Help me set up the perfect 260 gallon reef!

[hatebreed]

I just picked up a 265 gallon tank and a couple large refugiums. I need to decide how to set this tank up appropriately for a large reef that will support SPS and Clams.
I think I'm almost narrowed down on the lighting. I found these two fixtures on ---- and need to decide which one.
Fixture one is 84 inches. 4x400 metal halide with 4x96 PC for a total of 1984 watts. Priced at $969. I'm guessing this is plenty of light no matter what.
84 inch fixture
Fixture two is 72 inches. 3x400 metal halide with 2x140 VHO for a total of 1480 watts. Priced at $799. This would leave me lacking by 6 inches on either side but I'm thinking the light should penetrate tha far to the sides so the question is if there is sufficient light here.
72 inch fixture
What do y’all think as far as lights go? Will either of these lights be good choices or is there a better manufacturer out there? Can I get by with the smaller of the two? Obviously I’d like to go as inexpensively as possible but if it makes a huge difference I will definitely spend the extra money.
As far as the rest goes, I do have the two refugiums which are probably 30 gallons each. I don’t intend to use bioballs but will probably run some sort of macro algae in at least one of them. What else will be a good choice for my refugiums?
What other equipment would you deem necessary to run a 320 gallon system? I’m guessing a calcium reactor will be a must. So any suggestions on that would be appreciated. I can also use advice for skimmers, which I’d like to run in the sumps. I’m not planning on getting out too cheap, so possibly a suggestion on controllers/computers as well to run everything. Anything you guys can suggest to run the ideal large reef will be appreciated! I want to get a comprehensive list together so I can begin shopping and setting up! If there’s anything I’ve missed (and I’m sure there is) please feel free to give me pointers.
Lastly, I've also picked up several hundred pounds of base rock for free with the tank. (dried out live rock from when they had it set up) Do y'all have any opinions of seeding this with the garf grunge.....or would live rock be better?
I think that covers all my questions but if you can think of anything else...please let me know!

 

[chris57]

plants are good in refugiums, as well as deep mud beds, it would also be good to have cleaner clams in there, as well as live rock these things i suggested to put in will lower nitrate, ammonia, nitrite, and provide essential trace elments in.

 

[lubeck]

I don't have a tank that big but.. i do have a reef and just started sps. I have a 110gal. with a 75gal. sump/fuge... i don't think 2 30 gal tanks will be sufficent filtration for sps and clams.
i think you would be happier with the first light fixture.
definetly get a reactor
auto top off system
DONT DO A DEEP SAND BED IN YOUR DISPLAY TANK. Only in your refugium..
chiller
becket skimmer

 

[hatebreed]

Originally Posted by chris57
plants are good in refugiums, as well as deep mud beds, it would also be good to have cleaner clams in there, as well as live rock these things i suggested to put in will lower nitrate, ammonia, nitrite, and provide essential trace elments in.
I'd considered everything except the mud. What type of mud are we talking about and where would I obtain it? I'm guessing mud is your suggestion because it is likely fine particles and will create anaerobic filtration? I've not done much reading on anaerobic bacterias versus aerobic so I'm not really sure what the benefits here are. Additional bacteria colonies for two pronged filtration?

 

[hatebreed]

Originally Posted by Lubeck
i don't think 2 30 gal tanks will be sufficent filtration for sps and clams.
Even with several hundred pounds of live rock in the main display?

 

[lubeck]

IMO. No. but i don't have a tank that big.

 

[hatebreed]

How about some equipment suggestions!
Nobody has a skimmer or controller/computer or wave maker suggestion? Surely somebody here has a dream list of how they'd set up a 260!

 

[sign guy]

lights go with the first one
fuge 2 30 should be fine for the fuge I would just add a extra w/d. Maybe a pro clear. In the fuge I would skip the mud and go chato dsb and lr
as far as equip goes I am a big esu fan myself (coralife)

 

[hatebreed]

Originally Posted by sign guy
lights go with the first one
fuge 2 30 should be fine for the fuge I would just add a extra w/d. Maybe a pro clear. In the fuge I would skip the mud and go chato dsb and lr
as far as equip goes I am a big esu fan myself (coralife)
Awesome, I'm with you on the lights. I am curious about the wet dry and the concern of "filtration" in general. I'm somewhat of a novice as far as reefs go. Thus far I've only got a 55 gallon reef I've been running with only a skimmer and live rock successfully for the last 6 months. I have had good readings on all my parameters this way. Admitttedly I keep very few fish though, so there's not alot there to pollute me. In spite of the fact that I got ahead of myself stocking corals, I've had great luck with all sorts of critters including some crocea clams and all manner of LPS and softies.
Is there something much different about a large tank? If I'm going to continue to understock fish, is additional filtration a big concern? Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of skimping, I definitely want to do this right and will spend what it takes to do so. I'm just looking for a little education here as to the concern about filtration. What benefits are there to running a wet/dry in addition to the two fuges?
I appreciate your input and hope a few others will chime in with their ideas as to what the "dream tank" consists of, equipment wise. I know there's a wealth of knowledge and experience here and I'm anxious to tap into that, so please, keep the suggestions coming.

