Help a Newbie, Get Good Karma! :)

[sudman]

https://www.liveaquaria.com/category/15/marine-fish
This website is where I learned most fish keeping basics when I was starting out. They have great in depth care requirements for most saltwater fish species, so it's a great place to start your research (and to buy fish!). A 120 gallon will be able to hold the majority of common fish species.

Fantastic! Thank you so much !!

 

[Oscaror]

Fantastic! Thank you so much !!

Happy to help

 

[mich2599]

Read and do plenty of research. I entered the hobby back in April & to this day I am still learning. If you have anymore questions there are great people here that will be happy to help you.

 

[reef lover]

Welcome to r2r and the salt life!! ;Bookworm;Bookworm

 

[Captain Quint]

sudman Welcome to R2R and the hobby. There has been a good deal of info so far and I totally agree with all of it. I as Lowell Lemon have run similar systems in the mid 80's and beyond into early 90's.

You are going to need to consider a stand and start dry fitting plumbing whether it be with some sort of flex hose or hard plumb with PVC.

Afterward you'll need to do whatever it is to the stand you want to do, then reassemble the tank, plumbing and get the system running.

As all stated you in fact got a good deal and it would be a fun build but there is work to be done.

As Oscaror stated the Bio Media should be used over the BioBalls or LR in the section the balls would go in.

Please don't hesitate to ask questions. Many talented members with thousands of builds when all is said and done.

Do not get overwhelmed. Your build could be really fun and interesting.

Thanks for the pics thus far.

 

[sudman]

Friends,

To make sure I understand is the item pictured above a sump pump ? Or do I need a separate sump pump in addition to what I have above for the tank ?

Thank you,
Arjun

 

[sudman]

Friends,

To make sure I understand is the item pictured above a sump pump ? Or do I need a separate sump pump in addition to what I have above for the tank ?

Thank you,
Arjun

 

[Oscaror]

Friends,

To make sure I understand is the item pictured above a sump pump ? Or do I need a separate sump pump in addition to what I have above for the tank ?

Thank you,
Arjun

There is no such thing really as a "sump pump", any pump that pumps water strongly enough is suitable for a sump.

 

[Oscaror]

This simplified diagram may help with your understanding

 

[sudman]

This simplified diagram may help with your understanding

Thank you very much . So would the item above suffice for this purpose ?

 

[Oscaror]

Thank you very much . So would the item above suffice for this purpose ?

As long as it works well and pumps strongly enough sure. You want a return pump thats 5 - 10 times turnover for your aquarium, so for a 120 you want around 600gph to 1200gph. Gph = gallons per hour

 

[HOOPDEEZ]

As long as it works well and pumps strongly enough sure. You want a return pump thats 5 - 10 times turnover for your aquarium, so for a 120 you want around 600gph to 1200gph. Gph = gallons per hour

This is good advice, just remember you will have head loss to account for, so actual output will be less than the pumps rating.

There are many ways to plumb a tank, the best thing you can do in this hobby is read fast, and act slow.

There is quite a lot of marine life that is not suitable for this size tank. You’ll want to research EVERY animal you add to the take for husbandry requirements and compatibility. There are some great threads and people to help with that here on R2R. Make a list of everything you want to add and start asking questions and googling. Make sure you pretty much know what your going to add and what order before you add anything. Add slowly!

Now to buy the expensive stuff! Good luck!

 

[sudman]

You guys are all fantastic . Thank you very much indeed !

 

[sudman]

I just realized that the seller included at no charge a RIO 2500 return pump. I see different reviews online . Do you guys think this is a good return pump ?

Any recommendations for a good protein skimmer , lights and thermometer for my 120 gallon ?

Thank you !