New with Questions!

[revoran]

Hello everyone,


First I want to pre-Thank you for any answers you may give... I have been considering starting a new hobby, and after a few days of researching(to the best of my abilities lol most still seems like another language, but im trying!) I have finally decided I am gonna do something I have wanted to do since a KID! Saltwater tank! So today I stopped in at a local pet store and the guy was pretty nice seemed alot more knowledeable then me. Anyways they had a setup that I bought for about $800 would like to know what you think good deal or not. (pictures to come later)

120gallon tank/w stand (in good shape, but ill prolly re-stain it)
60" power compact lights x4
a Wet/Dry filtration system (dont know the brand, if that matters too much)
Coral Life External pump -1300 gph
Coral Life Protien Skimmer - 220
Magdrive 12? driving the skimmer i think (could be wrong)
50+lbs of Live Rock
2 5 gallon buckets of Live Sand.

Thats all the important stuff I think. again I'm real new to this and it seemed like a good deal to me. btw if anyone has any must reads please inform me and i will read them.. I have peeked at the stickys and other websites, but feel someone overwhelmed at all the termonology.. but to be expected Thank you very much

 

[cr500_af]

Sounds like a decent deal... you need to decide first off what you want to keep in the way of corals; this will determine if those lights will do or if you'll need to upgrade. You can keep soft corals and LPS fairly well under PCs (and of course they are fine for a fish-only tank) but if you want a heavy population of corals (or any SPS) you'll probably want to sell the PC fixture and pick up some T5s or metal halide lamps. Volumes could be written about lighting, but in general you'll be better off with stronger lights. If you say you won't "get into" corals, you can go ahead and join my support group for those of us that said the same thing once upon a time.

You'll need to scrounge up a good bit more rock. Watch the Drygoods/Livestock forum here and you can find some buys on it (especially in qantity).

The wet-dry will be OK, but the general consensus will be that if it has biowheels or bio-balls, ditch them and run it as a pure sump rather than a filter. You can fill the media chamber with live rock rubble and that will benefit you.

I'm sure others will chime in...
But WELCOME and enjoy the hobby! This site is a wealth of knowledge (and there are lots of super helpful people here as well).

 

[revoran]

Well I definatly want coral's.... as far as the kinda ermm... no clue. It might be more rock.. theres a ton of it there. Am I able to add more rock later? or is that something that needs to all go in at the same time? I do know that the filtration system has some kind of balls in it I would assume that is what your talking about... are you just talking about removing them or adding a whole new system?

 

[dakota9]

I have limited experience with tanks that size, but commend you for going big</em> the first time.

You'll get plenty of info from others.

Welcome to the site

 

[wbrown]

Sounds like a good deal!
The bio-balls are usually blue golf ball sized spiky spheres that trap and filter all the nasties. IMO they are more trouble than they are worth. Adding a simple dual 4" filter sock should do well for the particulate filtration, adding live rock rubble and cheato to the big section should convert this to a refugium just fine with the addition of a light.
The conversion should be around $30 for the bracket to hold the socks, two socks and some cheato.
Lighting may be fine for Fish, and some soft corals and zoanthids and palyothas, but will not be enough for SPS. As it will take a while to get things setup, cycled and ready for corals, I'd watch the classifieds and go with a retrofit 250W MH setup. Add a couple little personal fans from the local walmart and you should be in fine shape.

 

[revoran]

really dont goto any store yet,,,,is there one around here? if so i need to find it... there is a store somewhere on watson that i picked the tank up... not to big of a store though.

 

[revoran]

I may need to hook up with you so you can show me a few tricks and need to know stuff!

 

[fish scales2]

Too much flow through the sump. I would add a ball valve to the return and decrease the amount of water flowing through the sump. Remove all bioballs and replace with liverock rubble. Take a picture of the setup and it will help us guide you. You will need to add powerheads to increase the waterflow in the display. New bulbs in the cf fixture will support most any softie and several sps as well if desired but I would not attempt until system is stable and you are passed the "new tank syndrome" It might even take a year.


Chris

 

[cr500_af]

You would do well to listen to Chris; he is a fountain of knowledge and an all-around nice guy!

 

[fish scales2]

Ah shux!:blush: Russell just showed up to the store!!! Now thats a drive from Warner Robins.

 

[delloman]

good luck to you Russell lets see thos pics

 

[revoran]

Here are some pics.... not all the plumbing is here, but the hardware is i believe all here... the tank is actually 5ft long 1 1/2 wide 2' tall.
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[revoran]

and more
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[revoran]

It was just a local pet store around here.. yeah everything was used.... he said about 4 months or so of use.... not included in the pics are the "live rock" or "live sand"

 

[fish scales2]

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18360&d=1248580135" alt="" />
Sweet Tank 115 Gallon

[IMG]http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18361&d=1248580147" alt="" />
Bioballs in overflow, take them all out
[IMG]http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18362&d=1248580156" alt="" />
Return pump, add ball valve so you can throttle back. (decrease the amount of water running through the sump and decrease wattage used as well)
[IMG]http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18363&d=1248580170" alt="" />
Would also make a good pump for a beckett skimmer
[IMG]http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18364&d=1248580183" alt="" /> [IMG]http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18365&d=1248580194" alt="" />
Modded Coralife skimmer with venturi installed. I dont believe it is very efficient but better than what most people start with.
[IMG]http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18366&d=1248580209" alt="" />
Mag 12 to operate skimmer.
[IMG]http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18368&d=1248580353" alt="" />
Sump just begging for a mod. A fuge built on top of the 4 1"x1" squares fed by a spray bar from one of the overflows.

[IMG]http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18369&d=1248580362" alt="" />
You have the ability to place 2 baffles between the 1/2"x4" strips
[IMG]http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18370&d=1248580372" alt="" />


Just a couple of thoughts. But heres a concern, ask the store owner that you bought this from if he ever ran copper as this was his personal tank.

 

[skriz]

You'll want to upgrade a few things, but you're off to a good start.

1. skimmer-that skimmer is not capable of handling that system. You'll want to upgrade this asap. You want your water quality to be top notch. If it's not, then nothing else really matters..

2. CF lighting-You'll be fine with these in the begining. FIsh don't need much light and you don't need it during the cycle either. One of our sponsors will be able to give you a good deal on a good light when you're ready.

3. Flow-you'll want to add some powerheads for flow. Tunzes and vortechs are really nice for this.

Enjoy this part and take your time. If you do it right the first time, you'll be much happier with your system. Remember, an aquarium is kind of like herpes..you'll be stuck with it forever!

 

[revoran]

YEAH! Alright now I'm getting excited.... I have been real good at keeping the "I want this now" bugs away, but today the water goes in... and now I got the blue circle w/fish thing!

 

[revoran]

YEAH! Alright now I'm getting excited.... I have been real good at keeping the "I want this now" bugs away, but today the water goes in... and now I got the blue circle w/fish thing!

 

[smoothie]

Congrats for joining and welcome!
The store in Albany Seaview Aquatics is really pricey 229 434 9222
Tifton Pet Center has some great prices, but is only carrying fish at the moment. 229 386 4488. Definitely suggest calling before you go. Good luck and keep looking for stores and members closer. After you are up and going definitely keep an eye open on here for equipment upgrades in the sale forum