100 Gallon Tank Set up

Q

qstorm

Reefing newb
Hi everyone I am completely new to saltwater setup, so please excuse any noob questions I make ask.
I currently have a 100 gal tank with live rocks and sand in it (dead by now).
Anyway I started setting up the tank a few years back but my house got hit with Hurricane, but anyways all my renovations is completely finito.

So this is what I am doing. I have built my Bar around my tank and I have made the tank the counter, but the counter top does not sit on top of the tank.
The furthest I have gotten with the tank was setting up the rocks and sand and had my PH levels to were it was suppose to be. Now there is no water in the tank just the sand and rocks. My goal is to have a beautiful tank with Rocks/ Corals and fish.

The fish that I am trying to get would be anything that has lots of color and can survive with the Lion Fish (one of my must have) and reef safe fish. Fu Manchu.

My budget is $1000 to set this up. My time frame is to have it up and running with Fish in it by July 11th for my bday party. (plan on speeding up the cycling process )


1st question: Can I still use my rocks? I hope so cause i paid over $400 for them.
I know I probably need to change the sand but its no biggie.

2. I have lime build up on some parts of the tank. Other than vinegar and lime juice (didn't work) what is the most effective way to remove this

3. The skimmer and pump in the picture is what i have. Is that sufficient for that tank.
Do I need any additional pumps etc. My tank is not drilled but if it needs to be just let me know how to do it and I will do it.

4.I would like to speed up my cycling process. From what I have read there are products available to do this. What are these products?

5. Is there a setup where I can add everything at once and additions later while cycling or after cycling.

5.I need to know what I need/how to clean the tank. I remember at my old office they use to have two big containers with water to replenish the tank, and this long tube connected to hoses which was used to remove the algae etc. How do you make and maintain the water in the containers.

I have ton more questions so I will pause for now and get some feedback.:^:

Thanks in advance
 
question

1 no you cant use the rock its dead. for a 100 gallon tank you need at about 100kg of new live rock

2 your budget of 1000$ is not enough in imho it will cost you that alone for the rock alone. and use a razor blade will scrape the lime scale off

3 i cant see any photo of the skimmer please update

4 you cant really speed the process of the cycling process

5 slow way down or your gonna have loads problems

you cant rush marine/reef tanks or you gonna have big big problems

also have you got any lights yet???
 
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I think you can use your rock as base rock and add more live rock to your tank. You must cycle everything first before adding livestock or your gonna have problems.
Ck the mate, is right!
 
If there is any way that you can, use the existing rock and sand as a base. I'd hate to see you completely lose what you put into the tank already. Has the tank been stored empty and relatively clean? If so, it seems to me like you could use the old rock and old sand.

Once you get to the point where you are ready to start, get some pieces of live rock from an established tank. Then you'll have enough to seed the rest of the rock and sand to do the cycle that dcantuscon mentioned.

Also, plan to start out using RODi water for your tank once you get it cleaned, if you haven't already.

And don't be afraid to ask questions. The people that have been around on this site are really nice. Best of luck to you!
 
I have spent almost a grand on a 47 gallon tank and I don't have any fish/corals yet, lol.

The rock you have in it you need to take out and clean. Also may want to sift out your sand. Like dcan said, you can use your rock as base rock and seed it with more live rock.

You may not have enough time to cycle your tank, especially if you want more than one fish. My tank has been running with live sand and almost 50lbs of live rock for 20 days and the cycle is still not done.

Get some pics up and good luck!
 
Gdbyrd said:
I have spent almost a grand on a 47 gallon tank and I don't have any fish/corals yet, lol.

The rock you have in it you need to take out and clean. Also may want to sift out your sand. Like dcan said, you can use your rock as base rock and seed it with more live rock.

You may not have enough time to cycle your tank, especially if you want more than one fish. My tank has been running with live sand and almost 50lbs of live rock for 20 days and the cycle is still not done.

