Need advice first sunp, skimmer, pump and lights for 300 gallon

[LivingSeas]

So I need to figure out a bunch of firsts..

I will be buying a 72x36x27 300 gallons shortly.

How big of a sump should I use? I know bigger is better buts what is reasonable and not overkill?
It will be in the stand. Recommendation on the dimensions of the tank? Interior dimensions of the
stand should be 67x31x31. I plan on a refugium.

What brands of cone skimmers are considered reliable? I dont want a cadalliac, but it needs to work well,
low maint, etc. In-sump or external?

What size pump would you use for a 300g tank? GPH? In the sump or external? The pump will be right
under the tank.

I want to LED for the lights. Any idea how much light I need for a tank this size? I want to
be able to grown any coral. Total watts I guess? Would 3x 120 watt units work (120 degree spread)?

How big should the heaters I buy be? 2x 500 watt? 2x 1000 watt? How do I figure out whats needed?

I have a TON more research to do, but I want to make sure I am heading in the right direction.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[mnat]

For a sump you can go with a custom acrylic which is great but can get pricey and you have to get one built which can take time. This way you can set it up excatly as you. You can also buy like a non reef ready 120g glass tank and get glass cut to create baffles. You will save money but is more labor intensive and glass can obviously crack.

Skimmer wise: If you are going internal you just have to make sure it will fit in your stand and have the sump area and water level at the correct level (or go with a recirc and you don't have to worry as much about water height). External gives you a bit more flexibility but if you want everything in sump it is not going to hurt you.

I would look at the Reef Octopus models, they are great bang for the buck and very highly regarded.

Return pump: Internals are great but add heat, externals are great if you have the room and can drill your sump to lead the pipes out of. I dont' really know the names of the good ones so people will chime in.

Lights: I think you are making a good choice with LEDs. Watts per gallon was a very old measure of light and especially with LEDs that number no longer holds water. Now you want to look at light spread and light penetration to see what would work for you. Depending on your budget there are dozens of really great LEDs out there, it is really going to be what your preference is.

Hope this all helps.

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

With a tank that size I would do a basement sump oin a fishroom. The marineland stands are very short so you'll have a difficult time finding a skimmer to handle 300 gallons of bioload and fit in the stand.

 

[TanksNStuff]

First off, I agree with Jcurry with plumbing to a basement fish room sump/fuge if at all possible. If not, then do yourself a favor and don't buy the typical Marineland standard stand. Sure, they look like they're made for the tank (and they are) but they usually aren't tall enough to comfortably house a sump and all your misc. equipment. I'd recommend building your own custom stand or asking someone around here to help you make one. It's usually just as cheap if not cheaper and you can custom design it for what you need (# of doors, door sizes, side doors, electrical panels, controller mounting panels, etc.)

As for a sump, the biggest you can get the better. There really is no "overboard" but I'd recommend at least a 120g size as a sump. Keep in mind though that if you decide to go with an external return pump and/or external skimmer... you might need to get a sump that's a little shorter length-wise so you have room to mount the pumps and run the plumbing through the side of the sump. Also, I think you should use a glass sump and add your baffles to suit your needs. This way, you can customize each chamber to your specific needs. For instance, if you go with an internal cone skimmer... you'll need to make sure you have the foot area to fit it in there. If you want ideas on building a sump... This is a great site to check out. He makes custom acrylic sumps but you can use his designs to come up with your own build if you don't want to spend the money on a custom built one.

For skimmers, I think most people would recommend the reef octopus as Mike mentioned. I have a Bubble Magus and love it, but although it runs awesome, many people who buy them complain about the pumps and impellers getting stuck or broken easily. Maybe I was just lucky to have gotten a really good one, but there are too many complaints to say you wouldn't have a pump problem. Whichever you choose, I believe the cone designs are far superior to the straight cylinder types... so make that a priority.

For a return pump, I again direct you to Marc's site and click on the "How a sump works" link. Really great info on how to determine which size return pump you need, as well as other useful info.

