Need advice on setting up my 330 gal

[elliotklinger]

Right now, I'm in process of setting up my 330 gal, 78 L x 39 W x 25 H, it's a custom made tank which I obtained through second hand sale.

I just created 30 gal wet/dry filter and 20 gal refugium tank( both are AGA tanks). However, I would need to figure out how much GPH pump I would need for my wet/dry filter. I have a pump that is 980 GPH, would that be suitable for outgoing flow into tank? Also, I have sqwid and oceanmaster osticalling device that I plan to attach at the end of outgoing pipe inside the tank.

I was thinking about the same for refugium tank, having outgoing pipe from it attached to either wave-maker device and wet/dry to other side. There'll be 2 overflow section made for each end of tank, with outgoing and ingoing pipes in each. Essentially, wet/dry would be dedicated to one side while refugium at other one. Which comes down to other question, what GPH pump would be suitable for refugium.

I'm trying to be conservative with money since I've poured so much on this project and I know I cannot afford to buy elaborate set-up. Most of accessories I have around house are either from my old set-ups or 2nd hand purchases.

Other question, I have 2 150 watts HQI MH pendants and 1 175 watts mongul MH retrofit. I'm stocked with about 6 of 32 watts T-8 bulbs by zoomed(coral sun and reef sun), 2 ballasts for dual 55 watts PC retro, 1 ballast for dual 96 watts PC, and 1 ballast for single 96 watts PC. Also, 1 ballast for triple 40 watts regular flo fixture (with triton and blue moon)

Which one would be more reccomendable to use on my tank, I've already worked out using 2 HQI fixture and a 175 mongul but what additional light(preferrably actinic since MH I'll be using are 10k) should I be supplying with MH fixture? I don't want to kill my electric bill but at same time having a well light tank.

I'm planning on having SPS (mushrooms and low-light corals) on the low part of tank and stony/hard frags on the top- affixated to pillars I would be creating around the tank overflow section- approx 12 inches from top at most.

Any helpful suggestion would be appreciated, I've been so used to 30-55gal reef set-up and never ventured into large scale set-up. I've forgotten a bit since last big crash in 2000 where I've lost huge stock of xenia, mushroom, and various frags....

 

[smorrow5773]

I would say you have ALOT of research to do, ditch the wet/dry especially since you plan on sps(which are the hard/stony by the way) and get yourself a good skimmer. You don't want to have to redo things on this scale later because it wasn't done right in the first place.

 

[elliotklinger]

I've done A LOT research, I'm marine biologist with speciality in coral reef conservation, lol.

I have more equipments I'll be using in my reef set-up, I just don't think they're worthy of mentioning because I'm focusing on 2 primary issues- lighting and pump, both topic has been heavily controversial for last decade and always change....

I got a skimmer, of course, a nice turboflotor made for 250 gal- I know it might not be large enough but wet/dry filter will certainly make up for loss on the low end. I don't even understand why you would remove wet/dry, that's basically cutting the system's life support.

The biological compontent of wet/dry is what filter the system, granted it's not a mechanical but still break down of macro waste in the structure will carry the similar function as mechanical.

I've seen some people going skimmer only but what I've seen from reef enthuastic and reef masters, 95% of them failed miserably by either massive systematic crash or other way.... My plan is obviously well researched and does provide a core support in conjunction with skimmer, no matter what, the tank will still funct normally.

Seriously, back to the point- I need advices on lighting and pump not opinionated view of my system.

 

[dochoot]

No opinions? I sure that won't be a problem on an open forum.

 

[smorrow5773]

I am sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I just got the impression that you were fairly new to the hobby when you referred to low light corals and mushrooms as sps. If you are going to use wet/dry I would say your pump will be fine along with internal motion, I am just more concerned about nitrate build up. I have used both pc and no for actinic supplementation, I prefer the nofl, seems to give a better glow.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Regarding lighting: You wil probably need to use every single light you have available on a tank that size. The tank isn't that tall, but its long and wide. To get good coverage (front to back) you are going to need better reflectors and higher power bulbs (atleast 250's, 400's would be better).

