First Tank Options

[camps23]

Hi all,
I am brand new to the site but have been browsing for the last few weeks. I am looking to get started into this great hobby. I am in the market for a tank anywhere from 50-75 gallons. I was looking at new but have stumbled on alot of used stuff for good prices. I have a few I have been looking at and was hoping for some honest advice from everyone. My plan is to setup a reef tank with 4-7 fish i guess depending on what size tank I end up with. Here are some of the used options I have found. Thanks



75 gallon salt water aquarium
Tank is totally set
6 stage Reverse Osmosis System
Beautiful Salt Water Fish Tank
Fluval 305 Filter
2 x Power Heads
Pail of Salt
6 bulb t5 light fixture
coral fish an inverts
digital thermometer
heater
test kits
Some other misc stuff (filters, cleaning stuff, dry foods, etc)
Lots of Live Rock
Lots of Live Sand
I have a lot more time and money into this than what I am asking for.
All the best stuff is used. Tank is totally set up. No need to wait or setup.
Tank is awesome,
Sad to see it for sale

coral fish an inverts
Yellow Tang
Blue Green Chromis
hawkfish

 

[camps23]

75 gallon tank

aqua c remora hang on skimmer

aqua clear 500 home made refugium

250 watt Metal Halide ice cap ballast with Pendant fixture

200 watt heater

80lbs of live sand

80lbs of Live Rock


Corals:

about 4-5 types of Mushrooms

Pulsing Xenia

Candy cane coral

Polyps

button polyps

leather hand coral

frogspawn

hammer coral

closed brain coral



Livestock:

pair of black ocellaris clowns

1 orange ocellaris clown

lots of blue leg hermits and snails

lots of bristle stars in the live rock

plenty of feather dusters and other life on the rock

sponges

lots of coraline algae (purple)

Also included salt water test kits, reef roids coral food, joes juice, refractometre, 1/3 bucket of instant oceans salt, purple up

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome

Those both look like a great buys, but you will for sure need to add more rock on the first one. Also be sure the lights are actually what they say they are. Make sure the light has individual reflectors for all the bulbs.

You also wont need the filter, so you can sell that off.

How much are they selling it for?

 

[camps23]

EVERYTHING YOU NEED. I have my 65 gallon tall glass aquarium. It has a oak stand and glass canopy. everything you need is here just move it and enjoy.
Tank is 65 gallon tall so you only need 3 feet by 3 feet to set it up. Tank is only 1 year old.
Lighting- 36" aquatic life light bar. has 2 attinic and 2 10000k day light bulbs and 8 moon lights. Built in programable timer with 1 power cord for the entire light.
Filtration- Wet/Dry trickle filter with a sea clone Protein skimmer. no pump for this system. I am running a 110 hangon the back filter. RED SEA 75 hangon protein skimmer. Two little fishes phosban reactor. UV Sterilizer. I have other protein skimmers that will work as well. 3 hydroa power heads all #3.
Fish- 2 pajama cardinals, 1 Australian Clarkii, 1 Hawaian cole tang, 4 neon blue damsels, 1 red bali damsel.
Coral and Rock- there is about 35 pounds of live rock, there are some soft corals like mushrooms, and a leather.
Extras- i have 1/2 bucket of salt, test kits, hydromiters, buckets for water, lots of stuff you need to operate.

 

[little_fish]

EVERYTHING YOU NEED. I have my 65 gallon tall glass aquarium. It has a oak stand and glass canopy. everything you need is here just move it and enjoy.
Tank is 65 gallon tall so you only need 3 feet by 3 feet to set it up. Tank is only 1 year old.
Lighting- 36" aquatic life light bar. has 2 attinic and 2 10000k day light bulbs and 8 moon lights. Built in programable timer with 1 power cord for the entire light.
Filtration- Wet/Dry trickle filter with a sea clone Protein skimmer. no pump for this system. I am running a 110 hangon the back filter. RED SEA 75 hangon protein skimmer. Two little fishes phosban reactor. UV Sterilizer. I have other protein skimmers that will work as well. 3 hydroa power heads all #3.
Fish- 2 pajama cardinals, 1 Australian Clarkii, 1 Hawaian cole tang, 4 neon blue damsels, 1 red bali damsel.
Coral and Rock- there is about 35 pounds of live rock, there are some soft corals like mushrooms, and a leather.
Extras- i have 1/2 bucket of salt, test kits, hydromiters, buckets for water, lots of stuff you need to operate.

the other two are better options IMO

 

[camps23]

The first 75 gallon is 600
The second 75 gallon is 1300
The third 65 gallon is 600 as well

 

[little_fish]

the first one is a steal then, especially if those lights are what they say they are. The lights alone would retail for around $400

 

[camps23]

Why wouldnt I need the filters ? The 65 gallons lighting system is supposedly worth 500 dollars new, is this a nice setup ?

