Inherited New 180 Gallon tank etc

[RWarren]

I have recently been left an aquarium and a LOT of extra's when my brother in law passed away. I have since been reading everything I can get my hands on and lurking on various sites trying to learn as much as possible before attemping to set it all up. He had been very ill for some time so it had been sitting empty for a number of months as he was not longer able to look after it.

It is a bit overwelming right now! I want to try to get it up and running but I am still trying to learn what it is all for! . The stand was not there so I will need to buy/build a stand of some sort.

I have the items below. If anyone notices anything I will need on top of this PLEASE let me know. Also if anyone can point me to good books to read or websites to visit I would appreciate it.

I want to start out slow but would eventually like to get into various types of corals. I have learned enough to know that this will be a SLOW process and that I should not try to rush anything!

180 gallon 72 x 24 x 24 tank with rear overflow drilled with three 1 1/2" drains. One 3/4" return in each rear corner of the tank.
90 gallon sump with refugium ( I think..).
Super Reef Octopus XP-3000 internal skimmer
Super Dart Gold Return pump
2 250 Watt heaters
3 dosing pumps
2 vertex uf-20 reactors ( not sure what he used them for) w/ laguna max flo 900 pump driving them
Apex controller with 2 power bars, ph and temp probe, lunar module with 3 leds ,WXM & switch controller(There are 3 doorbell type switches connected to it)
2 Eco-tech MP40's
48 inch IceCap Reef Illuminations 250 watt MH/T5/LED ( Not sure why it was only 48" and not 72"??) w/ 2 new 250W/14K Metal Halide bulbs and 2 new T5's

A Bunch of test kits ( which reading it looks like I will need to replace as they likely expired?)

A seperate 20? gallon tank and flourescent lights with Deltec external skimmer, heater, wavemaker, thermometer and American Marine Pinpont PH Monitor. Quarentine tank maybe?

A 45 gal drum for salt water storage with heater, power head ( to mix things up I presume) and a larger pump with a hose that was used to pump salt water into the main tank on water changes

A Vertex Puratek RO/DI filter

There is also about 200 lbs of rock that I presume use to be live rock in the aquarium?

Finally 2 large boxes of Reef Crystals salt.

 

[DavidinGA]

Wow I'm sorry for your lose but that's a heck of good problem to have there lol.

Sent by Razr Maxx

 

[rldcpa]

All excellent equipment for a full reef tank. The dosers are for 2 part dosing and the Vertex are reactors probably for GFO and Carbon.

The 20 gallons is your Quarantine tank.

It looks like you have most everything.

You will need to read some of the sticky's here on how to setup a tank and then read basic water chemistry.

You wont need the reactors or the dosers to get things started. But in any case, don't rush, just take your time to understand what the peices do and how his system worked.

The Apex System controls everything from on off, timers, dosing time, reactor time, etc. You will need to read up on how it works but some of the programing is probably already done by the prior owner.

Again, take it slow and have some fun with this great setup.

 

[RWarren]

Thanks! I have read just enough to know that I need to follow some of the great advice available ,do a LOT of reading and most importantly not to try to rush anything. I have read more posts from people losing fish and corals from trying to rush things. If as I post my progress here anyone feels I am falling into that category please feel free to tell me to SLOW DOWN!!

 

[Painted skin]

That's a really nice setup, it's be better than mine. No cheaping out there. lol I didn't see you mention any substrate.? Other than looks like you have everything except knowledge.

 

[RWarren]

Ya definately lacking in the knowledge at the moment but thats why I am on site like this!

Forgot to mention also have a refractometer and a small 4 led fixture he had over a part of the sump. Presume its the refugium light?? Its called a Nano Glo. If I rememberr he had it coming on when the other lights were out. Said trying to balance out the PH??

I also have four 5 gallon buckets of crushed coral he had in the tank bottom. There is a bag here with a little in it also . The label on the bag is Caribsea Florida Crushed Coral. Must be at least 150lbs of it! Is that ok for a substrate?

Queston on the lighting. The fixture I have is only 48" but the tank is 72"?? Does that mean I need a new fixture to replace the one I have or can I simply add a couple small ones to "fill in" the foot on each end?

