Getting a bigger tank!!

[Turtle77]

Ok so I have been doing well with the 12g Nano so far and have been shoping around for a bigger tank. I found someone who is moving and wants to sell thier whole setup. I wanted some opinions and had some questions for everyone. This is the list of things that come with the setup.

Oceanic 58 Gallon Reef Ready Tank with Stand and Canopy
50-70 lbs of Live Rock
30 Gallon refugium
Coralife Super Skimmer for up to 250 Gallon tank
1 250 watt Metal Halide
2 x 75 Watt Actinic
Wavemaker system with Power heads
Plenum Filter
Test Kits
Various dry goods and extras

I dont know yet if the tank has any fish currently in it or if they sold or gave them all away. I also do not know if there are any corals, clean up crew, or anything else other than the live rock and sand. We are hoping to go and take a look at it tomorrow night. Does anyone see anything wrong with the setup or if it is missing something that I need to ask when I get there? For instance is this enough light, enough of a refugium for this tank? I hear that Oceanic are really good tanks does anyone have an opintion on that? I have tried to go out to thier website but it doesnt give alot of technical info on the tank itself. Mainly just pictures and size measurements and thats it. No instructions or anything like that. Does anyone know if there is an owners manual that can be downloaded online? I won't be picking this up until NEXT Friday on the 27th. So I have a little time to plan and make some arrangments and check out any concerns. I want to be positive this is going to be right for me before I make the purchase.

Couple of questions or concerns.
1. The picture that the current owner sent to me shows the Metal Halide looks to be hanging from the ceiling. My concern with this is the place I want to put the tank in my home has 14ft ceilings. Is there another way to mount that light on the tank or is there an easy solution of some kind of wall mount? I dont know what brand of light or what the measurements are yet. what are my options other than hanging? Does anyone have a tank mount lying around that they didnt need because they decided to hang thier?

2. In the move I want to try and save as much water thats currently in the tank as possible. Problem with that is I only have 4 x 5gallon jugs and I filled two of those at AC at the meeting last weekend. Does anyone have extra jugs lying around they would be willing to let me borrow for the move and then return them to you? Or does someone have a better solution on how to move that much water?

3. This size tank with the refugium and all the extras is going to be quite a bit different than my little striped down 12g Nano. I know that I am going to be confused alot and my husband is not really into this saltwater aquarium at all. This is only my hobby. I wanted to know if there was someone who lives around LaVergne that doesn't mind either me hounding with questions or maybe coming over to make sure I have everything running correctly? You guys and gals on the forum have helped me a ton to get started and I loved coming to the meeting and learning alot of stuff. Sometimes I ask questions that I know some people just shake thier heads at but hopefully this will all be worth it.

Ok well thats alot to cover and sorry for the long post but I just want to make sure this setup is right for me and that I am not getting into something that is not going to work out in the end.

Thanks everyone!!

 

[gsusfreak]

awesome!!!..upgrade bug got you already? (lol...it always happens)

anywho...a few questions come to mind

is there a possibility of getting a bigger tank than the 58?.....it'll save you the headache of upgrading again later and its cheaper in the long run...and having a bigger tank will be nicer to aquascape....i highly recommend this only because i made the mistake of starting small and upgraded to 4 tanks before getting my 90 (10 gal->20 > 33 half hex >46bowfront >55 gallon)

if the 58 is set in stone....this definitely looks like a good choice....and the previous owner looks like he knew what he was doing (or atleast the equipment list looks good)

 

[fallinapart]

Upgrades are always a good thing and the bigger the better. About the light, you can put a hood on it and put the light in the hood, I did that for my 55 gal before I went up to a 90 gal. Also I'm close enough that I could come over and look at the setup when you get it to your house.

I do have an old hood you could look at and see if you wanted to make one, I doubt it would fit your tank as it was for a 90 gal. PM me if I can be of any help.

Norman

 

[Wyley]

You can go to Walmart or someplace like that and get some big plastic tubs to hold the water in while you transport it. That's what I did when I picked up 2 24G Nano Cubes. I had plenty of room to spare in the 2 tubs that I used. You can put your live rock and sand in there too to transport. Make sure you've got help though as they can be quite heavy once you've loaded them. The tubs are faily cheap too.

 

[Mikeyjer]

It sounds pretty good, it would be better if you can get a picture of it online here so we can take a look at it. I'm in Antioch so I'm not too far from ya if you want to come and look at mine, nothing fancy YET....:lol: I can help you with what I know.

