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View Full Version : New 270 Gallon Tank, Equipment Assistance!


Darth Chingas
02/05/2012, 08:41 AM
A 270 gallon tank recently went up for sale on Craigslist in my area. I have always wanted to upgrade to a bigger tank (currently 75gal) and the price was too good to pass on so it turned into a shoot first and ask questions later. So now I am on to the questions session and would appreciate some help from experienced large reefers.

Tank description:

The tank measures 72x24x36. It comes plummed with a large sump w/ bioballs, 2x overflows. It had a Little Giant pump and 2 bulb VHOs but both were burnt out. Tons of live rock, all still looking good. The canopy is made out of painted acrylic and the roof is solid and only sits about 8-10 inches above the tank.


Questions:

1) I currently have two AI Sols over my 75. I am figuring on buying 2 more and mounting them in the canopy. As the tank is 36" deep, should this be enough to have SPS in the top 1/2 and LPS/Zoa/Shrooms in the bottom 1/2? Any pics of mounts on a 36" tank?

2) What size of pump should I use? I think the old one was rated at 1,325 I think. Was this sufficent to begin with? I have a Vortech mp20 if needed for addition flow.

3) Skimmer recommendations?

4) What substrate would you all recommed and should I use dead sand or promote a live sand bed?

5) I understand maintainance is going to suck. Any tips, tricks or warnings?


Thanks again for the help. Feeling a bit of buyers remorse but again, the price was too good to pass on.


Thanks in advance for your help and I will post pics soon.....

Dr Colliebreath
02/05/2012, 10:45 AM
No buyer's remorse allowed - you are going to enjoy the upgrade!

I would get rid of the bioballs, clean the live rock well with a dilute bleach solution and vinegar, use a dead sand substrate, and get some live rock and live sand to seed your dead rock and sand.

If the old pump is still working, I would stay with it. If you need a new one, I prefer in-sump pumps and skimmers so I would go with a Mag 12 return pump. A Reef Octopus SRO XP 5000 skimmer would be a good match.

I would use 4 Tunze 6095 or Vortech MP40 powerheads (probably a mix of the two) for water movement in the tank.

On maintenance, invest the money in pumps, pythons, and the like to move water. You want to make it as easy as possible so as not to be tempted to skip maintenance.

Have fun.

Darth Chingas
02/05/2012, 11:19 AM
No buyer's remorse allowed - you are going to enjoy the upgrade!

I would get rid of the bioballs, clean the live rock well with a dilute bleach solution and vinegar, use a dead sand substrate, and get some live rock and live sand to seed your dead rock and sand.

If the old pump is still working, I would stay with it. If you need a new one, I prefer in-sump pumps and skimmers so I would go with a Mag 12 return pump. A Reef Octopus SRO XP 5000 skimmer would be a good match.

I would use 4 Tunze 6095 or Vortech MP40 powerheads (probably a mix of the two) for water movement in the tank.

On maintenance, invest the money in pumps, pythons, and the like to move water. You want to make it as easy as possible so as not to be tempted to skip maintenance.

Have fun.

Thanks Doc,

The pump is a goner. What do you think abou the lights?

on the spot
02/05/2012, 11:54 AM
I prefer slower flow through the sump so a smaller return pump would be my suggestion. Internal, external, find a pump that is efficient as possible. I'm not a fan of the Mag pumps as they tend to use more electricity than others and tend to be louder as well.

If the rock is looking good w/o pest anemones or algae I'd leave it be. You might google cooking live rock site:reefcentral.com to find the best practices for cleaning rock if you want to go that way.

GL with the build. The height will make an interesting tank once things grow in a bit.

Dr Colliebreath
02/05/2012, 10:10 PM
I really am not sure on the lighting (whether 2 more AI Sols will do it) given how deep your tank is. You might skim through some of the lighting threads in the Equipment forum and ask questions.

I think you are going to want around 1,000 gph of flow from your return pump, and you are looking at 5-6 feet of head/pressure on your setup, so you need a pump that is still flowing that amount at 6 feet of head.

Darth Chingas
02/05/2012, 10:43 PM
Update...

We finally got it moved although it is not clean. After I measured it up, it is actually a 225 gal. Dimensions are 72x24x30. I guess the lady was using the canopy in the depth. It came with a 60 gal sump, stand, canopy (cracked), 200 lbs of live rock, and 100 lbs live sand. I think we did ok for $650 but am a little concerned as the acrylic is 1/2". When it was full it was bowing a little but nothing crazy and the tank has held up for 10 years.

Here are some pics of it in the garage. We put it display side away to protect it and will be covering it until setup time which I hope to be soon.

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z452/DarthChingas/Aquariums/IMG_0804.jpg

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z452/DarthChingas/Aquariums/IMG_0807.jpg

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z452/DarthChingas/Aquariums/IMG_0805.jpg

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z452/DarthChingas/Aquariums/IMG_0806.jpg

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z452/DarthChingas/Aquariums/IMG_0808.jpg

viggen
02/05/2012, 11:00 PM
If the LR is good I would just use it.... & like mentioned just remove the bio-balls, possibly buy/make a different filter that would give you more room.

Pump wise I think it depends on how you make your sump. I have always used external pumps however I gave up on little giant pumps years ago.... they are just to noisy & require maintenace. 2-5x a hr turnover is what you need & I think that will be determined by how your sump is setup. There are lots of options, just depends on what you are looing for. I am also not a fan of MAG pumps, noisy & not effecient

I use a bubbleblaster 7000 on my tank, it's 475g & gives me 1000-1300 gph of flow. Over half of that flow goes directly into my skimmer with the rest going into my fuge. I had a red dragon 12m3 which pushed 2500 ish GPH & I had a TON of bubbles.... I use two 65g sumps tied together, the first is my fuge & the 2nd holds my skimmer & return pump.

I would also think from what I have read here is you would need to add a MP60 to your tank or two MP40's & put your 20 on the back.

zero clue on lighting......

Darth Chingas
02/06/2012, 07:20 AM
Pump wise I think it depends on how you make your sump. I have always used external pumps however I gave up on little giant pumps years ago.... they are just to noisy & require maintenace. 2-5x a hr turnover is what you need & I think that will be determined by how your sump is setup. There are lots of options, just depends on what you are looing for. I am also not a fan of MAG pumps, noisy & not effecient


I am looking for quite as possible. I heard the Iwaki are the best as far as noise if I stay external which I am most likely to do as the sump is already drilled and plummed.....