Starting tank!

[Apartmenttank]

Sorry for the 3rd post here but i have finally made progress on bringing home my reef tank! I was browsing for LFS and found one down the road from me with a 45gallon tank and a sump(not sure the size looks to be around 25 gallons)





Here are side and front views, tank is dirty because they used it which is why i got it for so cheap. Gallon jug in the picture for size reference. I am worried about it being to tall now that i took it home, i don't have a tape measure but gallon jug gives a good reference point at least.

Ill update this thread when i have more information but for now what light would you recommend for the tank? also what do you think about the sump? enough for the tank?

 

[hotelbravo]

to tall for what? and i would ditch the bioballs and replace with rubble. and how are you planning on cleaning the tank up?

 

[Apartmenttank]

I heard if you get to tall of a tank there are some lighting issues for coral?

I thought rubble went under the Refugium section but now I'm wondering where am I gonna put the skimmer, thinking the Refugium is too small now.

I plan on cleaning it with water and elbow grease but if that doesn't work I'm gonna look up other cleaning methods, did you have any ideas?

 

[Cymonous]

You could cut out part of the acrylic top over the first section on the left with a dremel and put a skimmer in there. Get rid of the bioballs. Cap that bulkhead on the right.

As for cleaning, just a water/vinegar solution will do and a sponge or paper towels. And rinse and dry.

Tank looks to be about 25gallons. You can measure height,width,length and google a tank calculator.

And as far as light, it depends on what you are putting in the tank. Fish only or reef? Could just get a LED Blackbox and hang it over the tank.

 

[toothybugs]

Tank looks to be about 25gallons. You can measure height,width,length and google a tank calculator.

Or quicker, every cubic foot (12" x 12" x 12") is 7.5 gallons.

In inches, (L x W x H)/ 7.5= gallons

FWIW.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Tank Volume Calculator

Vinegar and water will clean that up.

Put a skimmer in the section where the bioballs are. Use the middle section for your refugium. Yeah, ditch the bio-balls...use rock instead (but don't put them in the first skimmer or last return section...put it in your center refugium section). With the bulkhead on the outside of the return section you have the option of using an external return pump, or run the PVC outlet pipe of an internal pump to it and up to your display tank.

It's not a bad sized sump or refugium section in the middle given the size of the display tank. You can use the tank calculator to figure out the water volume of each section of your sump as well.

Plan your sump well. Figure out how much backflow will go back into the sump if the power goes out so you don't flood it. Best of luck.

Be patient.

 

[ryeguyy84]

Or quicker, every cubic foot (12" x 12" x 12") is 7.5 gallons.

In inches, (L x W x H)/ 7.5= gallons

FWIW.

I like this, nice and quick. my 60G cube is 8 cubic feet (I guess thats how you'd say it)

 

[Apartmenttank]

Thanks for all the responses.

Yeah I have been meaning to do volume, but I don't have a tape measurer. Sad I know.

As for bioballs, it came with them but what is the big issue with them or are you guys just saying they take up room that rock would do better for?


My gf is coming over the weekend to help me clean it out, I heard vinegar is good for tank cleaning

Tank I'm going reef, mainly LPS and softies with hopes of adding a SPS in the future

 

[mmittlesteadt]

As for bioballs, it came with them but what is the big issue with them or are you guys just saying they take up room that rock would do better for?

Bio-balls are a great as a bio medium for freshwater tanks (as there isn't a lot of natural material for FW bio filtration) but for saltwater they are just a trap for detritus that will give you problems in trying to export nitrate.

Use dry/live rock for your bio medium. It doubles duty as aquascaping material, buffering the pH and a great medium for your biological filtration.

 

[Apartmenttank]

I plan on having rock in the tank and below the Refugium, I guess I am going to need to remove the bio balls to get room for a skimmer

 

[bat21]

Or quicker, every cubic foot (12" x 12" x 12") is 7.5 gallons.

In inches, (L x W x H)/ 7.5= gallons

FWIW.

I tried this out of curiosity and it was very wrong. You first have to divide by cubic feet, then multiply by 7.5 to get gallons. 12 cubed is 1728. So it's:

(L x W x H) / 1728 x 7.48 = # of gallons

 

[Apartmenttank]

Just did the math.. guy who sold it to me said its a 45 gallon, its a 37.5. not really happy about that as it will take away some fish i might have wanted.

The sump is 12.5 gallons, with 6.7 being in the refg, 2.6 in the bioball section and 3.125 in the return section.

Overall slightly disapointed now as i feel i dont have adiquit water volume with only 50 total gallons, might return it but idk yet

 

[Apartmenttank]

Forgot to say bought it from a LFS, the Dimensions for the tank were 24x18x20 inches giving total gallons of 37.5 but as the tank will not be 100% full im looking at a 35 or so gallon tank. ill decide before tomorrow so i wouldn't have to fight to hard to get him to refund me or look into an exchange.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

I wouldn't sweat the slight difference in gallons. Does it fit with what you want to do with it? Like aquascaping, room for fish, etc.

Keep in mind that total gallons are not what really determines how many fish you can keep, but rather surface area where the gas exchange takes place. Having a sump increases the total surface area, as does having a skimmer to oxygenate. Two tanks with the same surface area will allow for the same number of fish, even if one were ten feet taller than the other (more gallons, but same surface area). The ONLY difference might be swimming space available.