Setting up a 150g tank for the second time

[SKNR]

Ok just getting started here for the second time, will explain in a min. This is my first saltwater tank, have had a FW for about 11 years gave it to my nephew since i figured this tank would take most of my time

Purchase 150g tank stand hood and wet/dry filter from person I bought my house from (2 years ago)

2 years later finished my home remodel (mostly) so moved tank inside house, now I know why when he sold the tank to me as he did not want to move it. (heavy)

Set up the tank quickly as wife wanted it filled as she was having a party soon and did not want to have the tank just sitting there, good reason to buy 150lbs of live rock
Tank was looking nice as the sand was settling. Two days later got home and wife found water on the floor not alot but some. Had to take apart and put rock in a plastic trash can.

Having tank resealed and should be getting back this week. So this time I do not have to rush so want to take my time setting up the tank.

Questions:
1. Taking out wet/dry as it has crack in it. Is a 30 gallon sump good enough for a 150 gallon tank? Was thinking of adding a 10g refugium as well, should I do this or have the refugium part of the 30 gallon tank?

2. When stacking rock can I have it touching the back of the tank and the overflow boxes? I have heard most people do as they let the coaline grow there but unsure as I would think I should keep the back glass clean as well.

3. When stacking rock other than just wiggling them till they are stable, is there any method used to make the stabler for larger openings and shelves. Glue or something.

4. For my return pump I have a little giant external pump, but am thinking of switching to an submersible as I did not want to drill or think i could drill a 30 gallon tank(sump). Is Ehiem a good brand of pump, heard a lot of threads on Mags.

Sorry for the all the questions and the long thread, just getting excited since I only had two days to look at my tank set up and then had to take it down. Took some pics of it set up I can place them if anyone is interested.

[MissT]

Welcome to MAAST!

1. The 30 should be enough volume, but it being "big" enough is relative to how you set it up, what skimmer yo use, etc... and I would probably do a seperate fuge

2. That's pretty much up to you. A lot of people let the back glass grow coraline algae and others even glue frags to the back and on the overflow boxes and just clean the front and side panes of glass

3. There is underwater epoxy you can use to "glue" the rocks together, but some people use acrylic rods for trickier structures, see lhoy's build thread for more on that, or send him a PM, I'm sure he'd be glad to offer up some advice on what he did

4. You'll get a lot of varied opinions on the Mag pumps, but I'm using one on my setup and it works really well for me. The general consensus on the Eheim pumps seems to be overall great. They run quiet and cooler than most submersibles.

Please don't apologize for asking questions, there are a lot of people here to help, and pictures are ALWAYS welcome, and often demanded LOL!

[SKNR]

Thanks for the info, looks like i am going with a 30 gallon sump and then another tank for the fuge (unsure what size at this point). checked the bank account and will be going with my old pump until it goes out, then i will prob be going with the Mag 18.

What about a skimmer any one in particular that you would recommend or not recommend.

Will be getting a RO unit as my wife wants one, so are the ones at HD/Lowes good. I will be putting a Y so I can go to the refrigerator and a hose to fill up buckets for water changes. Is is safe to have a water softner hooked up as well?

[MissT]

I don't think HD or Lowes has one that produces more than like 20 gallons per day, I'd reccommend getting one that's at least 75GPD; preferably 100. It's no fin having to wait 6 hours to top off your tank!

EuroReefs are excellent skimmers for the price. CoraLife Super Skimmers are decent and inexpensive entry level skimmers, but I've heard of people having issues with getting them "dialed in".

[SKNR]

Here is a pic of what my tank looked like filled with rock and sand

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii97/SKNR74/postpic.jpg

here it is with the lights off, the canopy was not on yet so i used the florescent light to the left of the tank in the pic above.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii97/SKNR74/postpic2.jpg


And here is what it looked like two days later, sand water and rock replaced with a orange HD bucket.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii97/SKNR74/postpic3.jpg

[SKNR]

Thanks MissT, for all the great information.. Will keep you posted. purchased my 30 gallon today and Ace is going to drill it for me to run my little giant externally.

[Rychek]

That is a nice looking tank and stand SKNR. I wish mine looked that good.

[stoneroller]

A water softener will allow your RO membrane to last longer.

[SKNR]

thanks for the compliment on the tank Rychek, I should get it back tomorrow, did some mods to the stand, did not like the opening in the front could not get anything in or out. So I beefed up the frame and took two of the stiles out. Now I should be able to get my 30 gallon sump in with no prob.

Thanks for the info on the water softener stoneroller, I should have the installed with the RO system this weekend. My wife wants one so with it I will purchase the RO system.
Love it when something she wants helps me get closer to getting my tank set up.

Will post some pics of the stand soon.

[reeferRob]

I've been using the same 30g sump and Eheim 1262 for 2 years on my 180, I have a 90 sump I just need to get it installed. But for a sub pump Eheim is great.

[SKNR]

Update,
got my tank back yesterday,
made some modifications to the stand in anticipation of getting my tank back

Reinforced the stand so that I could take two of the three supports off the front to allow easier access to install sump and other equipment. Also placed a 1/2 inch pink foam the kind used for exterior insulation between the stand and the tank. The tank sits snuggly on the insulation all the way around except for about 2-3 feet, there is about a 1/16 to 1/8 gap. I can move the insulation up and down. Being as I had a leak in this tank and just got it back, should I be concerned. I have about 175 lbs of live rock and will put in approx 100 lbs of sand to put in the tank. Will the gap close with the weight of the rock, sand and water? Looking to avoid the possibility of putting stress on the tank at the seams, and causing a leak.