250 gal, 3 feet deep tank

[Diogo Medina]

Hello RC community.


I'm starting this thread because I'm planning the setup of my 250 gal, 4,5'x3'x1,5' SPS dominated tank.

Since my previous tank crashed, all because of my impatience and not so carefull plannig, I'm going to do this one right.

That's means tons of quetions and quite a lot of time before you can see some pictures.

But I humbly ask your help and I promise I'll repay with a picture heavy thread!

[Diogo Medina]

First things first. In order for this thread to be organised, I'll separate the different questions in different posts so we can discuss and filter the info more efficiently.

As far as circulation is concerned, I'll go with two Vortech mp40w es and another pump in the background. That's not up for debate! :lmao:

So, this is truly the first area where I need your expertise:

Could you give me some skimmer options?

Thanks in advance

[Diogo Medina]

2nd!

As far as lighting is concerned, I'm considering these 2 options:

1- metal halide/led combo
2- t5/led combo

Could you give me your feed back and explanations please?

[Diogo Medina]

I'm also considering the use of a dosing pump.

GHL 4 ways.

[Diogo Medina]

I'll go full Zeovit on this tank.

I'm researching some automatic zeolite reactors.

[Diogo Medina]

There's a reason this is in 4 place on this thread. I'll only build the sump when I finish gathering all the stuff for the tank. This way I can decide the best setup and dimensions.



Thank you guys!

[ormet]

Could you give me some skimmer options?

Whats your budget? I think you can never go wrong with Vertex Alpha or Royal Exclusiv

2nd!

As far as lighting is concerned, I'm considering these 2 options:

1- metal halide/led combo
2- t5/led combo

Could you give me your feed back and explanations please?
I love my ATI LED Powermodul. I think you will not be disapointed with those.

I'm also considering the use of a dosing pump.

GHL 4 ways.
Have you had a look at the new one from Pacific Sun? Kore 5:th:
http://www.pacificsunusa.com/product/kore-5th-doser/

I find it very interesting.

Best of luck!

[cugly]

First things first. In order for this thread to be organised, I'll separate the different questions in different posts so we can discuss and filter the info more efficiently.

As far as circulation is concerned, I'll go with two Vortech mp40w es and another pump in the background. That's not up for debate! :lmao:

So, this is truly the first area where I need your expertise:

Could you give me some skimmer options?

Thanks in advance

2 mp40wes is not gonna be strong enough for that size I run 1 mp40wes and mp60wes on a 125 and its just a little overkill my buddy runs 4 mp40wes on his 240 and he said he still need another one so I recommend mp60wes and its quieter than an mp40wes from my experience. ..

vertex 300 will be great for your tank or a diablo with dc pumps I love my Dcs250 diablo. .works well..and I can shut off when dosing zeo additives. ..but if you really want something great for zeo I will recommend kz skimmers if u can get one its better for a zeovit systems
goodluck cant wait to see the tank

[Diogo Medina]

Whats your budget? I think you can never go wrong with Vertex Alpha or Royal Exclusiv


I love my ATI LED Powermodul. I think you will not be disapointed with those.


Have you had a look at the new one from Pacific Sun? Kore 5:th:
http://www.pacificsunusa.com/product/kore-5th-doser/

I find it very interesting.

Best of luck!

First of all, thank you for the advices!

My budget is a very nice one, plus I'm going to run the tank with no corals and very few fish for probably half a year, so I don't need to spend that money right yet. The main reason for this is that in my previous tank, I noticed that the copepods and all the little bugs vanish very quickly once you start adding the fish ( and I had a very nice amount of live rock )!!!

Yes, I'm considering a Royal exclusiv skimmer, seen the results in some of my friends tanks. Those guys take care of business!!

I'll read it for sure!

Thanks again

[Diogo Medina]

2 mp40wes is not gonna be strong enough for that size I run 1 mp40wes and mp60wes on a 125 and its just a little overkill my buddy runs 4 mp40wes on his 240 and he said he still need another one so I recommend mp60wes and its quieter than an mp40wes from my experience. ..

vertex 300 will be great for your tank or a diablo with dc pumps I love my Dcs250 diablo. .works well..and I can shut off when dosing zeo additives. ..but if you really want something great for zeo I will recommend kz skimmers if u can get one its better for a zeovit systems
goodluck cant wait to see the tank


Thanks!

You got mind reading powers man!:beer:
I just spoke with the lfs owner who's a friend of mine and he said just that!

Mp60's and the vertex 300!

I'm afraid all of us will have to wait quite a bit of time to see the tank. Doing things patiently will save me from :headwally: in the long run!

