Upgraded to 72G w/overflow, need advice

L

lockekeyy

New member
Hey,

So the reef bug bit me and I bought a 72G bowfront tank for $250 from a local craigslist person (tank and stand) Good deal right?. I plan on washing and scrubbing the inside of the tank with a diluted bleach solution (or is vinegar better) and then rinsing SEVERAL times. Now this tank has an overflow built in, and with it being my first plumbed tank, I was wondering if I can even cycle it and run it like a normal non-plumbed tank until I can get new bulkheads and figure out how I want to set up my refugium. Any other advice is appreciated. My 30G is sitting right next to it and I plan on moving its contents once cycled. Any adivce is great. Thanks!
 
Go with vinegar first and see how that works then go to bleach if needs a better cleaning. I would get everything all set up and plumbed . I dont see why you couldnt cap off the drilled holes if you really needed or wanted to but i would want to check all my plumbing before I go ahead and put any livestock in the tank.
 
One thing Ive learned in this hobby above all others is this slow and steady wins the race. No need to rush on this one, you got a great deal on the tank and furniture, so now you can use that extra cash you saved to go buy all the filtration equipment you need. I would however do a leak test on the tank to check the seams. Vinegar works well, are you trying to remove calcium build up?
 
I've used bleach before, I've used vinegar before... both work fine.

I agree with the above statements about taking your time. I would have everything you intend to run on the tank hooked up before you add any water.
 
Yeah, there's a lil bit of algae and calcium build up around the overflow. So try vinegar first then?
Well, what I'm trying to do it convert my 30g into a sump/refugium. It has all the live sand and live rock and creatures inside it that I wanna move into the 72G. What I wanna know is that if it's ok to run the 72G maybe 3/4 full with my protein skimmer and powerheads and canister filter for a lil while so I can work on the plumbing and build the baffles and stuff for the rufugium. Is this an ok route to go?
 
How many pounds of live rock in your 30?
How many pounds of sand in your 30?
Any corals/fish in the 30?

Here is what I would do. Have your game plan on your system drawn up and planned out. Once your are set and confident with what you need for the conversion go get your materials. If your bioload in your 30 is minimal than you could place it all in a rubbermaid container of sorts with powerheads, skimmer etc and be able to use your 30 for its newly intended purpose.
 
In the 30G:
I have about 45lbs of live rock
50lbs of live sand
a pair of A. ocellaris
a handful of snail and hermits
No coral, a few tiny feather dusters and I would guess some sponges

They can be ok for a lil while (during cycling) in a rubbermaid with just skimming, and flow?
Any particular PVC glue you can reccomend, and a place for base rock that I can sculpt? I was thinking Macrorocks.com?

Thanks for all the adivce, I really appreciate it. Anything other advice for now except take time and patience? I'll take it slow and have everything on the drawing board and set up before I transfer/add anything into the new tank.
 
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Check your LFS for base rock. Never used marcorocks, but the prices are cheap enough. Well You figure youll be adding 30 gallons at least of established tank water, with mature live rock and sand so you shouldnt have much of a cycle. I would look for a food safe container, that can hold at least 25-30 gallons more would be better. Once your system is fitted and leak tested. I would add your rock, sand water ,leaving enough for your clowns and inverts in the container so you are not adding them to a cloudy tank. I would also have some new salt water made at least 24 hours in advance so you can add this to your system once its ready to go. Now that your tank is full i would slowy acclimate your livestock and add them to the sytem. Ive kept fish and coral in rubbermaids for weeks at a time. Just make sure flow, lighting, skimming are all working. And make sure container is a food safe material. You dont want chemicals leaching into the water from the plastic.
 
FWIW I would put your sand in a seperate container with a small powerhead or bubble line. This makes it much easier to transfer.
 
k, thank you so much!
and one last thing... I was looking at lighting, I've narrowed down to 2 choices...

1) Coralife 48 Inch Aqualight Pro, 2x150W HQI MH Lamp + 2x96W PC + 3x1W Lunar LED

or

2)Coralife 48 Inch Aqualight Pro, 2x250W HQI Lamp + 2x96W CF Lamps Sq. Pin + 4x1W LED

I'm leaning towards the 1st one... my tank is only 22inches high and with the 1st one. I should have 6.8 watts per gallon with my first option and the second 9.6 watts per gallon with the second option. I know wattage per gallon isn't a good measure of adequate lighting... but I figured I'd throw it in there. I just don't want to pay for the extra output if not need. I plan on doing a mixed reef way later on down the road.
 
I haven't seen/read on any mounting for it, like legs or supports..? There's a seperate hanging accessory... but that's all I've read
 
So just updating, I have been able to plumb the overflow and return and no more leaks! I've filled up the tank about 3/4 full, laid down egg crate and added 30lbs of Caribsea dry sugar sized sand and 40lbs of medium sized sand. I also added some water conditioners, supplemental bacteria, and a few pounds of live rock from my established tank. I ended up ordering those lights you recommended atrox, Thanks! I also ordered about 60lbs of base rock, a mix of Fiji and Tonga shelf from Bulk Reef Supply.

It's been 2 days since I've added the sand and rocks, and I tested the water. Specs are

pH 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
SG 1.024

The specs are the same in my established tank, except the pH in the established is 8.2
Now when I receive my base rock, would it be ok to aquascape (drill into it and put it together) and let it cycle in the 72g or should I just set aside a rubbermaid bin and cycle it in there?
 
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