JSweeney76
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Hamilton, NJ
Ok. I'm not much for blogging but I figure that I needed to vent and who better to vent to than a group of fellow reefers that can sympathize.
I've been keeping fish tanks for a majority of my life (>15 years) with a good portion of it being reef tanks. Now, I'm not saying that I know everything about reefs because I don't. I have A LOT to learn and am always up to learn new things. What's even better is that it seems that the entire family has gotten in on the hobby. My wife decided that it would be cool to someday get a large reef. So I went online and found an awesome set up for a 220 reef on ebay. It had everything including 300+ lbs. of live rock, skimmer, fish, and wet dry filter for $750. The only problem... It was located in St. Augustine, Florida and I am in New Jersey.
After some discussion, my wife thought I should get it. After much reluctance and 10 seconds left on EBay, I bid and won. During the first weekend in February and the second blizzard of the year, I drove 963 miles down to florida and pick up this tank and equipment. Now I should have known that it was going to be an issue when I walked into the sellers house and the tank wasn't touched and still holding water. After four hours, and this guy telling me that the tank was set up for three years and never had the gravel cleaned, I was on the way back to Jersey have spent less than 12 hours in Florida.
On the way back, all the fish died, I crawled ten miles an hour through Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, and everything froze. I came home, grabbed some sleep and set the tank up. Now, I always told myself not to cut corners; and the little voice in the back of my head told me to not cut corners. But, because I didn't have the extra money, I decided to reuse the sand that was included in the original set up. I figured that since I was using RO/DI water and would do a large water change within a couple of weeks, that the tank would be ok. Yeah, I was wrong.
On top of that, I was placing the rock into the tank and I guess I put too much pressure on one of the center braces and it BROKE in half. I frantically called around to manufacturer's and pet stores and discovered that I needed to order a new top frame; certainly a lot better than a new $1000 reef ready tank.
I'll make a long story short. A buddy of mine had given a bunch of stuff from his 220 after he cracked the glass. This include a coralife aqualight pro, berlin skimmer and chiller. I figured that I would substitute the light and skimmer and have a kickin' setup. After I had to replace the main pump for the filter, the stand pipes for the tank (because they were leaking and glued together) and need to find a new light because my buddy didn't take care of it, I decided to try and do the tanks first water change.
I go downstairs and notice that there are a lot of bubbles coming up from the sand. In addition, the tank STUNK like rotten eggs. The little voice in my head was screaming, I TOLD YOU SO. I guess that hydrogen sulfide was being emitted from the sand. So, today, I emptied the ENTIRE tank, took out all of the rock and sand, and replaced it all. I'm now making more RO/DI water and will be filling the tank up for a second time.
Now all that's left is to get the lighting squared away and figure out how to hook up the skimmer since it's as tall as the stand; but i've got some time for that. God only knows what is going to happen next. I'll keep my fingers crossed. LOL.
I've been keeping fish tanks for a majority of my life (>15 years) with a good portion of it being reef tanks. Now, I'm not saying that I know everything about reefs because I don't. I have A LOT to learn and am always up to learn new things. What's even better is that it seems that the entire family has gotten in on the hobby. My wife decided that it would be cool to someday get a large reef. So I went online and found an awesome set up for a 220 reef on ebay. It had everything including 300+ lbs. of live rock, skimmer, fish, and wet dry filter for $750. The only problem... It was located in St. Augustine, Florida and I am in New Jersey.
After some discussion, my wife thought I should get it. After much reluctance and 10 seconds left on EBay, I bid and won. During the first weekend in February and the second blizzard of the year, I drove 963 miles down to florida and pick up this tank and equipment. Now I should have known that it was going to be an issue when I walked into the sellers house and the tank wasn't touched and still holding water. After four hours, and this guy telling me that the tank was set up for three years and never had the gravel cleaned, I was on the way back to Jersey have spent less than 12 hours in Florida.
On the way back, all the fish died, I crawled ten miles an hour through Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, and everything froze. I came home, grabbed some sleep and set the tank up. Now, I always told myself not to cut corners; and the little voice in the back of my head told me to not cut corners. But, because I didn't have the extra money, I decided to reuse the sand that was included in the original set up. I figured that since I was using RO/DI water and would do a large water change within a couple of weeks, that the tank would be ok. Yeah, I was wrong.
On top of that, I was placing the rock into the tank and I guess I put too much pressure on one of the center braces and it BROKE in half. I frantically called around to manufacturer's and pet stores and discovered that I needed to order a new top frame; certainly a lot better than a new $1000 reef ready tank.
I'll make a long story short. A buddy of mine had given a bunch of stuff from his 220 after he cracked the glass. This include a coralife aqualight pro, berlin skimmer and chiller. I figured that I would substitute the light and skimmer and have a kickin' setup. After I had to replace the main pump for the filter, the stand pipes for the tank (because they were leaking and glued together) and need to find a new light because my buddy didn't take care of it, I decided to try and do the tanks first water change.
I go downstairs and notice that there are a lot of bubbles coming up from the sand. In addition, the tank STUNK like rotten eggs. The little voice in my head was screaming, I TOLD YOU SO. I guess that hydrogen sulfide was being emitted from the sand. So, today, I emptied the ENTIRE tank, took out all of the rock and sand, and replaced it all. I'm now making more RO/DI water and will be filling the tank up for a second time.
Now all that's left is to get the lighting squared away and figure out how to hook up the skimmer since it's as tall as the stand; but i've got some time for that. God only knows what is going to happen next. I'll keep my fingers crossed. LOL.
id would suggest getting a di
