suggestions for 200 gallon!!!!!!!!!!! (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

hello everyone...i have a 200 gallon undrilled that i will be setting up shortly.
all i have is the tank and stand....i am not sure if i want to take the risk of drilling the tank......i am on a fixed budget so i am planning on getting the filtration going first and then adding fish.......then rocks and reef later.....along with the lighting....my question is the tank is 7x2x2 what type of filtration should i use and how large should i go......any help is greatly appreciated.....basically i need suggestions for the whole setup.....i am pretty much a noobie so please explain well......
thank you,
alanb

 

[Guest]

Your filtration will be your live rock........

I would drill that sucker if I were you.......

Matt

 

[cstewart79]

Fixed budget + 200 gallons = frustration

First off get that bad boy drilled, a lot of lfs will do it but that requires getting the tank to them. JT with addictive aquatics might come out to you and drill it for you.

If you are doing saltwater, I would wait longer and save then start something right now.

If it were me I would do the following

1. Get tank drilled www.addictiveaquatics.com
2. Get a sump (75 gallon)
3. Get a refugium.
4. Add live rock and live sand probably 150 lbs of sand and 250 lbs of live rock.
5. Wait...wait .....wait...wait for water to cycle.
6. Add protein skimmer
7. Add lighting
8. Get divorce from wife for spending all this money.

To be perfectly honest I think it will cost you 2000 bucks minimum to get it up and running in reef mode. To do a fish only tank would be less. Good luck and send us pictures of your progress.

 

[Guest]

I don't think you'd get water in the thing for $2,000. I'd plan on 4 - 5.

 

[Bakapuma]

Guys, you also need to add, "Join Marsh," our sponsor stores have great discounts. The discounts alone will pay for your membership.

 

[MarkieB]

Hi Alan and welcome,

I hate to be gloom and doom, but I repeat the above. 200 gallons and a budget is going to make a very sad poor looking tank or a 5 year project getting it to look good.

IMO, 200 is a huge tank to beign with. I would strongly suggest you start with a 75, especially since you are on a budget. I think about 40% of people that get in marine tanks drop out of the hobby in about a year. You need to see what you are getting into first.

If I were you I would sell the tank and use the money to buy a 75, good lighting, and a good skimmer for basics.

 

[Crystal]

Hey Alanb, WELCOME. Just to relate to you, I'm in the same position as far as the tank. I'm in the process of setting up a 200g with the same dimensions. You should contact ADG (one of the sponsors) he has a lot of used equip that he can sale you. I just bought everything I'll need for my tank for about $2400. Good Luck, and keep us posted.

 

[Guest]

if you want to get it drilled find out who the manufactor is and see if they use tempered glass. if its tempered dont drill cause it could shatter. some tanks only have the tempered bottom so you can drill the back. If you can do as much DIY as you can to save some $$$

 

[Bakapuma]

Alan
I also agree with mark. But if you must set up a 200g, start your planning now and take you time to set up. I am in the process of setting up a 180 60x24x29. Figure out you equipment requirements, and start accumlating the things you will need over time to help spread out the cost (I am a teacher and talk about a fixed budget). This will give you time to find out what you need, ask people advice on each, and get the most for your money. Research, Research. Plan, plan, plan. I started planning for my 180 setup back in January, I wont be ready to setup until later this year or maybe even early next. This is a hobby that requires a lot of patience and time. You will save money and headaches, not to mention heart breaks, if you take your time. There is wealth of information and an abundant amount of skilled and talented people out there, especially here at MARSH (we are alot of fun too ). Something I have learned from this hobby is that people are always willing to help. But take heed on what these guys are saying, we have all been there done that and bought the t-shirt. We all try to be responsible stewards of the marine life we keep and any loss is to much. I know the loss of a tiny anemone shrimp makes me physically ill. So proceed, but please take your time. This has been one of the most rewarding endevors I have ever embarked upon. I hope you find it the same as well.
Joe

 

[Guest]

none

well i appreciate all the input from everyone.....that is a lot of money to spend......i am at a cross road because i only paid $50 for the tank and $75 for the stand from one of the members.......so i am only into them for $125 so far which is cheap.......ohhh what to do......well i have time to mull it over......
alanb

 

[cstewart79]

you might try to sell it and go with a nano tank, you can get a nano up and running for less than 500 bucks with livestock and live rock

 

[Guest]

Re: none

well i appreciate all the input from everyone.....that is a lot of money to spend......i am at a cross road because i only paid $50 for the tank and $75 for the stand from one of the members.......so i am only into them for $125 so far which is cheap.......ohhh what to do......well i have time to mull it over......
alanb

alanb, it sounds like your a smart guy who's listening to all the suggestions and comments made so far. I only have a 130 gal. (not counting fuge and sump) and I could have easily bought a good used car for what I have into this system, and it's not "finished" yet! You could easily get into this much deeper, only to realize you can't turn back without loosing lots of money, time and hope. You can always upgrade at a later date and just move everything over to a larger tank. You'll find that most everyone on this list would love to see a nice 200 tank going up, be it yours or someone else's but we also know the financial commitment involved and none of us would enjoy seeing you go to the poor house in doing so! Even if you downsize, you could set up a beautiful tank. I can't speak for everyone, it's only my opinion, but I think it's not the size of the tank that matters so much but the care of the inhabitants and the quality of the system, low or high tech, that matters. I respect the keeper of a small well tended tank as much as a keeper of a large well tended tank! Whatever you decide, best wishes.
Cheryl

 

[Ulric]

If your determined... I'd take a slow, DIY approach.

