First Noob Question

[SFish]

SFish, Petco has nothing over 55 I believe in the $ per gal sale. I've got a 40b and couldn't be happier with it's dimensions. With all of the build threads using 40b tanks I would say that they are the most popular size tank sold.

Yep they only go up to 55. I was just saying I would pick one of those tanks over a 55. For me I wanted a bit of a bigger tank and It wouldn't have looked good on the stand I made. I got my 55 for free but as soon as I started looking into aquascaping I started to hate it. If only they made them wider and not as tall. In any case at one point i'm sure I'll want something in the 200 plus range.

 

[Cool_fish]

Unless your tank is something other than a standard 55g, I would bag the second hand tank and head to Petco while they have their dollar per gallon sale going on and pickup a new one that is already clean and has a warranty. What's your time worth to you? By the time you figure the cost of the cleaning supplies and your time, you'll probably be a head of the game with a new tank.

If you decide to stick with the used tank, fill it and check for leaks before you go through the trouble of cleaning it. Clean junk is still junk......:headwally:

I called last night and confirmed, Petco has several 55 gal tanks (a 40b also....), and yes, the cost? 55 bucks. What a great deal.

Now, the filter system I have is kinda complicated, I suppose I should have taken pictures. I put everything in vinegar and water last night, they are soaking as we speak. I have what looks like a 2 compartment reservoir, with 3 pumps. All 3 pumps make some serious noise, which leads me to my next question - while at Petco, is this a good place to look for a replacement filtration system or should I go to a local store? I know, more sticky/research is needed. In fact, I just talked myself out of buying anything more than the tank at this point. However, this reservoir has a place that has a bunch of little rubber/plastic balls. They guy I bought it from called them bio balls. The water is pulled from the tank thru a filter, runs over these bio balls, and then into another partition in the reservoir with yet another filter. All of these were pretty much just shut down and left to dry, so everything has a dried sea water crusty coating on them. I'm looking at this puzzle and wondering if it is even worth messing with. Oh yeah, the light - the light is good. It is a double Coralife fluorescent. Both are double bulbs, one side is just a florescent white, with a bluish sort of light. The other side was a actinic, which did not work. 54 bucks on amazon, on the way already. So, for a reef I have an actinic light, which made me happy.
While rinsing/soaking the other parts, I looked at the tank I got and it is really crappy. Yeah, Petco to the rescue on this one...

 

[homer1475]

Bioballs while old and antiquated in the hobby, they do work. You just have to be super diligent on cleaning the detritus out of them.

With that said, with the proper amount of live rock, the bioballs become worthless.

 

[Cool_fish]

Bioballs while old and antiquated in the hobby, they do work. You just have to be super diligent on cleaning the detritus out of them.

With that said, with the proper amount of live rock, the bioballs become worthless.

From what reading I have done, I suspected such. I'll keep reading and get something more up to date. I have no interest in cleaning the detritus (or anything else) out of my bio balls.... LOL

 

[homer1475]

if your going to petco anyways to pickup a new tank, pickup a 20 long and make your own sump. Or any tank that will fit in the stand.

A sump is a great place to hide all the ugly looking equipment we tend to use in the hobby. Its also a great place to put crabs and/or fish that end up being a problem.

 

[Cool_fish]

if your going to petco anyways to pickup a new tank, pickup a 20 long and make your own sump. Or any tank that will fit in the stand.

A sump is a great place to hide all the ugly looking equipment we tend to use in the hobby. Its also a great place to put crabs and/or fish that end up being a problem.

Is this like a little crabby time out place? LOL

I think, what I already have, is a sump of sorts. I'm off to the stickies to investitgate this. The container I have has 3 separated areas probably for different filtering. It would probably do the same thing...?

 

[theatrus]

What other equipment do you have with it? Skimmer? Do you have a picture of the sump? I'd say no need to rebuild unless it's weird dimensions or layout.

 

[Chibils]

I'd be wary of the 55. If you want to use a sump tank (which I highly highly recommend and you may be able to repurpose the bio ball wet-dry filter into) then a 55 may make it more difficult. I believe they use tempered glass on all 5 panels in a 55, and that's the only standard tank I know of that they do that with.

The issue is it makes it impossible to drill holes for an overflow system. Tempered glass will shatter when hit with a hole saw bit, and regular glass won't. I don't trust hang-on-back overflows. They're not as safe as drilled overflows generally, and you don't want to wake up to water all over the floor and a burnt out return pump (and overflow pump, and multiple powerheads). A 40 breeder or really any other tank out there does not have this problem.

If you proceed with the 55, do not drill it for an overflow without confirming the back panel is not tempered glass.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Cool_fish]

I'm looking at diagrams of tanks/sumps and what I have is a sump. It is 2 partitions, and one partition has what appears to be a refugium area. I think I have a good sump to work with, just need more updated equipment to go in it.
I would not attempt to drill glass. I'll check when buying, but I would guess thre is not an overflow hole on the tank itself.