New Tank

[kimismurf]

Last year I had a beautiful reef tank setup in my dining room. When we moved in Jan the tank sprung a leek and I lost everything. Well since then not a day has gone by that I didn't think about my tank and how much I missed seeing my little piece of heaven everyday. I wanted to get an acrylic tank but it's just not an option for me at this time. I came across this tank today while in petsmart buying dog food and I'm wondering what you guys think. It's on sale for $249 I believe but I don't know for how long. It's a 60g comes with stand and hood/lights. I have my own sw lights but I guess I could sell these that come with it. Please let me know what you think as I'm very interested. One of the problems I had with my other tank is that the center support broke which is how it sprung a leek in the first place. I'm wondering if this was caused from being old or from the sw lights.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3804465">http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3804465</a>
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[frantz]

Looks nice, but I'd keep things like a sump in mind. Most of these setups never come with drilled holes for a sump. Check out craigslist in your area, you may find a good deal on a used system from someone upgrading.

 

[kimismurf]

I didn't have a sump with my 55g but I have been thinking about it with this one. I could fit a sump in the cabinet below but I'm not into drilling holes in the aquarium for it.

 

[frantz]

Sumps are not required, but boy are they nice. I wouldn't buy a new tank that wasn't drilled, but that's just my preference. And I'm not a huge fan of the overflow boxes.

 

[rdnelson]

Did the canester filter thing. Hated it. Did the HOB Overflow and while I didn't hate it I just didn't totally trust it. So, for my 125 I drilled it and never looked back. Big advantages to have a sump and a drilled tank. If you are interested, I can show you some pics of how I drilled mine and did the overflow.

 

[kimismurf]

May I ask, why is it important tyi have it drilled? I thought that wa for a sump setup. I'm having second thoughts about this tank. I really like it however I'm afraid to buy glass again. On my last tank the center support broke, if someone could ensure that break was not from the lights weakening the brace I would totally buy it. Also, can I setup a sump without drilling?

 

[rdnelson]

Don't know if anyone can ensure a brace will not break but on a new tank I would tend to trust that the manufacturer knows what they are doing. As for drilling a tank, it isn't hard at all if you have any DIY skills. Bits can be purchased pretty cheap and with a little instruction you can do a good job of drilling it yourself. The most important thing is to make sure the glass is not tempered Lots of tanks have tempered bottoms but not the sides. If you go with a bean animal type set up you can drill the tank at the top back and I can assure you that you will never find anything quieter.

With the HOB overflow, what I found is that there is always a chance of loosing the siphon which will cause your tank to overflow. Happened to me but fortunately my wife and I were standing in front of it at the time. Other than her hair and the carpet getting a little wet it wasn't a big deal. I learned that you have to be sure you always have a good suction removing the air from the weir to ensure the siphon remains.

Here are a couple of pictures of both the HOB Overflow I built for my old tank and the Bean Animal I built for my 125. Given a choice, I will never have a tank with anything other than Bean Animal.
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[kimismurf]

 

[rdnelson]

kimismurf;803749 wrote: http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/member.php?u=5736">rdnelson99</a>, can you come to my house and fix my tank like the one above :O)[/QUOTE]

If the price is right!!!! LOL Expecially since I am unemployed at the moment. :mad2:

 

[kimismurf]

I would totally pay you, but I live in NC. I like this forum better than the nc ones that's why I come here.

 

[racinrevo0818]

What part of NC? I live eastern North Carolina

 

[kimismurf]

I'm in Greensboro, about an hour from Raleigh.

 

[kimismurf]

I am thinking long and hard about setting up a sump and putting the hob skimmer inside if it will work that way. unfortunately unless I buy a new stand 13 inches is all I have to spare without it hanging over in the center front. If I can find someone to hook it all up I may have it plumed, if not than no sump right now. I am also looking at a 60g seaclear acrylic tank.

 

[kimismurf]

How about truvu aquasystem 60g 48 x 15 x 18. I think this might be the one

 

[tbryan]

If your going for a sump setup be sure to check the internal dimensions of the stand the 55g60g variety of tanks are typically very narrow,which can make it kind of tough to fit a sump under if the stand isnt built just right.

 

[kimismurf]

how about this one

http://www.truvuaquariums.com/maa00060r.html">http://www.truvuaquariums.com/maa00060r.html</a>
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[tbryan]

It's not drilled its an all in one

 

[coolsurf]

You can just do the overflow box to a sump and that would work fine. Just get an aqualifter for the peace of mind. Drilled is nice but not neccessary. I really don't like the HOB skimmers.

 

[kimismurf]

Now that I have a HOB skimmer I'm not a big fan of them either. It has overflowed a few times. I thought the skimmer can fit right into the back of this one. I saw a youtube video of this exact tank 60g and he had the skimmer inside the back on the right.

 

[kimismurf]

Ugh! I called my apartment office and they said they don't allow anything bigger than 30g however if I get renters ins they will let me have a 60g as long as it's acrylic. This makes me re-think the whole thing. I have never kept a reef in anything smaller than 55g so I will have to see how it goes, but I am thinking in order to not have to get renters ins I will just get a 29g for now, and maybe upgrade later.