300 Gallon Reef!

kbuser92

kbuser92

Breeder
300 Gallon Deep Super System with HQI lights | Aquarium Supplies | PetSolutions

Here's my dilemma:
I'm getting this nice huge tank and have no idea what to put in it...help please?

Percula Clown (x2)
Royal Gramma (x1)
Purple Fire Goby (x1)
Dwarf Angel (x1)
Yellow Tang (x1)
Blue Hippo (x1)
Purple Tang (x1)
Powder Brown (x1)
Moorish Idol (x1)
Threadfin Butterfly (x1)
Copperband Butterfly (x1)
Yellow Longnose (x1)
Mandarin Dragonette (x1)
Asstd. Damsels/Cardinals, etc... (x6-8?)
Asstd. Hermits (x6ish?)
Asstd. Crabs (x6ish?)
Asstd. Stars (x2-3?)
Asstd. Cleaning Shrimp (x4-5?)
Asstd. Snails (x3-5?)

Lots of soft and hard corals and at least a Purple Sebae Anemone, possibly more anemonies. I would also like to consider an urchin, but I'm not too familiar with those. And adding onto the tank, I would put some blue moonlights, maybe 1-2 every 3 feet? (Total of 6-12 in the tank, each corner and then one on front/back in the middle.) What are some suggestions for rock work aside from the cliche and traditional rock wall? I'd like the majority of the back wall to be rock, but I don't want to look like everybody else's reef, either. (Okay, not many people have 200+ gallon reefs, but still...)

Thanks!
 
Could I maybe find some sort of flat rock mold to adhere to the back glass and then do some aquascaping like:

Redirect Notice

I believe that the tangs and idol would need plenty of swimming space and I really like an idea like this with plateaus and "valleys", yet still keeping swimming space above AND in front of the rock work.
 
I would scratch the idea of the butterfly fish (both) and the angel personally some people keep them in a reef tank, but they are a risk and three risky ones is asking for trouble. I would also search for a post with someone that has kept a yellow tang and a purple tang similar shapes you might have fighting. What kind of corals do you want to keep it will make a difference if you want to keep the butterflies and angel?
 
I know that I would at least like the Purple Sebae, as mentioned above, but aside from that (and I apologize for my lack of correct terms), I would like some softer mushrooms, maybe zoas I believe, and then some of the hard, fan-looking and tree-like corals.

Staghorns, brain coral, finger coral, blueberry acopora, a clam, possibly? I really have no other information aside from that, just things that I have seen here and there that look cool or pretty or interesting.
 
I think you'd be okay with the dwarf angel.

However, Moorish Idols do very very very poorly in captivity. I'd take that one off your list.
 
Even in a tank so big? I thought I might have enough room, but maybe not...

Revised list:
Percula Clown (x2)
Royal Gramma (x1)
Purple Fire Goby (x1)
Dwarf Angel (x1)
Yellow Tang (x1)
Blue Hippo (x1)
Purple Tang (x1)
Powder Brown (x1)
Threadfin Butterfly (x1)
Copperband Butterfly (x1)
Yellow Longnose (x1)
Mandarin Dragonette (x1)
Asstd. Damsels/Cardinals, etc... (x6-8?)
Asstd. Hermits (x6ish?)
Asstd. Crabs (x6ish?)
Asstd. Stars (x2-3?)
Asstd. Cleaning Shrimp (x4-5?)
Asstd. Snails (x3-5?)

Along with:
Neoglyphidodon oxyodon
Trapezia rufopunctata
Are there any small (3-4") reef lobsters?


Also as far as stars, I'd like a chocolate chip star, brittle star and maybe a micro brittle star.
 
Pedersen Cleaner Shrimp
Scarlet Striped Cleaner Shrimp
Peppermint Cleaner Shrimp
And that cool little red with white dots cleaner shrimp. (name?)

2 Black cap basslet
2 Pink Basslet
 
Hello and Welcome!!

I dont mean to start this off poorly, but that morrish idol will die in your tank. Of the thousands of people who buy them, only one or two make it long term. The people that do keep them generally keep them in huge tanks with only a few other fish, they are also long time, highly experienced fish keepers. I cant think of a single other fish that is as hard to keep.

