New Tank Setup!!!

Hi…I’m new on here and this is my first post!!!
I just recently bought a 135 gallon tank complete setup with dual overflows from someone. It’s 72x24x18 and has dual overflows going into two sumps underneath that are connected with a pipe towards the bottom of each sump.
He has rock in one sump in various spots and the other sump has bio balls. I always thought those were not good to have because they just collect nitrates.
Question 1: Do I remove the bio balls?
I am looking to go with a 1 sump system. Hard piping the supply and returns into one sump and using one external Iwaki 100 for the return line.
Question 2: Will it be ok to come from each overflow supply with pipe and join them with a T and then go into the sump? And then is it ok to go from the Iwaki 100 and T that to both returns into the tank? Will that give me enough turn over? I am going to put valves everywhere and even a check valve.
Sorry that Question 2 was like 3 questions in one.
There are only 7 fish in the tank with live rock. The fish are pink tail trigger, Picasso trigger, huma huma trigger, a tang, a 3 stripe damsel, and a pair of gold striped maroon clowns.
Question 3: What is the best food for them and how often should I feed them?
I would like to add more fish and some soft corals eventually.
The lights – He has a Coralife PC light on there, it is still on, but I may be picking up a MH dual 250 and T5 fixture tomorrow.
Question 4: Will that light I am picking up be good for this tank with what’s in it now and what I want to put in it? I want to make sure I have the right lighting for fish and corals all at once.
Last 2 questions for now…I am sure there will be many more…
What should all the levels be at for Ph, Salinity, optimal Temp?
What additives do you or should I be putting in the tank? Like trace elements or calcium, etc…
Thank you in advance for all your help!!
Charlie

 

Welcome, I would feed frozen 3 times a week and the rest pellets, but it all depends on what is in there. Do not remove bio-balls. Lights are fine.

 

I am one of the old schools that like bioballs – as long as they are NOT submersed, the water must trickle over them.

Bringing the drains together in a tee is doable but will restrict the drains and probably cut your flow in half. The drains are designed to drop through x inch pipe, lets assume 1” – so bringing 2” of volume to one 1” pipe will cut the ability as if you had one drain..I would not advice it.

Food – depends on the fish and set up

Lighting – is this going to be a reef ? I am a fan of MH’s a two bulb 250 watt MH would do well for a reef. Describe your desired tanks set up and then we can go from there. But my knee-jerk is to pick up the fixture you mentioned...sounds like you did a bit of homework, good for you.

Parameters - check here: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=16 1979&aid=3355

 

Welcome Charlie,this is a great place for info.Sounds like your off to a good start equipment wise.You might want to give some thought to which direction you want to go with stocking the tank.Upgrading the lights to m/h will give you a lot of choices for corals that could be added but having three triggers in a reef could be a problem,inverts are a natural food source for them.I have read that some people keep the pink tail trigger in a large reefas they're one of the less aggressive ones.I don't have any personal experience with them,maybe some others will chime in,but I do know it's quite ajob to catch and remove a fish once the tank has been aquaskaped with rock.

 

My take on your questions:

1) I would endeavor to eventually get rid of the bio balls, but do it slowly over time. I would try to move to a Fish-Only With Live Rock (FOWLR) set up. You can slowly add live rock to the set up and then slowly remove the bio balls.

2) An Iwaki 100 is a monster pump for a 135. I wouldn't worry about turn over at all. What I would worry about is the overflows' ability to process the flow from the 100. So as long as the T that you bring the two overflows into does not constrict the flow then you should be good to go. For the return, splitting it into two for the return will not be an issue. Again, that Iwaki 100 has more than enough power for a 135.

3) Don't overfeed. Meaty foods will be good for the mix you've got. Get a variety. Now... you're talking about eventually getting soft corals, etc. The fish you've got won't mesh with many corals - the triggers.

4) Lighting. What you're talking about getting is overkill just for softies. You could easily keep LPS and SPS with a MH/T5 combo. If you're just looking for softies you could probably pick up a few T5s and be fine.

 

Sorry,just reread your post.As for your last two questions,I try to keep my salinity at 1.025,ph at 8.0-8.3,and temp between 77 and 80.If you just have fish in the tank you should't need any additives,most of the name brand salt mixes will give you good levels.I use Oceanic but there are many other good ones.It might be good to choose one that you know is availible to you locally unless you would rather buy online.If you stick to one brand of mix you know what it will give you.If you want to add corals down the road,it would be a good idea to get some tast kits and get used to using them to check levels for calcium,magnesium,and alkalinity,even though these levels aren't as important for fish only.Hope this helps,Dave

 

Please state a valid reason for this advice.

If bio balls have a drip tray with filter media there is zero chance for nitrate, if that is what you are thinking.

 

I agree. This is why in my post above I added the caviot that the bioballs must be above the water level so to have the water trickel over them.

Bioballs have been given a bad name over the years because people submersed them foolishly and caused an isse and blamed the balls rather then themselves.

 

welcome to 3reef!

 

1) To have enough bioballs for a stocked 135 you need significant room in your sump. The OP stated he wants to go to a single sump, meaining he is downsizing. I'd rather have either a smaller sump or more room for equipment.

2) You need to have the proper setup with drip tray, etc. No indication of whether this is the case here or not. If not then this could be easier said than done.

There are other reasons why I prefer live rock to bio balls, but those are the two that have the most relevance here.