That being said, if you can only use what you have, you will really have to limit the placement of the SPS (hard/stony corals) to the upper part of the tank and in a small area under each light. Clams are out of the question IMO.

Flow is also a huge issue when keeping SPS. You would be fine with the return pump you mentioned, but do you have plans for aditional flow? You either need to run a closed loop with a minimum of something like a Sequence Dart, or you need to invest in a good set of Tunze Streams. Either way, you're looking at a few hundred dollars more.

Personally, I would recommend going FOWLR, or maybe just keep some sofites and shrooms. Use what you have, save up some money, and upgrade the lighting and flow (before attempting any SPS).

 

[ChemE]

I second the ditching of the wet/dry filter. This is old deprecated technology that is only reasonable in FO systems. The biological filter of choice these days is live rock (0.75-1.75 lb/gallon) and/or live sand (DSB, SSB, or BB).

I also second the A LOT of research also. Some of the questions posed in the initial post were somewhat rudimentary. A fully-stocked 330 gallon tank should cost in the neighborhood of $15,000 and contain quite a bit of livestock.

 

[elliotklinger]

Lol, again with criticism of my method... I'm aware of wet/dry system being outdated but still perform well despite the concern of nitrate spikes. What I was planning to turn it into algae scrubber- that'll be an effective modification. I'm backed with 24 years of experience plus a degree in marine biology. Surely, when new research comes out utilizing some of old technology meets with some criticism then later on, hailed as a revolutionary technique. People are still debating over Goeman, Schmike, Jaubert, and many of aquatic pioneers....

I'm working on acquiring dual 250 MH pendants which would accompany 150 HQi's. Then use 96 PC's or 32 watts T-8's to supply actinic.

I have a lot of powerheads and loc-lite which I'll be using to increase the flowing in the tank. I know I do not list whole thing or the complete work of my system but I'm trying to find out 2 main issue which is pump and lighting.

As for LR, I got about 100 Lbs and working on getting more- I'm aware I would need about 1 to 1 ratio when going large scale. As for variety of corals, I'm no idiot when it comes to what to introduce first. As you may have seen from first post, I made a mistake where I stated SPS as softies, that was added piece of information intended to be part of next sentence and I overlooked it.

I'm going with my all time favorite, green star polyp and xenia. Also, mushrooms on the low level. Xenia would be mounted in area where there's appropiate rate of current and the same for GSP.

Later on, when system stablize and I have the opportunity of adding more lucrative light such as 400 watts and T-5's, I'll venture into stony/hard coral. Probably acropora and hardy variety... I know montipora are hardy specie and can survive well under low light condition therefore become an ideal candiate for in between transition from beginnging of tank colonized with softies to hard/stony.

Right now, I don't have much money but I did managed to have one of most successful coral farm back in 2000 with low budget managment. Truthfully, $15,000 would be considered on the high end when you can invest about $3,000 if done wisely plus do a lot DIY.

My coral farm I had before, I only invested like $500, most stuff I got were free, 2nd hand purchases, and from previous set-up. I had 50 gal, 55 gal, 2 20 gal, and 2 10 gal full of approx 100 pieces of coral (softies and hard). I'm pretty resourceful and can really save a lot of money. (I had 40 varieties of mushrooms and I got them all for FREE!)

Tell me, guess how much my tank cost? Base or initial cost, I know most 330 gal of my specification goes for about $1,200 to $2,400...

 

[elliotklinger]

Would 2 x 250 MH and 2 x 150 HQI MH be good for first run? I'm thinking someday, I'll upgrade to 3 x 400 MH- maybe when I make more money...

Personally, I think I'll be starting FOWLR with mushrooms and polyp then I'll observe the tank once it's up and running to see how thing work together.

