300 gallon reef

[shanks]

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.also if anyone can tell me how to post pics that would be great.

[Coral Hoarder]

you lookin to go simple ?

and i would invest in leds

[reefme]

First thing first. Bigger wallet.

[shanks]

Originally Posted by scott tang

you lookin to go simple ?

and i would invest in leds

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?

[shanks]

Originally Posted by reefme

First thing first. Bigger wallet.

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

[jason604]

Originally Posted by shanks

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?

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

[Duncans n' Dendros]

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.

[shanks]

Originally Posted by Duncans n' Dendros

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.

[e46er]

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

[kien]

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).