New guy here. A few questions...

[tommy in jax]

ok, so i just registered, but have been lurking on here for a few months and searched before posting this. i have a 2 month old 150 fowlr tank i bought from a guy on craigslist. i have about 40 lbs of semi-established live rock with:
pearscale butterfly
pinktail trigger
clown
stars n stripes puffer
damsels
anyways, i want to post a few pics of my setup and see what yall think. the stuff i have is (i think) seriously undersized. tell me what yall think, please.
i already know i need to get a skimmer and live sand. thanks in advance for yalls input!!!!

once again, this is a FOWLR...no corals. sorry about the confusing background

 

[posiden]

Hey I will cut and copy my post to your thread in the DIY section so it doesnt get confusing.
Be right back.

 

[posiden]

Here you go friend.
What size Quiet one pump is that?
It seams like a bit of a waste to run the return through a UV filter due to the fact that you will not have enought contact time for it to do you or the tank any good. Uv filters are kinda iffy anyway.
Your Bio balls could go either way. If you understand them they can be a good filtration method. There is a large debate about that. Like anything else in this hobbie, the more you know the better off you will be.
The OF box seams to be a bit small to me. It will do the job however, for the best surface skimming it will need to be larger. There isn't enough linear inches there.
The water level in your sump looks a bit low to me.
What kind of light do you have on there?

 

[tommy in jax]

thanks.
i dont know what size pump it is. if its written on the pumo, i can take a look at it tomorrow.
is it ok to have only one tube on the overflow? i think mine might be a lil too small, but if itll work, ill keep it.
the water is low in the sump, but that will be fixed once i play with the OF box in the morning.
and the lights are low level regular aquarium lights. upgrade?

 

[posiden]

Originally Posted by tommy in jax
http:///forum/post/3156789
thanks.
i dont know what size pump it is. if its written on the pumo, i can take a look at it tomorrow.
is it ok to have only one tube on the overflow? i think mine might be a lil too small, but if itll work, ill keep it.
the water is low in the sump, but that will be fixed once i play with the OF box in the morning.
and the lights are low level regular aquarium lights. upgrade?

On my quiet one pump, the model is on the underside.
Yes, The Of will have as many tubes as it needs based on how many GPH it is rated for. A lot of them have only one tube.
Why would you need to play with the OF box to adjust the water level in the sump? If it is low I would say that the tank needs water. Have you added any water since setting it up?
That seams to bright for regular lighting. But, if all you want is a fish only then the lights will be just fine. No need for big lights and just fish. If you want to go reef then when that time comes I would evaluate the lighting.

 

[tommy in jax]

i can tilt the OF box back or forward to make the water ion the sump lower or higher.
ill look at the pump tomorrow and see what its rated for. i really need another powerhead though. i took a look at the top of the water today and most of it doesnt move. ahhh

 

[small triggers]

yeah, you want atleast 10x + GPH changeover.(to give you an idea i have a 150g short,, w 2 return pumps each at 1200 GPH)and i still added a powerhead because the back of my rock work had a dead spot...
Personally, i dont like bio-balls or trickle filters with FOWLRS,,, id take the ball outs (small portions at a time) and change it to a filter sock,, upgrade your pump and take the UV offand add a ASMG3 or larger skimmer. As far as the Display Tank, i would add more cured live rock so you have about 1lb per 1 gallon, and add a few powerheads for more surface movement and to cover any dead spots...

 

[small triggers]

and one other major thing, Mount your surge protector up off of the bottom of your stand, if you ever have a leak or overflow you will aslo have a fire....

 

[posiden]

Originally Posted by small triggers
http:///forum/post/3156833
and one other major thing, Mount your surge protector up off of the bottom of your stand, if you ever have a leak or overflow you will aslo have a fire....

+1 on this. I would also put in a GFCI receptical in the wall where it plugs into.

 

[posiden]

Originally Posted by tommy in jax
http:///forum/post/3156823
i can tilt the OF box back or forward to make the water ion the sump lower or higher.
ill look at the pump tomorrow and see what its rated for. i really need another powerhead though. i took a look at the top of the water today and most of it doesnt move. ahhh

What is the weird netting sticking up out of the OF box in the pics?
It kinda sound like a air bubble problem or somthing. It shouldn't effect the water level down there. Unless moving it is making it go in and out of a full siphon. When you move it about and place it back to the resting position, does it take a second to recover the water levels in the OF box?

