220G Tank Takeover and Remodel!

[Vitaminz]

So been out of the hobby now for 5 years, and been itching to get back into the hobby after deep sea diving while in Mexico. Was just in the middle of doing a brand new build and sourcing materials, when we found out from our landlord that he was going thru a nasty divorce and had to sell the place. So plans for the build got shelved and we had to start finding a new place to live. After looking at rentals after rentals, and let me tell you, there were some interesting places for rent. I swear there was this one place that could have been used in one of the Saw movies, creeped me right out! Anyways back on track, finally looked at this one place that had 6 bedrooms, perfect for our family. I was sold after the guy had a 220 Gallon tank in the basement. So started to talk to the guy about Saltwater and how I use to be in the hobby and itching to get back into it, so he said that if we rented this place, he would leave the tank for me. He didn't have time for the hobby anymore and didn't want to deal with selling it.

So finally moved into our new place this past weekend, and time to get started!

Here is what I inherited:



After spending hours cleaning the algae off the glass and general cleaning down the tank and filters. Next step is the lights, ordered some LED lights online from Dsuny:



Up next is building the canopy and install the LED lights in:



Still lots of work still that needs to be done, but Rome wasn't built in a day. Here is what the tank looks like as of last night:



Next on the list for tonight is a water change and fixing the skimmer, thinking the pump is gone on it. Will give it a good cleaning and see if that does the trick. If not, is it worth replacing the pump itself, or just buy a new skimmer?

 

[glb]

Wow, what a great rental bonus! As far as the skimmer, it would probably clean up well, and pumps can easily be replaced. Maybe wait and see how well it skims and then decide?? What a great setup.

 

[Vitaminz]

As soon as he said he would leave the tank, I was like where do I sign! lol

Not to happy with how it is plumbed thought, only a single line down to the sump, but is it too late to fix?

 

[glb]

As soon as he said he would leave the tank, I was like where do I sign! lol

Not to happy with how it is plumbed thought, only a single line down to the sump, but is it too late to fix?

I have small tanks so don’t know about big tank plumbing. That being said, what’s in the tank right now as far as livestock?

 

[Vitaminz]

I have small tanks so don’t know about big tank plumbing. That being said, what’s in the tank right now as far as livestock?

So here is the current stocking list, it's been a while so I think I have the names right:
Yellow Tang
Trigger
Naso Tang
Tomato Clown
Six Line Wrasse

Also noticed he has absolutely no CUC, probably why the algae got so bad. On this big of a tank, what do you recommend for CUC and how many?

 

[Vitaminz]

So after spending 2 hours breaking down the skimmer and cleaning what seemed like a one-inch film of sludge from the skimmer...just nasty. Think I dry heaved a tad bit and that is saying a lot coming from somebody with 5 kids!
Found the issue with the skimmer, bunch of snails inside the pump.

Threw that bad boy back into the sump and BAM it fired right back up! Mission accomplished!



Next on the list, cleaning the powerheads.

 

[LBReefer]

This looks like an interesting challenge. Following along.

 

[wowkingjames]

Following....

 

[Vitaminz]

So been looking at making a mixing station to make water changes easier, I found this online and seem like it would work for my setup. Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[BluewaterLa]

Looking good, thanks for sharing and congrats on the new tank and place.
It seems life works in many ways / directions. When one door closes one door opens and who knows what reef may be waiting for you hahaha.

 

[Funlad3]

Rehabbing old tanks is one of the most fun things you can do in this hobby. It looks like you inherited a really nice skimmer, and then tank looks great with those news lights over it!

My one recommendation would be to swap out the sand. You have no idea how much detritus and years of nutrients are currently being stored or leached out of the sand bed, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's concealing what's left of a long dead clean up crew. I just swapped out the two year old sand bed on my father's tank, and his algae problem is suddenly solved and corals can survive again.

I fully support a water change station; it makes it so much easier to do them regularly and you get to save your back from lugging around way too many too-heavy buckets.

 

[Vitaminz]

Looking good, thanks for sharing and congrats on the new tank and place.
It seems life works in many ways / directions. When one door closes one door opens and who knows what reef may be waiting for you hahaha.