 

[gsusfreak]

mikey's lying....his 90 is awesome!

 

[Mikeyjer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12782279#post12782279 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gsusfreak
mikey's lying....his 90 is awesome!

IT was until I did that stupid 2 part dosing ending up losing my sps and 2 of my clams......NEVER doing that again......But at least my LPS, zoos, softies and my other clam and live stocks are doing well....

 

[Turtle77]

So do you think maybe a Rubbermaid trash can or would that get too top heavy in the truck. I am going to run by and get the tubs with the snap tight lids and put the rock in there too. Can it stay that way for a few hours until It broken down transported and set back up at my house?

 

[gsusfreak]

no need to save all of the water....i'd say get half...and then use all of the 12 gallons from your nanocube.......and you'll only need to make apprx 20 gallons....and everything should be fine...and shouldnt see much of cycle, if any...........thats how i did it when i got my 90....i took approx 20 gallons from the previous own....made 20 a fews before.....and dumped approx 40 gallons from the tank i had setup at the time......and even dumped in most of the fish and corals within a week span

 

[DMBillies]

I'd say you want to keep your rock wet if possible (should totally avoid a cycle as long as the water doesn't get to warm or too stagnant...throw a powerhead in it when you get it home until you can set the tank up). The problem is, live rock inevitably dirties the water, so I wouldn't plan on keeping that water.

Rubbermaid tubs are definitely your friend for moving anything wet (from water, rocks, pumps, skimmer, etc. unless you like your car smelling like low tide)... I'd avoid the trash cans because they are top heavy. I have a couple of extra jugs/rubbermaids, but you are a bit of a haul from me.

On mounting the light... you can bend a piece of pipe and attach it to the back of the stand so that it hangs forward over the tank (search the DIY forum).

I don't see a return pump in your list, so if you aren't getting one with the set-up, plan on buying one. Other than that, it looks like you'll definitely have the bare essentials. Of course most people are constantly adding on, but here are a few things you MAY want moving into a bigger set-up with a sump like this:

Sump Light (for growing some macroalgae if you have the space)
Auto Top Off (you'll start evaporating much more water)
RO/DI (best time/money saving piece of reef equipment I've bought...with the price of gas, a unit will probably pay for itself just in the gas money running back and forth to the fish store... on a bigger tank you'll evaporate more and you'll also be doing bigger water changes)
DJ Switches (American DJ makes a switch bar that is great for controlling all of the additional equipment you'll have... definitely not essential, but keeps things neater and much easier to flip a few switches than to constantly be unplugging stuff).

My only other advice is to really take your time stacking your rock and getting it how you want it the first time (especially if you can leave the 12g set up while doing it and don't have to deal with hurrying the switch over). Nice looking rock structures can make a huge difference in a tank and re-doing it later is a pain the bigger the tank gets.

Edit: My other advice is to go as big as you can possibly justify when you do it (I tend to think a 90 is the perfect "big" tank to start with). If a bigger tank doesn't sound just totally crazy to you now... in 6 months you'll think you have to have one.

 

[Turtle77]

Ok so I am going to turn this thread into kind of a "My First Big Tank" thing. As some of you have read from my Mayday thread it didnt start out that great but now that I have the live rock safely swimming I have been reassured that I can now take things slow and at my own pace. So here goes.
These are a couple of pics of the stuff I offloaded to the garage last night while I was still in a panic. LOL

The guy said this was a 30g Refugium but I am thinking more like 15 or 20
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2599432514/" title="P6200009 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/2599432514_1a07a6c5ba.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6200009" /></a>

Here is the stand. I thought it had a canopy but looks to be all one peice. Still looks good though, this is from the back.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2599431304/" title="P6200006 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2599431304_4889b43d55.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="P6200006" /></a>

and another shot still from the back
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2598605933/" title="P6200017 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3101/2598605933_486aa37acf.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6200017" /></a>

Not a very good shot of the tank but I couldnt get close after I closed down the garage doors. If you look close you can see the mesh from the Plenum filter
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2598600471/" title="P6200008 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/2598600471_3db0e49557.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6200008" /></a>

Here is one of the tubs of STUFF that at the time I was panicking I had no idea what any of it was.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2599433544/" title="P6200010 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2599433544_4289fba05b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6200010" /></a>

