pls help setting up an lps tank

[great_joe]

im planning on seting up a 300g tank i want to be about 30 inches deep with lps corals - elegance, bubbles, torches anchors and flowerpots, i also want to keep an anemone and clams but im not sure if its possible, .. im not sure about what kind of lighting in need? do i need metal halides to keep lps? i heard VHO's will do fine but I'm not sure if they will do well above 30 inches of water? also what kind of filtation do i need ? will live rock and a skimmer be enough? and what kind of circulation do i need? im kinda new in the hobby any sugestion would be of great help thanks

[Doug1]

Welcome to TRT
All the corals you listed with the exeption of the flowrpot(Goniopora) are easy to keep and normally VHO lighting would suffice, However in a tank that large and deep, I would go with 250 watt Iwasakis and VHO actinic, if you seriously want to keep tridacnid clams you might consider the 2 middle lights being 400 watt. that should give the clams decent lighting even at that depth.
Anemones are not worth the trouble, we don't know enough about their needs to ensure success in keeping them. Taking them from the wild all to often results in them dying off in 6 months or so, and it also can impact several generations of commensural fish and animals that they host in the wild.
LIverock and a decent skimmer should be fine as far as filtration. As far as circulation goes you want water movement but not a lot of velocity, just enough that the polyps sway and get a good washing. I would suggest a closed loop with many outlets so that no one area gets the brunt of the current, rather it spreads out, Hope this Helps

[squid]

Here's our 300 gallon tank... 32 inches deep. Lighting 6 250Watt 10K HQI MH, and 6 48" VHO Actinic's.

Almost forgot...see the 14" gigas clam bottom left of tank.

[Geoff]

Welcome to TRT!!!



pretty much what Doug said! the clams will be the biggest light needers.

do you have a basic plan on the tank layout? dimensions, plumbing.

G~

[Joel]

you may want to do a search on this and the "other" board about elegance corals. Apparently they used to be kinda "easy" to keep but in the last few years have become kinda doomed to die as I understand it. Apparently they like very nutrient rich water which we (hobbyists) are not willing to give them. I really like these corals but will not even think about getting one until more is learned about how to keep them alive.

[bikethief]

welcome kabayan! I'm also pretty new to the hobby. Just wanted to know where you plan to get your livestock and hardware. You might know a local dealer that we havn't heard about. Or are you ordering over the net?

[great_joe]

Alryt thnks for the advice

[great_joe]

hardware is a real problem, petshops here dont have any of the good stuff..... i bought a skimmer in under the sea its in sm north,.... for the lights im planning to ask my relatives to buy them from the states and have them shipped here ............
live stock is realy easy to get and cheap gonna get mine in bioreaseach qave, under the sea or in cartimar ...... i heard most of the fishes we buy here are cyanide caught, is t true? do you know a shop that guarantees net caught fishes ? or at least lets you reserve the fishes so you can obvserve them for a week

[great_joe]

here it is sugestions are welcome

im not sure whats the best thing to put in the sump i plan it to be around 70 gallons. As for the circulation i dont have a plan yet, i want somthing with no powerheads inside the main tank and isnt noticable. what is the optimal # of times does the water have to circulate per hour?