Bought used tank, need advice

[BigMan87]

Hello, everyone. I bought a used tank, and I have no idea what else I need. A few friends of mine will be able to help, but I figured I'd ask here too. So, I have a 120 gallon tank, a 40 gallon sump, around 75-80 pounds of rock and some odds and ends. This will be my first attempt at an Aquarium, and I might have bit off more than I can chew, but I'm determined to make it work.

Can y'all advise me on what else I need? Especially on flow rates I should get on pumps, powerheads, ect.

This is what I have.

120 gallon tank

40 gallon sump and Eshopps h.o.b. overflow

4 bulb t5 light fixture (don't know if it works, lady said it did, but bulbs were out)

Pump. Would it be worth it to just replace with brand new pump?

About 80 pounds of rock. Was told its been dry for over a month, but paid $70 for it. Can it be used?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Your about to get a lot of advice very quickly.

My Own advice would be. Go slow. Be prepared for the fact that there may not be water in it in two months. Six weeks would be ok too. In fact I would reccomend it.

You're brand new. Your still missing a bunch of stuff and folks are about to reccomend a bunch of stuff you might not be able to afford all at onece. So take your time and don't feel pressured to get it wet.

And don't throw anything away.

Besides, if it gets wet right at the end of December, it's a Christmas baby.


Tag me when your ready to talk about lights.

 

[Salty1962]

Read on the forum about setting up a tank. Like @saltyfilmfolks said, be patient and ask a thousand questions. Save you a lot of grief and money! And Welcome to R2R!

 

[BigMan87]

Your about to get a lot of advice very quickly.

My Own advice would be. Go slow. Be prepared for the fact that there may not be water in it in two months. Six weeks would be ok too. In fact I would reccomend it.

You're brand new. Your still missing a bunch of stuff and folks are about to reccomend a bunch of stuff you might not be able to afford all at onece. So take your time and don't feel pressured to get it wet.

And don't throw anything away.

Besides, if it gets wet right at the end of December, it's a Christmas baby.


Tag me when your ready to talk about lights.

Thank you. This is already my Christmas present. My wife gave me the green light, but I still don't want to be wasteful. I'll be sure to tag you about lights, thanks again.

Read on the forum about setting up a tank. Like @saltyfilmfolks said, be patient and ask a thousand questions. Save you a lot of grief and money! And Welcome to R2R!

Thank you. I've already read the Guide to setting up a tank a few times, but its a lot of information to process at once, especially when I feel like I have no idea what some things are. Haha.

 

[MSB123]

Totally- If I were you, I would start with getting/finding some used pumps and powerheads, or if you have the budget, I would suggest 2-3 MP40's and a nice return pump that you can find on bulk reef supply https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/pumps-plumbing/submersible-aquarium-pumps/reef-octopus.html
If you could give us a general budget, It would be helpful to help you find what's best for your needs and setup!

 

[MSB123]

Oh and WELCOME TO R2R and HAPPY REEFING! ;Happy

 

[coil1002]

what are you looking to keep in that glass cage of yours? fish only with live rock, mixed reef, full sps reef? This will affect greatly the equipment you buy. especially the light.

 

[MSB123]

what are you looking to keep in that glass cage of yours? fish only with live rock, mixed reef, full sps reef? This will affect greatly the equipment you buy. especially the light.

+1

 

[BigMan87]

Totally- If I were you, I would start with getting/finding some used pumps and powerheads, or if you have the budget, I would suggest 2-3 MP40's and a nice return pump that you can find on bulk reef supply https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/pumps-plumbing/submersible-aquarium-pumps/reef-octopus.html
If you could give us a general budget, It would be helpful to help you find what's best for your needs and setup!

General budget as of today is $400. Of course, more will come and I am patient, but I do have the itch to get this thing wet.

 

[BigMan87]

what are you looking to keep in that glass cage of yours? fish only with live rock, mixed reef, full sps reef? This will affect greatly the equipment you buy. especially the light.

Ok, I would ideally like a mixed reef tank with some sps and around a dozen fish towards the end. I'm not entirely sure which fish are compatible with each other yet, but a few I've wanted are a Zebra Lionfish, Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse and a pair of Black & White Ocellaris Clownflish.

 

[MSB123]

General budget as of today is $400. Of course, more will come and I am patient, but I do have the itch to get this thing wet.

Alright- What would you like to work on first? I would advise planning to get this thing wet in about 4-6 weeks. It really depends on what you want to do. 400 is a bit limited, so I would suggest starting with choosing a substrate, and choosing a return pump, heater, skimmer, and reactors. Feel free to PM me and I can give you my number and I can work you through this more easily!

