New to saltwater, need help setting up tank :D

[Sasha mcdonald]

I am new to saltwater fish and decided to try start a set up. I purchased a used tank set up, 72 gallon bowfront tank with a standard 40 gallon tank for sump. Both tanks are drilled. The only downside is the person I got it from had no idea how to set it up since they got it from someone else as a trade for another tank. I was able to track down the original owner and he told me the filter system was custom made by him and is similar to a bean animal filtration system. He lives too far away to help me set it up. I figured I'd post some pics here and see if anyone has any idea how to set it up. I am going to re-do all the plumbing but need to figure out what would be the simplest way to do it. I also need to build a stand. Everything is sitting outside right now until I'm ready to get it going. Suggestions are much appreciated!

 

[Salty1962]

I would take off that external overflow box and use elbows to feed your sump. Will leave you some extra space on the side of your tank. JMO

 

[jsker]

Welcome to R2R, and to saltwater.
Looks as though the are three overflow holes, and two returns hole in the back. Is there a return pump that came with it?

I have to admit this is the strangest setup I have seen yet

 

[Sasha mcdonald]

Thanks! Is the 40 gallon for sump necessary? Or can I buy a smaller plexiglass one that will be lighter and still accomplish what I need?

 

[Sasha mcdonald]

Welcome to R2R, and to saltwater.
Looks as though the are three overflow holes, and two returns hole in the back. Is there a return pump that came with it?

No, I will have to buy one.

 

[jsker]

Thanks! Is the 40 gallon for sump necessary? Or can I buy a smaller plexiglass one that will be lighter and still accomplish what I need?

I would keep the 40, the more water you have the better it is. When the jury is in on how to set this system up, I would baffle the 40 and make into a sump with baffles. I would put together a budget with the things you are going to need.
Lights, do not go cheap
Return pump I use a 660 gph dc pump
Heater
powerheads/pumps
protein skimmer

 

[Sasha mcdonald]

This one is definitely strange. I looked up the bean animal system and it looks fairly simple. This one however is not lol I don't like the flex hoses at all, hopefully I can do it all with standard plastic pipe and elbows. I will keep the 40 then. I only spent $60 on this whole thing, so I will have more $$ for other stuff. I have looked at the lights and a friend of mine has an $800 light system. It's insane, but oh so awesome. I would like to do coral eventually, so I will definitely be shelling out the $$ for a lighting system

 

[jsker]

Look at Amazon.com for your speciality fitting that you need, and I ordered my odd size hose for amazonhose.com. They are two different companies and I used the braided clear hose that can be found in the brewing section.

 

[Sasha mcdonald]

I would take off that external overflow box and use elbows to feed your sump. Will leave you some extra space on the side of your tank. JMO

Will removing the overflow box be ok? I really don't like it on the side like that and would like to take it off. I want to plumb it directly to the sump. I plan on dividing the sump up in sections (still need to figure out how to do that) I just don't want a flood lol. I also have a toddler, so I could see the overflow box being of an interest to the 2 and a half year old lol

 

[Nick92515]

Things will add up and lights can be very expensive, I don't know if I would spend $800, you can always upgrade later if you want to. I would clean everything up and see what all is there. There are some good threads here on plumbing, although theres many different ways to do it.

 

[Sasha mcdonald]

Things will add up and lights can be very expensive, I don't know if I would spend $800, you can always upgrade later if you want to. I would clean everything up and see what all is there. There are some good threads here on plumbing, although theres many different ways to do it.

I've seen come highly rated LEDs on Amazon for $100 to $200 dollars. I don't think I will be spending $800 on lights, maybe a couple years down the road.

Is there a way to get tagged in threads? there is so much information that I get a bit overwhelmed. Especially when stuff is abbreviated lol

I did find awesome plans for a bowfront stand and can't wait to build it. I think I am going to plumb the pipes into the side of the stand since that is where the holes are.

 

[Nick92515]

Check out the Forum Mars Aqua LED on here. it's basically similar to the Amazon once they're sold on eBay you could probably get away with two of them for a total cost of about $180. Check out some build threads here also. Good info and pictures