There were two of these buckets full of sand or crushed coral from the tank
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2599435496/" title="P6200014 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2599435496_e3de5bd80e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6200014" /></a>

Here is the light, very dirty and it was hanging from the ceiling, you can see all the wires hanging out, I will have to work on this some because I dont like the way it looks
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2598604991/" title="P6200016 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3204/2598604991_acd078bb56_b.jpg" width="768" height="1024" alt="P6200016" /></a>


Found a tub in the garage that could hold all the rock
put the sun-drop can in for reference.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2599430642/" title="P6200004 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3010/2599430642_98504df85a_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="P6200004" /></a>

 

[Turtle77]

So finally got the rock into some saltwater bath with some power heads. Have yet to find a heater or temp gage in any of this stuff, might have to pick them up tomorrow.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2598606959/" title="P6210019 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/2598606959_ef8829f341_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="P6210019" /></a>

Protein Skimmer, think its a coralife superskimmer
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2599439970/" title="P6210024 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3101/2599439970_6b80d91f1a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6210024" /></a>

Got this testing kit with it all, had to clean this up a bit because it was dirty
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2599440910/" title="P6210027 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/2599440910_79a8c7a746.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6210027" /></a>

Wavemaster, this has three plugs on the back and I got like 4 powerheads with the stuff, I have been reading up on these and I will have to figure out how to set things up for no dead spots, might take me a while
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2599441884/" title="P6210031 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2599441884_1ba5e04500.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6210031" /></a>


This is a little light they had over the refugium, it just has little compacts in it. Cant remember at the moment what the wattage is
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2598612797/" title="P6210034 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3221/2598612797_dfa8f0156b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6210034" /></a>

After cleaning everything this is bucket number 1 of stuff
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2599445396/" title="P6210035 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3086/2599445396_2c54631280.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6210035" /></a>

Bucket number two, mostly the plumbing of the tank and refugium in here
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2598614755/" title="P6210036 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3108/2598614755_36226f130a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6210036" /></a>

Ok is that enough for now?? LOL
I will be going out tomorrow to clean the stand, the refugium for certain and if I can find a friend over here I will be trying to clean the big tank. Will keep posting as things go. Good luck to me cause I'm gonna need it!!

 

[gsusfreak]

so the plenum is just an undergravel filter?.......toss it out, most people wouldnt recommend have an undergravel filter simply because they can become a huge nitrate factory ....as well as the crushed coral unless you siphon it for detrius during your maintenance

and one last thing, how long was the rock out ot water?...a couple hours? a day?

 

[fallinapart]

You are off to a very good start! and I pretty sure I saw a heater in your bucket #2 to be cleaned (last pic) but this time of the year it may not be critical especially just for rock, unless your garage is cooled by your AC. You have a very exciting and fun project in front of you, take your time and enjoy the setup and learning experience. That really helps feed the addiction

Norman

 

[sandalscout]

That is a Coralife Super Skimmer, looks like my 150.

The plenum isn't a traditional UGF, it's more like a "sink" that resides below the gravel. It traps waste, and encourages bacteria growth down low. Some people have decent luck with them, but they can cause MAJOR problems. Ditch it, for sure.

Nice stand, you'll be able to rig up the lights within it somehow, I'm sure. The refuge light should be 9 watts per bulb. And definetely want to ditch the crushed gravel.

Good luck, it'll be fun!

 

[Turtle77]

Gsusfreak - The rock was wrapped that night around 8pm in dry newspaper and put in tubs. It was in the tubs overnight and by the time I got to put it in the saltwater the next morning around 9am the newspaper was all wet. Each peice of rock was wrapped in its own peice of newspaper. Did that keep it damp enough?

Fallinapart - I went through each peice of everything I recieved and cleaned it and there is no heater or temp gage at all. I find it hard to believe they didnt have either. Is that normal to not have a heater with a tank this big? I do know that they had nothing but the rock left in the tank when I bought it because they lost interest in it a long time ago and either let everything die off or sold it off. Also my garage is not cooled. So I have no worries it will get too cold, but will it get to hot? and if so how does that effect the rock?

