Old tank... new start

[landscraper]

Hello everyone... I have a new name now although I have been here for years past.
Anyway I am looking at setting up my 90 Gal. again. Heres the situation. I am looking at doing a FOWLR ( I still dont understand why the ONLY is in there, when its really a fish w/ Lr tank.) Anyway, The tank has sat untouched for about 2 or 3 years. All the water was taken out, but the substrate and live rock was left in. It all looks like crystalized ice now. What is the best way to get everything clean and ready do go? The tank I was going to fill with water and maybe some bleach and let it sit for a while? I just didnt know the best way to also clean the LR although it is no longer alive.
Thanks for your help.

 

[flower]

Welcome back...What was your username before?
Anyway...I would just rinse everyting in saltwater and put it back in the tank..refill it and let it all cycle together.

 

[adam57]

I agree just let it cycle. I would definately not put bleachwater into the tank. I have no concrete knowledge that it would be bad but I would not feel comfortable puting bleach into a tank.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by adam57 http:///forum/thread/383703/old-tank-new-start#post_3357758
I agree just let it cycle. I would definately not put bleachwater into the tank. I have no concrete knowledge that it would be bad but I would not feel comfortable puting bleach into a tank.

I am like you about bleach, but lots of people use it. You just have to really rinse everything and use a de-chlorinator afterwards. However I thought the sand and rock with some dead things up in there anyway will help the cycle, so just rinse in saltwater and put it in the tank.

 

[landscraper]

OPPS... so like most.. I didn't wait for the replies and I started cleaning the tank. I didn't use anything but hot water though. I trashed all the sand (I know some said to use it, but it just didn't seem right to me) and all the LR (base rock now) I have in a bunch of 5 gal. buckets soaking in just regular tap water. I didn't have any salt yet, and I didn't want to mix any just to rinse everything. I just hooked up a RO unit so I will be filling the tank with fresh RO Water. should I do something with the LR now that it is soaking in fresh water? Or will the trace amounts of chlorine be very diluted in the 90 gals of salt water?
Thanks!
Also my previous user name... I had over 3000 posts.. and was blocked I believe because of some criticism of some products I bought on-line here... but this is the best forum on the net.. so I'm back!

 

[gemmy]

If you're concerned about the chlorine in the tap water, you can add a tap water dechlorinator to the water. I, personally, would not fret over cleaning the rock with tap water. Since it is just base rock now, I would not have used salt water either.

 

[landscraper]

Thanks
Gemmy where in NJ are you? Which LFS do you like?

 

[gemmy]

I'm in Deptford. I like aquarium center and capt. nemo's in PA. I usually end up ordering online, since it seems I can never seem to find what I am looking for when I go to my LFS. What about you?

 

[landscraper]

Im in Delran... I just went to A center today.. havent been there in years. Everyone says the people there are the best with saltwater fish, but I dont really get that from them. I have yet to find a LFS that REALLY knows about saltwater fish.
I need to check out that Nemo's I have heard of it

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Landscraper http:///forum/thread/383703/old-tank-new-start#post_3357899
Im in Delran... I just went to A center today.. havent been there in years. Everyone says the people there are the best with saltwater fish, but I dont really get that from them. I have yet to find a LFS that REALLY knows about saltwater fish.
I need to check out that Nemo's I have heard of it
I'm not that impressed with any LFS around here. I know a couple of people that work at a center and they do not know much about saltwater and I have heard so many ick stories from them (if I buy anything from them I QT it for like 3 months). Capt. Nemo's has one guy in particular that is real knowledgeable and friendly, but their selection is hit or miss (they are pretty popular). There is that pet place in Lancaster, and they are supposed to be good. I usually order from SWF and have not received a bad shipment and I have not found any bad hitchhikers on my corals.

 

[landscraper]

I will deff. Check them out.
Also can someone help me with pump size..
This is going to be a FOWLR tank, and I have pre-drilled overflow. It is a 1" return to the wet/dry and a 3/4" return to the tank. I am currently using a rio 2100 pump. I didnt measure but im guessing I am at about 4' of head loss. Should I upgrade to a bigger pump or just add some power heads to the main tank? I believe I want to be somewhere in the 1300gph turnover rate?

