[Kaptain Karl]

I have an all glass 220 gallon tank which has been a saltwater reef tank for the past five years. I am considering going back to freshwater plants (use to have a 90) due to the rising costs of maintaining the tank. Couple of questions:
#1 Too big a tank?
#2 Currently has 3 x 250 watt HQI lighting - too much for a planted tank?
#3 Tank has built in overflows for getting water into a sump filter - can this system still be used in a freshwater planted tank?
#4What filtration media?
I am sure more questions will arise - just weighing options right now.

 

[gunk]

I don't have too much experience with huge tanks but I think the cost of maintaining a heavily planted 220 gallon tank will be close to the cost of a SW tank. But if you can sell off a lot of your SW equipment and other stuff (live rock/live sand, corals, fish, etc) you can help yourself pay for any new planted tank investments. Just a little tip. Hopefully others will help you with your questions.

 

[Afyounie]

I don't have anything close to that size of a tank, but from what I've read, the bigger the better. There are far less things needed to be done, because of the huge size. Smaller tanks require more vigilence because small changes are huge for a small tank. With a large tank, small changes have almost no effect.
That amount of light is probably perfect, as long as the light is within the 5000K to 10,000K range.
As for the overflows, most people get rid of them because the falling water causes co2 to escape the water.
Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[dogdoc]

Definitely that tank is too large.

I have a nice 75 g that I will trade you for it that will be much easier to manage.

Just kidding. I'm not really sure how I would tackle a 220, but I'd like to give it a try someday.

Welcome.

 

[Draginduster]

I'm putting my first planted tank together, a 180. My best advice is to fallow these guys. Super sweet tanks. Awesome advice!
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ums-ponds/28572-180-gallon-setup-journal.html

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/large-aquariums-ponds/48160-180g-start.html

It's a bit of reading but so worth it. What are the dimensions of your tank?

 

[bigpaa]

Your lighting should be ok, Tom Barr has been successful with a sump I think. So what you will be needing are substrate and CO2 should you be going for a high tech tank.

 

[Kaptain Karl]

Thanks for the input guys. The tank is 72"L X 24"W X 29"Tall. I figured the Hqi Lighting could still be used with such a deep tank. I have plenty of room above the tank if the lights need to be raised though. I run 14K Phoenix bulbs now, which will be too blue I think. I'll be looking for something below 10K. I just found a friend locally who has a nice built in 180 with overflows and is using a sump. He has had very good sucess with it. Now I need to decide on the substrate. I have read that the ADA soil does not work good in large tanks (Barr). What others are out there to look at?