Just bought a tank

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Thegrumpyfish

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jul 21, 2011
Messages
104
So I just bought a big tank and don't have it in my possession yet should be picking it up this weekend it's a 150 gallons with stand hood pumps and filters haven't seen it in person but it did belong to a friend of one of my family members and I couldn't pass on it as they sold it to me for 100 dollars I was forced to sell my last tank a few years back when I had to move out of my apartment but now that I'm buying my house this tank should stay for a long time....anyways I want a reef tank this time around and should be ready to roll out a diy set up in six months or so but am looking for opinions on everything from lighting led or mh t9? To How big of a tank should I have as a hospis tank for new additions/older fish that contract something? To Aquascaping best ideas for keeping rock free standing with out leaning on acrylic how much rock? I'd like to put a sea anemone and some clowns or a toadstool and some clowns as iv heard they may host the toadstools I'm planning on taking my time with the tank not rushing this one one bit thanks for input
 
What's your budget?? If this tank is just that? No sand, rock or salt?
150 lbs of dry rock could be 300-400$
Salt will be 100
Sand can run up to 200
Lighting can be $500-$$6000..
This stuff adds up quick, is the tank drilled.for a sump?
 
Has salt gone up in price? It didn't cost me 100 for my 200 gal tank I had about 3-4years ago I figured the dry rock was going to set me back a bit but wasn't counting on spending 400 for it, I have not seen this tank I don't know what it's set up for it comes with lights but I may need some to upgrade them for a reef I I'm not sure as I'm going to see the tank for the first time this weekend my budget for this tank is around 4k over 6months or about 170-160 a week..as this is my projected time frame for finishing the purchase of everything and then about 2-3 weeks for placing everything I'm my house and setting it up to start accepting fish as I said I'm in no rush to do this tank as I wasn't planning on getting one for a few years still...
 
I was way off on the salt! I was thinking 5 gallon bucket... Sounds like you've got a plan. If you can find someone local getting out of the hobby you may be able to scoop up everything you need for nickels on the dollar. I've seen some crazy deals because people are just done and want it gone.
 
I half way have a plan but was wondering whats the take on led lights vs other lights MH or t8's? And then I wanna put a blue hippo tang and would like to know what size tank I need to get for a quarantine tank
 
Also if anyone has a complete list of fish that can fit in a 150 display tank so the family and I can look and pick what we would like to see in the tank prefer reef friendly fish although I know the mother in law who lives with us wants a porky pine puffer I know they aren't exactly reef friendly...
 
I'm an led guy. I run a cheap Chinese black box over my reef and it works well. Lighting a tank that size with quality leds could get pricey. The old school reefers swear by mh, they work for sure. It's just the cost of running and upkeep which is a major put off for me.
 
I use the black box LEDS also. Under $100 each you need 3 IMO if you are 6' .
I have MH and they probably are better.
I know for sure they cost more to run [electricity] ,generate WAY more heat ,and need replacing every 8-16 months depending [$$] .
IMO you will want to invest a good protein skimmer if you don't have one.
Most any common fish can fit in a 150 with exception of a few angels and tangs that get big. It mostly depends on what you are thinking ..Not all fish will get along .
You can get hippos pretty small more often then large and they are more affordable. So a large QT may not be needed.
I never QT marine fish. You are in prime position to add fish and wait on inverts and coral till after you know if you need to treat? I know the volume is lot to treat ,but some fish just don't do well in QT or hosp.tanks . Also often issues arise after certain fish are introduced to each other.
This on hospital tanks ; ask questions after you actually catch something out of that huge tank ..It may never happen IMO depending on scape and rock work. Reefs are totally different then FW tanks even of equal volume IMO by the fact that taking them apart for a mod or to catch a fish is often not a good choice or even realistic .
Go sump if you get one with set up. Everything gets better and easier with sumps .
 
Well if leds are working over reef tanks I may go that route as my house has solar panels and I'm trying to keep the cost of electricity down at my house before going solar my bill was 700 a month from Edison now I pay 5-15 a month to Edison and around 160 to the solar people. But wasn't thrilled with the idea of wattage of MH lighting plus replacing them all the time sounds like a pain I used to not qt my 200 tank but I put a blue hippo in that had ich and died inside of a week I think 3 days if I treat a display tank won't the stuff kill inverts later on like stay in my system for ever??
 
