Starting my first big tank! (big to me anyway)

C

crny1

Premium member
Hello all,
I have been away from reefing for awhile and tankless. Today, I have verablly purchased a 300 gallon system that I intend to pick up tomorrow and get started!
Its a 300 gallon Mairneland tank with corner overflows.
I have alot of stuff left over from years prior that I will incorporate into this build. The list of equipment so far.
300 gallon Marineland tank
75 gallon sump
Reeflo Hammerhead Barracuda GOld Hybrid return pump
Areofoamer Skimmer (32" tall model)
(2) 400 w MH with pendants (upgrading real soon to Radion pros
Reef Keeper Elite
Chiller
Couple of reactors
Approx 100 ponds of dry rock
Got to get some better intank pumps for water movement - Thinkng a couple MP40's and a gyre possibly
Already have my old RODI - just need to get some new filters and DI resin

Couple of questions though. Before I always used Instant Ocean and quite frankly hated it.........Whats everyones thoughts on salt?
Will be a full mixed reef.
Sump will be plumbed to the basement to keep under the tank clean
I got lucky in the fact that the exact spot in the house where I want to put the tank has a 8 inch I beam through the floor from cement wall to cement wall of the basement so supporting the weight is no problem. Pics and updates to come! Cant wait to get started again!
 
crny1 said:
Hello all,
I have been away from reefing for awhile and tankless. Today, I have verablly purchased a 300 gallon system that I intend to pick up tomorrow and get started!
Its a 300 gallon Mairneland tank with corner overflows.
I have alot of stuff left over from years prior that I will incorporate into this build. The list of equipment so far.
300 gallon Marineland tank
75 gallon sump
Reeflo Hammerhead Barracuda GOld Hybrid return pump
Areofoamer Skimmer (32" tall model)
(2) 400 w MH with pendants (upgrading real soon to Radion pros
Reef Keeper Elite
Chiller
Couple of reactors
Approx 100 ponds of dry rock
Got to get some better intank pumps for water movement - Thinkng a couple MP40's and a gyre possibly
Already have my old RODI - just need to get some new filters and DI resin

Couple of questions though. Before I always used Instant Ocean and quite frankly hated it.........Whats everyones thoughts on salt?
Will be a full mixed reef.
Sump will be plumbed to the basement to keep under the tank clean
I got lucky in the fact that the exact spot in the house where I want to put the tank has a 8 inch I beam through the floor from cement wall to cement wall of the basement so supporting the weight is no problem. Pics and updates to come! Cant wait to get started again!
Click to expand...
Keep us posted

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
crny1 said:
Hello all,
I have been away from reefing for awhile and tankless. Today, I have verablly purchased a 300 gallon system that I intend to pick up tomorrow and get started!
Its a 300 gallon Mairneland tank with corner overflows.
I have alot of stuff left over from years prior that I will incorporate into this build. The list of equipment so far.
300 gallon Marineland tank
75 gallon sump
Reeflo Hammerhead Barracuda GOld Hybrid return pump
Areofoamer Skimmer (32" tall model)
(2) 400 w MH with pendants (upgrading real soon to Radion pros
Reef Keeper Elite
Chiller
Couple of reactors
Approx 100 ponds of dry rock
Got to get some better intank pumps for water movement - Thinkng a couple MP40's and a gyre possibly
Already have my old RODI - just need to get some new filters and DI resin

Couple of questions though. Before I always used Instant Ocean and quite frankly hated it.........Whats everyones thoughts on salt?
Will be a full mixed reef.
Sump will be plumbed to the basement to keep under the tank clean
I got lucky in the fact that the exact spot in the house where I want to put the tank has a 8 inch I beam through the floor from cement wall to cement wall of the basement so supporting the weight is no problem. Pics and updates to come! Cant wait to get started again!
Click to expand...
Awesome can't wait to see that beast up and running. As far as salt goes I use Reef Crystal and have been for the last year and have no issue with it what so ever, it mixes very well for me usually under an hour and never get cloudy. One drawback is that alkalinity does seem to be a bit high around the 10dkh and I keep my tank at 8 so I may be switching to something different that way I'm a little closer to my parameters

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Cubano32 said:
Awesome can't wait to see that beast up and running. As far as salt goes I use Reef Crystal and have been for the last year and have no issue with it what so ever, it mixes very well for me usually under an hour and never get cloudy. One drawback is that alkalinity does seem to be a bit high around the 10dkh and I keep my tank at 8 so I may be switching to something different that way I'm a little closer to my parameters

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I mix 50/50 Reef Crystal and regular IO to get alk down to 7ish. Plus IO is cheaper =P.
 