LED's are the new rave and it's hard to argue why. Although they are a bigger initial expense, in the long run they will save you money with regards to electric bills and not having to replace bulbs every year. Not only that, but if you get dimmable versions you can also control the color and fine tune it to your liking (or what makes your corals grow better). There are many options for adding colors like greens, reds, purples, etc that typical T-5s and MH's don't come in. Plus, to top it all off, there is way less heat generated with LED's than the other types too.

As far as which brand to get, that's really a hard question. It will mostly depend on how much you're willing to spend and which features you're looking for. Do you want dimming? Do you want dimming to be by built-in dials, or do you want to connect the drivers to a reef controller and have automated control and features like sunrise/sunset, cloud passing, lighting storms, etc.? That's where the cost can start to climb with dimming and controlling models.

After you decide on dimming/controlling types, you also have to consider the dimensions and especially the depth of your tank. Many of the popular brands like AI Sol and many of the "Amazon" and "Ebay" no-name brands from China aren't designed to get good PAR in wide areas for deep tanks. They work great for shallow tanks like 18" - 22" deep, but you are at 27" deep. I have Apollo Reef LED's and they have excellent PAR at deeper depths and in a wider area than AI Sol's. The optics used and arrangement of the LED array is what affects the coverage and penetration.

Lastly (and certainly not least) you will want to consider what type of heat protection your LEDs come with. Having proper cooling is super important because LED's that get hotter than their designed temp can and will have a shortened life span from overheating. Therefore, make sure your LED is built with a quality heat sink and fan(s) to pull the heat away from your LED's. While you're considering these options, don't forget to weigh in the noise factor of the fans. Some of them can be loud enough to make you get rid of them regardless of how great the lights look.

Ok, enough on LED's. For heaters, I'd recommend getting 2 smaller heaters instead of 1 large heater. If one breaks, at least you have a backup to keep the tank in acceptable ranges. Also, if you set them at slightly different temps, then you may only have one working at a time unless the outside temp really drops. This is much more economical with 2 lower watt heaters than 1 bigger watt unit.

To determine wattage for each one, you'll need to consider the difference between the temp you want your tank to be and the temp of the room your tank is in. If you keep your house on the cool side, you may want to opt for the bigger (600w or 1000w) heaters. If your house is normally around 72-74 degrees F (even in winter) then you can get by with 2 x 500w heaters.

Hope that helps.

 

[Hawkeye]

just to add - you can't measure the sump size based on the stand size. You have to measure the sump size based on the width of the door on the stand. Otherwise you can't get the sump in.

Now one method to get around this is to "drop" the sump in from above but then it's a one-and done proposition as you will not be able to get it out again unless you break down the display. Some people cut a hole on the side of the stand...not sure i would do that.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Phil, that's why I recommended building your own stand... so you can have an opening big enough for whatever sump you choose.

 

[LivingSeas]

With a tank that size I would do a basement sump oin a fishroom. The marineland stands are very short so you'll have a difficult time finding a skimmer to handle 300 gallons of bioload and fit in the stand.

The stand will be custom. And the entire setup is in the basement

 

[LivingSeas]

Thanks Phil and George for the advice. Lots to think about.

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

The stand will be custom. And the entire setup is in the basement

Then I would build a filter room behind the tank.

 

[fisheye]

Tagging along. I am planning on a 250 -500 gallon. We have not decided on the location for the tank yet.

 

[ds4x4]

Then I would build a filter room behind the tank.

Or next to it if you wanted to hide your sump

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

 

[reefsandrotts]

The biggest thing to rember is if your doing a custom stand have whoever you order the tank from submit the drawing to marineland,
if you dont use their stand the warrenty is VOID.
However if their engineers approve your plans your warrenty will be unaffected.....

 

[ultracorals]

If the cash is not an issue I would look into the MRC bio sump or the 24x48 reef sump. They also have some serious skimmers.. I love mine.