My first time...be gentle

[newbieguy]

OK... So Santa brought my two daughters a 60 gallon hexagon that just happens to fit perfectly on my bar in the rec room.

I'd really like to try my hand at a reef tank but need some (a lot) of advise (because Santa negelected to purchase any filters, etc). I had a 55 gallon salt water, fish only tank, 10 years ago, but it seems after reading and reading on your board much has happened since then. So here goes...

1) I'm on a budget but want to get something (besides the water) into this tank before my kids lose interest.

2) I don't want to set up a fish only tank and then have to totally redo the thing in six months when I get bored and want to move towards a reef. I'm not looking for anything really exotic right now, a few anemone, live rock and some easy corals...(as well as a few fish to keep the kids happy).

3) My brother (an avid hobbyist) suggested I build a black acrylic box inside my tank to house a couple power heads, heater, and bio medium. I really would like to stay away from anything hanging off the sides of this tank as it is in a location that makes it very visible from all sides so I like this idea but am not sure how practical/realistic or workable it is. I could also house a cannister filter in a nearby cabinet if need be. This box, if I constructed it correctly could also provide a nice column along the back of the tank where I could attach rock for a nice looking aquascape (which is important to me).

4) I've been out of the loop so long I thought wet/dry filters were the only way to go...reading your board seems to suggest that many people are no longer using them and are going to a "sump" or "refugium" neither of which I totally understand. Do both of these require that I have this tank drilled? The wall the tank is being placed on is common with my workshop so I could pipe through this wall but again, do not want to spend a fortune initially and am not familiar with this type of setup.

5) This tank is 27" deep and lighting is a concern. My wife, errr I mean Santa, also bought a generic All-Glass hood with three flourescent lights. I think I need to dump this, build a nice canopy out of cherry to match my bar (woodworking easy, reef systems hard...) and purchase a different type of light.

Sorry for the ramblings but I need all the help I can get!

Tom
Wind Lake, Wisconsin

[Ninong]

Hi newbieguy,




If your hexagonal tank is 27" tall, then it's probably about 25" across, right? In other words, will a 24" light fixture fit over this tank? If so, there are lots of choices that include a single 150w or 250w HQI DE metal halide lamp with two 24" fluorescent actinics (either power compacts, VHOs, or T5's).

Are they any holes drilled anywhere in this tank at all? If there is a hole in the bottom of the tank at the center, then it is intended for plumbing through the bottom of the tank to a sump below. If not, then they leave it up to you to decide what you want to do. This is a very difficult tank to set up properly, especially if you are concerned about not having anything hanging on the side of the tank and are trying to set it up as a reeftank without a sump.

Assuming you decide to keep the tank (instead of swapping it for a different shape), you will almost certainly be forced to attach an outside protein skimmer of some sort, which you may be able to conceal in a homemade "cabinet" as part of the homemade hood. You will not need or want any "bio media" other than the live rock and sand bed.

[newbieguy]

A bit more info...

- Exchanging the tank may result in a divorce (not an option) and size-wise it is a perfect fit for it's location (the tank, not my wife)

- no holes drilled, tempered bottom. Should I consider drilling the back side (2 holes?)? Can a skimmer be installed remotely if I piped through the wall? What exactly does a "sump" entail?

- Tank, from the flat side to flat side is 23", lighting option a bit limited....

- I really am looking for "clean" install and do not want to see anything but tank....

[Ninong]

A sump is a filtration tank that is located in a cabinet below the aquarium. This is probably not an option in your situation.

I thought maybe it was an acrylic tank. If it's a glass tank with a tempered bottom, then you could drill holes in the side of the tank near the top if you wanted to but you could also get by without holes. I can't imagine any solution that would avoid having a hang-on skimmer. Some of these are not all that unattractive.

I think I'll let others who have experience with such hang-on devices chime in.

As far as the lighting is concerned, you can get by with a single metal halide lamp of either 250 or 150 watts. The 250w size would allow for more options as far as corals go but the 150 watt size would be more than adequate for most things. If you build a hood, you could possibly fit in one or two power compact fluorescents in the 36w size (16" long) as actinic supplementation to go along with the metal halide lamp. You would want a 3" or 4" ventilation fan to exhaust the hot air.