 

[dejaco]

Things you may want to consider - 84" light fixture for sure, A CHILLER,
Seio Super flow pumps for power heads in the diplay. Four of them - one left, one middle left, one middle right, and one on the right. Hook them to timers. the lefts run midnight to six am, then the rights from 6 am till noon,
then the lefts again from noon to 6 pm, and finally the rights again from 6 pm until midnight. This back and for agitation to move water more thoughouly thru the tank. THE AUTOMATIC TOP OFF WILL BE A PLUS. Moon light for at night. If you have a canopy two cooling fans 1 blowing in and one blowing out. Just some thought, my tank is a 210 reef, 1 year old and stable.

 

[lamaface]

yay a fellow 260g reefer!!
ok, personally i would stick with just liverock as your main source of filltration, im pushing an insanely high bioload in my tank (22fish + inverts) but my water params are PERFECT and as a result im getting amazing growth on all my SPS and my clams. I'm mainly keeping hardcoral, i personnaly dont recommend keeping soft and hard in the same tank... all kinds of warfare occur, i even had my torch coral releasing its tentacles heads to try combat my colt. So i got rid of all my softies except mushrooms. You will most probably need a chiller and run 2 heaters just for the incase 1 fails. If yu planning to keep lotsa hardcoral and clams ect i recommend a kalkwasser stirrir, calcium reactor and weekly waterchanges of about 20-40 gallons just to keep things stable. I also dose trace elements on a weekly basis. Um, dont go a deep sand bed in your display, too much dirt, rather use your fuges for deep sand bed and then i've also found that crushed coral but the big peices really do increase copepod population. I think that they find it easier to live ect in it. If you want your fuges to be caulerpa ect then i rate you go for some T5 lighthing just to help good growth. Do not waste your time with canisters or those bioball towers, you have LR and it does a much better job. Seio powerheads are LEGEND!!!!!! I have 3 (2600gph each) and they really do get the water moving! I'm using an oceanrunner 6500gph as my circulatory pump. I'm jealous of your lights! I'm running 3 250ww and 1 175ww. 2 of the 250ww's are 20K and the other 13K and i'm gonna replace the bulb of my 175ww with a 7K just to really get as natural light as i possibly can. Run an aquamedic shorty skimmer, i'm running one on my tank and its pulling out all kinds of nasty stuff. it works beautifully. Go for the first lighting setup you'll really, really enjoy the power... Oh and i also recommend a wavemaker set up on your powerheads, i really like the one by aquamedic. It gives a very random flow. Moon light is a really good idea! I dont have one but if you decide on one yo must tell me how it goes! Autotop off will make life alot easier. and... i think thats about it hey... Seed it with other liverock and some grunge just to get the best of both worlds hey. I wish you the best of luck with your tank and please post pics!

 

[hatebreed]

Awesome! Now I'm getting the kind of suggestions that get me hyped about setting this thing up. It sounds like the Seio powerheads are king so I'll definitely go with those. It also sounds like the additional filtration is a matter of preference, which is sort of what I guessed but being my first LARGE tank I wanted to be sure. I have a tendency to overkill live rock and understock fish, so I unless I get a ton of dissent here I will probably stick with that since it's what has worked for me thus far. I've considered looking into one of the systems that claims to provide anaerobic filtration to break down nitrates but I'm curious if there is any nitrate converting power there that I won't be getting from healthy amounts of macroalgaes in my fuges anyway. Is this relatively sound thinking?
Regarding lights, the 3x400 2x96 does have two 4 inch fans and an external ballast. I'm hoping not to need a chiller, but assuming I do....what can you guys suggest as an appropriate chiller for this size tank?
I would also value any additional suggestions on skimmers anyone might have.
I also would like input on additional equipment. I am curious about ozonizers and their function and if they are of any benefit.
Also digital pH readers. Are these accurate and does anyone here use them or recommend them?
Lastly, I'd still be curious about any controller/computer suggestions for running everything.
I appreciate all the help so far and look forward to additional input. And of course, when this is finally running, pictures are gonna be posted!

 

[hatebreed]

Also, I'm interested in the accuracy of the digital calcium and salinity monitors. Any input on these is appreciated as well!

