My First Post

[Orca1]

Hello all.

I would like to start out by saying that there are some amazing tanks on this site. I only hope my projects looks half as good as some of the tanks here!

I'm fairly new to the salt water aquarium world. I recently acquired a 120g (6') from a friend and decided to start off with a fish only tank, then graduate to a reef system. The tank is not reef ready and I'm looking for some advice on where to start (filtration/skimmers etc.).

I'm a very active fisherman and also planning on making this a native tank. I've been collecting fish (both native and tropical) since I was a very small child. I would be more than happy to share some of my experiences/techniques with the site's members as well as pick up a few tricks along the way. I would also like to make a few new friends that share my passion for the marine world.

Below is a pic of what I have to start with. The pic was taken about a week ago and the stand is nearly complete as of now.

.........Eric.

 

[nikkibabee]

Welcome!

 

[Orca1]

Thank you nikkibabee! It's good to be here.

 

[Tangs Rule]

Welcome. I think you'll pick up some good tips along the way. I know there are a few "local tanks" kept by members on this site.

 

[Awibrandy]

Welcome to our family Eric!

How about drilling the tank?

I have the same 120g which was drilled for drain and return which is great. And once the coral bug bites you'll need to upgrade your lighting, but for now those are fine..

 

[Orca1]

I thought about drilling my tank a few times. I'm still up in the air about it. The last SW tank I had was when I was 13 and had a UG filter with a bubbler. I guess I wanted to keep things simple. In this case, I might be making things more complicated by not drilling it.

I'm open to suggestions about anything at this point. I'm in no rush and certainly want to set the tank up properly once. If that means I have to drill the tank then I'll drill the tank.

If I do decide to have the tank drilled, is this something that can be done in-house?

As much as I like to learn from my mistakes, I would much rather learn from someone that has more experience than I do.

 

[anthony27]

Good Luck in this hobby. In the end it pays off :bablefish:bablefish

 

[cathym1078]

Let me know how the skimmer is working out for you.

 

[Josh]

I thought about drilling my tank a few times. I'm still up in the air about it. The last SW tank I had was when I was 13 and had a UG filter with a bubbler. I guess I wanted to keep things simple. In this case, I might be making things more complicated by not drilling it.

I'm open to suggestions about anything at this point. I'm in no rush and certainly want to set the tank up properly once. If that means I have to drill the tank then I'll drill the tank.

If I do decide to have the tank drilled, is this something that can be done in-house?

As much as I like to learn from my mistakes, I would much rather learn from someone that has more experience than I do.

Welcome to MR!

I think "Bad Coffee" has a lot of experience drilling tanks, and he is in Brooklyn. You may want to ask him how to go about it.

 

[aznt1217]

Welcome to MR!!!

My input with regards to drilling... it really comes down to the question do you want to go sumpless or not?

1. The sump (drilling) is good for a few reasons
- Cleaner because it hides most of ones equipment
- You avoid overflows due to electrical failure (vs. a HOB overflow box)
- Extra water volume
- Refugium set up
2. If you do not drill you can always get a few canister filters and a HOB skimmer

A lot of this depends on your preference (clean look or not) and what you are going to keep in that tank. (filtration and skimmers)

With that tank you have plenty of options.

 

[ClosetFishGeek]

Welcome to MR.....:splitspin

 

[Wilhelm]

Get ready for a hell of a ride. Lots of work setting up and also maintaining things but once you get it done it becomes routine for the most part. In the end, like that super rollercoaster in your fave theme park, it's fun, exciting and worth it.

 

[DrCooper]

Best luck and welcome

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Welcome to MR

 

[masterswimmer]

Best of luck returning to the world of SW. If your intentions are to ultimately wind up with a reef tank, I would highly recommend drilling it upfront. It's not a difficult job. Just takes some time, proper technique and some nerve.

Once again, welcome to MR.

Russ

 

[salt-rookie]

I'm new too. Nice tank! I love my 6 foot tank! 18" front to back?

 

[lhcorals]

I'm new to this forum, but i still want to say welcome aboard. What ever you do take your time and really think about it. I think drilling would be best if you are going to go reef later on. With the sump you can incorporate a refugium and it's a great place to hide alot of different things. Good luck. And yes the drilling can be done in house.

 

[Orca1]

Thank you all for your input. I've decided not to drill this particular tank. I recently purchased a HOB skimmer from a fellow Manhattan Reefer. As this tank is going to remain a fish only tank and I'm still learning things all over again, I figured I wouldn't drill the tank.

Salt-Rookie....The tank is 18"w. I chose this tank for a few reasons. I wanted something dramatic in my living room without taking up too much floor space. The stand is made of treated 4X4's and originally had 1/2 inch ply that went around the entire stand with the exception of the back (remarkably ugly). I've since replaced all of the ply with good looking pine. My next plan is to treat/stain it black then make the front cabinets with framed out Plexiglas and paint the back of the glass black. I figured that would look pretty decent along with some stainless hardware. My original plan was to have all wood cabinet doors, but that was changed mid construction.

I want to ask a few quick questions....

I have an Eheim 2217 that I'm going to be running on this tank. In your experienced opinions, would that be enough for a fairly light bio-load in addition to my skimmer (Octopus 800s HOB) or should I pick up a second one and run a different kind of media? I also have an Emperor 400 bio-wheel, but I really had no intentions on running this filter on a saltwater application but heard that it would be decent as a secondary filter. I already planned on putting it on a 65g piranha (caribe) tank in my basement. I'm also going to be looking into a chiller in the next few months. Anyone have any recommendations of chiller sizes for my application? This tank isn't going to be seeing fish for a while since I plan on collecting most if not all of the inhabitants myself.

What ways, other than hardy fish can I cycle my tank? Live sand?

Thank you all again...........Eric.

 

[Wagners55]

This is similar to my question...sump or hang on????

Much like this tanks construction...i wonder my self what to do.

I am currently running a oceanic 46 gallon bowfront with Eheim canister, CPR backpack skimmer and 11kActinic 150x2 MH Lighting system.

With a move to Boston in 6 weeks im debating:
1. How to move the thing.
2. is it worth it to purchase a better set up and have it waiting in boston...sell my set up here in ny for cheap. ( plan to continue operating the tank for many years as the rewards are in long term growth of the internal envirenment)

Currently Im looking into sump based aquariums but wonder if they are truly worth the expense over my regular set up. My set up seems pretty weak since a overflowbox/ sump system will filter and skim the tanks water capacity many times more than my current set up. And the units look much more concealed...there isnt all this crap and wires hanging off the back of the tank.

Current issues are:
Powerheads are garbage and fail every other month
the modified canopy with super light is evaporating nearly 2 gallons of water a day which changes all the internal chemistry of the tank. Refilling it with nyc water lends to algea growth etc..but im in the process of buying a RODI filter which im told will fix this problem.

My goals are to create the ideal healthy envirenment for the fish for long term...the Oceanic set up is a bit cheesey with partical board and plastic canopy/base..seamed joints etc. Im looking at one of these reef ready 4FishTank.com - Aquariums - Fish Tanks - reef tanks - fish aquarium - New York - Aqua Vim - aquavim - seamless curved glass -...

But the end question is ...is a sump system the must have for the reef enthusiest ..and is it worth the 2000 bucks i will have to spend to upgrade?