+1 about the butterflies if you want to a reef, but the flame angels are 50/50 on being reef safe. It really depends on the individual.

I would skip the damsels, they are meanie poopoo heads

You are going to need a much bigger CUC that what you have listed. I would suggest checking out reefcleaners.org for a nice CUC, plus you get a discount for being a member on here.

You are very lucky to be starting off with such a big tank, but do be sure to stock slowly and dont over do it. The secret to keeping healthy fish is to make sure they are stress free. You and your fish should live a long time happily together!
 
Percula Clown (x2)
Royal Gramma Basslet (x1)
Black Cap Basslet (x2)
Pink Basslet (x2)
Purple Fire Goby (x1)
Yellow Tang (x1)
Blue Hippo (x1)
Purple Tang (x1)
Powder Brown (x1)
Threadfin Butterfly (x1)
Copperband Butterfly (x1)
Yellow Longnose (x1)
Mandarin Dragonette (x1)
Javanese Neon Velvet Damsel (x4-6)
Asstd. Hermits (x6ish?) (Red and Blue, 3 ea.)
Asstd. Crabs (x2-3) (Red Spotted Trapeze Crab; any others?)
Asstd. Stars (x2-3?) (Micro Brittle Star, Brittle Star)
Asstd. Cleaning Shrimp (x4-5?) (Pederson Cleaner Shrimp, Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, Peppermint Cleaner Shrimp, Spotted Cleaner Shrimp)
Asstd. Snails (x3-5?) (Turbo Snails and Nassarius Snails)

Moving onto the subject of equipment, how do the included sound to anybody here? I don't recall seeing a protein skimmer on there, any suggestions on a good one for that size of a tank? And back to the moonlights, what are some suggestions there, as well?
 
The reef octopus makes a great skimmer, but im not sure what other good brands are out there for the super big tank.

Lighting will depend on if you want a reef tank or no, but moon lights are just for personal pleasure, you dont need them.
 
Copperband Butterfly- avoid please. These fish shouldn't be in the home aquarium... they are similar to the moorish idols in the fact that for all the thousands of people who try them, most end up dying. I work in an aquarium and even WE don't have them on display-they are better off left in the wild. awesome fish, I'd love to have one myself, they jsut don't go in the tanks tho

:)
 
Skimmer wise there are a lot of good brands: Super Reef Octopus, SWC, Vertex, Bubble King all come to mind. I would just spend some time looking at the major online shops and reading customer reviews. I've not had good luck finding good reviews elsewhere.

Buy the best you can afford that is sized one step larger than your tank.
 
x19 said:
Buy the best you can afford that is sized one step larger than your tank.
Click to expand...

This is going to be a huge, all-out show tank. I don't mean to come off as rude, but I'm going to be getting the best of everything, no matter the price because I'd rather have everything right the first time than spend more in the long run to upgrade, aside from upgrades as new, better equipment comes out (but even then, I'm not sure I would switch if everything I have is working as it should.) Thank you for the brands, though! I'll get online and look one of these days. :Cheers:
 
kbuser92 said:
This is going to be a huge, all-out show tank. I don't mean to come off as rude, but I'm going to be getting the best of everything, no matter the price because I'd rather have everything right the first time than spend more in the long run to upgrade, aside from upgrades as new, better equipment comes out (but even then, I'm not sure I would switch if everything I have is working as it should.) Thank you for the brands, though! I'll get online and look one of these days. :Cheers:
Click to expand...

Awesome. In that case I recommend going with a Bubble King:

bubbleking Premium Aquatics - bubbleking Aquarium Supplies
 
Bubble King DeLuxe 200? 185-400 gallons should be sufficient, yes?
Whats the best method of heating and what heaters would be best?
I was thinking of an Eheim canister filter for 400 or so gallons, too. Thoughts?
 
When skimmers give a range, the lower gallon size (185) is usually for a heavily stocked tank and the higher number (400) would be for a very light stocking.

For heaters, it's best to split the load between 2 heaters (so you have a backup) I'd get 2x 250-300w titanuim heaters.

Skip the canister filters, those are for freshwater. Instead you could look into Biopellet reactors, or Carbon/GFO reactors.
 

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