 

[devaji108]

hello, I have a 240+30ish sump and for lights I run 4X 250W 14K Mh
and 4X110 W super blue act. VHO most of the time I turn off the VHO's because It's too blue for me.
my addvice is find a really nice skimmer rated for like 400-600 gal.+a refug. W/ LS ,LR and cheto

 

[devaji108]

PS. would love to see pics

 

[chris57]

Originally Posted by hatebreed
I'd considered everything except the mud. What type of mud are we talking about and where would I obtain it? I'm guessing mud is your suggestion because it is likely fine particles and will create anaerobic filtration? I've not done much reading on anaerobic bacterias versus aerobic so I'm not really sure what the benefits here are. Additional bacteria colonies for two pronged filtration?
im talking about reef mud you can buy it from many places it provides trace elments and helps filter out organics. most places call it refugium mineral mud.

 

[acrylic51]

My system is slightly over 500 gallons and it takes alot of time and thought to get things together and running......I've spared very little expense on this system.....1hp chiller, Lumenarc reflectors, IceCap vho ballasts, PFO MH ballasts, MRC MRC 4R recirc skimmer, Sequence pumps, Blueline pumps, OceansMotions 8way, Neptune AquaController Pro, with probes run inline.....UV sterilizer, etc......
With a system that big before I start buying tons of equipment I'd do alot of homework first....I would recommend a beckett skimmer over a needlewheel skimmer for this size system....alot of people will tell you that you need a power hungry pressure pump to push the beckett skimmer???!!!!

WRONG!!!!!! They can be run and pushed on a MagDrive pump.....I have several friends who run MRC dual becketts on MagDrive pumps, but I prefer to run them on pressure rated pumps though....
When it comes to lighting I wouldn't recommend anything other than the Lumenarc reflectors....Probably the best reflectors on the market right now, and reefoptics don't compare to them.....They are also making them for use with DE fixtures if that's your cup of tea for lighting....I personally preferr SE bulbs over DE and see no real benefit to overdriving a bulb as the DE are overdriven......Take some time and check out the lighting comparison done on ReefCentral......Your actually looking for PAR when it comes to lighting and not to many bulb ballast combos come close to the SE PFO ballast XM 10k bulbs combo......250W MH that is......
I'm not a fan of PC and feel that you would be much better served running T5's but reflectors play a major factor into getting the most out of these lights......VHO are alittle more forgiving, but do put off a little more heat than the T5's, but again the T5's are your best bet, but shop for the right reflectors...
Pumps I love my Sequence pumps, and would highly recommend them over and over again...Sometimes they don't fit smaller applications, but in your case you have several options to look at......
When it comes to water motion or movement, I love the OceansMotions.....I must say I'm not impressed with the Revs though, but love the units themselves......Another option is the new WavySeas that came out....Some people confuse them with SCWD or Sea Swirls....they are made to withstand the use and abuse with high flow pumps where the others lack that, so the WavySea is another good bet to look at.....Tunze pumps with controllers are super nice, but price is rather salty.....
As far as controllers there are several on the market.....You have the AquaController by Neptune, Aquadyne, and the ReefKeeper and there are probably a few others, but these seem to be the most popular.....The AquaDyne is not as user friendly and have owned it, but not a real fan of the unit.......I've also owned the ReefKeeper 1 and the new ReefKeeper 2 and like the units, but just not enough functions for me......My personal favorite is the AquaController Pro...depending what functions your looking for Neptune has alot of models to chose from, and you can go with either lab grade or standard grade probes......I would recommend the DC4s or DC8's over the X10 modules.....they are none to be hampered by electrical noise making them very unreliable as far as turning things on an off and the DC4's and 8's take this out of the picture........
Calcium Reactor I personally own the MRC dual chamber reactor, and real easy to use.....I also like the Geo reactors which are super units as well.....If I bought another I'd probably go with the Geo this time......By the way Geo also makes very good top skimmers which are needlewheels, and skim just as good and if not better than a EuroReef so don't be fooled.....
I should mention if your looking to spend big bucks on a skimmer, you might want to look at Deltec, H&S, and BubbleKing....If you want top of the line water pump, check out the RedDragon water pump line.....
Hope this helps some and will be glad to give alittle more details or insight if needed.

 

[acrylic51]

Originally Posted by Devaji108
hello, I have a 240+30ish sump and for lights I run 4X 250W 14K Mh
and 4X110 W super blue act. VHO most of the time I turn off the VHO's because It's too blue for me.
my addvice is find a really nice skimmer rated for like 400-600 gal.+a refug. W/ LS ,LR and cheto
MRC skimmer or check out Barrs skimmers, but off the top of my head don't know what the new company name is now....Barrs sold out to a big company that's producing his skimmers now.

 

[lubeck]

I think with the time and money you SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM POWERHEADS. i had the seios and they are great, but like any, they are AN EYE SORE~ i switched out to an ocean motion 4way. the best upgrade ever. please consider this as your main option for water movement for your sps, you will never regret it. CLOSED LOOP ALL THE WAY.

 

[acrylic51]

Tunzes are in a different class than the Seios, and the Tunzes can be hidden easily