[Kevin12492]

Hey, I'm Kevin and I am setting up a largish tank around 125-350 gallons. I'm 15 and funding the tank my self and it is going to be a work in progress. It is going to be a SPS dominated tank and I want to know what type of equipment I will need to set it up. I will be researching in the mean time. Thanks for reading my thread.

-Kevin

	SPS Small Polyped Scleractinians - Sometimes known as Small Polyped Stony corals. These are hard corals that have extremely small polyps. They are typically on the difficult side and require Metal Halide lighting or dense Power Compact or T5 arrays. These corals are prized for their rareness and ability to be easily fragged into multiple colonies.

[deelucky]

welcome to MR.you'll find lots of people here that will give you good advice,and theres plenty to read.enjoy

	Manhattan Reefs Manhattan Reefs, the best aquarium community on Planet Earth!

[Aqua Pro Builder]

hi there

Pretty ambitious you are. A 350G SPS tank is going to be interesting! Update us the progress with pics pls.

	SPS Small Polyped Scleractinians - Sometimes known as Small Polyped Stony corals. These are hard corals that have extremely small polyps. They are typically on the difficult side and require Metal Halide lighting or dense Power Compact or T5 arrays. These corals are prized for their rareness and ability to be easily fragged into multiple colonies.

[Chiefmcfuz]

I would get a nice Reef Ready tank with a nice stand. A good sump 90 gallons for the 125 and for the 350 I would say a minimum 120. Next is you are going to need a good protein skimmer. Check the skimmer thread for that recommendation. For SPS in those large tanks you are looking for a Metal Halide system that will be strong enough to cover the entire tank I would hope someone would chime in here with a recc for the 350 but for the 125 I would say a minimum of 3 250W Metal Halide lights.

Rock and sand are going to be needed as well you will have to play it by ear for that because of your aqua scape but it's gonna be quite a bit. Look at some of the larger tank threads here and see how they have things set up. This is not going to be a cheap hobby so keep that in mind, if you go cheap first it will cost you more in the long run because you will have to upgrade to the correct equipment. Trust me I have been there.

Good luck and most importantly welcome to MR!

	Manhattan Reefs Manhattan Reefs, the best aquarium community on Planet Earth!

	SPS Small Polyped Scleractinians - Sometimes known as Small Polyped Stony corals. These are hard corals that have extremely small polyps. They are typically on the difficult side and require Metal Halide lighting or dense Power Compact or T5 arrays. These corals are prized for their rareness and ability to be easily fragged into multiple colonies.

[NYreefNoob]

like the ambition. not to discourage you. but hope you really have a few grand to start with to get a tank like this start. not including corals. and there's alot more to keeping sps's that lps's. id try my hand at that route first and see if you are up to all that entale's keeping a reef tank. best of luck

	SPS Small Polyped Scleractinians - Sometimes known as Small Polyped Stony corals. These are hard corals that have extremely small polyps. They are typically on the difficult side and require Metal Halide lighting or dense Power Compact or T5 arrays. These corals are prized for their rareness and ability to be easily fragged into multiple colonies.

	LPS Large Polyped Stony corals – In the aquarium hobby this is a common division of the species of stony corals based upon the visual assessment of the size of the polyps. Corals in this category were among the first stony corals to be kept successfully in captivity and include many very beautiful species. Commonly kept Genera include Euphyllia (hammer/frogspawn coral), Favia (brain coral), Plerogyra (bubble coral), Lobophyllia (meat/tooth coral), and Caulastrea (candycane coral). LPS corals also include the popular solitary non-colonial stony corals such as Fungia (plate coral), Cynarina (button coral), Trachyphyllia (open brain coral), and Herpolitha (tongue coral). Like their SPS counterparts, LPS corals require good water quality, intense lighting of the appropriate spectrum, adequate water movement and regular supplementation of calcium.

[cali_reef]

Few grand is not even enough for a good quality 350 gallon tank , the support equipment will be another 3-4 grand.

[jhale]

Kevin, welcome to MR.

the equipment list will be pretty much the same for a 120 or a 350, it will just get bigger and more expensive for the 350 size. A tank that size requires a lot of time, then again so does a 120. what tanks do you have set up now, or is this going to be your first reef tank?

	Manhattan Reefs Manhattan Reefs, the best aquarium community on Planet Earth!

[Wes]

i wouldn't even think about a 350g SPS reef unless i had about $20K to spend.

welcome to MR

	Manhattan Reefs Manhattan Reefs, the best aquarium community on Planet Earth!

	SPS Small Polyped Scleractinians - Sometimes known as Small Polyped Stony corals. These are hard corals that have extremely small polyps. They are typically on the difficult side and require Metal Halide lighting or dense Power Compact or T5 arrays. These corals are prized for their rareness and ability to be easily fragged into multiple colonies.

[NYreefNoob]

lol i was trying not to run him off with a more realistic price. and if this is your first tank. i truelly would suggest starting with something a little smaller. and being that young, { got one almost your age } that i would make sure parent's know how to do some of the thing's also.

Welcome Kevin

15 huh ,,great early start

My honest opinion ,GO with a 125g tank for a few years till you get some experiance in the hobby ..Going with a 350 gal tank youll need the following

400w MH at least 3 of them total should cost around $1000

a few power heads ,Tunze 6100s or Vortechs each cost $300 or better

Chiller ,at least 1/2 HP ,good one cost $900 pr better

Live rock ,at $3 LBS for the cheapest around ,about 300+ youll need

Sand ,,not ness ,all depends it you want sand in your tank ,if so ,some what cost $200

Skimmer ,--$700+

Tank and stand ,up to you

sump ,,,could get away with a use tank and make baffles

Controllers and calcium reactor ,Ide say in the $1500 mark

this does not include all the little things that add up to big things ,nets ,tests kits ,ph monitor, Buckets and salt ,pumps ,magnets im sure there are other things that i forgot ,and we didnt even get to the livestock yet.

Good luck with the quest


Ronen

	MH Metal Halide Lighting, typically used for high intensity light demanding corals such as SPS. Bulbs come in varieties of spectrums (7k, 10k,20k), and intensity (175W, 250W, 400W).