Used Aquarium

Josh7831 · #1 03-19-2012, 01:40 AM

Hey guys,

I have just recently purchased a second hand 130g aquarium and sump with stand & Canopy for $400.

The previous owner has had it going for 10 years but had to tear it down, should i look at re sealing it or should it be fine?

Also there is three holes drilled in the tank one in each top corner of the back panel and 1 in the dead centre of the back panel. He used the top two for his overflow to the sump, and the middle one as a drain for doing water changes. Because of how i am setting this up i cannot have an automatic water changing drain so i am wondering if i can use it to plumb in my return from pump is this a bad position for a return pump? i notice a lot of people have it return at the top of the tank is there a reason for that?

Any suggestions on where to go to get more knowledge on effective plumbing systems would be great.

Thanks

Josh

AaronH · #2 03-19-2012, 01:57 AM

The only problem with having your return at a lower point in the tank is that if your pump fails or you loose power all the water to that point will siphon back to your sump unless you use a check valve somewhere in your return line.
I could be wrong I'm also pretty new to the whole saltwater adventure

subman · #3 03-19-2012, 02:15 AM

That's exactly it. In the case of a power outage you don't want your tank to empty onto the floor.

IMO the tank should be fine as is but I always do a test fill on tanks in a place that can get wet ie. garage, lawn ect. just in case something is weak and gets weaker during the move.

tim the toolman · #4 03-19-2012, 03:07 AM

Check valve and you should be fine. Just remember when calculating for a return pump you will lose some flow rate due to the check valve, but not a large percentage.
Seal should be fine, but if you want peace of mind it never hurts to use the opportunity to reseal an older tank, who knows how long before you get this chance again.

subman · #5 03-19-2012, 03:22 AM

sorry mis-read your post. check valve and good to go! as tim said

Josh7831 · #6 03-19-2012, 04:53 AM

The tank came with a 2000gph pump, i am not sure if that would be way to strong considering im using two 1" overflow pipes, and it only has 4' head.

It also came with a four stage modular filter, mechanical, chemical, heater & UV light, should i use this? can that be setup to the 2000gph pump?

so it would be, Sump>4pt filter>check valve>tank?

theres so many parts that came with this and im very new

Thanks guys!

Josh

tim the toolman · #7 03-19-2012, 05:06 AM

Definitely not too much flow. I am using a 3200gph return and would consider going bigger once this one craps out. I just used locline and a splitter to make my 2 return lines put out from 4 points.

Josh7831 · #8 03-19-2012, 05:11 AM

Not too much flow for the filtration system?

I thought i red that 1" pipe would be about 600 gph, so 2 of them is 1200 if im using a 2000gph pump back to the tank would that not overflow my tank? or am i miss informed.

thanks

lockrookie · #9 03-19-2012, 05:14 AM

if you plan your plumbing is such a way that the return in behind the tank goes higher than the water level from sump then back down to the centre hole you can use a T and instal a hose for syphon break simular to what i did on my 50g my return is lower in the tank.. if you need ore pics just ask