Setting up new 160g Tank! Help and Advice plz!

[jaredpilot]

Alright, first off I'm pretty much new to saltwater aquariums. Making a large step and finally achieving my dream of building a large aquarium in my home. I'm about to purchase a used 160 gallon aquarium. Here's the link to the tank:

http://www.nautilusaquariums.com/atlantis.html#

The only thing that is included is the tank, hood, stand, lights, plumbing and sump. It also has a coast to coast overflow which I don't really know anything about!

In other words, I believe I need to purchase a skimmer, a pump, possibly heaters, power heads, chemicals and everything else to get up an running!

Since I'm relatively new, I have no idea what brands are good, what sizes I need etc. etc...

I'm interested in a combination of fish and corals at some point. I'm sure it will take time and I'm gone for days at a time with work, so I'm going to try to build a suitable tank for my needs and schedule. I will always have someone home to take care of any minimal needs ie: feeding.

I need help determing what to buy and the proper steps to get me on my way! I know there is high end and low end for most products and I guess I'm looking somewhere in the middle, not to cheap that it doesn't do the job but I'm not quite rich enough to fullfill all my dreams yet!

Remember, most terms are foreign to me, abbreviations may not be understood but I'm doing my best to read and learn as much as I can!!

Any input/advice would be appreciated!

Look forward to replies!

 

[jaredpilot]

One more thing, I keep reading about the advantages of buying a RO/DI filter. What's your take on this as I've found plenty on ebay such as this one...

http://cgi.ebay.com/REEF-AQUARIUM-7...286.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo=LVI&itu=UCI&otn=3&ps=6

 

[Chichas01]

Your not buying the tank directly from Nautalis are you? Hope you didn't give him any money. If you did go get it back today. That guy ripped of a bunch of people. See thread below:

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47540


So, if you are lucky enough to have not met the guy, what are your plans for this tank? What's the end goal livestock wise?

 

[jaredpilot]

No I'm not, buying used from a local guy. I've never met the guy!

At this point, I'm not 100% sure what I want, I want to get a descent amount of live rock put up, and slowly add some corals and fish until I find what suites my desires! I'm a bit uncertain at this point I guess, that and the fact that I don't really know what I'm doing leads me to believe I'm not real sure what direction to head yet.

I'm fond of Tangs, so I'm interested in putting some reef safe tangs in there as soon as possible.

What size of skimmers should I be looking at? What brands?

 

[Knowledgeseeker]

Wow, this seems like it is a big undertaking for your first set up. From what I read above you seem to be pretty unsure of what you want and how to go about getting going. I would just be very carefull and do tons of research before you actually get going. Its so hard to be successfull when you dont know what you want to do and keep changing the set up and style of the tank.

Since this is a large set up you will save thousands of dollars by being very patient and doing lots of planing and research. To me its so sad to see people come into the hobby, then give it up because of bad information from poor quality LFS, bad planning, and lack of patients. In the end if you don't educate yourself well and just jump into it, the fish and coral you buy will be what suffers.

I wish you good luck with your new tank.

 

[ReefferMan]

It sounds to me like you need to get some equip..... Flow, perfect water conditions, and a good skimmer is crucial..... An RODI unit is a must! start with the best water possible! you can get away with out a skimmer for a while with doing normal water changes. Flow is an absolute must! you can find a good deal on a used external pump, or do some korillas just stay away from RIO pumps! there junk and can blow up in your tank, like mine did. Hell i would'nt even give you one for free!! they work for mixing salt though. Now Onto natural filtration! Rock! Live rock! FYI~~~If you buy wet rock it will weigh alot more then if you buy dry rock!

 

[jaredpilot]

It sounds to me like you need to get some equip..... Flow, perfect water conditions, and a good skimmer is crucial..... An RODI unit is a must! start with the best water possible! you can get away with out a skimmer for a while with doing normal water changes. Flow is an absolute must! you can find a good deal on a used external pump, or do some korillas just stay away from RIO pumps! there junk and can blow up in your tank, like mine did. Hell i would'nt even give you one for free!! they work for mixing salt though. Now Onto natural filtration! Rock! Live rock! FYI~~~If you buy wet rock it will weigh alot more then if you buy dry rock!

Thats exactly what I was looking for! I realize this is a big undertaking but I've owned a saltwater aquarium in the past, on a much smaller version of course and I plan on taking my time.

Are all RODI units the same? Any recommendations of what I should get? I've found so many out there on ebay and such! What size of skimmer and brand would you recommend? As far as pumps go, what kind of gpg rating should I be looking for?

Once I solve the above, I'll be looking for a good deal on Live Rock, I'll take my time to get the tank cycled right before moving onto any other livestock....

 

[ReefferMan]

Matts125 has some LR for sale, and it might be ready to go into a tank. As for RODI units, theres alot of units for sale out there. I bought an aqua Fx unit, but as long as its a unit that has changable cartrages sorry for the bad spelling! ive seen some good deals on used units as well. Just remember that you will have to spend a couple hundred bucks for a new one that comes with new internals.. You Need one rated atleast 60G/day with a DI unit..... There mostly all the same.

