Long time hobbiest - whose been keeping reefs for years. Currently have an 8.8g in my kitchen but had to jump at the opportunity to build a 300 gallon in my dad’s basement.
300 Gallon
- Thread starter Bmgrocks
- Start date
Decided to go low maintenance with African cichlids. Hardy, and easy to feed/maintain. Had an all male tank back in the mid 2000s - and my dad appreciated the color, activity and movement.
Unfortunately I never got the chance to grow out many of those fish due to the loss of the dominant male - but we’ll give it a shot once agian
Unfortunately I never got the chance to grow out many of those fish due to the loss of the dominant male - but we’ll give it a shot once agian
thank you! That tank never really did get the chance to live up to its full potential - but I definitely learned a valuable lesson.
dominant fish maintain order.
and I’m a reef geek at heart - the color and textures of Zoas and softies never get old for me
Another forum member had posted their tank in the classified section - a marineland deep dimension 300. Trust me - I’ve read all the reviews, horror stories, tank blow outs, customer service feedback, success stores and longevity reports.
the conclusion being that from Late 2017- 2018 they had switched manufacturers - and utilized a black silicone seal all olong the bottom panel as opposed to clear. This seems to correlate to the wide range of tank blow outs And overall consensus amongst R2R, RC and other forums.
the previous owner had this tank running since 2016 - and lo and behold it has a clear silicone bottom.
Regardless I shelled out the extra money. Got it stripped and resealed for good measure. Buying a marineland tank second hand voids the warranty anyway - so I decided to get a little more piece of mind
it came with
(2) 1100gph pumps
(3) 300w Glass heaters
60g Amiracle wet dry sump
(3) Fluval FX-6
the conclusion being that from Late 2017- 2018 they had switched manufacturers - and utilized a black silicone seal all olong the bottom panel as opposed to clear. This seems to correlate to the wide range of tank blow outs And overall consensus amongst R2R, RC and other forums.
the previous owner had this tank running since 2016 - and lo and behold it has a clear silicone bottom.
Regardless I shelled out the extra money. Got it stripped and resealed for good measure. Buying a marineland tank second hand voids the warranty anyway - so I decided to get a little more piece of mind
it came with
(2) 1100gph pumps
(3) 300w Glass heaters
60g Amiracle wet dry sump
(3) Fluval FX-6
I’m currently dealing with my mbunas killing off all of the others. I want to put more in but they just kill them and I would like to see non cichlid fish go in.
I just started my first reef in 13.5 gallons a few months ago, corals are two toadstools, an Australian torch, 2 devils hand, a finger leather, a Xenia, and a zoa. Most of the corals are from petco so they have been looking dull. Eventually my tank will look as nice as yours!
I just started my first reef in 13.5 gallons a few months ago, corals are two toadstools, an Australian torch, 2 devils hand, a finger leather, a Xenia, and a zoa. Most of the corals are from petco so they have been looking dull. Eventually my tank will look as nice as yours!
With the tank stripped and resealed I painted the back and sanded and repainted the stand flat black.
I double checked the floor and the wall where it would be placed (basement with concrete flooring under vinyl floor tiles) to ensure it was level. I decided I needed to use shims.
empty tank weighs 450lbs
Full - 2900lbs
I double checked the floor and the wall where it would be placed (basement with concrete flooring under vinyl floor tiles) to ensure it was level. I decided I needed to use shims.
empty tank weighs 450lbs
Full - 2900lbs
Sorry to hear about the Mbuna. That 72g was a mixed tank with tons of rock work before I dialed into the all male hap tank. I always found keeping Mbuna calm relies on lower tank temps and small frequent feedings.
and the name of the game is patience with corals. Once your tank is really dialed in they take off. I tend to cut back on water changes too once you have completed all your algae cycles. When the tank maintains itself without any cyano diatoms green hair algae - it’s mature.
And feed your corals!
Threw up the stand. Plumbed the sump and swapped out the Two twin 1100 gph pumps with a Magdrive 2400gph pump. I’m not quite satisfied with the flow - The marineland tank is limited by 1” drilled Holes for sump - I suspect I’ll be incorporating a few powerheads in this tank.
I was able to source 225lbs of aragonite from a reef tear down. Despite being used in a sw reef tank - I appreciate the buffering capabilities and small grain size - it looks to be your standard Caribsea reef sand.
Additionally I expect a strong ammonia and nitrite spike from the Reef microorganism die off.
I don’t think I’ll have to wait around long for a cycle to start - and there should be plenty of ammonia for beneficial bacteria to feast on over the next month or so.
I’ll be adding filter floss and about 3lbs of volcanic stone media to serve as mechanical and biofiltration early next week.
I’m not in any particular hurry - and will just sit back and let the tank do it’s thing for the next 3-4 weeks before hitting it with a large water change
I was able to source 225lbs of aragonite from a reef tear down. Despite being used in a sw reef tank - I appreciate the buffering capabilities and small grain size - it looks to be your standard Caribsea reef sand.
Additionally I expect a strong ammonia and nitrite spike from the Reef microorganism die off.
I don’t think I’ll have to wait around long for a cycle to start - and there should be plenty of ammonia for beneficial bacteria to feast on over the next month or so.
I’ll be adding filter floss and about 3lbs of volcanic stone media to serve as mechanical and biofiltration early next week.
I’m not in any particular hurry - and will just sit back and let the tank do it’s thing for the next 3-4 weeks before hitting it with a large water change
Depending on future bioload I don’t know if I’ll just run the tank with the sump or throw an FX6 on for good measure. I’m a big fan of running chemipure elite and large routine water changes.
in the meantime I’m looking for lighting suggestions. I want to steer away from the 72” fixture and more towards LED spotlighting to promote some darker portions of the aquarium and hilighting Aquascaping features.
in the meantime I’m looking for lighting suggestions. I want to steer away from the 72” fixture and more towards LED spotlighting to promote some darker portions of the aquarium and hilighting Aquascaping features.