300 gallon reef
 

Well I have finally decided after 20 years of fresh water that it is time to build a reef. Why not start large. I have a 300 gallon empty and ready to go. Please feel free to offer any advice for start up and let me know if you have any extra stuff kicking around.:biggrin:also if anyone can tell me how to post pics that would be great.

you lookin to go simple ?

and i would invest in leds

First thing first. Bigger wallet.

I am not looking to go simple per say but it doesn't need to be complicated if possible. I do hope to have a black sand bottom. How deep should it be?

Not sure what you mean? What trouble are you referring too?

Do 2-3" deep. Deep sand bed can be very troublesome. Also think about get 1-2 sifter gobies. Will make ur life a lot easier

Well i was totally in the dark when I started and I regret doing a few things. One was buying a freshwater tank(non drilled, with a canister filter) It works but just dont feel I have the filtration that could potentially be there. The other is, I wish I would have painted the back of my tank(my choice would be black) The last thing would be that I went custom, but there have been many changes in what kind of tank I want so maybe thats personal(I think everyone goes through stages in thos hobby). It can be very frustrating dealing with everything from ick to cyano to bubble algae to aptasia. It can also be very rewarding with the beauty of it all. Patience is key and yes get ready to open your wallet. There are ways of saving money though. Dont be cheap on lights or skimming. Keep your eye out for deals in the classifieds and kijiji. Good luck and have fun.

Yeah I have a stainless steel mirror the length of the tank. It is drilled but will prob. Go canister. And thanks a lot for your input.

Don't use a canister just sump skimmer LR carbon GFO

More pics!! And speaking of which..

1. Get yourself an account on flickr.com or photobucket.com if you haven't already done so. Both sites have smartphone apps if you're taking tank pics with your smart phone.

2. upload your picks to one of those photo hosting sites mentioned above.

3. When you post a topic/reply, the editor has a bunch of icons at the top. One of those icons is a yellow square that has what might look like mountains on it. That's the image link icon. Click it. you'll be given a dialog box to past the URL (address to where your image is hosted on the photo hosting website).

Get ready to be patient. And then wait some more. There is nothing instant about saltwater comparatively to freshwater.

I grow and breed discus and angels (well not ME literally, but rather the beautiful scaly creatures) in planted tanks and that is a piece of cake compared to aging and maintaining a saltwater unit.

Invest in liverock if you can afford it. It is amazing and the capacities of bioload increase dramatically. As for sand, I tried a DSB but prefer a BBT for controlling silicate/algae exposure.

+1 to the lights, skimmer and sump for filtration.

Thanks for the input but do not understand a lot of abbreviations.

Only advise I have is look at setups that are similar to what you're looking for, keins tank for example, look at the equipment they're using, look at how they have things setup.


There are a lot of people on here who have a lot of experience. Best way to learn is dive in but it never hurts to get a head start as far as information goes.

With a tank that size, I would personally stay away from canister filters.

DSB- deep sand bed
BBT - bare bottom tank
LR live rock
GFO - granular ferric oxide - removes phosphate

welcome to the salty board :biggrin:
like some others said...drilled tank with overflow box is best as it will make live easier.
There is a lot of information on DIY(do it yourself) but some things nowadays its cheaper to spend the extra buck and buy brand name equipment.
I like the look of sand as I recommend the course type as its easier and cleaner look in the system for not having it blown everywhere.
Decide on the type or look of your aqua-scape around what your planning for inhabitants of your reef.
As some will tell you go all live rock or all dry rock,I recommend mostly dry rock with some safe live rock from a fellow reefer for seeding the dry...There are few types of rock to chose from and aqua-scape.
I always believed for a loaded sump with rocks for all types of critters for a healthier reef,...as you will see from my next build thread(coming soon)
For a system your size you will have a larger selection of all types of fish no impulse buy and be very and I mean very careful on how you treat and add the fish to your system ...
Corals is the last thing you need to add as your system matures and make your additions slowly...I have run into lots of people wanting system setup and ready in a matter of days believe me its only shrinking your pocket change well its more your bank savings:biggrin:
Ask lots of questions as there are lots of folks here with tons of information and knowledge on reefing..........Almost forgot never stop to enjoy every bit of this vast and informative hobby:biggrin:
Oh welcome from all of us http://www.fijireefrock.com

If you want a good introduction to reef tanks then go on YouTube and look up NewYorkSteelo. You will learn a lot by watching all his videos and you'll get a pretty basic understanding of some of the hardware involved. Then come back here to CanReef and check out as many tank journals as possible... trust me you'll learn a ton!... and yeah... we need pictures stat!!

It sounds like you are fairly new into this process. A lot of the advice given here is good, but I would spend much more time doing research before getting any more equipment.
For basic chemistry, biology and equipment nothing beats the book "The Reef Aquarium" by Sprung and Delbeek. Most LFS will carry it, or it's pretty cheap on Amazon.
As far as online sources, this place is good, but for a tank your size, I would spend a lot of time reading the Large Tank forum on another site (I don't know if I'm allowed to mention it, but think of the words REEF, CENTRAL and .COM). There are many build thread of large tanks and much usefull information that is particular to large builds.