My 300g Upgrade

[lotsofgallons]

just got her home yesterday. 300g display, 125g sump

i will be finishing the stand with mocha stained oak and cabinet doors, as well as a matching canopy to house 4x250w MH

dimensions are 96x30x24

i have already begun to move everything over from my 90g, heres a shot of the tank empty in my living room last night...stay tuned for progress!

 

[Justin James]

Very nice. So what are your plans for this beast? I notice that it looks like you have a cathedral ceiling so hanging lights might be more difficult than normal for you if you choose to go that way. May I suggest Luminarc lll reflectors.

 

[steve the plumb]

thats the exact same tank I want

 

[lotsofgallons]

got everything in plus 100 more lbs of lr...

 

[steve the plumb]

pics are a little blurry.Can you give us more info on setup.Thanks

 

[drummereef]

Wow, looks like a cool setup. Definitely need more info on the equipment.

 

[lotsofgallons]

once i get the canopy on it will house my 4 250w mh

the tank has a partitioned 125g sump with a refugium

the pump is an external in-line, pushes out around 2500 gph

i just built the skimmer for this tank out of an old pool filter, you can read about it here:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1125532

water movement is aceived by 2 small seios, one large one, 2 mj 1200s and the return pump exits into the tank through 4 pipe exits

250+ lbs of live rock, for now

 

[steve the plumb]

are you getting a chiller.I don't know if I want to go with MH because of heat.How much did you spend on lights.I was looking at 3 options myself 2 x 48 constellations $650 without bulbs,solar flare $799 without bulbs,ATI power moduale $950 without bulbs again I need 2x 48 inch unit all in all close to $2000.I think MH pendants would be cheaper maybe 3x 400 watt pendants but the heat will ba a killer

 

[lotsofgallons]

before this tank i had a 90g with 2 250w mh sitting about 6 inches from the water in a vented canopy with 3 small household fans blowing on them and the water temp was a constant 78 without a chiller. Its all about how well ventilated your canopy is.

i got all of my lights and ballasts second hand so the cost was a fraction of what they are worth.

 

[steve the plumb]

problem is in my room it gets humid and summers are hot.My old 150 had 3 pendants on it with a fan blowing across the tank.The room itself got to humid and hot so it was impossible to keep the tank temp under 84 without my portable A/C unit

 

[lotsofgallons]

ive been working on the canopy for the last couple days..ive got the structure built and just added trim but still have to get the hinged doors on the front, the vents in the sides and stain the whole thing. the canopy is built from red oak:

 

[steve the plumb]

very nice looks solid

 

[lotsofgallons]

applied the stain and 1 coat clear coat today! i used Minwax Provincial

 

[lotsofgallons]

got the beast on tonight! sorry for the crap pics

 

[GenWhoop]

awesome canopy!!!!!!!!