New Tank... New House... Ack!

[Liza]

So we're buying a new house and setting up a 92 gallon reef tank all at the same time. Scary. Besides my 12 gallon nano reef this will be the only reef tank I've set up, so if anyone has suggestions so we do it right the first time I'd definitely be all ears. I usually like to research everything very thoroughly myself, but with all the moving and such I don't want to miss something and screw up our tank. Any recommendations or suggestions would be welcome. The new tank was run as fresh water, I plan on transfering some of the live sand I have in my 44 gallon over to start the cycle. It was run as fish only because we didn't have the lighting to support anything else, but I know I've got quite a few bristle worms in there. It's a variety to sizes, will that be a problem? My engineer goby likes it for building- he's going to be difficult, too. He loves to redesign the tank bottom. We're thinking we'll aquascape some dead rock so it can be out of the water longer and we can drill it and stuff so he can't knock things down too much. Then use some live rock to start new growth.
We bought a used Aqualight Pro from Greg for the tank- it's a deep tank so hopefully it will be enough for anything we would want in there. It isn't very old, believe it's 492 watts with metal halide and PCs, plus moon lights.
The bottom of the tank was drilled, but the guy plugged it all up with silicone and a PVC nut. For now we're not sure what we'll do with that, but if I were to guess I think we'll probably clean that out and set up a filter under it. Possibly a refugium too, but I know nothing about setting most of this stuff up.
What else should I be looking out for and thinking of? I know most of you have larger reef tanks, so I'm sure you've encountered all kinds of things along the way, and I'd appreciate your expertise.

Thanks!

[schneijt]

www.wetwebmedia.com and www.reefcentral.com

Spend plenty of quality reading time on these two sites, and you'll be well on your way!

-Joe

[pogodzib]

I think my move may be scarier than yours. I need to move my 125 gal & 45 gal reef tanks in a couple months and put everything in a new 180 gal reef tank. I hope the corals survive the move.

You should definately look into installing an overflow weir and utilize the hole on the bottom of the tank. It would be 10x easier to setup the overflow and related plumbing while the tank is still dry. Once the overflow/sump stuff is figured out, the first thing you want to do will be to setup the 92 gal tank using freshwater to make sure that it doesn't leak. Regarding the tank move, I would only try to transfer the top 1"-2" of sand out of your old tank and throw out the rest. The lower layers of sand won't have as many critters in it and may have more detrius buildup in it. If possible, I'd also move as much water as possible from your current tank to your new tank to minimize any new cycle and so your fish don't need to adjust to new water during the move.

Good luck, have fun, and let us know how it goes.

[Liza]

Thanks for the ideas- I don't know how much quality reading time I'll have just now, that's part of the problem. I hadn't really planned on switching to a bigger tank until Frank brought it up about 2 weeks ago- we tend to be impulsive people.

Good idea with the lower layers of sand. Is it possible to clean some of that and salvage a portion of the lower sand, or will that just stir up a lot of toxins? I was thinking maybe putting it in a garbage pail and swirling clean water through it, then dump and repeat a few times.

Since the tank was run as freshwater it's possible it was treated with copper at some time- what's the best way to make sure there isn't any residue that will kill everything?

[pogodzib]

If your unsure as to weather ANY chemicals at all was used in the tank, you won't want to use any of the sand and make sure that you clean the tank with bleach or vinegar (along with rinsing really good) prior to setting it up to use as a reef tank.

As far as cleaning the sand, I've always heard that there is nothing you can do since the waste buildup in it is close to the same size as the sand itself.

[Liza]

ok, the tank itself won't be coming with any sand, so I would just be worried about any residue that might be with the tank itself. Too bad about the lower sand I have, though.

[mtfatwork]

I have used copper treated tanks before with no issues. Just clean it out really well with a vinegar bath and it will be fine. The single most important part of a large reef tank is the skimmer. Do your homework and pick a good one. As far as a sump system you can buy one, build one, use a rubbermaid, or even another glass tank. I am partial to a nice strong rubbermaid with lots of rubble rock in it for filtration. You can even put a small pc flood light over it, throw some cheato in there, and run it reverse your normal light schedule. This will not only help remove excess nutrients from the water, but it will also help keep down the ph swings that happen at night by running it opposite your tank light schedule.

For skimmers remember that what they are rated for should be cut in half most of the time. If it is rated for 150 gallons, I would not use it for more than 75 gallons. The only skimmers that I have found that do not fit this are the euroreefs.

Some good skimmers for that system-
Aqua C 180
Asm G3 or G4
MRC (if you like becketts)
reefmania
there are a ton of good skimmers out there, along with a boatload of crappy ones. Remember, you get what you pay for.



Oh, and congrats on the new house Lisa!

[schneijt]

If you have the sump/stand space, the AquaEuro USA Classic 400 model (available from www.reefnut.com) would work well for you. The manufacturer is currently re-working the pumps so they don't have exposed metal plates that can rust, but they're cheap and of excellent quality. Once the slight pump issue is cleared up, that's something to consider.

-Joe

[schneijt]

I also, while I'm here, second the idea of a rubbermaid sump. I paid a decent amount of money for an acrylic sump which I assembled myself, and it was not at all worth it. You're the only one who really ever gets to see it, so you might as well use a rubbermaid container. They're cheap, easy to drill, and extremely replaceable if you screw something up while drilling it or setting it up.

Some people "demand" baffles in a sump, but I find them entirely unnecessary. I've plumbed my tank in such a way that no baffles are necessary and everything is bubble-free. My water level varies a little bit due to evaporation, but never too much. Those are the main reasons why people advocate baffles: problems with microbubbles and sump water level. In my opinion, you might as well set up your tank to not have microbubbles in the first place (not hard, if you know what you're doing with your plumbing and return pump), and you can control sump water level via a dosing pump or automatic top-off system, both of which will replace evaporated water at the same rate it is leaving the system.

-Joe

[Liza]

I've never built a sump, refugium, or anything myself- so thank you for all the advice

[c_blazek]

I don't have any baffles in my sump either, well kind of, I have a little rubbermaid container in my 55 gallon sump where the overflows go into, and that is also where my euroreef sits, but I also have a 45 gallon fuge next to that, right now I am blessed with a lot of room to work with, if you want anymore pictures, or want to look at it in closer detail come to the lark meeting in Black River Falls at my house.

Chris