200 gal. almost ready

[Nakie31]

Good afternoon R/C, I'm just about have everything I need to start my 200gl. tank. I have 80 pounds of live sand, is that enough if not how much more would I need if I plan to have sand sifting animals. Also I would like to know how many GPH should my wave makers be for this size tank for good flow. I will have fish and coral in the tank over time at a rate of (1-2 fish per month)once it finish the cycling.

[rhinonm]

As much flow as you can do without blowing sand around or stressing out fish. I would do 2 rw-20's with a Aqualink controller.. Little over $200.

[ClownsRCoo]

Reefcentral has a good calculator to determine how much sand you will need to make X inches of sand bed. 80lbs is no where near enough. I used about 100 lbs in my 60x30x22 tank and only have about a 1" sand bed.


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[Nakie31]

Thanks for your advice but where do I find the calculator for the sand

[ccrider93]

Originally Posted by Nakie31

Thanks for your advice but where do I find the calculator for the sand

http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php...bed-calculator

FWIW, I just used in a standard 180 gallon, 72x24 for a little under a 2" bed, 220 lbs, of dry sand.

[Zacktosterone]

Originally Posted by rhinonm

As much flow as you can do without blowing sand around or stressing out fish. I would do 2 rw-20's with a Aqualink controller.. Little over $200.

Rw-20 are 100% OVERKILL for that (my experience in my 200 gallon) i always had sandstorms and water blowing over the edge. Rw-15s are still slightly overwhelming still, could never a placement that didn't blow around sand.

[Zacktosterone]

Originally Posted by Nakie31

Thanks for your advice but where do I find the calculator for the sand

Why do you need a specific amount of sand? Just put as much as you like. If you want a deep sand bed then 4" or more. Typically any less than that is only useful to a handful of critters we keep in our reef. The common amount for Acstetics is 1" i think 80-120 is good