Used Tank Setup

[fishymo]

So guys, looking for some in depth advice here. Posted on a couple other forums but thought i;d expand my knowledge pool. (This seems like an awesome forum!)


I have been running a FW tank for a while and have decided to try out SW for the first time. A lengthy but hopefully informative post for some help.

I bought a used tank (around 300l) that was kept as a marine tank. Its a Boyu with filtration in the hood - was shown the used filter media and bioballs etc. The owner said they used this systen with a skimmer to run their tank.

I was also informed that one of his fish had disease and he had to treat the tank (filter sponge had changed colour from treatment colours). Confirmed with seller it was ich (white spot).

I want to run a marine tank and thought i would save money buying a bigger tank for cheaper but im thinking long term and want to plan this out properly before making major mistakes. FWIW I am not certain on stocking but this is a gift to my family and will definitely feature some clown fish

What I received
- Tank / Stand
- Filter (+Pump) into hood system
- Used Bioballs, sponge etc.
- 2 x LED lights installed into hood (one with blue strip stuck on, other white)
- 300W Heater (Fluval)
- Extra Boyu Submersible LED light (LSL-60)
- Sand ~25kg (Not really sure if this is smooth enough?)
- Rocks

The tank lid has been cut to allow for a skimmer to be placed at end (water drop) of id filter (I can see where this has been fixed on the tank back with glue). I was advised to place a new skimmer in the exact same position.

It has been suggested I keep a sump tank with this setup so I plan to get someone to drill holes at the back of the tank. (I am really hoping this is not tempered glass...)


It's nice to have alot of these extras such as a big amount of sand. But I am not going to risk having a tank disaster to save a few coppers. So to confirm - Should I just chuck the sand, rocks (wasnt keen on them) and filter media out?

I know they have bacteria on them right now and for some reason it sounded like a good idea to use when starting the cycle. But I dont want to take any chances so i still plan on rinsing the tank / filter system out with white vinegar. Should I salvage much else?

Another interesting point was to just go pick up ready made RO or SW from my LFS - Does anyone do this? Would it be cheaper to just make my own long term with a RO unit and salt.

I've attached a few pics to show the filter system, tank, sand and rock. Hopefully this will give a better idea of what i'm dealing with now.

Happy that I have ended up with a couple of LED's. Will this be sufficient? Is it worth using the extra one too?

My cabinet, though wide is split in two. The shelfless compartment is about 45cm in length. Depth same as my tank so thats ok. What would be a decent sump tank size for this setup?

Hopefully keeping the system as simple as possible will be for the better. Ive been reading about sumps and it seems the skimmer can go in there rather than the display which is nice.

Thanks for all the responses, I will add a couple queries in a moment.

 

[bertoni]

[welcome]

What was the medication that was used on the tank? Copper is a common treatment for marine ich, and if that's what was used I would ditch the sand, and likely the live rock. The live rock can be dipped in muriatic acid and water (requires careful handling), and that would remove the copper, but it's a fair amount of work. I would wipe all the equipment down well with some vinegar, in any case. I'd definitely ditch the filter media. The sponge could have copper, and I wouldn't use bio-balls. Anything you do save would need a good vinegar soak if there's copper in the equation.

 

[fishymo]

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

What was the medication that was used on the tank? Copper is a common treatment for marine ich, and if that's what was used I would ditch the sand, and likely the live rock. The live rock can be dipped in muriatic acid and water (requires careful handling), and that would remove the copper, but it's a fair amount of work. I would wipe all the equipment down well with some vinegar, in any case. I'd definitely ditch the filter media. The sponge could have copper, and I wouldn't use bio-balls. Anything you do save would need a good vinegar soak if there's copper in the equation.

I can ask, it was a green like substance apparently. (or red that made the sponge green I forgot what was mentioned).

I am going to buy some new live rock, a small amount of sand and will vinegar clean the tank and equipment.

The filter system runs through the hood which is pretty cool. Will chuck everything from there - people have suggested getting live rock rubble instead...is this a good idea? I was just going to replace the sponge, bioballs etc.

I have a problem now with regards to sumps.