It is funny, we are a large family and have been looking at places for a long time, and everything about this place just fit us perfectly. The reef tank was just an add on bonus! Getting back into the hobby was like riding a bike. Atleast this time was less of a learning curve!

 

[Vitaminz]

Rehabbing old tanks is one of the most fun things you can do in this hobby. It looks like you inherited a really nice skimmer, and then tank looks great with those news lights over it!

My one recommendation would be to swap out the sand. You have no idea how much detritus and years of nutrients are currently being stored or leached out of the sand bed, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's concealing what's left of a long dead clean up crew. I just swapped out the two year old sand bed on my father's tank, and his algae problem is suddenly solved and corals can survive again.

I fully support a water change station; it makes it so much easier to do them regularly and you get to save your back from lugging around way too many too-heavy buckets.

Was worried that I might have bitten off more then I could chew with tanking on this rehab, but it was more rewarding than setting up a new tank. Who would have thunk it! lol
Loved that LED have come a long way since I had those cheap 1 watt led boxes from ebay, lol!

First thing I did was put in a new clean up crew, then when the tank was all clean, I gave back half of the CUC to the LFS for credit. I did vacuum the sand bed when I did the large water change. Not to sure what to do with the sand bed. How does one go about taking out the sand and putting new stuff in? I think that with all the cleaning up that I have done, most of the algae problems are now gone. All the Corals now look healthy and are starting to grow again. I have even added in a few new pieces.

 

[Vitaminz]

So finally got all my supplies in and the design finalized. Ended up going another route with the bins. Zeebest wanted $350 all in for the 2 bins. Ended up finding these blue ones for $50 each:


Got the bulkheads and gate valves from Big Al's and the rest of the plumbing from Bartlett and Gibson:


Got busy drilling the holes for the bulkheads:


I left water in the bins over the weekend in the garage to make sure they wouldn't leak, and they didn't!

Tonight will start the plumbing, stay tuned!

Jeff

 

[Funlad3]

How does one go about taking out the sand and putting new stuff in? I think that with all the cleaning up that I have done, most of the algae problems are now gone. All the Corals now look healthy and are starting to grow again. I have even added in a few new pieces.

Whenever I have to swap the sand, I usually just turn off all of the pumps and get scooping. The water always turns super dark and cloudy from the trapped organics, so I do a water change and just dump in the new sand. You can rinse it before adding, but it'll eventually settle out, especially with filter socks.

That said, if things are happy and growing and you have the tank clean and stable, don't change a thing. Stability is always better than change.

 

[Vitaminz]

Whenever I have to swap the sand, I usually just turn off all of the pumps and get scooping. The water always turns super dark and cloudy from the trapped organics, so I do a water change and just dump in the new sand. You can rinse it before adding, but it'll eventually settle out, especially with filter socks.

That said, if things are happy and growing and you have the tank clean and stable, don't change a thing. Stability is always better than change.

I always lived by the saying, if it ain't broken, don't fix it. lol

 

[Vitaminz]

Finally got around to plumbing this weekend, here is the progress:





Had it filling with water from the RO unit into the first freshwater tank. Once it is filled, then can start testing to see how the design worked out.

 

[Captain Quint]

That is a huge score for the family, you and the critters. Revitalizing a tank is always fun to do. Vitaminz, you did good brother and congrats on obviously some well-deserved karma you received.

I'm truly happy for Y'all and thanks for sharing the story with us.

Congrats!

 

[mattgsa]

Tank is coming along nicely.

 

[Vitaminz]

That is a huge score for the family, you and the critters. Revitalizing a tank is always fun to do. Vitaminz, you did good brother and congrats on obviously some well-deserved karma you received.

I'm truly happy for Y'all and thanks for sharing the story with us.

Congrats!

Thank you, good sir! It was a huge score, kids are so happy and always willing to help out! Kind of the whole reason to do this right, for the memories that you create. Also teaches the kids, with a little hard work and dedication, there is nothing you can't achieve!