Upgrading to a used tank. Need help!

[Jberge60]

This tank came with a skimmer that uses a separate air pump but had no water pump with it. I've never seen one like this before. Do you think I could T off my return pump which is 700gph and feed it with that

 

[Jberge60]

I found a skimmer that I can fit in my sump, it'll be here thurs. I'm going to do a 30% or so wc to bring down the nitrates and go from there

 

[RobZilla04]

I found a skimmer that I can fit in my sump, it'll be here thurs. I'm going to do a 30% or so wc to bring down the nitrates and go from there

Thumbs up.

 

[Sk8r]

Acclimation is all about salinity match. If within .002 no acclimation is necessary for most species.
If you replace sand, you may get a 5 day mini-cycle, and because fish are SO vulnerable to ammonia, keeping them apart from the tank (in the old digs, perhaps) until the snit is over with would be a good idea. Likewise, start by feeding very very lightly at first, because the new sandbed will be playing catchup.

 

[Jberge60]

So I did a 20g wc last night which is around 30%. Ammonia and nitrites still 0. Phosphates 0.25. Nitrates were reading 40 then and now tonight they are somewhere between 40 and 80. My skimmer will here tomorrow. I don't know what to do except a huge wc at least 50% and hope that my skimmer will helps.. I guess it's die off from LR but when will I be able to get this under control? This was all new water just 4 days ago...it's a bummer

 

[Jberge60]

Also should I clean the bio balls?

 

[RobZilla04]

Also should I clean the bio balls?

No

 

[Jberge60]

Also should I clean the bio balls? Or did they just clean themselves with my full tank of fresh water?

 

[Jberge60]

Didn't mean to post that whole thing again

 

[Jberge60]

No

So large wc and hook up the skimmer?

 

[RobZilla04]

So large wc and hook up the skimmer?

Correct. You likely stirred up a lot of nutrients when doing your swap over. You can change out filter pads every couple of weeks plus do water changes regularly while your skimmer breaks in. As long as ammonia and nitrites are 0, and the salinity is within 1.024 & 1.026 you should have no problem acclimating the fish so long as the temp and pH are in line.

Poly pads are also great IME at sucking up excess nutrients.

 

[crawlerman]

You can make a sump out of an old aquarium and some glass from home depot. I made my first one out of a 30G I bought for $30. You can get glass cut to the size you need and use aquarium grade silicon to put in the baffles. It's not hard at all. Just make sure you round the edges of the new cut glass. I didn't and cut myself pretty good a few times. I'm not a fan of the wet dry and it could very well be your source of nitrates. do a search in the DIY section for sumps. You will also want to save up for your own RO/DI filter, buy this before you buy any other fish or corals.

 

[Jberge60]

I just saw poly pads at my lfs yesterday and almost grabbed one but instead I just got some chemi-pure. I will probably look into making a simp in the near future and a RO/DI filter is a must after all the water I've hauled this past week. I did about a 50% wc last night and got the nitrates down to 20. The skimmer is in the sump and running now too. I might try adding a fish or 2 tonight if the parameters are still good

 

[MondoBongo]

Just an FYI, my local home depot and Lowe's only sold 1/8" thick glass which is not sufficient for anything aquarium related.

However I was able to find a local glass shop that cut me 5 plates of 1/4" for sump baffles and eased the edges on them for about $50.

 

[Jberge60]

Thanks for the info mondo. I was also wondering if it matters if there's an order I introduce the fish to the new tank and what time frame. I have 2 damsels, 2 clowns, 3 chromis and a blenny, along with a blood shrimp and blue leg hermit crab. The one blue damsel is about 3" big and cranky, it picks on everyone except the clowns. So idk if there's an order I should do this so no one tries to claim the whole tank as their territory

 

[MondoBongo]

Generally speaking: the more aggressive the fish, the later it should be introduced.

 

[Jberge60]

That's what I was thinking. Thanks

 

[ClownFishGuy6]

i would ditch the sand and start with brand new sand. that stuff tends to hang on to a lot of nastiness, and you can help avoid nutrient issues by getting yourself new sand.

i would do all new water too. there's no reason to worry about saving or transferring water. starting out with fresh, clean, saltwater will get those nitrates down in the short term too.

i would also ditch the wet/dry sump in favor of a normal sump layout with protein skimmer. bio balls are generally frowned upon as over time they can trap a lot of organics and lead to nitrate issues, similar to how canister filters can. not that you can't use them, but they require some special maintenance consideration over conventional layouts.

if possible it is always my preference to move the new tank in to place dry, set it up with fresh sand and rocks, and let it run to see if it is going to cycle. then migrating things over gradually as i get more confident that the tank is established enough to handle them.

conversely, you can move everything over at once, but try to minimize the nasty from both tanks that is coming over. e.g. use new water, new sand, blow off rocks before transferring, and be careful with your feed levels. monitor water quality for a few days after the move to ensure you're not seeing any kind of cycle.

You dont have to get rid of the sand. you can just syphone it out into a bucket and clean in with a hose or in the sink.

 

[Jberge60]

You dont have to get rid of the sand. you can just syphone it out into a bucket and clean in with a hose or in the sink.

Yes I read that I could do that also. I put all new sand in because my 29g is still running housing my fish and the sand that was in the new tank when I bought it was with really dirty. I was trying to limit how much junk I put back into my new system given that I was already using the LR that was in it. I just introduced my 2 clowns and largest chromis last night. All is well so far, I have my fingers crossed

 

[Jberge60]

Do you guys maintain the level in your sump by adding water directly to it? If I slow down my return and let the sump fill up when I open the return again it just drops. I don't understand it