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Can you help me avoid any BIG mistakes?



I've been lurking around, learning all I can and
pretty much enjoying everyone's "company".  For about
a year, I've been "practicing" whatever I could pick
up on my little ten gallon tank and so far everything
is perfect.  I've never kept so many (well, whatever I
can cram into a ten gallon) plants and fish alive for
so long.  Then suddenly, I ran into a great deal at my
LFS for a 8'x2'x2' 240 gal acrylic setup.  I couldn't
resist.

I'm not exactly sure, but I believe the stand and
canopy are pine, sprayed with black enamel.  The
inside of the hood isn't painted, though.  I remember
a discussion about safe paints for hood interiors, but
I can't seem to find it in the archives.  Could
someone point me in the right direction?  And should I
be concerned with the exterior paint?

I also remember a discussion about lighting for big
tanks.  I believe the 2-4 W/gal rule doesn't really
scale well when applied to larger tanks.  I was
planning to start with just 4 48" 40W flourescents, 2
chroma 50's and 2 plant&aquariums.  I'd add another 4
tubes but I've already gone over my budget.  I don't
really want to intensively grow plants but will this
be enough to keep them alive, or should I add more?

For substrate, I'm looking for profile.  I used
all-purpose sand in my ten and it works great, but I'm
concerned about the compaction.  It seems people are
happy with profile anyways.

For filtration, I plan to just use in tank
sponges/boxes with powerheads.  I don't stock too
heavily.  So far a weekly cleaning has been
sufficient.

I've used yeast CO2 so far and I plan to go to
compressed CO2 eventually, when I can afford it. 
Besides, if it works, why fix it?

All in all, I'm just worried that I've bitten off more
than I can chew.  I've always wanted a big tank, so
now that I have it, I just want to make sure I'm not
being too stingy with it.  Is there anything I'm
missing in all my excitement?

Thanks for your time and knowledge,

Gerald Torres
Santa Monica, CA

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