I am finally getting my large tank

[Twitterbait]

Well... with the help of a friend i am getting a 300 gallon setup. It has no plumbing yet so i will have to do that. what i want to know is a few things...

1. what is the turnover (gph) that i should have on the system if i have fish and coral.
2. How big of a skimmer am i gonna need to do BB
3. how many GPH should i set up on the bottom CLS and the back CLS when i move to sps
4. how do you scrape the front of a 30" tall tank without putting on scuba gear?

that is it for starters. odds are i will set one side up as a reef and leave the rest with minimal light for fish to swim around. that way i don't need as many mh setups.

[Pauli]

Congratulations!
I have always been told that between 8 and 15 times the tank volume for turnover. But others say to calculated the water velocity through the sump to some ??? flow rate somewhat determined by the size and flow to your skimmer. Then use some alternative method like Tunze's or other powerheads to increase the current in the tank. Sound kind of criptic sorrry I couldn't be more help.

[Twitterbait]

thanks Pauli... ok you guys... no pictures until i get some more help here!!!

[Wiskey]

If you go BB, I would go with the precision marine bullet 3, driven by an iwakia 70 with a couple mods. This is the setup Spanky uses, and it keeps his 350G nitrate free.

I think for flow he uses a iwakia 100 return no educator, and an iwakia 55 closed loop with an educator. He has outputs on the left and right, and switches ball valves every couple of weeks to give alternating flow but only uses one output at a time.

I am sure you could also go Tunze, but I can just quote what other people do because I have never even seen a tank this size.

HTH,
Whiskey

[Twitterbait]

ok, that is better... anything else I need to know spanky?

[Spanky]

Take more time to pick out your rocks.

Honest, take as much time as you need to get just the right rocks. You don't need many at all if you do that.

[Twitterbait]

ok... I just saw the cost of the PM bullet 3 alone and i almost choked. It costs over half of what the tank does to get the skimmer and pump... what is the gen-x equal pump for that skimmer?

[nu2reef-n]

Have fun with the 30" depth of your tank. My current tank is 31" deep. It's a chore to mess with anything on the bottom.
You need to buy a scraper with long handle, and don't forget the magfloat.
I know that tank. Nice setup, the stand and canopy are really nice. Have fun, that puppy is heavy

[Twitterbait]

I am trying to get a full crew to move it... and i will have furniture dollies.

[pcsdlszr]

I don't know if you're renting a truck to move it with but we did, went thru budget and got a lift gate trunk. I can't tell you how much pain it saved us. It was well worth the cost.

[Twitterbait]

the guy i bought it from is going to use his truck. I have no budget anymore.

[nu2reef-n]

Two of us carried it out of his house. It's not that heavy. I hope it's not going up any stairs.

[motorslave]

Congrats! Is this going to be an SPS tank? When you get into the plumbing take your time to think it over. Keep things simple, the more there is to mess with, the more there is to mess with .
Did you look at MRC for a skimmer?

Robert

[Twitterbait]

which one? I have been looking at the PM bullet 3 so far.

[Wiskey]

I like the Bullet 3 better than the MR-3 because the design is better. With the bullet 3 there is very little restriction in the riser tube. I am a big fan however of my MR-2, the design is better on the MR-2 than the Bullet 2 IMHO.

HTH,
Whiskey