new tank setup--questions and advice

onevikesfan

onevikesfan

New Member
I've been out of the hobby for 10 years, and planning to jump back in. I've purchased a 90 gallon aquarium used, with stand, UZ sterilizer, undergravel filter and Fluval 403 canister filter. I was told that at one time this was a salt water setup and it had been converted to fresh. One more thing about the tank is that it is drilled in the bottom on either end. These were plumbed into the Fluval (both ends into a T fitting), then into the UZ sterilizer, then into the tank via a wand near the top. Just as an aside...there weren't any disconnects or shut-off valves built into the system...not sure how/when/if they cleaned up the canister filter. I plan to correct this prior to setting up. Also, I plan to add a protein skimmer.
I plan to set the tank up with live rock, fish, and soft corals.
Here's my questions:
1. With the tank drilled on the bottom, how worried do I need to be about leaking when the power goes out?
2. With the tank drilled on the bottom feeding into the canister filter, will that reduce or eliminate the need for vacuming the substrate?
3. Is the Fluval enough by itself to keep up with the eventual biological load, or do I need to look at additional filtration, and if so what would you recommend?
More questions may follow...but for now that's it.
Thank you in advance for your pearls of wisdom.
 
S

saxman

Guest
If you're going to go to the trouble of drilling the tank, put in a O/F, and run a sump. Seriously. Sumps boost your water volume, and give you a place to stash unsightly equipment (heaters, skimmers, etc.).
Also, UGF's are WAY things of the past, as is CC as a substrate. All that happens is the UGF pulls detritus into the substrate to decompose and add to your NO3 concentration. I'd run #1 or #3 grade aragonite...it doesn't trap detritus like CC, requires no vacuuming, and "lays down" much better than sugar-fine sand.
If you're thinking that the canister will pull water thru the substrate, that won't work...what will happen is you'll end up with sand in the pump and it will eat itself up and quit working. If you decide to go with the "closed loop" type arrangement with the canister, you'll want to run a pipe high enuff to where the end sits above the substrate and add a strainer on the intake pipe.
As for UV units...I have a couple of them...in the closet. They only affect waterborne organisms, and with the exception of a few bacteria and algae spores, there really isn't much to kill. I'd use the money towards a good skimmer, personally. You'll also need a pump to drive it unless you run it off the canister, which will reduce your flow some.
HTH
 
reeferchief

reeferchief

Member
+1 one on the UV skimmer. I have seen a lot of tanks both with and without UV sterilizers, the one's with better setups dont have the UV. This will be argued so it's my POV. I would say invest a couple hundred on a good skimmer or look on craigslist.
Definitely add the overflow if you don't have it already with a drilled tank. The overflow wall will also hide the overflow and return pipes. Personally lay down some good sand about 2-3" thick, use the drilled holes to drain into a sump in the stand.
You can make a refugium from a 30+gallon tank sectioned off with 3 chambers made with plexiglass or you can find a wet/dry system. Look on craigslist... These will adequately handle a decent amount of biological load in your tank and add that with the Live Rock (at least a pound per gallon) you will add and everything should be fine.
With good water movement inside the tank you will not need to really vacuum any waste from the sand. Add a good clean up crew of snails and hermit crabs and the waste will be ok.
Most important things for a tank you want are:
-Good Lighting
-Wet/dry system or refugium style sumps for filtration
-Very good skimmer
-Good amount of live rock
-Thick sand bed
-Regular water changes
-Patience combined with research
Lots of advances have been made in the hobby over the past 10 years. I'm sure some more experienced hobbyists will provide knowledgeable advice.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
You have the beginnings of a good tank. I like 90g tanks. What are the dimensions? How big are the holes?
If you can fit a 1" bulkhead into the hole, then you should convert that into a standpipe for a sump. The hole in the other side can be used for a return pipe. You can easily conceal the pipe with Krylon spray paint or live rock/ base rock.
A sump is a container of water that fits underneath your display tank (or to the side) that holds all of your equipment such as protein skimmers, heaters, filters, bioballs, chemical filtration medias, and pumps for UV sterilizers, and algae scrubbers etc. I recommend having a sump because your tank is already pre-drilled.
The use of a canister filter IMHO, is already outdated. There are many people with canister filters that have successful aquariums, but you must keep up with maintenance.
I'm not going to say do or don't go with crushed coral or sand. A lot of people still have crushed coral as a substrate. You just have to keep it very well vacuumed ever time you do a water change or else it builds up organics. Sand beds are great, as you can buy little critters to help keep your sand bed turned over and cleaned. With crushed coral, you don't have that option.
Undergravel filters are outdated, and found to cause more problems than they helped.
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
Welcome back and welcome to the site too!
+1 i agree with most said here!
Get urself a sump dealio workins going....
Spend the money on lights for coral and a skimmer too! Both are top notch upgrades!
Split ur sump so one side is fuge, one side is skimmer and have the return in the middle!
90gal tank is gonna be kool! As far as stand pipes i have no idea...ur tank is drilled on the bottom u say?

Some one knows bout stand pipes but i cant think of who!?!?! LOL
Look at overflows on Utube if possible too..

....
SW aquarium books are great too!!!!
forgot thats! LOL.....
....if this is a FOWLR tank u can get away with some stuff me thinks...
 
S

saxman

Guest
Quote:
Some one knows bout stand pipes but i cant think of who!?!?! LOL
Actually, we have an article on how to DIY a Durso-style standpipe, but it's on a site I can't link you to. Renee is going to put it in the LL library for me.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
i for one have CC my tank is over 10yrs old, at this point i dont remember the last time i vacumed the CC my nitrates are zero if your cc is not impacted i dont feel you need to vacume with a good clean up crew as well as fish that constantly graze
Quote:
I'm not going to say do or don't go with crushed coral or sand. A lot of people still have crushed coral as a substrate.
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
I also have CC in my reef it is a much more coarse substrate very good for plate coral, other corals prefer sand. My nitrates are 0 but then I have Xenia. My clean up crew consist of bristol worms, for last year, all hermits past and I haven't replaced them.
 
reeferchief

reeferchief

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Limpid http:///t/388714/new-tank-setup-questions-and-advice#post_3430010
I also have CC in my reef it is a much more coarse substrate very good for plate coral, other corals prefer sand. My nitrates are 0 but then I have Xenia. My clean up crew consist of bristol worms, for last year, all hermits past and I haven't replaced them.
Arent bristol worms poisonous? I thought they killed almost anything they come into contact with???
 
S

saxman

Guest
Quote:
Originally Posted by reeferchief http:///t/388714/new-tank-setup-questions-and-advice#post_3430015
Arent bristol worms poisonous? I thought they killed almost anything they come into contact with???
As Joe mentioned, all annelid polychaetes aren't created equal there are several genera of bristleworms (not "bristol" worms), and fortunately most of them aren't a problem. The worms you want to avoid are the fireworms, which can be distinguished from "common" BW's by the pattern of their setae ("bristles"). Fireworms have separate "tufts" of setae, while in other members of the family, the bristles are in single rows along each side of the worm.
Take a peek here, and scroll down thru the various BW photos so you can see the difference: http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/hitchhiker.shtml
 
reeferchief

reeferchief

Member
Thank you for the valuable info. The link was also quite helpful. I have a few of those critters in my tank that I have removed but were actually good and some were actually bad like a zoa eating nudi and also a sundial snail. I also have a baby star fish growing that now I will keep an eye on. You never stop learning in this hobby!!!!
 
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