First Saltwater Aquarium

cudamon

cudamon

Reefing newb
I've decided to switch from a freshwater aquarium to a saltwater aquarium. I have been operating a 125 gallon aquarium for a couple of years now. I've had a great opportunity to buy a 220 gallon aquarium that is currently running and functional. It has "live" sand and rock within it. The current owner had agreed to help me set it up at my house. One of the many questions I have has to do with the curing process for live rock. Do I have to re-clean the rock and go through a curing process for this already established rock? I've read several threads that mention this can be quite a smelly process. I was under the assumption I could just re-setup the aquarium with new saltwater and place the rock in it with no problems. If anyone could correct my thoughts or provide a better understanding of the process I may have to go through to set it up properly would be greatly appreciated.
 
The rock should be good to go, but I strongly urge that you replace the sand. There's all kind of nasty stuff that has settled in that sand that may cause problems early in your tanks development. The alternative is to spend hours rinsing & re-rinsing that old sand. Other than that, I'd just set it back up. Good Luck!!
 
moncapitane said:
Welcome and good luck on the setup. That is a massive tank. Is it a built in the wall or just on a stand?
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The tank is currently on a metal stand. I'm going to build a new wooden stand for it this weekend. The dimensions are 72"L x 24"W x 30"H. I figure the setup will take all day.
 
I dont, but I would be extremely paranoid about the stand collapsing. Just make sure you follow their specification on the wood. It would be horrible to have that all come crashing down
 
little_fish said:
I dont, but I would be extremely paranoid about the stand collapsing. Just make sure you follow their specification on the wood. It would be horrible to have that all come crashing down
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTmxG4N_V10]DIY 220gal tank stand - YouTube[/ame]

Check out the above link. I think I am going to do something very similar to this. I just got off of the phone with a buddy of mine and using 4x4's and 2x6 with 2.5-3.0 inch lag bolts will get the job done. $100 in pressure treated materials and some fine tuning and.....done! One one note though, I'd only use 3 4x4's per side to allow more access below for the sump / refugium.
 
Along with those lag bolts I would strongly suggest you set the joints with a Polyurethane, moisture cured glue. Its just that extra little step that could save you big headaches. Make sure you tape off both sides of the joint to catch any seepage as its difficult to put a finish over many of these products. Don't get it on your hands either.....unless you LIKE purple stains on your skin!!!!
 
Nonfamous said:
Along with those lag bolts I would strongly suggest you set the joints with a Polyurethane, moisture cured glue. Its just that extra little step that could save you big headaches. Make sure you tape off both sides of the joint to catch any seepage as its difficult to put a finish over many of these products. Don't get it on your hands either.....unless you LIKE purple stains on your skin!!!!
Click to expand...

A little too late for me now. I built it yesterday. It has 40 lag bolts holding it together along with deck screws for the 2x6 cross members. I only used 3 pressure treated 4x4's on the front and back to free up some space on the bottom for a sump.
 
wow..... I built my first stand and I felt that I over did it with using 2x4's to buld it..... either way that thing you have built will be strong for sure
 
Adam Picard said:
wow..... I built my first stand and I felt that I over did it with using 2x4's to buld it..... either way that thing you have built will be strong for sure
Click to expand...

I figured a little overkill would help me sleep at night. The last thing I want is 2600 pounds falling in my living room. $125 in materials isn't breaking the bank either. Plus, I decided not to use pressure treated 2x6's. I'll instead stain it and finish it with a sealer. I'll add doors to it at a later point to add a more aesthetic look to it.
 
By the way. I guess my secondary question would be this. During the first 4-6 weeks, the time I figure for cycling the tank, is it initially ok to fill the tank with pre-mixed salt water that has been dechlorinated? I would start doing water changes with RO/DI water after the cycle. I've heard it could cause algae blooms but not sure how bad.
 
I would start out with RODI. It takes a while to rid your tank of the nitrates that. One in tap water. They will acutally leach into the rock and sand then leach back out over time. Nitrates contributes to algae problems. You will be doing water changes to remove them for the life of your tank as it is!
 
As a quick update if anyone who decides to build a stand like this one, you may or may not be able to put the sump underneath it. The reasoning is this: the sump water volume I use is about 60 gallons, but the container will probably hold 90 or so gallons. Because of this size, I was unable to put it under the stand. I had to shorten the legs quite a bit to NOT fit the sump. Otherwise, I would have had to cut through the roof to install the aquarium and get on a ladder to feed any fish within it. But, the stand is solid and its holding all the water, new sand, and a couple hundred pounds of rock just fine. It will be a work in progress for a least another month. This will enable me to finish a new type of stand for the sump, purchase some LED lighting, and seal the top....since I would like to put a zebra eel in it. Ah, the two things projects take, time and money.
 

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