Wanting a new hobby (1 Viewer)

[Nick]

Hi
I am new to this forum. I have keep a small 19 gallon tank with tiger barbs for the past 4 years. I have been wanting to do a saltwater reef aquarium for a while. I just started reading up on it so I don't no a lot yet. I bought this tank 48x24x24 today for $200 and got a bunch of stuff with it. This guy said that is has been sitting a while (2 years), since he has used it. I plugged in the lights and the pump and they work. Not really sure what I have or if this stuff is any good. I am going to build a stand for this tank, and I will start piecing it together slowly. It will probably be a while before I can figure out how to put all this stuff together, so the photobucket slide show should so ya'll what all I ended up with. Everything pictured is still really dirt from sitting up still.

Reef Aquarium Slideshow by Nighttwar | Photobucket

 

[tektite]

Welcome to MARSH!

If you copy and paste the IMG code into your post it'll embed the image, a bit easier for everyone to see what you have, like so:

 

[steveb]

Welcome to Marsh!

So it looks like you got yourself a 120g acrylic tank and sump. An Iwaki pump - that is probably used to return water from the sump to the aquarium. The other pump may feed that berlin skimmer. The lights are VHO. Looks like 3 full spectrum and one actinic.

 

[steveb]

The great thing about acrylic is you can buff the scratches out. The bad thing about acrylic is it is easy to scratch.

The sump is a wet/dry style bio filter that would have been used with bio balls, bio bale or something similar. That filter is very good for keeping fish but can be problematic when keeping corals if not properly maintained.

 

[steveb]

Tank sits on stand and water overflows into the box in the center of the tank, drains down to the sump through pipe, runs through the filter and is then returned (most likely) via the Iwaki external pump or maybe that other one sitting internal in the sump (hard to say). The black link pipe that is a wye is called loc line and is used in the tank to direct flow from the return pump (from sump)...


Here is an example...

 

[Nick]

oh wow, you got all that from those pictures! Thank you for the info. haha I was sitting in my drive way trying to figure all that out. I dont think the skimmer can fit in the sump though so it must be external if that is possible.

 

[Nick]

Welcome to MARSH!

If you copy and paste the IMG code into your post it'll embed the image, a bit easier for everyone to see what you have, like so:

Thanks. I think I got it:

 

[Jamie9169]

Welcome to MARSH! Nice example Steve, that was pretty cool.

 

[steveb]

oh wow, you got all that from those pictures! Thank you for the info. haha I was sitting in my drive way trying to figure all that out. I dont think the skimmer can fit in the sump though so it must be external if that is possible.

Yep it is possible. Skimmers come in internal and external varieties.

Welcome to MARSH! Nice example Steve, that was pretty cool.

LOL Thanks. I wish I could take credit but it is not my pic.

 

[fishcraze_1]

Yes. Way cool Steve.

 

[porkchop]

Welcome to Marsh!

And Steve is the man.....just sayin'.

 

[Nick]

Okay, I cant get this protein skimmer to work, the pump to it only starts to work after I tap on it.... I think I'll just add that to my list of stuff I need to get. The acrylic tank isn't scratched to bad, looks good after I cleaned all the dust and dirt off it. Hopefully this tank doesn't leak.

 

[Nick]

I have 2 small pumps, both work. Any ideas what they are for? The ends are threaded. They have hooks on the back of them.

 

[tektite]

Hooks on the back like that make me think they were used in the sump perhaps to provide a little more circulation?

Probably a good idea to replace that skimmer anyway, that's an old and inefficient design.

 

[Nick]

Okay, I'll just toss it in the trash then. Those pumps move a lot of water it seems and the sump is not really that big. I am sure I could use them for something though.

 

[Nick]

Well this is my first try at building an Aquarium stand. I am going to add a bottom and maybe a small shelf. I am still undecided on how big of a sump to use. 40g would fit, but 29-30g would give me extra room to store stuff. I am going to put a 2x4 vertical in the middle to mount the pump to, that would put it directly inline with the return in the bottom of the tank. I have to buy the sides and make doors still, but so far I am sitting at $30 total cost of the stand. I have made one mistake already that I didn't account for, which was the center top brace is going to be in the way of the overflow drain, and the return... I might just move it over 2in left or right.

 

[Nick]

I am almost finished with this stand a month later. I have to stain it and put the door on. It is really heavy I don't no how I am going to get it in the house yet.



I just built this sump, 30g. Camera pic didnt turn out as well as I thought. Any suggestions? I had a hole drilled in the glass on the right side. AquaZoo did it for $40, 3 weeks.

 

[tektite]

I believe City Pets drills holes if you need them, something like $10 a hole last I heard?

What do you want to do with the sump? Typical skimmer/fuge/return combination?

 

[Nick]

I believe City Pets drills holes if you need them, something like $10 a hole last I heard?

What do you want to do with the sump? Typical skimmer/fuge/return combination?

Typical skimmer/fuge/return combination is what I was planning on. I didnt think I needed to drill any more holes.

 

[Nick]

My first two saltwater fish! After buying the tank in May, and building the stand, and setting up the tank... I finally get to watch some fish. So two clowns and all 120g to themselves for now.