What to do with this monster now that I have it ....

piercedkitty23

piercedkitty23

New Member
Hey.. I was just wondering what everone picks would be oe the * cannot live without it* fish.. I am about to set up a 250 gallon that will have a 250lbslive sand substrate 500 lbs of live rock and soem soft corals ( no triggers/puffers) and I would like to know what everyone suggest to put in it.. ( that is alot of tank to fill) I can't wait to spend hours pouring over fish pics and making my decisions.. ( I know I have a while and I have to take it slow but I am excited allready) Ohh yea.. I also have a 50 gallon wet/dry for it what powerheads do you all suggest??any suggestions on how to go about taming this monster would be greatly appriciated... (does anyone on this board have a tank this large set up?? I would love to see pic)
* wearing a permenat smile *
piercedkitty
:D :D :D
 
cveach

cveach

Member
Not to burst any bubbles but a 250 is not a "MONSTER". But its big. Did you say 500lbs of LR Wow wheres the room for the fish!
What are you going to use for light? To keep even soft corals you should have a good 3watts per gallon. You did not mention a skimmer, If you wish to keep fish with your inverts there has to be a way to keep that tank clean.
Tangs are always a good choice for the reef tank, angels would tear at your coral as will butterflys.
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
WOW - sounds like fun for sure.
My first suggestion would be to make sure you set it up somewhere that can handle the weight load, preferably concrete floor. 250 gallon salt tank, with the rock, sand, and other accessories could easily weigh 3000 lbs plus. Have you decided where you plan to place this monster? On a stand that will include the sump as well ? There's another 200-300 pounds as well.
Suggestions -
Plan ahead, buy the best equipment you can afford, and have a blast !
Broomer5
 
kappadoku

kappadoku

Member
Well, as for the question you asked, if I had a tank that size, I would definatly get some schooling fish, How about 10-12 green-blue chromis?
3-4 mandarin gobies when it gets established,
a HUGE carpet anemone (12-14 inches),
a lipstick tang (8-10 inches)
5-7 bangaii or pajama cardinals...
just some suggetions... :D
 
R

ryddo

Guest
How about a nice Harlequin Tusk? They are colorfull and not that agressive.
 
burnnspy

burnnspy

Active Member
I will be setting up a large tank towards the end of the year and I will have the followig fish:
10-15 Anthias(schools give you the reef look)
3 Mandarins
Emperor Angel
Blue Masked Angel
Mass SPS corals
BurnNSpy
 
big dave

big dave

Member
Just two words:Harlequin Tusk!
Also the anthias would rule or maybe a ton of firefish or chromis. Put tons o' mushrooms anemones everywhere to cover the LR with life.
 
grouperhead

grouperhead

Active Member
do whatever you want with it. i would get a school of anthias, a large angel (annularis or imperator), and a couple spotted mandarins, and maybe some clowns. your tank is gonna be awesome. just take your time and dont add to quickly. later, bo
 
piercedkitty23

piercedkitty23

New Member
400 gallons!!!! are you sure?? It was sold to me as a 250.. I dont know any different LOL.. WOW I knew it was big but 400 gallons.. hmmm the guy that I bought it from had it custom made and he said it was a 250... maybe he is just old and does not know the difference anymore. He had about 20 tanks in his house
piercedkitty :D
 
burnnspy

burnnspy

Active Member
The old man was right, its 250gal. That is a deep tank and I recommend the following lighting:
3-400watt 6500K MH
2-6ft VHO actinic
BurnNSpy
 
lionfish

lionfish

Member
LionFish says......
Well, I just got a 180 which is pretty big and I can give a couple of reef safe fish for suggestions. Avoid Harlequin Tusks in the 250 because with all that live rock..... ooooh that would be bad. Just imagine seeing 500 pounds of rock crash through the glass. Tusks are amazing diggers, I know. It could easily knock over all your rock and they do like to arrange things in the tank. Definitely get some Anthias. I'm getting a Sunburst in my 180. They are really cool. A small school of firefish or Chromis would look cool. If you are getting corals you must avoid Emperor Angels as they frequently munch on soft corals, which I have seen frequently. I think a Regal Tang would look nice. Hope this helps.
 
lionfish

lionfish

Member
LionFish says.....
Sammy- I'll tell ya what I saw from this Emperor. It had destroyed not only a leather but a colt coral. Eating down the tissue to the skeleton. Honest to God, too. I stand by my judgment on Emperors. I am getting one in the 180 but it will not include corals after I saw the destruction it had on the corals.
 
sonny

sonny

Member
Sammy has the right numbers, if the measurements are correct. Gallons is equal to length x width x height in inches divided by 231. I say use 400 watt MH to light that size tank. If it's over 24 inches front to back, you might even need more than one every 2 feet of tank. You could stagger the placement so that there are lights closer to the front and some closer to the back of the tank. Another cool thing to do might be to have a wider sand zone in the front of the tank. That way, you'd not need as much bright light at the front (like 3 400 watt MH with VHO actinic would do), and you could get some cool sand dwelling fish like goatfish to sift the sand. Or a small stingray would be cool too, but it would eat crabs/shrimp. If you've ever been diving on a reef, the sand zone would be really authentic as a habitat. In a really large tank like that, MH is the most cost effective way of lighting. Flourescent just can't reach that depth. Bulb replacement would also be really costly with flourescent.
Sonny
 
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