Pumps! this is a hole dimmension in its own. Personaly i would go with an external pump that you could gate down with a ball valve for your return pump, and as your tank grows you can turn it up. You can eliminate heat with an external pump as well as run several other pieces of equip with like a skimmer, calcium reactor ect.... One of the best pumps would be a Dart....they last for ever! Even if you get a used unit it should be good for quite some time. Ok So now onto the tank flow! you have several options, alot of people go with a closed loop, some dont. This will be another case of debate, i like CL's some like vortec's or korrillas..... For the money and to get going go with a set of K4-5's they produce lots of flow for cheep. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15955

Skimmers! Hmmmm this is a case of massive debate! I use a Deltec skimmer(Re-circulating type AP702), typicaly your skimmer is going to cost as much or more then your tank. For ease of use i used a G3 for quite some time.....Stupid simple to set up and works great! also its an insump type No leaks! Heres a link... http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/pro...mBkajGcc7mMmx463pYNRNVdn~b~g/SfAtjFSLnKXZmA__


Take it slow.... Look at my build if you want to see what i did, everything is dismantalable. Happy Reeffing!

 

[alki]

RODI, whats that!

 

[jaredpilot]

Matts125 has some LR for sale, and it might be ready to go into a tank. As for RODI units, theres alot of units for sale out there. I bought an aqua Fx unit, but as long as its a unit that has changable cartrages sorry for the bad spelling! ive seen some good deals on used units as well. Just remember that you will have to spend a couple hundred bucks for a new one that comes with new internals.. You Need one rated atleast 60G/day with a DI unit..... There mostly all the same.

Pumps! this is a hole dimmension in its own. Personaly i would go with an external pump that you could gate down with a ball valve for your return pump, and as your tank grows you can turn it up. You can eliminate heat with an external pump as well as run several other pieces of equip with like a skimmer, calcium reactor ect.... One of the best pumps would be a Dart....they last for ever! Even if you get a used unit it should be good for quite some time. Ok So now onto the tank flow! you have several options, alot of people go with a closed loop, some dont. This will be another case of debate, i like CL's some like vortec's or korrillas..... For the money and to get going go with a set of K4-5's they produce lots of flow for cheep. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15955

Skimmers! Hmmmm this is a case of massive debate! I use a Deltec skimmer(Re-circulating type AP702), typicaly your skimmer is going to cost as much or more then your tank. For ease of use i used a G3 for quite some time.....Stupid simple to set up and works great! also its an insump type No leaks! Heres a link... http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/pro...mBkajGcc7mMmx463pYNRNVdn~b~g/SfAtjFSLnKXZmA__


Take it slow.... Look at my build if you want to see what i did, everything is dismantalable. Happy Reeffing!

Great Info....Greatly appreciate it!!

The RODI units, how often do you have to replace cartridges? I've seen quite a few on ebay around 125 or so, not sure if I can find a used one for cheaper but I'll begin the search!

I believe the aquarium I'm getting has a closed looped plumbing system so I believe that means just 1 pump correct? The guy that is selling it has told me that he used a mag 12 pump. What size of pump are you referrring? Something close to 1500 gph?

I'll take a look into your circulation pumps...I assume those only blow an electric fan, or are they plumbed into the water system also?

I've heard from many sources how important the skimmer is, I won't go to cheap on that, the one your pointing out, looks great. Would you avoid any of these items used?

 

[jaredpilot]

As far as Live rock, obviously I think I'm a few weeks out by the time I get the giant tanked moved, then get the water in it etc..etc.. However, when the time comes, to save money, would you recommend buying some cheaper dry rock and maybe getting a few really nice pieces of live rock to seed it?

 

[ReefferMan]

Reverse Osmosis, and de-ion unit for water purification.... You know what this is! Keep Reeffing it up man.....

 

[ReefferMan]

I have a large main system and several other smaller systems running so i use 50G's in fresh water, and another 50 per week on WC's. My filters last about a year. You might get alot more use on your tank.

One pump on a CL...

mag 12 would work for the return pump, you might want to think big on the flow pump.

I would'nt be worried about this skimmer used, as long as its not damaged.

Rock; if you can find a good buy on stuff thats cycled then you can have livestock alot sooner. But you can mix it up a bit to seed new rock.

 

[jaredpilot]

I have a large main system and several other smaller systems running so i use 50G's in fresh water, and another 50 per week on WC's. My filters last about a year. You might get alot more use on your tank.

One pump on a CL...

mag 12 would work for the return pump, you might want to think big on the flow pump.

I would'nt be worried about this skimmer used, as long as its not damaged.

Rock; if you can find a good buy on stuff thats cycled then you can have livestock alot sooner. But you can mix it up a bit to seed new rock.

Wonderful info again..

So it sound like I need 2 pumps for the plumbing, one on the return and one for flow...

I'll probably try to get my hands on a a rodi unit asap so I get the water in the tank. Better also get the pumps to begin the filtration.

Any recommendations on the sand?

 

[ReefferMan]

Fine sand, agorite i think is how you spellit....lol Oh! one last thing! Get a refractometer...dont get a cheep salt meeter they suck. I like to keep my salt @ 24

 

[jaredpilot]

I'll keep you updated, coming back to town tomorrow, hopefully get the aquarium in place over the weekend!

 

[ReefferMan]

Nice! im excited for ya! Oh and welcome to RF you will find lots of help for those hard questions that may come up.

 

[jaredpilot]

Hopefully the tank deal doesn't fall through!

 

[jaredpilot]

Alright, well I purchased the tank yesterday. I probably will not have it moved to my garage for a week or so. Then I'm going to spend a day and sand down and repaint a little cosmetic work on the frame. I will also have to polish the acrylic tank to remove a few scratches. Any recommendation for this process? I've never dealt with acrylic tanks before.

The previous owner also decided to close up the closed loop systems and only used power heads for circulation. I'm starting to think I'll do the same to simplify the process.

So, it looks like I'm looking for a good used pump for this system! Anyone selling a nice quiet pump? I'm guessing I'll need something around 1200 gph...