Possible 55 All-In-One?

[italipinos8]

Hey there,

I got an offer from a co-worker who wants to get rid of his 55 gallon freshwater tank. He would give me the tank, stand, and LED lighting all for $100. The stand is not an enclosed wood stand, just the metal frame.

Right now i have my biocube that is all-in-one and i love the maintenance of it. If i get the 55 gallon, would i be able to make a false wall on one end with the same setup of the biocube? At the moment i don't have a skimmer for my biocube but is it necessary to have one for a larger tank?

I would drill the tank and make a sump but i dont really have the money to buy a new stand for it. I was contemplating buying a new LED lighting system for biocube but not sure if i should get a larger tank with the LED lights.

Thoughts?

 

[marcah]

I would build your sump under the 55 you can get a good sized tank in those frames underneath, then what I have done before is actuall built a frame right around the metal frame and closed it in.. then all your stuff will be neatly closed away under the tank. all you would need is top and bottom rails around and 4 corner posts, then whatever wood you wish to wrap it with.. a skimmer ( which I would encourage you to get for the tank) can go right in the sump..

 

[italipinos8]

I would build your sump under the 55 you can get a good sized tank in those frames underneath, then what I have done before is actuall built a frame right around the metal frame and closed it in.. then all your stuff will be neatly closed away under the tank. all you would need is top and bottom rails around and 4 corner posts, then whatever wood you wish to wrap it with.. a skimmer ( which I would encourage you to get for the tank) can go right in the sump..

^^^ Never thought of that, good idea... I just figured out that he doesnt actually have LED lights. They are Solarmax Deep Blue lighting, which are T-5 lights. Not really supportable for SPS corals.

Do you think i should still take the tank?

 

[SarahSmile]

About the lights; I guess you have to realize what you are looking to achieve with your tank. Do you care about SPS corals? You will have to get a skimmer, a good one for your tank size is going to be around 150-200. Do you like the look of the stand? It's hard when going from an all in 1 system to 1 that is not. I had the same thing, that is why I contemplated getting the red sea max when i was upgrading from my biocube to a larger tank. If you like the look of the all in 1 then you may not love the metal open stand and the lights just sitting on top, so it depends if you are handy and can make a hood and do something with the stand to hide the sump.