Tropical Fish Forums

Jay1982 · Regulars Joined: 19 Jul 2007

I just bought a used 90 gallon aquarium from a guy who is moving away. He also sold me

2 Jager 75W heaters
Seio M820 PowerHead
Pump (for sump) 700GPH
Exterior PowerHead (900GPH)
RO/DI system
35 pounds of Live rock from Fiji
35 pounds of Live Rock from (I forget, lol)
40 pounds of base rock

Now I've read up on some of the basics, but it just isn't sinking in. What else do I need? I would think a protein skimmer (any suggestion on which).
And as for filteration, will just having a sump work? And how big should that be?

Thanks!!

dale · Advisors Joined: 10 Jan 2005 Location: Abbotsford Canada

Hi Jay, Welcome to the salt water forums.

First, read the notices at the top of the salt water basics forum. After that give some thought to the type of tank you want to keep. Fish, corals, what kind? Your system requirements will be based on those choices. Asking someone to explain all the basics of SW aquarium keeping, when there is so much good info already available, is too much. It would help to do the homework and narrow things down a bit, asking more specific questions.
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Jay1982 · Regulars Joined: 19 Jul 2007

Thanks for the reply Dale, sometimes in the fresh water sections, I can go a few days with no answers, lol.

I had a look at the stickys, and I was going to start off by buying reefsafe fish (after the cycling process), and later on as the tank matured I would purchase corals. I already plan on getting the needed light fixtures for corals right off the bat.

And its not the basics of saltwater keeping that I would really need guidance on (I re-read my 1st post and it wasn't what I wanted to write). I'm sure that I've grasped the basics (hopefully). But more about specific questions. Like the sump. Obviously I can't possibly over-filter.
However I was wonderingg if I could use an empty 10 gallon with live rock in it as a good sump? Or could I use a plastic container that would be able to hold more water/rocks.

Michael L.

I would use something bigger than 10 gallons for a sump on a 90 gallon. When my sump pump turns off in my 90 gallon, more than 5 gallons of water runs down from the overflow. This would mean that I could only run a 10 gallon sump less than half full at any given time in case I ever had a power failure. I also lose about 5 gallons of water a day from evaporation, so I would quickly lose my return pump from running dry. I would also not be able to run a protein skimmer in that depth of water.

On my setup, my sump is about 40 gallons. This allows me to run a skimmer, account for overflow water when the return pump is off, and gives me some wiggle room with evaporation.

I also would be weary about using a rubbermaid sump. Some people use 100 gallon feed containers from sumps, but these are designed specifically for animal feed (meaning they are very sturdy) and they are round in shape so that can handle more weight. I use 40 gallon rubbermaids to hold RODI water and they tend to crack after about a year of holding water. They just aren't designed to hold 300+ pounds of water 24 hours a day.

I suggest you look through your local classifieds for a used 30-40 gallon tank (the bigger the better) to use as a sump. Silicone in some baffles and you will be ready to go.
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Jay1982 · Regulars Joined: 19 Jul 2007

Thanks Michael, I was actually googling that last night and came up with a 30-50 gallon range. I've found some cheap aquarium, and will be using one of those. My next question is though, what do I use as baffles? I've read of people using acrylic, where would I get this? Home Depot? And will silicone do? Or is there something that adheres (sp?) better?

FloridaBoy · Moderators Joined: 04 Jul 2004

Everything you ever wanted to know about sumps...
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
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Jay1982 · Regulars Joined: 19 Jul 2007

Thanks, I had a read, and I'm ready to get started. 2 things now:

I bought a 65 gallon aquarium for the sump, it fits with a lot of extra room under the aquarium. I got the aquarium for 20 bucks, the reason its cheap was that it had a crack on the top of the aquarium near the rim on the side wall and it was doesn't look like it'll crack anymore. To be safe I'll be putting silcone all over that area to help strengthen it, and I won't be filling it anywhere near that height. AM I RIGHT in thinking this will be OK?

Secondly, I've recieved a used overflow box with the plumbing. However, this guy put two tubes going opposite directions going downwards. I'm assuming he did this because he was running 2 sumps. So do I just saw one off and block it?

Michael L.

Definitely do NOT saw off the extra line. This overflow has multiple lines so that it can handle a greater volume of water flowing down it. You will want all the capacity possible when using a HOB overflow.
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Jay1982 · Regulars Joined: 19 Jul 2007

lol, good thing I know better than to trust LFS advice. I'm confused though as to where the water goes concerning the other tube, from the looks of it, its that he either had it going into another sump, or somewhere completely different.

And there wasn't a response about the cracked aquarium, so I'm assuming that its OK?

Michael L.

Run both of them to your sump. If you choose to run a remote refugium, you can also plumb one of them to that.

I would have to see the cracked aquarium to tell you if it is safe. I would not use it though as a general rule. There is too good of a chance that it will crack, which can be a death sentence for an aquarium. If you still wish to use it, I woudl recommend getting a piece of glass cut about the size of the crack (maybe a bit bigger), smearing it with a thick layer of silicone, and sticking it on to the crack like a patch. This would probably provide way more support than just some silicone. Remember that the crack is probably going to spread eventually, and it is not easy to empty a running sump.
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