Hi, Where do I start?

[ac7av]

300lb rock for 200 gallon sounds good.
I have around 400-450 in my 210 gallon. It’s a little over the top but not much. If you think LED's are too much $ then you really need to scale it down a bit. you will spend more on lighting then the tank. I say estimate 6 X tank $ to get started but Katchupoy says 10 X. Both may be an understatement. I put my system together on the cheep side but as it sits and I still don’t have more then the bare minimum comes in at currently $4,600.00 and that doesn’t include the fish.

 

[Frankie]

Oh, there is lots of stuff We still need to learn this member though and I hate pushing my opinions. BUT! if you want:

pyton, from following your posts you keep leaning towards a large reef. Large would be anything over 90 gallons IMO
I am assuming you have a clue to what these size tanks can run in not just the setup but the long term maintenance.
My first recommendation would be NOT to put all your eggs in one basket and ditch the LFS's advice because all they want is your money. I am willing to bet if you just walk in there, they would sell you a fish even though you don't have a tank to put it in
On a 200g aquarium you would do much better with metal halides then T5's. Soft corals require good lighting also.
To better help you, how much are you planning on spending for the the initial startup? Do you have a budget in mind?

All this advice is wonderful if your going to follow through, but I have seen and advised way to many people only to have them bail out after they realize the cost of such a large reef aquarium.

Oh come on Frankie. No Rep points

There's got to be something we missed

 

[Frankie]

Just a side note, the larger the water volume the easier it is to maintain water parameters.

That being said, I highly recommend going the route of an all in one small reef setup so you can learn the hobby before investing and loosing money in a large system. Rich or poor money is money and no one should squander it.
The first year is the hardest. You need to first comprehend the cycle process. I recommend doing an online aquarium class that gets emailed daily to you.
Here is a link to one that works well. click the link:
Saltwater Aquariums 101

 

[ac7av]

Just a side note, the larger the water volume the easier it is to maintain water parameters.

That being said, I highly recommend going the route of an all in one small reef setup so you can learn the hobby before investing and loosing money in a large system. Rich or poor money is money and no one should squander it.
The first year is the hardest. You need to first comprehend the cycle process. I recommend doing an online aquarium class that gets emailed daily to you.
Here is a link to one that works well. click the link:
Saltwater Aquariums 101

Excellent place to start is the place Frankie linked too. I took the same corse before starting up my tank.

 

[pyton]

me signed up for that Frankie. we have budget based on the size we go for. I think we have around 10,000 right now. we want to do it right and understand we can find used stuff at half of price of new. me talk to a couple people yesterday that were visiting the fish store. one man say me should use medal halide of at least 250 watt. he say to look at galacy ballast so i can select watt. he say they might be more to begin with but give me choice to run 250 or 400. he say he can get 4 ballast and 4 coralve lou bright fixtures for $1000 brand new. anyone like thise ballast or fixtures

 

[DonW]

Before you spend a single dime get your brain rapped around the nitrogen cycle and basic reef chemistry. Not doing so will cost you alot of money and heart ache. If you actually knew what you were trying to acomplish buy buying all this equipment you will be better informed.

Don

 

[pyton]

we have decided to get a larger tank with live rock and bare bottom. for now since we cannot choose the type of coral we would like we will do fish only. just need to pick the tank out. our sump we found a 48x24x20 we need to divide it so we have a bio filter space with algae, sand, and other plants. the skimmer will be based off the size of tank. still reading so do not want to rush out and buy all at once.

 

[NC2WA]

pyton,

Welcome.

Before putting a drop of water in a tank, I would strongly suggest you read the following book:

Amazon.com: The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists (Microcosm/T.F.H. Professional) (9781890087999): Robert M. Fenner, Matthew L. Wittenrich, Scott W. Michael, Alf Jacob Nilsen, Christopher Turk: B

It tells you what equipment you need, how to set up an aquarium, how to test water parameters, etc..very informative book.

I also suggest do NOT save money on your skimmer. IMO, the skimmer is the single most important piece of equipment you can buy for your tank. Therefore, purchase the best darn skimmer you can within your budget. Skimmerwhisper is the guru on skimmers, he has tested just many many skimmers and does not mind telling his opinion on if a skimmer is crap or not.