[Ninong]

The AquaC Remora Pro hang-on skimmer might be something to consider: http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_...pro.asp?CartId=

[newbieguy]

So what if I did drill the tank? Could I locate a sump remotely (say two feet behind and below the tank?) What keeps the sump from overflowing? Any good resources out there for constructing/using a sump?

Otherwise the hang on skimmer looks like I may be able to use something like that. Will the biological action of the sand/live rock and this skimmer be enough to handle the load of this tank? Being a newbie it seems strange that I wouldn't need any other mechanical filtration as well.

Thanks for you patience.

[ANGRY JOHN]

With All Things The Kiss Stragity Has Worked For Me. Keep It Simple S-----. It Seems To Me That The Easyer Things Were Made The Easyer To Keep Them Right. So If You Want A Reef Tank And Dont Want A Lot Of Stuff Hanging Off Or Around The Tank Then Dont. Go With A Good Skimmer Which You Said Was Ok Already And Then Throw A 10-14k Mh Light On It And Go For It. This Is Also Known As The Berlin Method. The Only Thing That Might Work Against You Is The Rush To Keep Everyone Intrested. Slow Is The Way To Go When Setting Up A Reef And Rushing Is Certain To Spell Disaster. There Are A Few Things That Look Cool And Might Intrest The Kids Like A Cleaner Shrimp Or Somthing Like That But The Time It Takes To Correctly Cycle The Live Rock Is About The Same As Running In The Tank The Old Fasion Way. The Test Kits Will Tell You Where Your At An When It Will Be Ok To Move Fwd. Best Of Luck.;)

[Reefland]

Hi newbiguy,

I think your going to have a big challenge making the inside of the tank "clean" (of equipment) and the outisde of the tank. In this case the only way to get the appropriate equipment on a tank is to hang it on the tank (like an AquaC Remora skimmer) or to utilize a sump. Again in your case, this is a challenge because the tank will need to be drilled and an internal overflow box contructed (the cleanest look) or to use an external overflow box. In the latter, you have a bulky box hanging on the back of the tank and the return plumbing. With the drilled box you still have plumbing returning to the tank from the sump.

[newbieguy]

So you picqued my interest.... If I were to construct an internal overflow box where would I find plans/dimensions/capacity.....

Could I theoretically drill one hole to feed the sump and then pump back in through the top of the tank (hiding the return pipe in my canopy?). Still looking for more info on a "sump"...size, baffle placement, etc. (a what keeps it from siphoning the tank dry?)

[Reefland]

You should be able to do a search here and find lots of information for overflow boxes. You could also take a trip to a store near you that sales reef ready tanks to hlp give you some ideas.

Yes you can pump your return water over the back of the tank. But you will have the return plumbing to conceal. The beautiful part of a good overflow and sump is, if designed properly, they are fail proof. Again a search should give you lots of reading but in a nutshell, the tank will only drain to the top of the overflow box, and the normal operating level of the sump must allow for this much drain water as to not overflow it.

[Arctic Fox]

something like a dorso pipe would keep the tank from siphoning. Just a pipe that goes up to the top of the tank and then makes a U-bend and goes down to where you want the minimum water level to be. Make the top of the U-bend where you want the maximum water level to be, and drill a hole there at the top so it can prime itself. Sorry the explaination is a little vague, but I've heard it explained much better by other people here, expecially in the DIY section.

Also I don't see why you couldn't use some kind of a float valve to keep the water from siphoning, someone please stop me here if that's wrong, but I don't see why you couldn't.

[Reefland]

The easiest way to do this is by drilling the tank and using a box or by using an external overflow.

[newbieguy]

So if I drill (or have it drilled) I can then construct an overflow box from acrylic and silicone it inside the tank right? What size should I make the box and where (how far down) should I drill the tank?

[Reefland]

You could place the center of the whole about 2.5" from the bottom of the trim around the top of the tank. The overflow box will probably be ok with dimensions of 5" x 7" x 3" or there abouts. Just need to make sure it will completely cover the bulkhead.