Purchased this on Craigslist... Help a newbie out... (90 gallon saltwater)

So I've wanted a saltwater aquarium for some time. I just so happened to be looking on Craigslist this past sunday and found this. 90 gallon tank, stand, and supplies for 200 bux. The stand is an R&J ENTERPRISES signature series oak 48X18. Not sure about the tank. It's 3/8" glass, 48"X25"X18". Pro Clear Aquatics model 125 wet dry filter. Danner Mag-Drive Supreme 7 700 GPH Water Pump. Another smaller mag-drive pump that just says "model 1200L/H submirsable pump" on the tag. A marineland penguil 660 pump. Plus lots of odds and ends. I guess I'm looking for some help with setting this up (book or good documentation), and if I have a pretty good start on the equipment part of the equation. Not trying to impose or looking to have my hand heald, just some info from people with light years more experience on this subject than myself.

Found out when I went to pick this up that the seller got this in a storage locker auction. It was under a tarp in the back of the locker and he didn't know what it was. Bought the locker for the items he could see, so this was just extra. Can't say that I don't feel a bit guilty for getting someones stuff for such a steal.

Thanks, and fire away with questions.

-Michael

 

Ditch that wet/dry filter and build a 29 gallon refugium go with a 4-6 inch sand bed in the display and refugium and for lights build or buy a canopy and get 2 of these Odyssea Metal Halide Pendant its gonna be the cheapest lighting for that size of tank. If you need to get the basics of reef keeping then i suggest watching New York Sleelo"s videos on YouTube.

 

I agree with not using the bio-balls, but you still may be able to use that as a sump. Ideally you want a sump that has 3 chambers. One for inlet/protein skimmer, one for a refugium, and one for the return pump.

It looks like the tank was setup for freshwater, which is fine. But all of the items in the second to last picture are useless to you and likely no good anyways.

You could use that smaller mag drive pump to run a reactor for carbon, GFO, or another media.

For a sandbed, I would stay around 1". Do not go with a deep sand bed of 4-6". That is just asking for trouble IMO.

What are you looking to keep for fish? How about corals?

 

I'm with Marshall on the deep sand bed thing, I wouldn't do it, I sort of feel that is almost as old school as the wet to dry filter used in SW/reef keeping.
Dont use the wet/dry either.

YOu have a drilled bottom/Reef ready tank - BIG PLUS!

My advice is don't try and set this up/finalize things yet until you have a really good handle on sumps, etc.
I'm the king of using Large/think plastic containers as sumps- I use a 50g Rubbermaid for my current 125 Reef. I won't bore you with the video on it, or lots of others I have.

There is a lot of info out there- good info. spend some time doing a little research, etc.
It will save you time/money, and most importantly, possibly preserve some livestock life.

Kudo's for coming to this site, and asking for some help. Many people here willing and eager to coach/post/talk you through a variety of things.- It's a Great site.

Welcome to 3 reef- we'll keep an eye out on your build.

I'm about to go to the scholars here myself again soon, when I get close to transferring everything in my current 125Reef, - to my new 180g Reef!

Check out my DT vid in my sig!

 

First off, welcome to 3reef. This is a rewarding hobby once you have everything going the way you need. Don't get hasty and just jump in. Do your research, and ask many questions.

First question you should ask yourself: What kind of tank do you want? Reef, or FOWLR (Fish only with Live Rock)? These are the 2 main SW setups. It changes a bit if you go with a predator tank.

Let us know what setup you are wanting, and then we can more accurately inform you. There are many of us that can help you with the info you need to get going.

+1 K for starting out here.

 

+2 on sump and skimmer!

Don't skimp on lighting or the skimmer.. it will be better in the long run.

Take your time and RESEARCH! Even if you don't set it up for a while, it is always better to formulate a plan and then proceed slowly!

 

Welcome to 3reef!!!
+3 on the sump, skimmer and the 1" sand bed.

To keep your costs down in the long run, you may want to look into to LEDs instead of MH. With MH you have to change the bulbs every 6 to 8 months at a price tag of 60 to 120 depending on the bulb, with LED its every 10yr I heard.

+k for asking questions, before jumping into anything. Also you may want to wash the tank out with vinegar (correct me if I am wrong reefers) just in case any copper based meds was used.

 

Vinegar is the safest way I know. I soaked some rags in vinegar and laid them on glass to remove calcium stains. Oh, don't forget to test your tank for leaks


Just be sure to rinse the tank real well before you fill it with saltwater.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Lots to think about!

To answer Zgetman's question, I'd like to set up a FOWLR (new term for me) tank. Seems like a good place to start.

As far as lighting, Wow, there's a lot out there. Came across this when looking at lights for 48" tanks.

48 Inch Coralife Lunar Aqualight T5 Lamp High Output Fixture:

Found the same thing on Amazon for 228 shipped. Opinions? Good/bad?

I've also looked into getting a reverse osmosis water system as I live in a house supplied by well water. Necessary? If so, would something like THIS suffice?

And as many have suggested, I'm in no hurry. If it takes several months to get this going, I'm fine with that.

So, If my plans are setting up a FOWLR tank, I've got suggestions/questions on lighting, questions about the water (RO?), ~1 inch sand bed.... Next I should start looking into the skimmer and sump, correct?

Again, thanks again for all of your help with this!

Oh, BoB123 mentioned building or buying a canopy.. This has one already, forgot to post the pic...

 

I'd second the LED option as well for lighting. You won't pay a lot in electric bills to run it. A tank your size will show a change in that monthly electric bill. Halides will definitely raise it a lot more than LED's.