 

[Skimmy]

the concientious marine aquarium is a great book,
but actually the book i linked you to, "reef secrets" is a little more modern set-up information, more in-depth methodology, and also has lists of things/creatures to avoid, as well as creatures that will sting/bite/poison you so that might be a slightly better quality book...
the other book i suggested, "ultimate reef aquariums", shows you some of the most beautiful tanks in the world, and how they did it, but the real info is how these successful people set up their systems and what they would do differently if they had it to do all over again, priceless information!!

also, if you havent already, go talk to kevin at aquatic dreams... you got a pro reefer right there in your back yard.

and yes, let me know when your ready for a skimmer and i will steer you in the best direction...

 

[Skimmy]

me saw a deep dimension tank 200 gallon tank pretty cheap. Are these ok tanks? it made by marineland. Is 200 gallon too big to start with?
what kind of lighting should me use? LED look good but me cannot afford them.

jrgilles: the marineland deep dimention tanks are referring to the front and back depth, not height...
they are a very popular tank with a great, more cubish-like footprint...

right now, i would say, the main questions you want to know, is about your tank it's self..
do you like the look of a wooden canopy and stand framing the aquarium, or do you like the look of topless/braceless tanks and a sleek looking light fixture hanging from the celing??
do you like the look of a cube?? or do you prefer a rectangle shaped system??
floor to celing furniture, in wall systems... etc...

since your going bigger, it makes sense to really think about what you want to look at...
also, is there a closet in this room to potentially make into a mini filtration room, or is everything going under the stand??

LED's dont have to break the bank...
here's a couple that are affordable and would do the trick, you would need 2 for a 4' tank, and 3 for a 6' tank;
this one is about the same as a 250w m.h. bulb:
Evolution LED Light 120w 1G [20K] : REEFKOI CORALS, SPS, LPS, Zoanthids

this one is about the same as a 400w m.h. bulb:
150w LED Fixture

if you do decide to go with a combination of m.h. and t5 instead, i would use lumatek m.h. ballasts instad of galaxy brand ballasts.. and for t5 bulbs, stick with geisemann brand bulbs. there's a ton of mh/t5 fixtures out there too, if you decide to get one, people here can steer u in the best direction.
if you decide upon a wooden canopy, then you will be most likely buying retrofit kits and installing them into the canopy yourself.

 

[Katchupoy]

Marineland Deep Dimension Corner-Flo Aquariums, 48 X 36 X 27 in. Those are really really nice dimensions. A lot of options to plat with rock work. Bare Bottom? Im biased to BB, I love BB, I have BB... this is nice because you can have a very good flow without the sand storm. But you also need to consider if you like the look of BB, since many says it looks unnatural because the lack of white sand on the bottom.

LED? skimerwhisperer pointed you some really nice ones that you can use plug and play. But if you are good with DIY, then based on my calculations, You will need between 115 LEDs (high side) - 86 LEDs (low side). What I meant was, from SPS down to Softies. Or even lower for Fish Only or FO. And with the pricing, the estimate is around 10 dollars per led, give or take. Do more research, I believe that they did a par reading on several ready made ones out there and of course the DIY's.

You can also mount your LEDs to your ceiling and have an open top tank configuration... maybe similar to this?

or like this....

and this one is really nice... not a DIY though... but still the idea of having open top is nice...

and you have to see this video... whoa!!!1

 

[Katchupoy]

Here is another BB 200 DD.

 

[pyton]

Very nice aquariums. me have decided to use the sump we buy to learn more. me friend give me rock but it not look too good so me boil it today. we scrub the rock now let it dry a bit. me have mixed salt next we will add rock to the temp tank and let rock cook. while we learn we going to only put soft corals like Zooanthids, Ricordea, Mushrooms, Shaving Brush and Mangrove Shoot. me firend give me small skimmer and koralia where i put directly in temp tank. now me just have to find lighting. where is good place for me to find 24" t-5 lights?

 

[pyton]

Marineland LED? skimerwhisperer pointed you some really nice ones that you can use plug and play. But if you are good with DIY, then based on my calculations, You will need between 115 LEDs (high side) - 86 LEDs (low side). What I meant was, from SPS down to Softies. Or even lower for Fish Only or FO. And with the pricing, the estimate is around 10 dollars per led, give or take.

do you know where i can get plans to build led?

 

[Katchupoy]

You can find several links that i have included on my LED build here...
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f12/diy-led-build-linear-design-59088/

 

[pyton]

me want to try led but me see same price or cheaper if me buy already put together.