250 gallon reef setup/build

[dericcanderson]

Ok so i have just bought a 250 gallon fish tank from a guy off craigslist for $200!!!!!! Cant believe it. He gave me the tank the stand a set of power compact coral life lights and a HUGE cannister filter. Im not a fan of cannister filters so i gave it away. I really need ideas from everyone right now i dont know what i should do as far as rock scape fish selections etc. I have a 10 gallon sump i know its small i wanted a 55 gallon sump but the way the stand is made it wont fit and after moving this massive thing ill pass on building another stand lmfao. The tanks weighs 700 lbs. empty ill pass on moving it anytime soon =). I went to home depot yesterday and bought a 12 foot long piece of really nice marine grade wood for my canopy. I built my canopy in 15 minutes nothing to fancy just one long piece for the front and two sides. My tank is 6 feet long three feet tall and 2 feet wide!!!!! Im in love with this tank the only thing i dont like is that it comes pre drilled with two overflows that i cannot use!!!!!!! The guy has it drilled but didnt drill holes in the stand for the plumbing and on top of that at the top of the boxes that he had in their he sealed them off with a glass piece at the top with another piece of glass and silicone so thats just two glass boxes taking up space lol maybe ill use em to lean some of my live rock on. I am posting somepics today of my beggining stage. sorry if the pics arent great i was using a camera phone my digital camera is acting stupid.

 

[dericcanderson]

I already had 100 gallons of saltwater pre ade and ready that i took from my 100 gallon tank i broke down. I have about 50 lbs of live rock that is well established and then i have about 100 lbs. of live rock i made from portland cement and crushed oyster shells. Today im still filling the tank i have to go to the store for my background and a bulb to replace on my power compact. Currently i will be using a 48 inch long power compact that was given to me with the tank using 50/50 bulbs. And a set of HO 48 inch dual T5's with built in LED Moonlights. I just ordered another set of T5's off ebay with a hagen ballast for $37. I have seen them in action they are really good lights and the bllast works great. Oh and no bulbs are not included in that $37 but i already have a actinic and a 10,000k waiting for it LOL. I think that will be enough light to grow some softies. If i eventually move forward to hard corals i will get halides but i dont really want halides im scared of that power bill LOL. The water is taking forever to fill I have my Reverse Osmosis filter drilled to my bathroom sink and i ran a 25 ft cord to it to reach my tank. Its takin forever!!!!!! Ill have new pics of tonight of the tank full with live rock and lights on. I would love advce from people about what kinda selection of fish i should go with. I want everything reef safe and i need at least one reef safe trigger. Please give me some info guys thanks!!!!!!

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

You already started filling it up? That sucks that you couldn't use the holes that where already there. looking at the pics it's hard to see how it would've worked anyway. So are you going to use the rock you made for this tank? I like the idea of using the 55 as a sump/fuge.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

The water is taking forever to fill I have my Reverse Osmosis filter drilled to my bathroom sink and i ran a 25 ft cord to it to reach my tank. Its takin forever!!!!!!

That seems to be the thing that takes the longest. it took 3 days for me to fill up my 125. at least you already had 100 gallons made.

 

[fullspeed]

Be careful with your man made rock. If not cured long enough it will drastically effect the ph of your water. Did you soak it in fresh water and measure your ph? The reason i ask is i read your last thread and didn"t think you made it that long ago.

 

[Dustin1300]

Lucky guy! That's exactly why I have an app on my droid that notifies me of every posted aquarium

 

[dericcanderson]

Lucky guy! That's exactly why I have an app on my droid that notifies me of every posted aquarium

Hell I have a droid and I don't even know how to do that lol but u will get yours soon trust me buddy

 

[dericcanderson]

You already started filling it up? That sucks that you couldn't use the holes that where already there. looking at the pics it's hard to see how it would've worked anyway. So are you going to use the rock you made for this tank? I like the idea of using the 55 as a sump/fuge.

Yea there was no way to use the holes it would have taken way too much modding and I don't have enough man power everyday to keep moving that thing its huge and yea man I have a spare 55 gallon here at home I wanted to use as a sump but it won't fit under the stand =(

 

[dericcanderson]

Be careful with your man made rock. If not cured long enough it will drastically effect the ph of your water. Did you soak it in fresh water and measure your ph? The reason i ask is i read your last thread and didn"t think you made it that long ago.

I have been watching it its two weeks old I haven't checked the ph ill be sure to do that today I had my purple tang in that 100 gallon tank with the rock and he did perfect in their I didn't wanna put him in their but he was killing my baby blue hippo in my 30 gallon reef tank

 

[Dino]

he was killing my baby blue hippo in my 30 gallon reef tank

Wait...what? Maybe I missed it, why did you have two tangs in a 30 gallon? Better yet, why do you have any tangs in a 30 gallon?

