Setup Help and Info needed

[oorob00]

I have a 220 gallon tall tank. I am in the process of cycling the tank as of yesterday the 13th of January. So far i have put in 300 pounds of play sand from home depot, filled the water 3/4 the way full and put in 150 gallon worth of salt. Right now i don't have any water circulation going nor heat. I am getting 4-850 GPH power heads on Monday along with 2-300 watt heaters. Should i go ahead and start up the power heads or just let the water set? I plan on going the shimp route to get everything going unless someone has a better way. I also plan on adding live rock once all the levels get to normal. Also i am looking for a good sump/skimmer because i was told to use that by my LFS because i have a canopy and cannot hang a skimmer on the tank. I was looking at this one on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4349293984&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT is this one ok or what? I am open to any info that you all can give and would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

 

[Bearfan]

I have a 220 gallon tall tank. I am in the process of cycling the tank as of yesterday the 13th of January. So far i have put in 300 pounds of play sand from home depot, filled the water 3/4 the way full and put in 150 gallon worth of salt. Right now i don't have any water circulation going nor heat.

Technically, there is nothing cycling the tank at this time. Cycling Article

I am getting 4-850 GPH power heads on Monday along with 2-300 watt heaters. Should i go ahead and start up the power heads or just let the water set?

Do you really mean 850 gph powerheads, or model 850s? It's hard to place Maxi Jet 1200s (295 gph) in the tank where they don't disturb coral and dig holes in the sand.

I plan on going the shimp route to get everything going unless someone has a better way. I also plan on adding live rock once all the levels get to normal.

The only levels that will need to be normal are temperature and salinity, once again, there is no cycle right now, the LR will cycle your tank. Check out www.liverocks.com for some great rock.

Also i am looking for a good sump/skimmer because i was told to use that by my LFS because i have a canopy and cannot hang a skimmer on the tank. I was looking at this one on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4349293984&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT is this one ok or what? I am open to any info that you all can give and would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

That sump is WAY WAY too small for a 220 gal tank. That's too small for my 75 gal tank.

Also:

Are you using RO/DI water?
What lighting systems do you plan to use?
What do you plan to keep.

HTH

 

[oorob00]

These are the power heads that i got http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4325446678&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

Also i should just use live rock that has not been cured to cycle the tank? Also what sump/skimmer should i get?

Also i was told that i could just use tap water by my LFS because i am just doing a FOWLR tank. Right now i just have 2-48" incandescent lights.

 

[oorob00]

Also which type of live rock do i want. I went to liverock.com and they have 4 different ones: Coral, Gulf, Keys and Live Base Rock. Which one do i want or does it matter?

 

[RMPD109]

LR from LR.com is great but the choice is yours. Gulf rock will have the most hitchhikers(crabs, shrimp, snails, urchins etc.). The keys will have the best color from coralline and a few hitchers. The coral rock will have a substantial amount of natural corals already established on it. The base rock is the low cost alternative to the other three(it is not dead/dry rock). Most people get a mix of rock to incorporate all the advantages of each. The base rock will eventually seed from the other rock and share the hitchers. Contact Zack in the LR.com sponsor forum for the best help.

 

[Salttanker]

Regardless of what your lfs says, I wouldn't use tap water even for a FOWLR. Too many problems IMO.
If you want the best of both worlds, split the lr 50/50..half gulf, and half keys. Zack will do it for you. This will cycle your tank.
Get a good skimmer, maybe a Remora.
You might want to reconsider the incandescent lighting. Go with pc or VHO, or at the very least, NO.
I would get a 55G sump so you will have enough space for equipment and a larger volume of water to work with for your bio load. These are just some ideas. HTH

Mike

 

[oorob00]

Is there anyway to convert an exsisting 55gallon to a sump? Also i have already used tapwater and have already added the salt so i am going to keep it as is.

 

[Salttanker]

You can convert a 55G to a sump. You will just need an overflow box and a pump. You can also put a skimmer, heater, and reef rubble in there for good filtration. This would give you a large water volume for your tank.

Mike

 

[oorob00]

So i wouldnt have to do anything special to the 55g? Just set it up and get a overflow box, pump, bioballs or reef rubble and a skimmer?