Also if anyone has a complete list of fish that can fit in a 150 display tank so the family and I can look and pick what we would like to see in the tank prefer reef friendly fish although I know the mother in law who lives with us wants a porky pine puffer I know they aren't exactly reef friendly...

for your stock try checking out live aquara you can get a good idea of what gets along with what.
not everyone chooses the same fish it's up to what you want to do in your tank
than you choose fish that will work with that set up.
 
So I got the tank today, and its got potential to be a really nice tank although it's got a large deep, deep scratch on the front right side I will be checking for leaks first but what can fill a large scratch on an acrylic tank? Clear nail polish? It's like super deep so I don't wanna sand and buff I'd rather fill it and smooth it, if possible. It's close to the bottom of the tank, so worst case scenario I'll fill it, sand it down, buff the crap outta it, and bury it outta sight outta mind, with a deep sand bed so you dont notice if its cloudy or what ever. This tanks going to need: new lights, sump, pumps/ power heads, (bio filtration? last tank I had "bio balls" in it and that tank was running close to five years) it's got one pump and one hob filter but I know for the ultimate goal of this tank those are no where near what I require. The stand and hood needs some refurbishment all and all alot of work and love needs to be added to this tank before I bring it in my household. I invite anyone who wants to tag along as I restore this tank I will be needing advice on stuff. I will be taking this one step at a time. I will consider all advice given. I will be posting pictures of the tank as I go along. I hope to complete the tank in 6-9 months but it may take longer I have 3kids so they do come first. Thanks for all advice given so far keep the good advice rolling in. Up first is that scratch , then lighting/hood refurbishment.
 
Oh yeah forgot to mention I need to aquire all the rock and substrates for this tank also I guess I should keep a running tab on cost of supplies as we go to figure actual price of the completed tank so to-date total cost ($100 tank stand hood) I'm not going to count the pump or hob as they won't be used in this build I will however keep them for the qt tank I will pick up
 
Can’t help much with the scratch.
That exposed ballast in the canopy caught my attention. Last time I built a canopy I mounted the ballasts on a panel (next to the timers) which went into the cabinet under the tank. Did not like that fact that it was close to the water and plus is cut down on the canopy weight (they were heavy as a brick). Being moisture paranoid, I also used BJB sealed end caps for the fluorescent tubes. I did not have proper reflectors so i lined the canopy with Mylar. The back was open to allow for air circulation because heat was an issue (I think the bulbs were T-12s). This was for a 55g FW tank almost 30 years ago.
Good luck with this build.
 
Thanks, I'm gutting the canopy and starting fresh. I have room to hang three good sized led panels, but I figure if I'm going to spend 300 on lights I might as well find ones with all the features like sun rise sun set moon light and storms...I'm adding one more fan and replacing the current fan I also plan on running all electrical under my tank as well.. More pictures to come
 
Congrats Grumpy fish!

Later when you are ready, thought I would suggest John at RC.
https://www.reefcleaners.org John is a great guy and generous with the packages of cleaners.

Has Rock too (not sure if there are better deals out there) it is mined not taken from the ocean $90 includes shipped for 50lbs. He might have other large quantity options too.
 
Awesome I will check it out closer to when I'm ready to start looking for rocks for aquascaping I looked at this sight years ago and thought if I
ever redid my tank I'd try them out
 
Question about the workings of the back of this tank20180331_155751.jpg what do I put in the back? My last tank had a built in wet dry filter that looked sorta like this but I don't see any spot for trickle trays or spill ways any help suggestions? Thanks
 
Do you know the brand of tank ?
Might be able to find pictures of how they say to set it up ?
I see a lot of room for sponges.. I am the sponge guy !
I would think you fill the column after the intake so if the sponges get clogged they get pushed up. Getting media out of the bottom of that is going to be a pain and probably messy?
I would maybe try to fab up something like they use in the AquaClear hobs that could just pull all your stuff out when needed.
 
No I checked around the tank for some kind of logo sticker or identifying marks but found nothing altho a search on Google was able to provide pictures of similar style nano-16-innovative-marine.jpg I like the cartridges on either side I'm going to try and hook up something similar
 
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