New to saltwater debating selling 360 gallon bullnose tank for something smaller.

[johnsonfalconry]

Purchased a 360 gallon tank with a sump and skimmer and now I’m not sure if the tank is to tall for a reef style tank I’m hoping to have. The tank is 42 inches deep. My question is how hard is maintenance and lighting going to be. Will I be better of to sell and buy a smaller tank for my first saltwater or just go for it. First picture is my boy clean it out before we polished it The second pic is what it looked like before I bought it with fake coral in it.

 

[Deep dive coral]

It all depends on your budget. But that is definitely doable for a reef tank. Lighting will depend on what kind of reef you want to keep. That's a beautiful tank.

 

[Dragon52]

Maintenance on my 30" high is trouble some at times,. wish I had gone 24-26" instead.

 

[smartwater101]

Maintenance on my 30" high is trouble some at times,. wish I had gone 24-26" instead.

My tank is like 22-24" high and I hate cleaning the glass lol. My next tank will be closer to 15", no joke.

 

[Silent]

Later on you will regret getting rid of it.

 

[Deezill]

Purchased a 360 gallon tank with a sump and skimmer and now I’m not sure if the tank is to tall for a reef style tank I’m hoping to have. The tank is 42 inches deep. My question is how hard is maintenance and lighting going to be. Will I be better of to sell and buy a smaller tank for my first saltwater or just go for it. First picture is my boy clean it out before we polished it The second pic is what it looked like before I bought it with fake coral in it.

First off Welcome to R2R and i have a 150 which is 30 deep and I have to use a ladder. My 210 is 30 deep and I will have tro use a ladder 42 inches deep means invest in scuba gear

 

[vetteguy53081]

beautiful one of a kind tank- Its a keeper.

 

[Devaji]

IMHO I would do a FOWLR . a reef is doable but you are gonna spend some cash to light that.
cool tank i am excited to see what you do with it.

 

[johnsonfalconry]

Thanks for all the responses after some debate and because it’s not in the budget for big lights at this time I’ve decide to go with a fowlr system with some soft corals as the tank progresses. We set the tank up in the house, I’m now plumbing in the sump. Bought 280 pounds of used dry rock and 40 pounds of new dry rock I’m planing on starting to bleach all the rock for 7 days should I bleach the new dry rock? One of my orders came so I can build my mixing station I will be using Marine DCP-1000 for my mixing station. My skimmer is a reef octopus 1000sss cone and have a ozone reader and generator that I have to read up on more to see how it works. Question I have is can I put my rock work in and start cycle after the bleaching or does it need to cure for a couple month.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Once again- very pretty tank- really like it !!!!

 

[Silent]

Bleach the rock for a week or two, then rinse it very well and let it sit for a day or two with some ammonia remover in the bucket with water. Then put it in the tank and cycle it there. No need to cycle it in a different container or tank.
Many good threads here about cycling dry rock.

 

[Devaji]

glad you made a choice...sometimes that is the hardest part. lol

I think you will be happy with a flower with simple corals in that tank.
what kind of fish are you doing?
if it was me I would do butterfly's angels and tangs.
let us know hows it goes!

 

[DawnfromPa]

Keep it It’s an addictive hobby and you will buy so much. Also, with that much water your quality will be better. Keep it away from windows or it will be a burden with algae growth.

 

[DawnfromPa]

Led lights are cheap and cheap to run.

 

[DawnfromPa]

Bleach? What I wouldn’t mess with this and acid if you are a beginner. Are you trying to go for a clean look? Just put the rock right in with the saltwater and run the filtration.with some carbon..sand needs to go in too and it will be murky for a while. I think imo that the color of unbleached rock will look more established and grow some good coralline algae faster. Inorganic materials that are in the rock speed up cycling.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

I'm happy you kept it, it is beautiful. Maintenance is going to be awful. Trying to touch the bottom to move corals or rock would be close to impossible for me. 42" is no joke, anything past 24" is outside my comfort zone. What are the total dimensions?

Just noticed this is your first saltwater tank. You are definitely hitting the ground running. Read as much as you can, and add things slowly.

 

[DawnfromPa]

Yeah, the depth is my only concern for you. You could hire someone? If your pockets are deep.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Don’t worry about depth. I have various aquatic grabbers as my last three tanks have been deep. Grabbers snd tongs work wonders . for lighting- penetration for a deep tank is key - LED or MH will do the job

 

[nezw0001]

Justin, this is Jill. I didn't know your on here. Keep the posts coming. I might need to send you my big emperor angelfish once your up and running, if he gets mean.

 

[nezw0001]

I am glad you decided to do FOWLR. Maintenance will not be too big of a deal then. For curing your live rock, I'd use an acid/Lanathium chloride treatment. Bleach really doesn't gain you much.