 

[Painted skin]

Ya definately lacking in the knowledge at the moment but thats why I am on site like this!

Forgot to mention also have a refractometer and a small 4 led fixture he had over a part of the sump. Presume its the refugium light?? Its called a Nano Glo. If I rememberr he had it coming on when the other lights were out. Said trying to balance out the PH??

I also have four 5 gallon buckets of crushed coral he had in the tank bottom. There is a bag here with a little in it also . The label on the bag is Caribsea Florida Crushed Coral. Must be at least 150lbs of it! Is that ok for a substrate?

Queston on the lighting. The fixture I have is only 48" but the tank is 72"?? Does that mean I need a new fixture to replace the one I have or can I simply add a couple small ones to "fill in" the foot on each end?

As long as you have 2"+ of substrate at the bottom you're good. As for light can do either add to it or sell it buy new right size.

 

[Daimyo68]

Sorry for your loss

Your brother inlaw seems to have been on top of his setup. The list you provided has everything you need to get started, less sand, water and experience, which you've come to a good place to learn about.

180 gallon 72 x 24 x 24 tank with rear overflow drilled with three 1 1/2" drains. One 3/4" return in each rear corner of the tank.
90 gallon sump with refugium ( I think..). Can you post some pictures? I do believe this is the BeanAnimal Drain System. Here's a link to Beans website, and there's a HUGE thread about it here on RC http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx


Super Reef Octopus XP-3000 internal skimmer - Obvious use. Here's an article for you to read to undertstad how they work. Great website you should bookmark for tons of other information also http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/fm/feature/index.php

Super Dart Gold Return pump - Obvious use
2 250 Watt heaters - Obvious use

3 dosing pumps - Pictures please. Most likely used for dosing Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium or Kalkwasser. These won't need to be setup right away, but will be usefull when/if you start to keep corals.

2 vertex uf-20 reactors ( not sure what he used them for) w/ laguna max flo 900pump driving them - Most likely they were used for Carbon and GFO. Carbon is used to help remove toxins and clarify the water, GFO is used to help reduce Phosphates

Apex controller with 2 power bars, ph and temp probe, lunar module with 3 leds ,WXM & switch controller(There are 3 doorbell type switches connected to it) Automation of your system. You can go their website for information about their products, and they also have a sub-forum here on RC

2 Eco-tech MP40's - In tank flow, and great pumps for creating random flow. Again, their website and sub forums here on RC

48 inch IceCap Reef Illuminations 250 watt MH/T5/LED ( Not sure why it was only 48" and not 72"??) w/ 2 new 250W/14K Metal Halide bulbs and 2 new T5's - Most likely, the tank was setup as a mixed reef, meaning he was keeping everything from soft to hard corals. With the lighting set at the center of the tank, he would have intense lighting under the 48", and on the ends of the tank, not so intense. Some corals require "high/intense" lighting while others require lower lighting conditions. This is the perfect way to accomplish a "mixed reef"

A Bunch of test kits ( which reading it looks like I will need to replace as they likely expired?) Check the dates, if they are expired, throw them away and get new ones. Fresh test kits are invaluable in this hobby

A seperate 20? gallon tank and flourescent lights with Deltec external skimmer, heater, wavemaker, thermometer and American Marine Pinpont PH Monitor. Quarentine tank maybe? Definately a QT tank.

A 45 gal drum for salt water storage with heater, power head ( to mix things up I presume) and a larger pump with a hose that was used to pump salt water into the main tank on water changes - You are correct!

A Vertex Puratek RO/DI filter - Used to make purified water. Is this the entire system or just a single filter? If you plan to make your own water (synthetic), you will need a good RO/DI unit.

There is also about 200 lbs of rock that I presume use to be live rock in the aquarium? - If the rock is dry, it will need to be cycled/cured. This can be done in a brute trash can, or in the tank iteself while it cycles.

Finally 2 large boxes of Reef Crystals salt.

As for the crushed coral, I would recommend using sand, but this is personal preference. Both will become "live", but the crushed coral tends to let detritus (fish waste) build up much faster.


