[Myka]

I replied in red.

Originally Posted by Hustler

My 300 has a giant sump with room for a skimmer,
I would love to do a reef setup with a community of fish and critters and right now I am trying to price out a rough cost to get going...

-Salt Instant Ocean is about $45-50 for a 160 gallon pail.
-Skimmer Look for Euro Reef, Vertex, Skimz, SWC, Bubble King (if you have $). You're looking at anywhere from about $500 USED to $2000+ for high end models.
-Big mother lights Halides will light up to 30x30" depending on which reflectors you use. This would light a full blown reef. Approx $1000-2500+. T5 fluorescent would be a good choice for mostly fish and a few corals. A couple of 48" fixtures with 4-6 tubes in each would do just fine. Approx $500-1500+.

-Live rock/live sand No need for live sand. That's a gimmick.
-water/light measuring tools Refractometer $40-60. Hydrometer $10. Hydrometers are good for quick testing, but are notoriously inaccurate so you need a refractometer to calibrate a few times per year.
Here is what Im working with right now,
300 gallon 96x24x30 with a 6x18x24 sump and a Giant pump (from pices store rack system) How big is this pump? How many GPH? Too big and you will get tonnes of microbubbles in your display from the skimmer. Tons of mag powerheads and fresh water drip automatic system with chlorimine carbon filters run into the tank and drains to the sewer. This system will need to be modified. You don't want top up water going straight from the tap. If there is no limit it leaves the door open for really big oopsies. Like if a solenoid fails all of a sudden 150 gallons of freshwater go into the tank without you noticing. Use a reservoir for auto top up so that there is a limiting factor. Use redundancy. Tunze puts out a VERY good auto top off for $200.
Where I am at right now.......
its still up and running fresh, so Ill dump it and scrub everything dismantle the sump and figure out how to rebuild it for salt IE no bio balls or sponge or adding new baffles protiene skimmer could you post a pic of your sump?, reactor ect ect and go from there as a brand new build. A reactor for GFO (granular ferric oxide) is a must have in my opinion. It absorbs phosphate which is the number one algae "fertilizer"...not something you want! A second reactor for carbon is a good idea too, but carbon can just be put in a bag in the sump if needed.
I will probably do half live rock and half base, do i need to go with live sand? Like I said, no live sand. Buy as much live rock as you can afford. Look for "used" stuff for a good deal. Try to get someone experienced to go with you to look so you don't buy rock with a lot of pests (figure out what Aiptasia look like...Google it). Find used rock for $3-4/lb. The more base rock you buy the longer it will take for it to become live rock, and you will fight with nitrate possibly for 18 months before the anaerobic bacteria have colonized enough to denitrate. I despise base rock, and personally refuse to use it.
Can i fill it with filtered tap water and comercial salt mix or do i have to go with an RO unit? would it be safe for the live rock so i can start the bio cycle? I would highly suggest RO water, unless you are just doing fish only. Test your tap water for nitrate and phosphate and see what you get. My tap water has 2 ppm nitrate and 0.5 ppm phosphate which is not good for the reef. If you're just doing simple corals you may be just fine using dechlorinated tap water.
Im in no hurry for fish and corals but I would like to set it up right the first time and have a good base to pick and choose where it will eventually end up
any advice is greatly appreciated..... I hope to get into meetings and whatnot here soon once i know what im doing LOL

Originally Posted by Hustler

I have soooo many questions..... everything i read contradicts the last page i was on lol. I would like a few corals but Im not looking for a big garden....Ill use a few fake ones and toss some real ones around them....
-will 300lb of live rock be enough or can i cut some down with live sand? amount of rock is a personal choice. More rock more biological filtration...however, get too much and you'er limiting fish swimming space. Personally, I like about 3/4 lb per gallon to have a decent amount of rock for filtration, but still lots of open swimming space. Live sand does not replace live rock. Don't use very much sand, it just traps detritus. Deep sand beds are old school and are a lot of work to keep properly or they will eventually pollute your tank. I like 0.5-1" of coarse sand. I don't like Oolite/sugar sand...it blows around too easy. Try 2-3 mm.
-Is our water decent enough to use with a carbon filter for water changes and filling? For fish only, probably be just fine. If not, you can always upgrade later.
-Will i need a chiller/UV/CO2? Chiller, no...unless you have poor ventilation, no central AC in house, and use halides. UV isn't needed, but can be useful in tanks with a lot of fish to help control Ich but most people don't buy a UV that is big enough to be functional for anything more than killing water borne algae. If you want to kill Ich in 300 gallons you need about 150 watts of UV plumbed into the return line. That's an expensive unit. Anything smaller won't kill Ich. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't have a clue. CO2 is used for a calcium reactor which you won't need unless you really get into corals at which point there are different options for dosing calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium.
-are bio balls useless in a sump as apposed to a bunch of live rock?
- Bioballs can be useful in fish only tanks to allow you to keep many more fish, but will be nitrate factories. If you can figure out a way to export nitrate (like macroalgae culture) then they work well, but for you I would suggest you not try it at this point.

You will also need some test kits. A Seachem Ammonia Alert patch is great for in the sump...replace it yearly, it's only $7. Nitrite is not harmful in saltwater unless well over 100 ppm, so don't worry about, and don't bother with a test kit. Nitrate is important to keep in line. I like the Salifert kit. Alkalinity is another one you should have to help indirectly control pH. You wil probably have to dose an alkalinity "buffer" every once in awhile. Baking soda works just fine, keep it around 7-10 dKH. I like the Elos kit, but API is pretty good too. As long as you have a skimmer, keep your alkalinity good, and use live rock pH won't be an issue so don't bother with a test kit...they are inaccurate anyway. If anything, buy a handheld digital pH meter for $50.

Oh, and don't buy damsels. They are DEVILS. They get big fast, and can run the whole tank (IE kill all the newcomers). They are evil.

PS: This is my 6,000th post. I think it's a good one.