 

[Salttanker]

As far as the sump goes, everyone has their own preference. I bought a wet/dry and converted it into a Berlin sump. Don't use the bioballs. Use the reef rubble as your bio filtration. Just make sure the reef rubble is completely submerged.
Send a pm to Sumphead. he has desiged his own sumps and would have more experience on that topic and can probably send you a diagram. I bought one because I didn't have time to DIY one. If you DIY this, you will need to make sure it is setup correctly or you may end up having problems. The wet/dry I bought comes with everything including the pump and overflow, which was cheaper as a package.
lando has some pictures of his sump (wet/dry) with reef rubble in it if you want to see what it looks like.

Mike

 

[sumphead]

OK, Let’s start from the beginning.

1: Get water moving in the tank and finish filling it up. Let's get your setup running before you start worrying about Skimmers and Rocks. Normally I would say wait and cycle with the rocks but since you already have water in the tank... Those pumps/power heads would not have been my choice for water movement; they will do since you have them.

2: Ok now for your sump. I don't know what kind of skimmer you plan on running, but a Remora or the one linked above to ebay are not nearly large enough for a 220G tank. Even both together wouldn't be nearly enough for a tank that large! Of course you could run a light bio-load and go skimmer-less. I know a zoanthid farmer who runs skimmer-less and while his water is NAS-TEE his zoas are beautiful. *shrugs* OK for a tank that large you will need a large overflow (or 2) and a decent sized return pump. I will assume you do not wish to drill the 55 so a submersible pump is in order. I would recommend a MAG18 or MAG24 with 2 - 1 1/2" overflow kits or 3 - 1" overflow kits. Or Ideally you should return the tank for a Drilled tank which would be cheaper than buying the overflows. OK, so you are going to have to divide your sump into sections for bubble control. There are several ways to do this but the easiest being acrylic because you can cut it to size and silicone the crap out of it get it to stay where you want it. Glass baffles cut at a frame shop or Lowes actually bond better but generally become more expensive if you have to pay for them to be cut. Something like this:

Or this:

The possibilities are literally limitless. Just decide what suits your needs the best and go for it.

3: If you are going to run a skimmer it needs to be a big one. There are several options, none-of-which are cheap. If you want recommendations just, ask but initially I would not worry about it. Until this system get up, running, and cycled it will be fine without one.

IF this were a 6’ long tank I would consider drilling the side of the sump and using an external pump for the return. This would reduce electric consumption and heat. I would also seriously consider (if this was a new tank purchase) trying to get a tank that is already drilled with overflows, as siphon overflows are more prone to failure.

I hope this info helps and I’ll try to answer any other questions you may have.

R-

 

[oorob00]

I really dont care about drilling the 55. i have a dremel and can get the bits to drill it. I just need to know where. Also I cannot take the 55 back because i have no clue were i got it from. It currently has fish in it but i am going to be moving them to a 75 gallon. Also i am just trying to get a list together of all that i will need as far as the skimmer and whatever else i need together. Also what should i do to cycle the tank since you say to wait on the rock?

 

[oorob00]

Also with the sump am i putting anything in there as a filter media or just using it to put the skimmer and heaters in? Also where would be a good place to get the skimmer, MAG24 and the overflows? Also if you could hit me up on AIM(s10lwrider) that would be great so i dont have to wait forever to get a responce. Thanks

 

[Salttanker]

Thanks for jumping in Sumphead.

Mike

 

[sumphead]

No sweat tanker glad to help-

-Rob when I said return the tank for a Reef Ready drilled tank, I was talking about the 220 not the 55. As far as where to drill it that will depend on which configuration you decide.

No, no filter material is needed in the sump but again it is optional. This will depend on your overall plan for the tank (i.e. Fish Only, Reef, Lighting, bioload, and on and on). If anything using a large amount of live rock using the berlin method of filtration no additional filter material is needed save perhaps more ruck or rock rubble in the sump. You are also getting a great deal of biological filtration from your sand. Lots of Rock and an efficient skimmer is really all that is required for decent filtration. Again, your plans for the tank dictate this.

I look at IMing you but I'll have to get AIM first.

HTH,
R-