Get some pics up and good luck!
Click to expand...

good luck mate with the tank you are doing everything correct. time and patients is the key like hes said its cost him a grand already for a tank half the size you propose. imo for this size tank you will need 3000$ plus my advice scale down until ur knowledge in keeping marines has inproved it will save you alot of money in the long run just read some threads on here whats happened to other peoples tanks from going to quick with insuficent funds
 
I don't agree about scaling down, esp. since you've already got the tank. Going lower means less water volume, and it's easier to screw things up faster. BUT, I do agree that you can't reasonably expect to have any fish in your tank in 3 weeks, let alone all of them (like it sounds like you want). The only way I see as being feasible to have a fish-- one fish!-- in there by your birthday is to go buy all new rock from a local store, and make sure it's fully cured and cycled. Or, perhaps, go 50/50 with good cycled live rock and your old stuff. Use only RO water, and maybe then you might be able to get away with it, depending how your parameters test out.
 
The best way to skip a cycle, as mentioned above, is to get fully cured rock, get live sand out of a tank not the bagged stuff and get water from a local fish store. If you can find a store that sells water out of their tanks, like the one by me does, you can possibly get a much milder cycle. When i moved my tank this is exactly what i did and i did not get a cycle at all.

As far as equipment i dont know what you all have.. but just off the top of my head i can tell you you'll need Lights (very expensive especially for a 100gal tank), pumps to circulate your water, heater, test kits for the water.

unless you already have the lights and plan on using all the old rock plus just a little cured live rock to seed the old rock... there isnt really a way to do what you want with $1000. The lights alone will but that budget.
 
qstorm said:
Hi everyone I am completely new to saltwater setup, so please excuse any noob questions I make ask.
I currently have a 100 gal tank with live rocks and sand in it (dead by now).
Anyway I started setting up the tank a few years back but my house got hit with Hurricane, but anyways all my renovations is completely finito.

So this is what I am doing. I have built my Bar around my tank and I have made the tank the counter, but the counter top does not sit on top of the tank.
The furthest I have gotten with the tank was setting up the rocks and sand and had my PH levels to were it was suppose to be. Now there is no water in the tank just the sand and rocks. My goal is to have a beautiful tank with Rocks/ Corals and fish.

The fish that I am trying to get would be anything that has lots of color and can survive with the Lion Fish (one of my must have) and reef safe fish. Fu Manchu.

My budget is $1000 to set this up. My time frame is to have it up and running with Fish in it by July 11th for my bday party. (plan on speeding up the cycling process )


1st question: Can I still use my rocks? I hope so cause i paid over $400 for them.
I know I probably need to change the sand but its no biggie.
Yep,You can use that dry rock,you'll just need to make sure to rinse them out good first.The same with the sand
2. I have lime build up on some parts of the tank. Other than vinegar and lime juice (didn't work) what is the most effective way to remove this
A razor blade will take it right off.
3. The skimmer and pump in the picture is what i have. Is that sufficient for that tank.
Do I need any additional pumps etc. My tank is not drilled but if it needs to be just let me know how to do it and I will do it.
Dont see any pic.
4.I would like to speed up my cycling process. From what I have read there are products available to do this. What are these products?
Sure you can do that,but its gonna put WAY over budget.You'll need at the very least,100lbs of CURED live rock from a local store and its got to be kept WET untill it gets into your tank.
5. Is there a setup where I can add everything at once and additions later while cycling or after cycling.
No such critter.
5.I need to know what I need/how to clean the tank. I remember at my old office they use to have two big containers with water to replenish the tank, and this long tube connected to hoses which was used to remove the algae etc. How do you make and maintain the water in the containers.
A 30 gallon rubber made trash can is perfect..You add the RO/DI water to the can,drop a powerhead and heater in,then add 1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water.Let that mix for at least 24 hours.
I have ton more questions so I will pause for now and get some feedback.:^:

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Hope that helps
 
I think that you have gotten some great advice here, and I hope that you will not let the folks saying that you can't, get you discouraged. You absolutely can build a beautiful tank with what you already have, and $1000, it is just going to take some patience on your part. Start by checking Craigslist everyday. People who are leaving the hobby and/or upgrading typically sell their equipment for quite a bit less than retail. You should be able to pick up a decent skimmer and set of lights that way, or on Ebay. Dont buy anything without getting some advice from the folks here. We can help you avoid spending too much on junk. You'll need to add to the base rock you already have, some LR to seed it, and your should ask your LFS for a scoop of their sand to seed yours. You should definately clean everything with vinegar and water if it wasn't stored in a way that protected it. Dont use soap or other chemicals. In addition to the lighting, and skimmer, you will also need to spend some cash on movement. Either power heads or you can plumb everything on one large pump, using a closed loop system. I would focus on those 3 issues. Once you have lighting, a skimmer, and water movement set up, you can evaluate the rest of your budget and needs list and plan accordingly. Also, plan on building a sump if you don't already have one. As far as your stocking goes, you have a long way to go before you will be able to keep any fish alive, but take your time and be patient and you will be glad you did. Also, I think you may want to reconsider the Lionfish. While they don't harm coral, they do eat any inverts or fish that they can fit in their mouth (The largest part of their body). Lions usually do better in a fish only tank with agressive fish. I'm not saying that you can't do it, but I think you will need to do A LOT of research to be successful.
 
Sorry, didn't notice in your original post that you already have a skimmer. The pics didn't come through. Try to reload them or tell us what you can about it. And Yote is right, You should be targeting between 100-150lbs of LR, including the base rock that you already have.
 
Thanks everyone for their great advise. I have taken pictures of what I have so you can assist me in what i need. When I bought the tank (was a previous saltwater setup) the owner gave me a bag of goodies I hope are still good.
Some of the items I am not exactly sure the correct name or what they are so if you could please let me know.

Picture 1 - 5 : I believe this is lighting. Its says ultra violet on it. I plugged it in but it doesn't work. I opened it and the connection to the bulbs are corroded and they broke off in my hand. Is it easy to repair or should i just buy a new one?
In picture #5 I found two pipes that I am assuming screws into the hole on the light tubing. I am not sure what/how lighting works. I am thinking the lighting everyone is talking about is not the underhood lighting. Please advise

Picture 6: I have no clue...filter/pump maybe, I doubt it :frustrat:

Picture 7 & 8 : I believe is a skimmer ???

Picture 9 & 10: I have no clue
 

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The first 5 pics are a UV sterilizer.Most of us dont run one,and the ones that do run em,hardly ever run them full time.Their supposed to good about keeping algae and diseases down.But they also kill good stuff like the pods and good bacteria.
#6 looks like part of an RO/DI system.
#7 & 8 looks like maybe a Turboflotor skimmer.Hook it and see if it works.
#9 & 10 looks like a wave maker/controller.
 

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your lighting is definitely going to need to be improved. That looks like just a single t 8 bulb which won't keep any coral alive. Everything else looks like a good starting point if it all works. I would focus on making sure that everything works, get some better lighting, Get some power heads for flow in the display, and some more LR to seed what you already have. I think you will be in good shape. I would set the U/V sterilizer and the wave maker aside righ now. You can learn how and if they both work later and use them if you think you need them.

Also, How did you build the stand for the tank? It looks like it's just sitting on plywood? It will weigh nearly 1000 lbs when it's full and will need sturdy support. Also, I think you are going to find that you did not leave enough room above the tank for the type of lighting fixture that most reef tanks require. It will be easier to fix now than after it's filled so look into that before you put water in it.
 
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there is some stuff called biozyme here that says it can cycle a tank in a week but im not sure if i would trust that only. if you dont buy corals right away the light would be fine for fish or live rock but it will not work for corals and i believe that that is a T-12 bulb if im not mistaken. they are outdated.
 

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