First change your plan stage...

Save for filtration, DIY most your rock..
watch the site for someone to sell some of their Live
rock & sand.
Seed the tank with the LR/Sand... this gets your initial cycle
going and starts getting you a biological bsaed filtration system going.

Then your filtration & a basic clean up crew....and now you can look
and figure out where you want to go... reef, just fish etc. Which will help you figure out what lighting is going to be best..and the best way to go about getting/setting that up.

Drilling and and overflow definitly seemed to make life...feel safer for me.

 

[DonnieKim]

Yeah I'd stalk the boards for used equipment and Craigslist and eBay etc.

Wish I could tell you it will be cheaper but they are correct. Buying used and DIY will help tremendously! I wouldn't get discouraged though!

Good Luck and search the boards!

 

[Guest]

Just a point of perspective from someone who had to start up on a budget.

It took me 6 years (due to both budget and time constraints) to get everything I needed (wanted) for my 75g. I did not even put water into the tank until I had all of my plumbing elements (sump, skimmer, pumps) aquired or built. I had to wait even longer to get all of my electrical components (lighting, control units). Tried my hand at building a stand, and was not happy with results (even though it was a perfectly good stand, it just did not fit in with decor of the house by time I finished it), and gave it to another MARSH member. Had a stand and canopy custom built by FishLand.

All in all, I probably dropped $2500 (thru many false starts and readjustments) just getting the system built and running in the garage before finally installing it in the house. *Then* came the cost of sand and rock (TBS), and critters, not to mention all of the additives and food to get started. I thought the spousal unit was going to divorce me over those expenses.

Now the expense is much lower (or seems so since I changed to a better paying job), and I am *slowly* building up the look of the system. Shortly after getting everything running, I had to make upgrades tot he skimmer, and even now I come to the realization that my TurboFlotor just requires too much "messing around with" and it needs to be changed out with something better, which will entail a new plumbing job (in cramped quarters) under the tank. I will also be plumbing in a chiller once I can pick it up from another MARSH member that I am buying it from.

This is a much more expensive hobby than my FW tanks ever thought about being. But it is a very rewarding experience as well.

 

[troypham]

You guys are gonna scare if off with the numbers.

start slow is right. you can get sand from HD.. the pavestone crushed lime stone is great. and at 3 bucks for a 50#bag all you will need is 5 to 6bags of the stuff. wash it well and your good to go. get the tank drilled.. as most have said above, check to see if your tank is tempered or not. the back glass on most tanks is not, but i'd check any way.

i'd drill at least 3 holes in the tank. 2-1" drainand 1-2". but 2-2" would be best for closed loop. you can always plug the second close loop if you don't use it but it's gonna be harder to drill it after it's setup.

look for a used 40 or larger tank as a sump. you can diy the baffles. you can also get it drilled if you want to run external pump.

look for some used lighting equipment. you can get a nice used icecap 660 for 120 bucks or so. i just sold one a few weeks back. you can run t5's or vho's with it. and will be a good start for your reef lighting.

check other boards such as Maast.org. you can pick up used external pumps and internal pumps cheap. i kno there is a dolphin(3600g) pump forsale by a member there.

i'd get a 100# of live rock or so and diy the rest of your rock with cement, pvc, and egg crate.

and get a good skimmer.

but you should be able to get started with that. just get a couple of # of live sand from someone to seed your tank and you should be good to go. wait 3-5 weeks for it to cycle, water changes and put a couple of cheap fish in as starter.

buy good test kits too

 

[Guest]

You guys are gonna scare if off with the numbers.

Not trying to scare anyone off. Just being realistic with the numbers. This is not a hobby you can just jump into; it takes a lot of sweat and expense to build something you can be proud of. Even after all I have spent to get where I am now, I am wishing I had a much larger system than I have, though I have no idea where I would put it in my house so that it could be enjoyed.

 

[troypham]

a 200 is a big step. on a budget is even harder, but it can be done.

just take your time

 

[Guest]

Well I started w/ a 29 gallon in October and I am already jumping to a 100 gallon. I have bought everything used except my return pump.

I say go as big as you can cause you will get addicted. BUT I also agree that you should see if you like it before you spend all this money on this large tank. You could always get a 10 gallon set up from walmart and try it a while and see if you like it. If you do then you already have your 200 gallon. If not then you can sell it and you havne't lost much at all.

Good luck

 

[toefu]

Sometimes going biggest possible is not always the best idea. A lot of people go too big too fast and then realize that they are spending too much money/time on the aquarium and burn out of the aquarium within a year.

Many people are not even sure which direction they are planning to take their tanks, so making the theme change for a 200 is far more expensive than that of a smaller tank(like a 75). like many people, my tank went from fish only -> softies -> sps. If this were a 200, i don't think i'd be able to handle it financially.