***300 gal tank what to do and how?!?

[superfishbros]

hey everyone i am new to this forum i have been taking carer of fish tanks for a while now and currently have a 75 fresh water tank and a 125 gal reef tank i just got a tank 18.5' long 30" wide and 4'high want to know how to start out with tank height and everything..i wanna do thhis right and just needed some guidence
i was thiknig out putting in a shark of some kind grouper eel and a lion fish....

 

[snakeblitz33]

1383.8
Thats how many gallons your tank actually would be at those dimensions.
I hope that since you bought a take that size, you should already be a well seasoned saltwater aquarist. What do you need to know? Flow rates? Lighting? Filtration?

 

[superfishbros]

Haha oops sorry dude I hit a one by accident it's 8.5 long my mistake I wanna have a fish only tank I was going to use a 55 gallon tank for my overflow just wondering about flow rates where to get some of the fish with out over paying I wanna do it right just wanna see other options

 

[superfishbros]

Sorry again sNake it's only 25" high so the tank is a little over 300 got te wrong dimensions

 

[snakeblitz33]

That tank is still too small for a shark. Any shark. Don't get a shark. Any shark. Please.
Filtration - if you have a large bioload you will need a beefed up filtration system. A huge skimmer, like an octopus diablo might be a good start. You would need a brs dual reactor for carbon and GFO for sure. Also somewhere in your sump, you will need a large section of it dedicated towards a refugium to grow macroalgae.
For flow, get a mag 24 return pump and split it between the overflows. A reeflo dart hold or even a reeflo hammerhead should be used on a closed loop system for internal tank circulation and the drain and return holes for it should be carefully selected. It might be cheaper to use a closed loop than two mp60 powerheads.
For lighting, since it is a fish only tank, but you also want it to look good, either go with t5 lighting or some cheap LEDs. LEDs would give your tank that shimmer effect.
Never heard of a 8.5' tank before. Usually glass only comes in 8 foot sections.

 

[superfishbros]

Wow thanks snake you really kno your [COLOR=FF00AA][COLOR=FF00AA]####(please no curse words here)...[/COLOR][/COLOR]I was thinking of using live rock in my sump.. Along with using the sump I have in my 125 that has the bio balls...as for the glass this tank was custom made in this guys basement and he had it as a reef with hundreds of pounds of live rock that he just threw away that I was able to get from him he also gave me a stand and about 6 power heads with the tank all for a very very cheap price

 

[snakeblitz33]

Live rock is great for processing ammonia ans nitrite and to some extent it does have some denitrification capability, however much more limited than the capacity of macroalgae to remove nitrate and phosphate from your system. Even live rock has to be maintained and blown off with a powerhead occasionally. Liverock is very porous and even has many caverns on the inside of the rocks where most denitrification course. Over time wih not enough water flow, those caverns get clogged and need to be cleaned out. I argue that more live rock is more maintenance.
Before you set up your tank, consider possibly drilling it for a closed loop system and a bean animal style overflow. The bean animal design is completely silent and you will only hear the hum o the pumps while it's running.
If you need additional info, check out my snakes methods threads or pm me. I don't mind helping.