 

[al&burke]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Landscraper http:///forum/thread/383703/old-tank-new-start#post_3357964
I will deff. Check them out.
Also can someone help me with pump size..
This is going to be a FOWLR tank, and I have pre-drilled overflow. It is a 1" return to the wet/dry and a 3/4" return to the tank. I am currently using a rio 2100 pump. I didnt measure but im guessing I am at about 4' of head loss. Should I upgrade to a bigger pump or just add some power heads to the main tank? I believe I want to be somewhere in the 1300gph turnover rate?
I think your Rio 2100 pump might be a bit small - with 4' head loss you would be running around 375 GPH. Personally I think you should be around 900 to 1000 GPH. Then a few PH for water movement in the DT. The Riao could always be used for a water change pump, that is what I use mine for.

 

[landscraper]

Cool Thanks.. I just tried something also... The bulkhead going from the wet dry pump back into the tank was 3/4" of an inch. So I put an adapter and moved up a pipe size to a one inch pipe that feeds the double return nozzle in the tank. Has anyone else done this? I think with the pressure of the pump it will put out less pressure, but move volume.
This is the same concept we use when installing irrigation systems at houses. The house main water supply is usually 3/4" copper pipe, from that we make all the main lines of the irrigation system 1" and branch off of that.

 

[adam57]

Basic sprinkiling concepts. I do underground sprinkiling also. Another beifits will be a less harsh stream of water ncoming out of your return which won't bow the fish around so badly. I don't have a huge amount of flow coming from my return pump but I try to make up for it by having 3900 gph of water movement between the 4 powerheads that I have in my DT.

 

[landscraper]

I just didnt know if it is common for some to bump up the return pipe size or not. Also I am about to buy the mag 1800 pump.. Does this size seem better? I of course will be adding some power heads in the tank also.
Funny, I just use the rio 2100 to pump out a bucket of water I had in the garage... with just the pump and no hose hooked out to the outlet it shot the water probably 10-15 ft. But as soon as i put a 16" piece of flexible tube ( i dont know what size, I believe 3/4") if only shot out it about a foot.) I know that there isnt really pressure build up to push the water out, but I still was surprised how un -powerful it became.

 

[2quills]

Increasing the size of the output plumbing is not a big deal. It will be a gentler flow returning into the tank.
Question: Why do you want such a high turnover rate for your filtration? Faster doesn't necissarily mean better. Slower turnover is more efficient and allows for more contact time between the water and aerobic bacteria in the wetdry for denitrification. I would shoot for something around 5x turnover through your wetdry. JMO

 

[landscraper]

Well.... now im confused.. this is the first time I have heard a number for turn over as low as five... all the posts I have seen have been at least 10+ for turnover... Either way I just purchased the mag 1800, and I figured better to have a bigger pump and dial it down than to need a bigger pump later.

 

[2quills]

Recommended flow rates inside of the tank are not the same as what is recommended for pushing through your filtration system. Turnover for canisters is a little higher, maybe around 7x. For sumps I do believe that more recent studies and hobbiest find 3-5x is optimal. Again I would ask the question what is the purpose for needing that much going through your filster? What is the benefit?

 

[2quills]

I should also have added that there is no one size fits all rule when it comes to filtration. The turnover rate through your filtration is not necissarily as important as how effective the filtration actually is. It really comes down to what your plans for the system are and what you're trying to achieve. There are formulas out there for calculating the amount of bio media for a given size volume of the over all system. But when it comes to stuff like this I usually preffere to seek out actual articals written on the subject from more reputable sources as apposed to following advices given on forums. I just feel there are a lot of common misconseptions that people have when it comes to the topics. On a side note most folks in the saltwater side of the hobby have pretty much moved on from wet/dry filters and the vast majority now go with sump/refugium set ups for their reef tanks. But for a fish only system it's probably not as important. Are you planning on running a skimmer with this set up?

 

[landscraper]

Yes, I just purchased a MRC-1. I appreciate your input. Like I said I have never heard anyone say near 3-5x turnover. Everything I have seen has been 10+. Well Either way I can always dial down the pump. I suppose it makes sense to have a slowwer water flow over the bio ball media then faster. I guess I will just have to play with it and see?I havent set my wet dry up yet, the tank is still not set up also. I wonder if I should take out the bio balls and just use the wet/dry housing as a sump? My plan is to start the tank as a FOWLR I have about 80Lbs +/- now. I am going to do a 6" DSB but eventually get the lighing and start adding some corals. Should I start with the bio balls and as things progress and as I add more LR slowly start reducing the bio balls until they are gone?