Thanks a lot!

[Diogo Medina]

So that you can have an idea of what the tank will look like, this is the list of fish that will go in the tank:

-Macropharyngodon meleagris or M. bipartitus (pair)
-Chelmon rostratus ( the main reason for such a long cycle is to build up enough zooplancton to feed this little guy )
-Zebrasoma xanthurum or Acanthurus leucosternon or Acanthurus achilles
-Ecsenius bicolor
-Ecsenius stigmatura
-Amblyeleotris randalli or Stonogobiops nematodes
-Nemateleotris helfrichi (pair)

I don't think there will be a fish struggling for swimming space, since the achilles and the leucosternon are difficult fish and are not top priority.

What do you think?

[toothman]

mp 60's are quite loud. Traded mine for tunze. Dead quiet. Zeoheads do not recommend a needle wheel skimmer. Revolution s or m skimmer. I have a 30" deep tank, had 400 watt halides, new fixtures have 250 watt, they still can grow acros on the bottom of the tank. One thing to consider is what type of halide you want, a lot of bulbs need pulse start balast, eg. radium. If it were my tank I would try to find a fixture with pulse start ballast for 2 halides 250 or 400 watt 20k and 4 t5 bulbs. Leds are nice but a bit harder to dial in for acropora.

[Diogo Medina]

mp 60's are quite loud. Traded mine for tunze. Dead quiet. Zeoheads do not recommend a needle wheel skimmer. Revolution s or m skimmer. I have a 30" deep tank, had 400 watt halides, new fixtures have 250 watt, they still can grow acros on the bottom of the tank. One thing to consider is what type of halide you want, a lot of bulbs need pulse start balast, eg. radium. If it were my tank I would try to find a fixture with pulse start ballast for 2 halides 250 or 400 watt 20k and 4 t5 bulbs. Leds are nice but a bit harder to dial in for acropora.


Thank you very much for the intel.. The only problem with halides is the power bill at the end of the month!
I'm not concerned about the noise since all my tanks are in the sauna house, in the middle of the garden..but i'm inclined to go with the Tunzes!
Thanks again

[Diogo Medina]

There's been some changes..

After some measuring I decided to go with this tank dimensions: 55inx41inx24in.
This will make the tank 200 g.

As far as lighting is concerned, I'm going with 2 hybrid 4x54w T5ho + 96w of Led.
The manufacturer says that 48w of led is the equivalent to a 150w metal alloid.
This being accurate, I'm set with 516w x2!!

The skimmer is also picked out. I'm using a Royal Exclusive Bubble King Supermarine 250.

The stand is ordered. I'll post some schematics asap.

Watch as this thread unfolds!

Cheers :beer:

[Diogo Medina]

I'm not always a patient guy.

When it comes to tanks, not patient at all. So I decided to overcome this with a simple procedure. :D

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t470/diogopaduaramos/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/D29C5F2E-EBBA-4FC9-A059-8D4EE050EE85.jpg (http://s1061.photobucket.com/user/diogopaduaramos/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/D29C5F2E-EBBA-4FC9-A059-8D4EE050EE85.jpg.html)



http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t470/diogopaduaramos/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/BD390AC8-8312-4C1E-9099-9FBD5A9F2B56.jpg (http://s1061.photobucket.com/user/diogopaduaramos/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/BD390AC8-8312-4C1E-9099-9FBD5A9F2B56.jpg.html)


This is a styrofoam scale model of my tank. This will enable me to work the rockscape, creating the best layout I can, using the exact dimensions of the tank.

I'll be posting diferent layout possibilities, feel free to coment based on functionality ( shading, flow, etc..)

Thanks again, more updates to come! :p

[Diogo Medina]

The rock scaping has been slow but fun..
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t470/diogopaduaramos/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/4CCD0F30-3E48-4C3C-8733-F5451D2200EF.jpg (http://s1061.photobucket.com/user/diogopaduaramos/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/4CCD0F30-3E48-4C3C-8733-F5451D2200EF.jpg.html)

Some parts that are coming to life..
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t470/diogopaduaramos/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/7392D20A-770A-4CB5-A7DE-7E362A7B770C.jpg (http://s1061.photobucket.com/user/diogopaduaramos/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/7392D20A-770A-4CB5-A7DE-7E362A7B770C.jpg.html)

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t470/diogopaduaramos/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/59E3F168-9AC3-4101-9EA8-B63A153092C5.jpg (http://s1061.photobucket.com/user/diogopaduaramos/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/59E3F168-9AC3-4101-9EA8-B63A153092C5.jpg.html)