I will be drilling two holes for this tank (I think thats what is required will read more into it) but the cabinet is partitioned in two. This partition seems to support the structural integrity and i am at a loss as to how I can support a sump in there.

Could I get away with using one side? From what I can see its about 45cm width x 57cm high x 38cm depth

Any other solutions are welcome.

I have even heard of to sump tanks...Maybe I could drill a hole and connect both tanks via a large bulkhead?

 

[fishymo]

Partition is in the middle..

 

[Sk8r]

PolyFilter can both remove any metal contaminant and tell you what it was---if it turns blue, it was copper.
The problem comes if the rock soaked a load of coppered water into its pores ---it will take as long to release it as it took to soak it up. It's a good rig. But I wouldn't trust anybody else's sand and the rock is questionable if it was copper-treated.

Definitely ditch the bioballs and sponge if you hope to have corals. What you do lack is a sump and skimmer in the sump.
As for getting the sump UNDER that, can you take the back off? If it gets a little dinged, no big deal. Put the sump in, use a hole bit (hardware store) on a drill to get hose-size exits for hose and cord, screw the back on again, and either glue in a downflow box or use a hob one (hangonback) in the tank---myself, I'd opt to glue a box in: what's IN your tank can leak like a sieve and not cause a problem. A good one has anti-overflow protection, namely a double wall that doesn't allow draindown past a certain point.

 

[fishymo]

PolyFilter can both remove any metal contaminant and tell you what it was---if it turns blue, it was copper.
The problem comes if the rock soaked a load of coppered water into its pores ---it will take as long to release it as it took to soak it up. It's a good rig. But I wouldn't trust anybody else's sand and the rock is questionable if it was copper-treated.

Definitely ditch the bioballs and sponge if you hope to have corals. What you do lack is a sump and skimmer in the sump.
As for getting the sump UNDER that, can you take the back off? If it gets a little dinged, no big deal. Put the sump in, use a hole bit (hardware store) on a drill to get hose-size exits for hose and cord, screw the back on again, and either glue in a downflow box or use a hob one (hangonback) in the tank---myself, I'd opt to glue a box in: what's IN your tank can leak like a sieve and not cause a problem. A good one has anti-overflow protection, namely a double wall that doesn't allow draindown past a certain point.

Ok will run some poly filter after I have cleaned it out with vinegar.

I can take the back off but the main issue is the partition that seems to act as bracing too. What I might do is remove the partition and put in a brace at the front and back?

The structural integrity is important I feel.

Only other thing I can think of is to run 2 separate sump setup and run a large bulkhead drilled through the partition? Would this mean I need 2 heaters?

 

[bertoni]

Having two heaters would be fine. I actually used two heaters in all my tanks, with an emergency cutoff for high temperatures. I've had a lot of heaters fail. Sigh!

I'm not good on mechanical design, so I can't help with partition question. I'd be careful with structural integrity. I've read some horror stories.

 

[fishymo]

Will have a look at RO systems and powerheads soon. Any idea what pump I will need for Sump return? Its around a 300l setup.

I understand that i should be aiming to change around 10% weekly.

Here is a plan to use two tank in either side of the partition by connecting via a bulkhead. Has anyone done this?

Is a double sump setup just not viable?

At this point my understanding of sumps is very little and im trying to understand more as i go along. So please advise or correct my assumptions:

Two holes will be drilled into the tank (near the bottom with enough clearance). The drainage outlet from the display tank will be bigger than the flow inlet from sump.

The water will drain into sump tank 1 which will have a skimmer for treatment then flow into sump 2.

Sump 2 will have a refug with a light to grow algae? I have read growing beneficial algae is good and the water should flow on top of this. This will then feed into the last compartment for bubble trap and heating.

The water will exit from sump 2 and will return to the tank using an external pump...


This is what I understand about sumps so far and I am still unsure of auto topups and how to do water changes / top ups from just the sump. Any advice on this will be appreciated.

 

[fishymo]

Revised the sump setup as I have been told and read that holes should be at the top to avoid flooding. Added two bulkheads to run between the two sumps and removed trickle filter system.