I am starting a 90G tank.
I got it second hand on craigslist and the previous owner siliconed the bulkheads in place. Water testing it showed one leaked. I had to dremel it off and noticed the gasket had slipped, causing the leak. I'm going to replace both. Getting all the silicone off is a nightmare. Does it have to be down to the bare glass or is a slight film ok?
I'm going to try to connect this myself and I have no experience doing plumbing. I have a 30 x 18 x 10 miracle sump. The center chamber had bioballs, which I removed. I think it's what is called a trickle sump. I was thinking about putting either rubble rock or chaeto in that compartment. I think what I want is one gate valve connected to the drain line. I also believe I should have a check valve and gate valve on the return. Is this correct?
Included in the sale was stock lighting which is useless for what I want to do. I know that I want an LED fixture. I was looking at getting 2 of these:
Mars Aqua 165W light fixture with 55 LEDs 3W. It has different colored LEDs. It claims that it is full spectrum - which I question. I like the idea of different colored LEDs but will this promote algae? If I bought this light, what coral would survive under it?
Also - I have some concerns on the tank itself. I talked with the previous owner about his experience with it. He claims that he fully stocked it twice and everything died within days. After blowing a few thousand dollars he decided to quit the hobby. Sounds like he didn't cycle it but I feel uneasy about it. I'm wondering if the tank was cleaned with something toxic or he quit because that bulkhead was installed incorrectly and he didn't want to deal with the leak. The bulkhead I can fix but I'm wondering if someone would have a setup like this (it's fairly decent) and wipe out his stock twice in a row within days??? That seems insane. Tank looks brand new. Sump looks a little beat up but is water tight.
Thanks
I got it second hand on craigslist and the previous owner siliconed the bulkheads in place. Water testing it showed one leaked. I had to dremel it off and noticed the gasket had slipped, causing the leak. I'm going to replace both. Getting all the silicone off is a nightmare. Does it have to be down to the bare glass or is a slight film ok?
I'm going to try to connect this myself and I have no experience doing plumbing. I have a 30 x 18 x 10 miracle sump. The center chamber had bioballs, which I removed. I think it's what is called a trickle sump. I was thinking about putting either rubble rock or chaeto in that compartment. I think what I want is one gate valve connected to the drain line. I also believe I should have a check valve and gate valve on the return. Is this correct?
Included in the sale was stock lighting which is useless for what I want to do. I know that I want an LED fixture. I was looking at getting 2 of these:
Mars Aqua 165W light fixture with 55 LEDs 3W. It has different colored LEDs. It claims that it is full spectrum - which I question. I like the idea of different colored LEDs but will this promote algae? If I bought this light, what coral would survive under it?
Also - I have some concerns on the tank itself. I talked with the previous owner about his experience with it. He claims that he fully stocked it twice and everything died within days. After blowing a few thousand dollars he decided to quit the hobby. Sounds like he didn't cycle it but I feel uneasy about it. I'm wondering if the tank was cleaned with something toxic or he quit because that bulkhead was installed incorrectly and he didn't want to deal with the leak. The bulkhead I can fix but I'm wondering if someone would have a setup like this (it's fairly decent) and wipe out his stock twice in a row within days??? That seems insane. Tank looks brand new. Sump looks a little beat up but is water tight.
Thanks