 

[little_fish]

its a very nice set up.

And the filter is a freshwater invention that translates very poorly to saltwater. Unless they are cleaned every 3 or 4 days, the stuff that they have filtered will rot and be released back into the water column essentially doing nothing. So you can just sell it off.

 

[little_fish]

I would say the only thing you are going to need to add is some more powerheads, you want lots of flow in a marine tank (15-20 times the volume of your tank turned over per hour).

A protein skimmer can take the place of the filter, it a much better option anyways.

 

[camps23]

Ok I was leaning towards the first 75 gallon and now with what you say about the lighting I am going to check this setup out tomorrow. If I wont be using that filter what else would I need to buy to have this running smoothly ? Also how do you go about moving a tank like this without upsetting the whole eco system or should I just drain it and start fresh ? Here are a few more pics of the first tank.

 

[camps23]

What exactly is the 6 stage Reverse Osmosis System

 

[little_fish]

you are going to need more rock, the best and cheapest place to buy dry rock IMO is marcorocks.com.

I will also bet you are going to need a few more powerheads as well.

You could also add a HOB protein skimmer. The best for the money are the reef octopus skimmers. You want to get one rated for twice your water volume. This doesn not need to be on their right away, but you will find it to be a handy tool in keeping up your water quality.

I would also ask when they replaced the bulbs last, t5 bulbs need to be replaces yearly.

To move the tank, i would suggest getting many 5 gal buckets. distribute the live rock amongst the buckets and then fill with water. Save a few buckets just for the fish. I would line the buckets with plastic bags and then tie them up to lessen the leaking and inevitable mess. Do have some new water made up and ready to go.

I would chuck the sand or make sure you rise it really well before putting it back in the tank. It also doesnt need to go back in the tank right away. I personally would get the rock in there, your fish add the new dry rock and then put the sand back. To rinse the sand, put it in a bucket, put the hose in the bucket and let the water run over. Stir the sand around until the water comes off clean. All the stuff that floats away is stuff you dont want floating around your tank, it can cause it to recycle which is really bad if you already have live stock in there.

If you are not in love with the live stock, i would return them to the store so that way you can let your tank cycle properly. But if you want to hold onto them make sure you are testing daily. Also be sure you have water made up for a water change incase you see any ammonia or nitrites. Remember, saltwater needs to sit for 24 hours with a powerhead in it before you can use it in a water change. Newly made saltwater is very caustic and damaging to coral flesh and fish gills.

 

[little_fish]

That is the machine that makes RO/DI water. When you are making up your saltwater, you do not want to use tap water. Tap is full of nasty things that are toxic to inverts and fuels algae. A RO/DI filter like that removes everything so its just pure water, which is what you should be making your saltwater from.

Also, ask them when they last changed the filter on that too. They usually need to be changed every 6 months. The best way to tell though is to get a TDS meter. You can get on for $10-$15 of the internet (be sure to get the calibrating fluid), and it should read less than 10ppm. If you have a higher number, you know its time to change the filter

 

[Smitty]

Welcome to the site.

 

[camps23]

Thanks

 

[camps23]

Hi guys, I know when I asked what else I would need for the first setup I posted and the response was get rid of the canister filter and get a protein filter. Is that a protein filter hanging on the back of the tank in the pics attached ? Thanks.
What advantages will I see if I eventually setup this tank for the whole overflow/sump setup? Supposedly the owner has been running this tank for a year without any issues.

 

[little_fish]

Nope that thing is a mechanical filter. The problem with mechanical filters is that they just let stuff rot in the water flow, so when it breaks down into smaller chemicals, they just float right back out.

A protein skimmer completely removes them from the water. It bubbles the particles into a cup that you can just rinse out. A really great protein skimmer is the reef octopus skimmers. Be wary of cheap skimmer, skimmer are a "you get what you paid for" product.

Sumps are necessary but they are really handy. More water volume is always better, it takes longer for things to go bad, more water to dilute out mistakes. It also give you a place to put equipment, like skimmers or heaters, and you can also create a refuge. A refuge is a place for macro algae to grow, keeping it from growing in your display tank. It also gives pods a place to live and breed in peace, and they can also be washed out into the main tank for the fish to eat.

 

[camps23]

Whats your suggestion for a HOB protein skimmer as the system has no sump

 

[little_fish]

reef octopus is an awesome brand! As with all skimmers, get one rated for twice your tank volume