I upgraded! 135g FOWLR off craigslist...now what?

[gigamanx]

As the title suggests, I'm upgrading from a 3yr strong 55g FOWLR aquarium to a 135g aquarium. I'm trying to understand some basics on the filtration I was given as part of the craigslist sale. Everything I read online suggests the filtration isn't enough for this size, so I'm going to the experts to understand what I've bought myself.

The setup has a wet/dry filter that I've calculated to have a total capacity of 10 gallons. There is also a seperate multi-media filter after the skimmer area. The seller tells me he bought the package from a reef shop so either I don't understand what I've read online or it was not a good reef shop.

My two big questions are: 1. Will this be enough to filter a 135g tank efficiently? My research lends me to believe I need at least a 20-30 gallon filtration space with a 300-400gph pump (current one is a 295gph maxi-jet 1200).

2. With such a small amount of water change space, how often am I going to need to manually top off the system due to evaporation? It seems like I'd be doing that every day so the pumps don't dry out in the wet/dry filter.

I'm very excited by the new setup and thankfully can take my time in getting it right before putting any new pets in. As a side note, Thinking of going with a bubble magus 5 protein skimmer (since this one looks like its a cheap piece of junk).

 

[Shawn O]

Congrats on the new tank. While you may be able to make that equipment work you may find it more useful to get a more functional sump. That looks like it has a HOB overflow, is the tank drilled? It may save you lots of future headaches to drill the tank and set up a 40+ gallon sump to house any equipment you choose to buy. Start a build thread and post pics as you go along.

 

[blt4ever]

+1 i would drill the tank if it isnt already and also get a bigger sump. On my 125 with a 55 gallon sump I have to top off 1-2 gallons a day for evaporation.

 

[primo21]

Use your 55 as the sump for the new tank. Should be plenty of room in there to put all of your equipment as well as a good size fuge if you so desire.

 

[gigamanx]

great feedback thanks for all that. I couldn't imagine fitting my 55g in the cabinet that the new tank came with. The 135g is not drilled and has a sticker saying tempered glass, so I'm a bit afraid of giving that a try. I've been leaning towards a custom sump so I can change filter media through the cabinet doors. I think I'd fit a 30g pretty well with room to fit my arms in there.