Missed the sale question.

I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt since I run full Triton method and it mixes at 7.5 dkh. 200 gallon bucket usually lasts me a year since I dont do water changes just top off when I sell frags or start up a qt.

HW Reef is the new salt everyone is going crazy for right now. Fully synthetic and doesnt break the bank. Just a bit too high dkh for Triton method.

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ninjamyst said:
I mix 50/50 Reef Crystal and regular IO to get alk down to 7ish. Plus IO is cheaper =P.
Click to expand...
That would require me to buy two different boxes of salt when I could just switch and call it a day lol ...but thanks for the info I may try it and see what prices comes out to if its worth it or not

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Well heres a update................. MY BACK FEELS LIKE ITS BROKE from lifting that monster!
Tank is in place! Some minor stand plumbing done and the hole through the floor to the basement is cut. Thanks about all for a few days because I fly out to texas tomorrow morning. Got to order new RO filters and membrane to start making some water! Pics later in the week when I get back and finish up the plumbing to the basement and start getting the sump ready.
 
congrats on the new tank! I use Tropic Marin reef pro. It's on sale right now through monday online at most places, though is more costly than some of the others. Local shops likely have just as good if not better deals on it. The setup I have works well with it, and it helps keep the alk stable.

Good time to shop for new equipment!
 
I do need a little guidance on the skimmer that came with this tank. I have never had one like this and I think I may need a different pump for it. Not sure how the previous owner had it set up. Not even sure how it all works exactly. Its a Aerofoamer 1625. Attached is a picture, just outside of the pic on the left side is a union and I am assuming this is the input. Which pump would you reccomend for it? Not sure how big it needs to be. How exactly is this skimmer adjusted? Do most people run it in sump or external? Thanks for the input!View attachment 25835
 
Well I am back home and getting started again. Attached is a picture I forgot to upload last weekend before I left. Working on plumbing today and starting to make water.
The display is 300
Sump is 65 gallon rubbermaid
Fuge is a 75 gallon tank
Chiller is a 1HP coralife
Skimmer is the aerofoamer 1625 like I mentioned before and I think the Mag 18 I have will run it.
return pump is a reeflo hammerhead barracuda gold
My RODI is only 75 GPD so its gonna take some time to get it filled. I will put up more pictures of the sump and stuff when I get it all plumbed up.
This is kind of a joint venture with my son. He has a 20 gallon in his room. Ok.....back to plumbing! More pictures later.
View attachment 25860
 
Well most of the plumbing is done! just have to plumb the 75 fuge into the sump. Going to be a job for tomorrow. Water is in and at 1.024 salinity. Temp is on its way up. Now I got to build something to hang the 400's because our ceiling is too high to hang from it. Skimmer is not online yet either but not needed right this moment. And if anyone was wondering I did not just add tap water. It was ROdi at 000 TDS. One step closer! Pictures tomorrow when I have cleaned my mess up around everything.
 
Nicely done! I'm waiting on a larger tank myself, only about half your tanks size though. I am planning a basement sump to go along with it.
 
Well the tank if finally getting somewhere. Lights are now up. The lights are temporary until I can choke up the money for LEDs, Radions, Hydras or Kessel. Just not sure which ones yet. the MH will suffice for awhile. Going to start some carbon tomorrow to polish the water alittle. I know there is no magic potion and reef tanks take patience but I tried something on this tank. We put 3 bottles of Turbo Start 900 into the tank 24 hrs after filling it and added 6 green chromis. I will say I think the stuff made me a believer. We have never seen any measurable amounts of Ammonia. We did see slight Nitrite level (.1 ppm) and then they were gone and we now have 5 ppm of Nitrates. 5 ppm is where I plan on keeping the tank. During this week the skimmer has been offline so there has been no real filtration. Skimmer is now up and running just to see if we can pull down the nitrate level with this large skimmer. Again, I am not a magic potion person but this stuff seemed to do the job. Will the tank still show a cycle? Its possible.......time will tell. The system is approx 430 gallons. The fuge is circulating water but I havent added any Cheato to it yet. Got to find someone wanting to get rid of alot of it. Would also like to find somone wanting to get rid of some sand to put a DSB in the fuge with the cheato. Anyway here is a picture with the Halides and 3 par 38 lights.
View attachment 25950
 
To add to the cycle and the turbo start.....
The sand was still wet and I am sure there was alot of die off in it but the rocks were dried out.
 
Well I finally found a tang I have been looking for. Well looking for at a good price any way. Picked up a Achilies tonight. Hopefully he stays healthy and makes it!
 
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