Looking for a new 300 gallon tank

juryduty21 · 01/19/2009, 01:57 PM

I'm new to the hobby and I'm looking at picking up a 300 gallon tank and I have a few questions:

1) Where is the best place to pick up a tank? ( I live in the Denver metro area in Co)
Online Vs. Local store? ( I do plan on picking up my live stock at local stores)

2) What types of fish would you recommend and why?

Thank you

n9gux · 01/19/2009, 02:49 PM

IMO the best place to pick up a tank is a good quality used one. I like to use craigslist.org. Here in Las Vegas there seems to be tanks on there all the time. With this economy sometimes pets are the first thing that gets the axe! You will save a lot of money over retail.

btb72 · 01/19/2009, 03:16 PM

Well it depends on what you want (fish wise) do you have any idea of what you might want?

juryduty21 · 01/19/2009, 04:23 PM

I have been thinking about these types of fish:
Naso blonde Tang
Powder Blue Tang
Lieutenant Tang
Bartlett's Anthias
Watchman Goby and Pistol Shrimp
Mandarin Goby
Blue Dot Jawfish

juryduty21 · 01/19/2009, 07:32 PM

My third question is on lighting for the tank, I'm looking at lumen max elite 400 watt w/ 20 k bulb I was wondering if I should get three or four? The dimensions are 96" x 25" high x 30" wide.
I will be keeping sps that like a lot of light.

fitlerreef · 01/19/2009, 07:59 PM

The blue dot jawfish is beautiful - truly one of my favorites. But it's really expensive.

You'll want to add the mandarin after your tank is well established so that your copepods and aminopods have time to develop sufficient populations in your live rock and refugium.

The Powder Blue Tang is also one of my favorites. I've never had one, but my books say they're rather susceptible to ich. So you'll definitely want to quarantine the powder blue for 2-4 weeks before adding to your system.

Everything else looks great, although I don't know much about Lieutenant Tangs.

btb72 · 01/19/2009, 08:25 PM

that looks like a great set of fish... if I had a 300+ gallon tank I would get a school of 20+ bartlett anthias. Although they can be tricky. (one of my friends has i think 19 of them)

btb72 · 01/19/2009, 08:26 PM

oh and +1 to the mandarin waiting period

01/19/2009, 01:57 PM	#1
juryduty21 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 4	Looking for a new 300 gallon tank I'm new to the hobby and I'm looking at picking up a 300 gallon tank and I have a few questions: 1) Where is the best place to pick up a tank? ( I live in the Denver metro area in Co) Online Vs. Local store? ( I do plan on picking up my live stock at local stores) 2) What types of fish would you recommend and why? Thank you

01/19/2009, 02:49 PM	#2
n9gux Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 46	IMO the best place to pick up a tank is a good quality used one. I like to use craigslist.org. Here in Las Vegas there seems to be tanks on there all the time. With this economy sometimes pets are the first thing that gets the axe! You will save a lot of money over retail.

01/19/2009, 03:16 PM	#3
btb72 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: KY Posts: 657	Well it depends on what you want (fish wise) do you have any idea of what you might want?

01/19/2009, 04:23 PM	#4
juryduty21 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 4	I have been thinking about these types of fish: Naso blonde Tang Powder Blue Tang Lieutenant Tang Bartlett's Anthias Watchman Goby and Pistol Shrimp Mandarin Goby Blue Dot Jawfish

01/19/2009, 07:32 PM	#5
juryduty21 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 4	My third question is on lighting for the tank, I'm looking at lumen max elite 400 watt w/ 20 k bulb I was wondering if I should get three or four? The dimensions are 96" x 25" high x 30" wide. I will be keeping sps that like a lot of light.

01/19/2009, 07:59 PM	#6
fitlerreef Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 45	The blue dot jawfish is beautiful - truly one of my favorites. But it's really expensive. You'll want to add the mandarin after your tank is well established so that your copepods and aminopods have time to develop sufficient populations in your live rock and refugium. The Powder Blue Tang is also one of my favorites. I've never had one, but my books say they're rather susceptible to ich. So you'll definitely want to quarantine the powder blue for 2-4 weeks before adding to your system. Everything else looks great, although I don't know much about Lieutenant Tangs.

01/19/2009, 08:25 PM	#7
btb72 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: KY Posts: 657	that looks like a great set of fish... if I had a 300+ gallon tank I would get a school of 20+ bartlett anthias. Although they can be tricky. (one of my friends has i think 19 of them)

01/19/2009, 08:26 PM	#8
btb72 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: KY Posts: 657	oh and +1 to the mandarin waiting period