bought a used 100g tank, need some help identifying parts...

[gobias101]

hi, my gf just purchased a used 100g tank/stand and some sort of filter? from craiglist and i need some help on how to clean it and how to set up (what i think is) the filter. first of all its pretty dirty with what looks like salt maybe and then a bunch of dark red spots as you can see from these pics:

i was wondering what would be the best/most efficent way to get rid of this grime (it seems to be stuck on there pretty well) without scratching the tank or using any harmful detergents? the filters are also covered in this stuff (as seen in this next pic), can i just leave that there or should i clean both parts of the filter as well?

ok, now on to the next step, can someone tell me what this thing is, and how i would go about using it?

the second part of it that i placed on top of it so you can all see attaches to the other side of the part that is hanging on, (it goes inside the water) and the guy who sold it to us jsut told us that i can adjust the height and that is how how the water will go in my tank? also, the part that hangs on the back seems to have two seperate compartments, one which is empty (am i supposed to put bioballs in there?) and the other side has a pipe with slits cut out in it that i am guessing the sponge goes on. the pipe then extends below the box to a tube that im really not sure where it goes (to a sump perhaps? but then how do i get the water in the sump to return to the tank?), here is a pic:

that is pretty much it for now, any and all help is appreciated, thanks.

 

[cowpilot]

That is a hang on back overflow used to siphon water out of the tank down to a sump as you guessed. The water in the sump then has to be pumped up to the tank. I just got a 100 gal tank too. hope all goes well.

 

[gobias101]

can i use a 30gal. tall glass aquarium for a sump? what would i need for it, just a skimmer, filter and could someone reccomend me a good/cheap powerhead to use to get the water back up? also does the water return tube have to be pvc/piping or can it be a rubber hose?

 

[melosu58]

It looks like the person that had your tank had a pretty healthy tank. All that corraline on the glass is a good sign. Yes as Cowpilot said that is a HOB overflow in case you have a sump. Many years ago when I had one I just used a clear plastic hose for my return. You must have a nice GF to get you something nice like that.

 

[Speakerman]

I have that same overflow setup on my 37 gallon and use an AquaClear 70 powerhead to pump the water back up to the tank. In your case, I'd get quite a bit larger PH since you have 100 gallons to play with. I think there is a larger aquaclear ph that would work well. you could probobly get it for very cheap also. It's like 900 gph.

That overflow is rated for 1000 gallon per hour, so any pump you get should not be more than 1000 gph. That could possibly make your tank overflow. It might be able to be a bit more than 1000 gph because of the amount of loss you have pushing water up.

Do you have a sump for it? If you are going to build one, we can walk you through it. I really like building sumps. I think it's fun.

good luck.

 

[gobias101]

i have a tall 30 gallon glass tank (tall as in not the typical 30 gallon ones, its taller with less surface area) that i was wondering if i could use for a sump? what would i need for it other than a skimmer and a heater or is that just it?

also then would it be ok to just keep the red stuff on the glass or has it all died by now? will it come back to life if i leave it there and fill it up?

thanks

 

[melosu58]

I would take a scrapper and scrape it all off and grow your own . It will look better in the begining.

 

[Speakerman]

You can use any tank for a sump pretty much, you just need to consider a few things. What are you going to put in the tank, what are you going to leave out of the tank. How adept are you at working with acrylic, is the tank tempered glass...ect ect...

I would use the tank you have and just buy some acrylic sheets, and some egg crate, make your own sump. Although I've never seen anybody use a tall tank for a sump. It's generally more conventional to use a longer tank for a sump.

If the main tank is glass, use a razorblade and scrape all of the old coraline algea off the glass. It probobly would't hurt to leave it on the back glass if you wanted to. Some of it may still be alive.