little things that you'll need. The rule of thumb is "if you only want to spend (ie. $1,000.00, plan on spending $1,500.00 min.) I'm in the process of upgrading my 135 to a 240 or 300g right now and slowly getting the right equipment for it. I have already past the 10K mark a few years ago. Do alot of reading, and ask alot of questions first. Good luck!
 
douglaslindsey,
i agree i need a sump and probably a refugium. thinking maybe i can use a 55 gal. tank and combine them. i am looking now for a good deal on a very good skimmer. do you like any of the ones you mentioned more? what equipment are you planning on having on your upgrade? thanks.
 
i want to try to find a really good skimmer for a really great price!
i have been looking alot on this site for a used one.
 
First you will need to tell us what you plan to keep in your tank??? If your looking at SPS. You will need a lot more flow than 30 and 40 iwaki's.. In a 240 that about enough flow for goldfish... A strong skimmer is a must, don't cut corners!!! Also strong lighting for SPS. If LPS you could get by with VHO's, PC's or T-5's. Also with larger pumps and lighting. You might want a chiller... This hobby can be very expensive. And very rewarding at the same time. Figure a minimum of 50.00 per gallon for a fully stocked SPS reef. And that's on the low side....

Happy Reefing
 
i plan to keep some sps, not too light demanding ones, maybe some clams. i believe the tank is center drilled with dual returns on the ends. i will see it this weekend.
 
Hello, let me tell you from ongoing experience, don't get the big tank just because you get a good deal on it! Because soon after you get that puppy filled with water and salt , some sand, and some rock, you'll find out that a decent skimmer for that size tank will cost you more money than the tank, the lights will cost more than the tank, the flow will cost you more than the tank. Thats not to mention calcium reactor,reefkeeper for automation, test kits, auto top off, rodi, etc.
I just recently found out the hard way, I traded my nice 120 for a older 220 and most of my old equipment is useless, all the good used stuff for cheap doesn't come around that often.

Patrick

p.s. I have a 220 thats been cycling the last six months and am looking for top of the line equipment for dirt cheap: skimmer , tunze streams, controller,etc.
 
yah.. big tanks = big equipment bucks..... i paid about $1,500 for my tank/stand/canopy.. thinking "hey that's not bad"..... now after skimmer/uv/pumps/lighting/vortechs/reefkeeper2/liverock/custom sump/sand etc. etc. etc. it's approaching about $8,000..... no use turning back now..... but i never in my wildest dreams thought it would be so expensive....... in this hobby going "Big" is safer or more forgiving but also much much more expensive....
 
Yep I have to agree with all the comments before, the tank is the cheapest part of your build.
And as you know this hobby is a hobby of patience and you will need a lot of it.

I am in the process of setting up a 185 gallon tank and beleive me it is not cheap, even for someone that works in a
marine aquarium and gets everything for wholesale prices it is still not cheap. Dont try to skimp on anything as it will only cost you in the long run.

David
 
Yeah, wait till you need more flow... Than you go out and buy (4) Tunze 6200'S and a controller, for a mear 2,000.00. If your are going large in this hobby. The tank should be your last purchase.... You first need to research the type of coral/ fish you would like to keep. Buy all the support equipment first and tank last. So when you get finished, your finshed. And can have cash for ongoing expensives and maintenance. It took me a year to aquire all my support equipment... My last purchase was the tank itself. I have way to much money into this tank.. But it's the best hobby and it keeps me outta trouble...
 
if you are worried about cost, maybe you should start out with a softie and easy to keep lps tank that don't require the intense lighting and flow of a sps tank?
 
not too worried about costs. just alittle worried if i go from a 90 to a 240 i might be getting in over my head!! my tank is fairly easy to maintain and don't want the 240 to be a major hassle! i want to know ahead of time what i am getting into!!
 
This is my upgrade plans. I started with a 30 gal tank. I brought a lot of high end stuff for the 30gal that i could use on just about any tank: reef keeper controller, ph monitor, ORP controller plus 200mg of ozone with reactor, ATO system, carbon reactor, phosban reactors and really nice RO/DI. Now i'm upgrading to a 90 gal and i'm buying a lot of new thing. So everything i buying for my 90gal will also be used on my next tank which will be a 240gal.

For my new 90 i'm buying a deltec Turbo 1060 skimmer rated for a 270 gal heavy stocked tank, 2x 6000 tunze stream[which be upgraded to 6100 for the 240gal], 2x 250 mh and 260watts pc that will all also be used on my 240gal.

This is to really help spread the cost out so i don't have to buy a lot all at once for my next upgrade.

so for my 240gal mixed reef i plan to use:
reefkeeper controller[you might want look into the new reefkeeper 2]
Skimmer: deltec Turbo 1060 skimmer
lights: 4x 250 de mh and 520 watts of pc
pumps: 4x 6100 tunze streams and maybe a wavebox or 2
90gal will be use as a sump/dark fuge.
30gal will be a frag tank with 4x 39watt t5s.
LR: 500lbs [200lbs will come out of my 90/30 gallon].

When all is say and done i will have spent well over $10000, but when i do upgarde from my 90 to 240 it will only cost around 3000.

I would just really plan this out before you do get over your head.
 
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