Newbie needs advice! =)

[Bijjy]

Hey everyone! I have been reading non stop on here for the past couple days and been learning quite a bit. I have visited several of the LFS places around the Beaverton, Tualatin, and Portland area and they all give me conflicting advice. So I thought I would ask you guys. =) I am looking to keep a 300 gallon reef aquarium. 96" L x 24" W x 30" H. Would you guys recommend acrylic or glass? What is a good price for a new tank this size? Also what is a good price per pound of live rock? Any input you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

[Bijjy]

Also I was thinking that 10,000 MH would be the best units to place on my tank. However, if there is something cheaper than MH which would work just as well I would appreciate any suggestions. Also a good price for 10k MH lamps would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Amit

[Tasher80]

Well first off you say you want a reef tank. Great. What kind of corals are you looking to keep. LPS, SPS, softies? It really depends on the lighting. You can use Power Compacts for softies but not SPS. I have PC and keep a few LPS and they are doing great. If you are ever planning on having SPS then MH are a must. MH are what im trying to work out in the future. I think I payed $4.50 a pound for Live Fiji Rock. The place I got it from is no longer in the business.

[Bijjy]

Thank you for responding Tasher, I appreciate all the input I can get. =) I will keep the price of live rock in mind. I am planning to introduce livestock into the tank slowly, however, I do intend to keep SPS, LPS, anemonies, inverts, and fish. So i suppose Mh will be a must. If I could find out what a good price to pay for 10k lamps is I would greatly appreciate it. Also a comment on what is better glass or acrylic tanks, along with appropriate pricing.

Thanks in advance,

Amit

[SPC]

Originally Posted by Bijjy

Also a comment on what is better glass or acrylic tanks, along with appropriate pricing.

Wow, such a controversial question so early in the morning .

You can find people that like both, but in all of the reading I have done on the boards over the years, glass wins hands down, especially among former acrylic owners. The only problem with acrylic is that it scratches too easily and always has.

I am also setting up a large tank (96" x 32" (wide) x 24") and am going with glass after much thought. Acrylic would be much easier for me to set up due to the weight alone, but that scratch thing and me would never get along.

Usual responses to my scratch concerns are:

"Steve, you can buff the scratches out on acylic". Yes but I have also read where people say that if it is a deep scratch, you can still see a dull area where the scratch was removed.

"If you are careful you will not scratch the tank" . Well I'm not, so there is no need to try and fool myself into believing I suddenly will . The vast majority who have owned acrylic have said this is just not so, one small grain of sand is all it takes. Also, my understanding is that urchins will scratch acrylic with there mouth parts. This makes sense to me seeing as they can eat rock.

Steve

[Bijjy]

Thank you for that insight! =) I was told Acrylic scratched easily but i didnt know a single grain of sand would scratch it up, bleh. For larger glass tanks is there a particular brand out there that does a great job? Or am I stuck lookin at All Glass and Oceanic (pretty much the same company anyway.) Also if anyone has what would be a fair price to pay on new 10k MH lamps and a 300 G glass I'd appreciate it.

Cheers,

Amit

[jeepjon]

too much for my blood, that's how much....good luck on your venture...I hope you have a lot of equity in your home ;-)

[Bijjy]

I'm a college student =) How's that for equity? =)

[Deuce24]

I would go glass too. I want keep an 80g, and the weight isn't as much as a 400! but the fact you don't have to be 'quite' as careful with it is nice, especially if you place LR on/next to the glass/acrylic. As for the LR, you'll find prices from $4-$9!! $9 per pound is just ridiculous, and if they aren't the only LFS for 50 miles, you can generally find it for a respectable $5. If you find a larger LFS, a lot of times they'll give you a decent discount if you tell them you'll be buying 400+lbs of it too. Maybe even give you a discount on a whole bunch of the stuff if you tell them your plans for a 400g reef tank (agree to buy the LR, tank, stand, canopy, lights through them). You'd be surprised how much they'd like your business. I have a lot of places around here willing to do that, even for an 80g, but then again I'm in SoCal, although I'd prefer Western Oregon (Corvallis area), sigh...

PS. I'm am a recent college graduate, so how's that for finances? I've already accumulated all my debt!

[goodfortune]

Wow, that's a big tank for a 1st timer!

If you plan on keeping SPS and LPS, I agree that MHs are the best choice. Watt for watt, MHs penetrate the water column better than any other option. Even though there are quite a few people on these boards that have had good success using T5 HO's on SPS and clam dominated tanks, thier tanks tend to be 24" deep or less.

For your depth tank (30"), most people here will probably recommend 400w MH or maybe a 250w DE (double-ended aka HQI), with one bulb per 2' of tank length. Also, I think 10,000K MHs are a good combination of light intesnity and color.

If you add fluorescent actinic bulbs to your lighting setup (to give a bit more of the "blue" look), be sure to get the ones that say actinic 03; they will really make the fluorscent pigments in your LPSs pop out . Conversly, you could go with 12,000K-14,000K bulbs and forgo actinics. keep in mind that the higher you go in bulb color temperature, the less light intensity your corals will get.

I'm not familiar with pricing on 400w ballasts or bulbs; but check out this site: www.reeftanklighting.com. The guy who runs it is a member of our club here in Atlanta, and he is ususally known for having good prices.

Good luck; keep us posted!

- Michael

[Cosine]

Originally Posted by Bijjy

I'm a college student =) How's that for equity? =)

I'm in university too
basically just wondering what your living arrangements are for you to be able to set up a tank like that?
Also once you graduate won't it be a PITA to move that stuff?

just curious is all.
it's gonna be sweet
I'm jealous
good luck!

[Casey]

I think 300 gal is a little to much for a college dude. I would start smaller.

[btang]

Welcome to TRT, you will get lots of great info here.

[jeepjon]

I'm a med student, so I have no clue how you're able to afford that, unless you've got incredibly cool and well endowed parents who are willing to splurge on you.

[jeepjon]

I started out with a 15 gallon, then now I'm in my "dream system" of a 45 gallon square corner tank. so I can only imagine having a 300 gallon once I'm set up as an orthopod or an ER doc or something....