 

[crypt keeper]

I would start out with basic things. Like Small triggers said. More rock is a must. I would add atleast 100 more pounds. make two islands. On each side. Give the fish more swimming room. I would add 4 power heads.
1 K4 on each side and two, I would buy k3's, in the back pointing towards possible dead spots. In the mean time. Try and rearrange your work. Create hiding spots. Your fish have no where to go. Puffers and triggers are very messy eaters. Most will not allow a clean up crew of any sort. They will eat snails and hermits. Watch your puffer as he gets bigger with aggression on the smaller fish. He may snack on the clowns and damsels.
I would replace the sump system to a DIY set up. The bigger the sump set up the better. 55 gallon would work perfect. Creating a huge fuge and allow enough room for the ASMG3 like Small triggers said. You can run HOB Overflows. 600 to 700 gallon HOB Overflows. Then get a large pump. Or two small pumps. I run two small pumps. I run dual mag 9's. They pump 900 gph each back to my returns. They are around 700 after head loss. see if you can get a 55g tank in there. If not maybe run dual 30s? Thats what i run

 

[tommy in jax]

Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/3156837
What is the weird netting sticking up out of the OF box in the pics?
It kinda sound like a air bubble problem or somthing. It shouldn't effect the water level down there. Unless moving it is making it go in and out of a full siphon. When you move it about and place it back to the resting position, does it take a second to recover the water levels in the OF box?

thats the carbon sock. moving the OF box puts the "slits" further or higher up in the water, letting more or less water into the sump

 

[tommy in jax]

Originally Posted by crypt keeper
http:///forum/post/3156893
I would start out with basic things. Like Small triggers said. More rock is a must. I would add atleast 100 more pounds. make two islands. On each side. Give the fish more swimming room. I would add 4 power heads.
1 K4 on each side and two, I would buy k3's, in the back pointing towards possible dead spots. In the mean time. Try and rearrange your work. Create hiding spots. Your fish have no where to go. Puffers and triggers are very messy eaters. Most will not allow a clean up crew of any sort. They will eat snails and hermits. Watch your puffer as he gets bigger with aggression on the smaller fish. He may snack on the clowns and damsels.
I would replace the sump system to a DIY set up. The bigger the sump set up the better. 55 gallon would work perfect. Creating a huge fuge and allow enough room for the ASMG3 like Small triggers said. You can run HOB Overflows. 600 to 700 gallon HOB Overflows. Then get a large pump. Or two small pumps. I run two small pumps. I run dual mag 9's. They pump 900 gph each back to my returns. They are around 700 after head loss. see if you can get a 55g tank in there. If not maybe run dual 30s? Thats what i run
i plan on getting more rock asap. im trying to find the cheapest place. anyone pm me any places they know of? im checking ---- and googles places.
any idea the measurements on a 55 g? see if i can fit one under there. again, if anyone has a place they know that sells the above equipment for a decent price, please pm me.
i like yalls ideas and appreciate the help.

 

[small triggers]

the cheapest way to buy rock is uncured and usually online, just look at the shipping FIRST... Buy a 55g plastic trashcan and cure the rock in there, or pay more and buy cured? You have a few good resources near you. There are fish places galore in Florida so you are lucky.. there is Bio-Reef if you are in jax.. also look online for places out of tampa or the keys, got time to make a weekend trip?
and as far as a aquarium for a sump go look at one of those large chain pet stores for a basic tank...

 

[oceandude]

You have had some good advice in these posts. It does look like your wet/dry (sump) is a bit low. Have you done a "power off" test to see the level it will go to yet? If you do that, you will be able to adjust the level correctly with no worries.
If you have never done this, it's simple. Just shut off power to your system. Your wet/dry will fill as the level drops in the tank. When it's done filling the wet dry you will see how much water you can safely add. Simply add new salt water directly to the wet/dry...you're finished.

***Just make sure your small siphon hose is out and not left down inside your tank...if it is...flood. (yeah, I've seen people do it...

)

 

[louti]

a 55 gallon is 48 long by 12 wide by 21 high. Not sure why you would have to add live sand. the sand you have in there is live. "live" just means that it has bacteria growing in it. Putting live sand in a tank when you first set it up justs speeds things up, regular dry sand grows bacteria in time.

 

[tommy in jax]

the stuff i have now is crushed coral

 

[louti]

I gotcha, sand is cleaner, but I wouldn't personally swap it out. You'll just have to vacuum it like you would freshwater gravel.

 

[tommy in jax]

i ordered 2 k4's today. about to do a water change this weekend...my first since setting the thing up 2 months ago. its not necessary to use RO water, right?
looking at pumps and another OF box as we speak

 

[small triggers]

its not necessary, but its better.... do you know what your municipal or well water has in it? is it chlorinated, softened? those are things to avoid,,,, also if you know someone who has a TDS meter and see how bad your water is. It may be cheaper in the long run to buy an RO ir and RO/DI unit to do your water with if they water in your area isnt good......I know in Arlington the TDS was over 200 and is chlorinated...