Your off to a good start already by making this statement: I have learned enough to know that this will be a SLOW process and that I should not try to rush anything! Patience is the key to successful reef aqaurium.

.

 

[RWarren]

Thanks everyone for the reply's. As soon as I get my camera working again...just broke....I will get some pictures. I want to keep track of the progress of setting this up.

I recall some on how he had the overflow setup and can deduce the rest from the plumbing that is here. One of the 3 pipes in the overflow is shorter than the rest and has a black strainer on it. The 2nd one is a litle higher and 3rd looks like it was just a little higher than his normal water level. (high water mark ) I recall it was very quiet with no gurgling sounds that I noticed.

All three had 1 1/2" pvc going down into one section on the sump except 2 of them also have gate valves on them. The 3rd one is just pipe. I seem to recall his saying one was the main drain and the 2nd gate valve was there in case he had needed 2 main drains. The 3rd pipe was the emergency overflow? I thiink I have that right. I found the same basic idea at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pv3u0Sa1tk .

The sump is divided into 4 sections. The smaller area where the 3 pipes come into. It looks like the water will overflow from there into the next larger section but it will filter through 2 (cloth?) bags to get there. If the bags were clogged up it can just flow over a lip into that large section and not overflow. I don't think that the water in the big section will get over 9" high...have not measured it yet though. The water then flows through three baffles into another smaller section with a 1 1/2" bulkhead at the bottom that was connected to the return pump. The return pump has a true union ball valve on both the input and output. There is finally a section not quite as large as the other one that looks like it was fed seperately and the water from it flows back into the main part of the sump? (refugium?)

I found the 3 dosing pumps on Bulk Reef Supply. They are called (BRS 2 Part Doser – 1.1 mL per minute) I also just opened a box containing fairly large bags of chemical. Labels on them are MgCl2, Na2CO3, NaHCO3. I haven's had the chance to see what these are yet. There is also a bag of Dow Flake extra which says its calcium chloride and a large bag of epson salt which I believe is magnesium sulphate. As some people have said above I will not need these until I start having corals some time down the road?

What about the 2 big boxes of Instant Ocean Reef Crystals? Is that a good salt to use? It says on the boxes that each one makes 200 gallons.

Today I am going to build a stand! I found one here under the DIY section. Made from 2x4's and 2x6's.

Sorry about all the questions etc! Off to build the stand!

 

[RWarren]

Inherited New 180 Gallon tank etc

Well I got the stand basically built. Figured I would get the frame etc done and worry about making it pretty after the plumbing etc is done as doing th efinishing on it is the easy part.
I took advantage of 3 family members being here to help me lift the tank onto the stand and place the sump under it!

I even managed to do a little dry fitting to the plumbing! Off to Home Depot next for a few things I need!


My sister tells me she used a ton of vinegar to completely clean the tank and sump when my brother in law drained it to store while he was ill. Is there anything different I need to do because of the vinigar used? She did quite the job because it looks new. Not a spot of algae or anything anywhere other than a touch in the corners.

 

[Daimyo68]

I use Reef Crystals myself and have no complaints. After adding the salt to the RO/DI water, make sure to test the Specific gravity, so that it is correct.

BRS - "Bulk Reef Supply". You can go to their site, look up the doser/s, and watch the video's they have to learn how they work and how to set them up.

You are correct on the chemicals. Here's a good "Chemistry" page with tons of information on using and mixing them. Once your tank is setup and running through it's cycle, you will have weeks of time to read. Reefkeeping.com is full of information. Take advantage of that time and learn about water chemistry, and how everything is tied together in some fashion.

Chemistry - http://reefkeeping.com/issues/subject/chemistry.php

Mixing and using Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium - http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

Glad to hear the stand is coming along! That was fast.

Vinegar is used to remove coraline algae and help clean the glass. If it's been sometime, you won't need to do anything else except water test the tank and plumbing once you have it ready. Just use plain old tap water for this part. Then start it up and let it run to make sure everything is ok. Once done, drain out the water and your all set on that front.