Reviving a old tank

[bigken462]

Hello all, my name is Kenny Taylor and this is my first post to this forum. I look forward to perhaps reviving a old hobby I once enjoyed.

Years ago, back in 2002 or so, my father and I put together a 120 gallon saltwater tank for my mom to enjoy before her health declined. The tank uses the over the top filtration where the water runs down the drains on the back inside corners. Forgive me that I've lost the correct terminology as it's been a long time since I've had anything to do with aquariums. For filtration, it used a Oceanic 250 trickle filter with sump pump and bioballs.

After my mom passed away in 2004, my father lost interest in the aquarium. He tried to keep it up for a while, but eventually it was pushed to the wayside. Currently there is a large amount of caked up salt crystals caked to the sides and is in a overall mess as you might imagine with all the salt that goes in a 120 gallon tank.

The setup still sits in the same location in the living room as it has since 2002 or so when we built it. The other day during a general conversation, I asked my father if he was ever going to fire the old aquarium back up again and he said no, as a matter of fact, he said it would have already been gone if he could get someone to take it. He and I custom built a oak stand for this and while it does have some water damage from the salt creep, It's still solid.

I will admit first hand that I never had to pay for upkeep, but it kills me to see this old tank just sit there. Why now I'm just thinking about this I have no idea.

Never the less, here I am trying to formulate a plan to see what it might cost to get some life going again. While I'm no fear to the labor or love cleaning the old salt and crushed coral, I'm a little reluctant to jump in due to other unknown cost.

Labor and cost of fish aside, what would be a reasonable guess that it would take to get this tank brought back to life? I'm only wanting small saltwater fish at this point, not really into coral right now I don't think, but that might could change as interest grows.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Kenny

 

[bigken462]

...Removed edit

 

[dkeller_nc]

Wow, that's really tough to say. The cost will certainly be less for a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) than it will be for a full blown reef tank, as you won't be concerned with high-intensity lighting or much in the way of water chemistry beyond maintaining the salinity and perhaps an occasional nitrate test.

If all of your old equipment works, then most of the cost will simply be salt and purified water for making the necessary artificial sea water and electricity. For a tank of that size, that's probably going to run you a few hundred per year. That doesn't count the livestock, of course.

My advice would be to first take everything apart and clean it up. That'll be a lot of labor, and may give you an idea of whether you want to do this or not.

 

[bigken462]

Thanks for the reply. I had made a typo, but could not edit, it's actually a 220 gallon tank and when we set this up, we did purchase the high-intensity lighting.

I wish I could recall if we used live rock or crushed coral (is there even any difference?) and speaking of, knowing it has to be one or the other, can this be rinsed, cleaned and reused?

If I can get by without having to rebuy all the substrate, I don't think it'll be anything more than a few filters. Lord knows what the salt may have done drying up in the pumps - if they are even dry. If there is any water, God knows what kind of condition it is in.

I might could soak it, get the most of the larger salt chunks to redeslove then start cycling it with a vinegar solution to clean everything out.

Thanks for any advice. The next time I visit my dad, I'll grab a picture or two to get some opinions on where to start.

The only reluctance I have is that I have just put down new hardwood flooring. I also have a basement/floor joist to think about as well, but I believe I can locate this across or adjacent to a girder to hep distribute the weight.

Anyway guys, the questions are building, but I'll bid my time here on the search feature. I'm really surprised how much things have changed since we set this tank up. Back then I remember bioballs being the absolute best thing since salt water. Now i'm wondering how using yesterdays filtration system will hurt me. Maybe it's still just as good, but either way, this is what I have to work with so I may as well find a way to make it work for me.

Yall have a great Sunday!

 

[dkeller_nc]

If it's going to be a FOWLR, then yes you can re-use the substrate as long as it's thoroughly cleaned. If you're thinking reef tank, then that might not be the best choice.

With respect to filtration, read up on the "starting tanks with dry rock" posts. While I personally very much prefer true live rock, that's an expensive luxury when it comes to fish-only tanks. And yeah, you don't need the bio-balls in a trickle filter with a reasonable amount of dry rock in the tank.

 

[CarrieB]

I wonder if your dad might be willing to give you some financial support to get the tank out of his living room and providing you with enjoyment.

You might want to see if there is a local reefing club that would give you access to used rock and equipment for reasonable prices as well as some help with the tank. There might be someone knowledgable that would love the challenge of reviving an old tank.


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[dkeller_nc]

You might want to see if there is a local reefing club that would give you access to used rock and equipment for reasonable prices as well as some help with the tank. There might be someone knowledgable that would love the challenge of reviving an old tank.

That's an excellent suggestion. Local reefing clubs are great places to get used but perfectly serviceable equipment, and (usually) very good advice.