Correction- I have 2 oceanmotion devices and 1 scwid. Are those good enough to make sufficent motion in the tank? I was thinking about using 200+ GPH flows on them all and strategically place them the tank. If not enough then should I toss in additional powerheads? I got about 6 in storage that still work and would produce good currents for about 30" x 20" area.

Seems 6 powerheads would give a lot coverage... So xenia and green star polyp would thrive when I move on up to those class of corals.

I know this hobby can be very expensive but it doesn't have to be if planned well and being frugal. A lot of DIY is the key to keep the cost down.

As for fish, price has increased as of lately due to gas price rise. I used to see yellow tang in range of $8 to $15, as high as $20 per fish but now, lowest I've seen is $38....

Maybe I should elaborate a bit on fish for my tank- I'm not going with large fishes but small ones like damsels, banggais, firefishes, gobies, etc. The list I have created for my tank is about 20-25 of those fish and the bio-load should be very low therefore nitrate level would be almost non-existent. Largest of my list would be yellow tang which I plan to have 3-4 of them...

 

[Fiziksgeek]

It seems tome that your not really looking for advice here. Your plans havent changed based on any input you've received so far.

I agree that a large system not need cost so much money. When I upgraded from a 55 to a 135, I went to a reputable LFS and walked out with a big hole on my wallet. I am now upgrading to a 210. I am not keeping any of the equipment I got with the 135, and yet I estimate that by buying a couple of things used, and doing some DIY projects, the new 210 will cost half of what the 135 did, and be a far superior system.

I think that if you are to succeed, you will need to go slowly. Moving too quickly, meaning that you add all sorts of fish and corals before the system is ready, would be a disaster. Your lighting and flow will not be enough for hard corals and clams for sure. And your filtration system (wet/dry and skimmer) leave something to be desired. None of that means you wont be able to build a nice reef, but you will need to be diligent and move cautiously.

Heck, I know people that have success and all they have is a HOB bio wheel, a single power head, and a couple of PCs. But don't expect a TOTM out of it.

Good luck...

 

[wav3form]

A degree in marine biology and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee. A lot of us here are educated, that doesn't mean we're all experts at keeping reef aquariums. Just listen to what people are telling you and you'll do much better by learning from their past experiences.

 

[elliotklinger]

I know there's a lot of views, not all of them are the perfect but some has better advantage while other doesn't so there's always room for modification.

To be honest, I'm going at it very slowly unlike some would thought I went too fast. Right now, my plan for the set-up span almost 1 1/2 years from gradually adding lifeforms. Aft first, it'll be FOWLR then after 3-4 months, mushrooms and xenia. In 6-8 months, I'll try GSP and several montiporas. After 1 year and 2 months, I'll try SPS etc.

 

[elliotklinger]

I just acquired a nice 400 watts HQI MH pendant with 20k DE bulb. Right now, I'm looking for a ballast to go with it. Not sure if I can use regular MH ballast or I have to use the one specifically made for HQI...

So, would 2 x 150 HQI (10k), 1 x 400 HQI (20k), and 2 x 96 PC would be fine? Or should I try different supplement lighting combination?

I have following:

6 x 32 Watts T-8 zoomed 48" flo- 3 reef sun and 3 coral sun

2 x dual 55 Watts PC- 2 actinic, 2 50/50, and 2 10k

3 x 40 Watts T-12 regular flo- 3 Blue Moon and 2 Triton

3 X 96 Watts PC- 1 actinic and 1 10k (need to buy new bulb for 3rd)

I'm going with 4" DSB using kolorscape and oolic sand/marine sand. Soon, I'll be culturing about 100 lbs of live rock with seeding rock from my current nano reef- culture it for about 4 months under 2 x dual 55 PC in 50 gal lab tank (30 x 30 x 16)

I'll work on putting a full list of my system together and make it easier for everyone to understand what I have now plus what I plan to acquire for the tank.