 

[MSB123]

Ok, I would ideally like a mixed reef tank with some sps and around a dozen fish towards the end. I'm not entirely sure which fish are compatible with each other yet, but a few I've wanted are a Zebra Lionfish, Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse and a pair of Black & White Ocellaris Clownflish.

The lionfish might think that the wrasses are a tasty snack- mine eats anything smaller than 3/4 his size.

 

[coil1002]

well you got the tank and rock. Good score on the rock. less than a dollar a pound on rock is great. Better yet its dry so any nasties will no longer be there and since you are starting fresh you can cycle the rock in the tank. If I where you I would look into lighting next most led lights can grow coral I use a marsaqua which is a Chinese black box version and it grows my sps great. bonus with led if it is too bright for what you want to grow you can dim it and later on when you get bit by the sps bug just turn it up. You can get two 31 inch mars aquas on amazon for like 170 each which should cover your. and fits in your budget. then later on if you have a bunch of money you dont want you can get a kessil or one of the other big names.

 

[BigMan87]

Alright- What would you like to work on first? I would advise planning to get this thing wet in about 4-6 weeks. It really depends on what you want to do. 400 is a bit limited, so I would suggest starting with choosing a substrate, and choosing a return pump, heater, skimmer, and reactors. Feel free to PM me and I can give you my number and I can work you through this more easily!

Personally, I want to get the mechanical side of this project finished first, before more rock and substrate. The budget has wiggle room, but I spent $500 today already and I think the wife will cut me off if I go much over 1k in the first week, haha.

 

[coil1002]

Personally, I want to get the mechanical side of this project finished first, before more rock and substrate. The budget has wiggle room, but I spent $500 today already and I think the wife will cut me off if I go much over 1k in the first week, haha.

Have you researched different types of systems and methods? This will tell you what you need for the tank. I am a live rock protein skimmer kind of guy back in the day they called this the berlin method. Of course this is back when every one still used under gravel filters as a water plenum under the sand bed. Dark times

 

[BigMan87]

Have you researched different types of systems and methods? This will tell you what you need for the tank. I am a live rock protein skimmer kind of guy back in the day they called this the berlin method. Of course this is back when every one still used under gravel filters as a water plenum under the sand bed. Dark times

Honestly, I haven't. I mentioned to a friend that I really wanted to get into this hobby, we found a, what we believe was a good deal, and I bought it. I know I know, probably not the smartest thing in the world to do, but if I didn't pull the trigger, I'd never do it. I've been on this forum for the better part of the day, minus watching the Astros lose the game, but there's so much going on in this forum, I get lost on a subject for an hour or more.

 

[MSB123]

We all do!

 

[coil1002]

Honestly, I haven't. I mentioned to a friend that I really wanted to get into this hobby, we found a, what we believe was a good deal, and I bought it. I know I know, probably not the smartest thing in the world to do, but if I didn't pull the trigger, I'd never do it. I've been on this forum for the better part of the day, minus watching the Astros lose the game, but there's so much going on in this forum, I get lost on a subject for an hour or more.

Welcome to reefing. So much reading and learning.

The tank you have will be a great one, just take your time. Its a large tank so water parameters will change slower and you have a good amount of rock for it so right out the gate you are ahead. I will say you will probably want to ditch the HOB overflow and drill the tank. it is easier to do it now than to tear down the tank to do it later after it has flooded the house two or three times. The return pump is 600 gph should be fine for your tank you dont need to put too much water through the sump. So now you need a protein skimmer, lights, power heads for flow, heater preferably one with a reliable controller either that or get a tank controller like a reefkeeper lite. They are the cheaper ones but work great. I have had a reefkeeper and I now have an apex both are great both have there strengths and both work, just one is a quarter of the cost.

That should cover the mechanical. Then its the substrate and livestock

 

[BigMan87]

Welcome to reefing. So much reading and learning.

The tank you have will be a great one, just take your time. Its a large tank so water parameters will change slower and you have a good amount of rock for it so right out the gate you are ahead. I will say you will probably want to ditch the HOB overflow and drill the tank. it is easier to do it now than to tear down the tank to do it later after it has flooded the house two or three times. The return pump is 600 gph should be fine for your tank you dont need to put too much water through the sump. So now you need a protein skimmer, lights, power heads for flow, heater preferably one with a reliable controller either that or get a tank controller like a reefkeeper lite. They are the cheaper ones but work great. I have had a reefkeeper and I now have an apex both are great both have there strengths and both work, just one is a quarter of the cost.

That should cover the mechanical. Then its the substrate and livestock

Does ambient room temp factor into needing a heater? I'm in South East Texas and my living room never drops below 75, but can get into the 80s mid summer.

 

[coil1002]

OH!! and test kits dont try to run a reef with out them and dont buy cheap ones salifert and red sea and then when you get tired of checking your Alkalinity get a hannah checker for it.