 

[dericcanderson]

Wait...what? Maybe I missed it, why did you have two tangs in a 30 gallon? Better yet, why do you have any tangs in a 30 gallon?

I had a small baby blue hippo in their i knew i was getting a huge tank and i got him for a good price. I know how the Tang police are lol trust me they were ok nd still are they are very healthy and active ive seen small yelloe tangs in biocubes. I know its not good for long term but ive had them both for a month thats all and now they have a huge home

 

[zmattie]

Musta been your lucky day! Congrats! keep us posted on how everything turns out!

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Yea there was no way to use the holes it would have taken way too much modding and I don't have enough man power everyday to keep moving that thing its huge and yea man I have a spare 55 gallon here at home I wanted to use as a sump but it won't fit under the stand =(

what are you planning to use for the sump? Are you planning to use the 10 gallon?

 

[dericcanderson]

what are you planning to use for the sump? Are you planning to use the 10 gallon?

Unfortunately yes I have a 20 gallon long i could use but i have two baby red ear slider turtles in there and I already put in the acrylic sheets for the ten gallon. I got it up and going everything looks good but this slurping noise is killing me im trying to quiet my overflow

 

[dericcanderson]

Ok so today i filled the tank with water I had 100 gallons of good saltwater left from me 100 gallon that i emptied over the weekend. I used my pump and got that in there and then i use my RO filter and put the remaining amount of water in the tank. Its now filled i have my sump/refugium running and i added salt to dissolve overnight. Ill check my salinity levels in the morning and then add some stress zyme and some sort of primer. I still couldnt get my aquarium background today i went to another LFS and they didnt have the one i was looking for.=( Overall the tank is coming along well. I am going to paint the stand and canopy either tommorow of the day after. Yes i will be painting the stand with the tank on it. It will be tricky but like i said before this thing is way too large to keep moving around. Im making some more live rock tonight for the tank. I am aiming for about 30 lbs. worth. I wanna make a huge piece with a nice cave for my fish to lay and hide when needed. I turned on all my power heads also i have four running. At the rate im moving with the tank i should be adding my first fish soon. Im not in a real rush i still have my 29 gallon setup in my living roomm My LFS gave me store credit today for my purple tang and blue hippo tang I didnt wanna keep them in my 29 gallon in plus i jacked some live rock from that tank so just in case anything went south i wanted them ok. I only have coral and 3 clowns and a goby in my twenty nine gallon tank now. everything still looks good on the 250 and here are some pics my doors are removable i really like it its cool and holds in all the bright lght from my sump. I NEED HELP WHAT KINDA ROCK SCAPE SHOULD I DO??????? I HAVE NO CLUE?????? IDEAS PLZ!!!!!!!

 

[dericcanderson]

Updated Pics Of the fill up and sump. sorry the sump is kinda messy tons of fingerprints lol

 

[lordofthereef]

Congrats on the great deal!

That said, with all due respect, I have a hard time envisioning a 10g sump being anywhere near enough for a 250 gallon tank. Assuming the sump is half full, that means you only have a maximum of 5 gallons wiggle room if/when there is a power outage. With a display that size, I would want at least 25 gallons of wiggle room. If you do go with the 10g, I am interested in seeing how you male it work with a simulated power failure

 

[Dino]

That said, with all due respect, I have a hard time envisioning a 10g sump being anywhere near enough for a 250 gallon tank. Assuming the sump is half full, that means you only have a maximum of 5 gallons wiggle room if/when there is a power outage. With a display that size, I would want at least 25 gallons of wiggle room. If you do go with the 10g, I am interested in seeing how you male it work with a simulated power failure

Agreed, from the pictures it looks like at most there might be 5 gallons of overflow room in the sump. Calculated out that means if the main tank drops anymore than 1/2" when power goes out the sump is going to be running over.

Ill check my salinity levels in the morning and then add some stress zyme and some sort of primer....At the rate im moving with the tank i should be adding my first fish soon.

Ok, from this post it sounds like you're going to be adding fish right away. You need to slow way way WAY down. Not only do these DIY rocks need to cure for a couple months or sometimes even longer (and that is in a separate container that you can regularly change all the water in), dumping some magic chemicals in the water is not going to make it ready for any fish "soon". You'll need to wait a month or perhaps even longer for the tank to cycle and stabilize.

Here is a really good post on everything that is required with DIY rocks. Its not as simple as molding a bunch of rocks, waiting a few hours for the concrete to dry and throwing them in the tank.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11531293&postcount=12

 

[SaltydawgI]

I guess the plywood build got put on hold?

 

[whedbee]

I got my 240 off craigslist too =)

Good luck with the tank, have you decided what you are doing with it yet? Reef?