180G with 3 1inch bulkheads!! What should I do..

[Reefernoob22]

Hi everybody my name is Fred and I've been around this hobby for years but never really had the money to get the proper stuff. Now that's do I need some advise. I've been reading that for the size of my tank I would need 2inch bulkheads. I bought the tank off craigslist for less then 300 dollars so I couldn't pass it up. The only thing is it was drill with 3 1inch holes on the back. What type of overflow system should I go with to get the most flow? Can I have 2 full siphons and one emergency? And I also purchased about 150 pounds of brs dry rock pukani and yes there in a bucket of saltwater rodi with heater and pump. My question is. Do I do water changes? And how long do I really have to wait to set up the tank?

 

[username in use]

Where are the holes located and how far apart are they?

 

[MondoBongo]

could you get some pictures of the tank? that will be very helpful.

if it is drilled through the back, i would be inclined to get a properly sized overflow comb (if it doesn't already have one), and then run a BeanAnimal style drain setup.

then you can decide whether you want to drill additional holes for the return lines, or run them over the top of the tank.

and what do you mean by this:

And how long do I really have to wait to set up the tank?

if you're referring to the cycle, you've got some legwork to do before you're ready for critters. i would suggest reading through some of the stickies:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074

there's some really good information in the above about setting up and getting going, geared towards the uninitiated.

 

[Reefernoob22]

Wow... It took me 3 days to find my own post.. Sorry still trying to figure this whole thing out. And pictures I'm still trying to figure that out also

So the holes are drilled in the back about a inch or so from each other.

So when you say bean animal style one full siphon one like a durso type and one emergency? Is it possible to run 2 full siphons? Run 2 gate valves and one emergency? Or just stick with the original 1 full 1 durso style and one emergency? And I bought a drill kit with overflow box that's suppose to be rated for 1800 gph. It originally came with just 2 1inch bulkheads but I was able to fit another 1 inch bulkhead. And when I say cycle I meant by the pukani dry rock I purchase from BRS.

 

[MondoBongo]

I don't think two full siphon would work properly but I'm now sure. My main tank if drilled through the bottom pane, but on the cube I drilled myself my full siphon is the emergency drain, and then the two other drains are both vented.

I don't run any valves on my drains. You wouldn't want to restrict the drain water flow in any way.

For the threads, aside from bookmarking you can find all your previously posted threads and posts through your profile on here, right from user control panel.

If you're going with mostly dry rock, you can start your cycle as soon as it is set up. I would probably suggest getting some live rock to use to seed it, but doing mostly dry. Then either use a shrimp or pure ammonia for your ammonia source and start testing. Usually takes 4 - 6 weeks with the standard benchmark being able to convert 2ppm ammonia to nitrate in 24 hours.

There are much more explicit instructions for all this in some of the getting started threads I linked to in the last post.