Sandalscout - Yeah this is a Coralife Super, the owner said it was for up to 250 gallon but I have no idea. They did have the manual but it was very water soacked and I couldnt find a model number on it. I am assuming it works with this tank if they had it on there.
Yeah looks like everyone here doesn't like the plenum filter so I will probably ditch it. I will try and clean off the parts though because there is egg crate wrapped in large loose mesh and some pvc and thats it. I want to try and use some of the egg crate to eventually make some frag shelves for the nano.
The lights are giving me a headache. The other owner had them suspended from the ceiling and I picked a place in my house where I can do that also but they way they look now is an eyesore. I need to find some type of hood for it. Or if I am going to put them in the top of the stand I want them high enough that I can still get into the tank without alot of moving around.

I found out this morning that the guy who sold me the tank let me leave withought a major piece of the tank. He called it a bulkhead peice that is where the plumbing runs in and out of the tank to the refugium. It was a long drive to get this stuff and looks like I am headed out there again. :-( I thought I did a good job of making sure I had everything but apparently this was hiding under a trash bag. **sighs**

 

[sandalscout]

Even if the Coralife is only the 125 model, it should be enough for this size tank. Skimmers tend to be severely overrated (especially the less expensive models), ut 125 on a 50-60 gallon tank should be a decent match. I have on on my 55, works fine.

The bulkhead is what goes into the hole (in the bottom?) of the tank, and connects to the flex line/PVC.

It is possible that they didn't need a heater, especially with the MH lighting, those babies get hot!

 

[Turtle77]

Ok so its been a loooooong day, for me anyways. Today I got more done than I thought I would. first off I started by cleaning up the cabinet stand and moving it in the house to see what it would look like in the area where I wanted it. Looks good. It fits and gives me the option to have the light hanging from the ceiling. I think I will paint it white. Its kinda glossy now so I will have to prime it first then paint. I need to sand some parts with a little water damage on them too. Do I need to get a particular kind of paint, waterproof or anything like that? I have it in a doorway to a room that has two doorways into it. This way I can get to the front and the back if I need to.
Sorry about my husbands feet in the picture.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2603020950/" title="P6220063 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3195/2603020950_59c6388940.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6220063" /></a>

Also I was thinking of hanging a curtain from the ceiling there to the top of the tank to hide the hanging halide. You can see why in this pic of the lights. They arent in any type of hood or anything just wide open with wires hanging out the top and everything. They are ugly and an eyesore. Will this create too much heat behind the curtain?

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2602195961/" title="P6220050 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3062/2602195961_77debe26c9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6220050" /></a>

Ok so then I pulled the Plenum filter out of the big tank and disassembled it and cleaned the parts up. I have some eggcrate (I think I am calling this the right thing, the white squared plastic sheet of stuff) and some black loose mesh. I am going to keep the eggcrate and make some cool frag shelves like Brandon some day. I am also going to keep one peice of the mesh in case I ever need it for anything but anyone is free to have the other two pieces or a couple of people for that matter. Not sure what kind of mods people can do with them but there they are.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2602196581/" title="P6220051 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3110/2602196581_41f37db976.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6220051" /></a>

Ok so here is where I need some help. The guy called me and said we left a piece behind. There are two identical sets of parts just one smaller than the other and they both have these parts that screw on from both inside and outside the tank. I am probably doing a horrible job explaining this so please look at the pic. The smaller set I have both parts but the bigger one I am missing the part that screws in from the bottom of the tank. Can I pick this up at the Critter or something cause if not I gotta drive back out to Mt Juliet to get it.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2602183307/" title="P6220058 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3085/2602183307_3b56d77cd2.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6220058" /></a>

Ok more in a bit

 

[Turtle77]

Woohoooooo both the refugium and big tank are CLEAN!!!

I am so glad thats over with!!!

This thing was nasty!!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2603009882/" title="P6220054 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3102/2603009882_64451827c7_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="P6220054" /></a>

Now they are all clean.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2602186369/" title="P6220060 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3255/2602186369_5848e159fa_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="P6220060" /></a>

and

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11107081@N02/2603017270/" title="P6220061 by chernalp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3156/2603017270_e65067b418_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="P6220061" /></a>


Ok so Next project is to get the Cabinet stand painted and back in the house.

Anyone know the best way to dispose of all this crushed coral sand that I wont be using again, there are two buckets of it.

 

[crsswift70]

Those look to be your drain and return line bulkheads. You will definitely need them I don't see gaskets though ( a rubber ring to seal against the glass). They can usually be picked up for $10 or so from an LFS. Don't dispose of the sand. Clean it and trade or donate to a fellow reefer.