Finally going to make the move to salt

[fishman76092]

Im switching over to salt in the very near future after dragging my feet for quite some time. Id like to do a community tank with some inverts-nothing too crazy to start. Is my lighting sufficient? If not, Ill do a fish only tank.

Here is what I have:
300 gallon acrylic tank (10' x 2' footprint) w/stand and canopy
2 x 48" 260W PC lights w/4 10K bulbs and 4 50/50 bulbs
W/D
Heater

Here is what I know I need:
Live sand (how many lbs?)
Live rock (how many lbs?)
Skimmer
Couple of garbage cans on wheels with pump and flexi hosing

What else do I need?

Thanks for the help.

 

[psteeleb]

about 450 lbs of rock
sand is optional

on the rock you may want to consider going half live and half base to save on some money

invest in a good skimmer

IMHO - the lights are okay for fish and maybe some softies but not any stonies

good luck, post some pics and start a build log, you'll get lots of advice

 

[bimmerzs]

Hi,

This is a good source of information, you can search around and most likely find an answer to any question you could think of. http://www.melevsreef.com/tanks.html One other thing...If your tank has ever been treated with copper, you may not be able to do a full blown reef tank. Just something to keep in mind before you get too far.

Cheers,

 

[fishman76092]

Ive used coppersafe in distant past-3 years ago. Ill have to go with a fish only tank with live rock.

 

[SCOTT42]

@fishman76092 wrote:

That or you can use that as a really good excuse to buy a bigger new tank.

 

[fperkins]

Not sure the use of copper is an issue as you have an acrylic tank.

Does it have silicone at the joints?

If not, it may not have ever trapped the copper.

Small amounts of copper can be removed with activated carbon.

Check the tank with a test kit before totally blowing off doing a reef.

 

[bimmerzs]

@fperkins wrote:

You are correct...didn't see the acrylic part. I did say maybe at least. :lol: Either way I would run some poly filter along with the carbon until nothing comes up on the poly(that is if it's positive on the test kit).

Cheers,