# Starting over with reef tank AGAIN... updated sunday



## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

So as some of you know my tank decided to boil itself awhile ago, all my lps died, most of my softies died, and half my fish died

after the boiling i got plagued with all sorts of wierd algae

but to be honest... i should have started fresh with this tank before i set it up, i had a bristle worm and brittle star infestation, as well as majano anemones and the usual aiptasia

Today when i got home from work first thing i did was move all the livestock to my 72 and moved my leftover corals to a rubbermaid (dont want to infest my 72 with anything) and put all the liverock in a rubbermaid to dry up and die.

next im going to tear out all the plumbing and re drill my tank with 2 more holes along the top so i can run 2 drains, 1 fully submerged on a ball valve and 1 as a backup overflow, im going to run a external 1200gph (at 3ft) pump
going to 2 bulkheads with locline assemblies.

as the tank sits it has a corner overflow with 2x 1" bulkheads

i plan on cutting the plastic center brace and replacing it with a glass one aswell so some light can get through although im going to double check and see if i have enough glass laying around to do a eurobrace

the liverock, livestock, and corals for the 55 will be coming out of my 72 as it is good and alive and once im done im going to rescape my 72 with what is left

for my sump i have a wet dry 25g acryilic that im thinking about changing out if i can fit my other one in the cabinet, atm its filled with crushed coral and billions of stupid copepods

circulation im using 3 korilia's, unsure of size tho

sand: basically powder

lighting: dual vho pc attinic + single 400w metal halide

skimmer: none atm, possibly one thats rated for 300gallons if i can fit it in the system somewhere









empty and soon to be drained









30$ in sand (my price) it is 2 bags of sugar sized sand








(dual 400watt balasts) ill only be using one side of the balast)


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

Update.....


broke the tank moving it...

im hoping i can get the corner overflow out so i can reuse it 
plan is to buy a new 55, drill all the holes.... again.... move all the plumbing over after buying bulkheads.... again... and paint the back of the tank black.... again and install the corner overflow.... again


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

**** sorry to hear that man.

And watch out for that live rock, you'd be surprised how long it takes for the stuff to actually die off.

Hope you find a cheap tank on here dude...

Cheers,
Chris


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

effox said:


> **** sorry to hear that man.
> 
> And watch out for that live rock, you'd be surprised how long it takes for the stuff to actually die off.
> 
> ...


ive got about 100lbs of dead liverock sitting on the back deck dried up in rubbermaids, i usually leave it for a few months before it goes back into a tank

and it has all been soaked in boiling hot water


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

good news is i picked up a 14g biocube with stand, ro setup, brand new phosban reactor, brand new bucket of salt and a whole bunch of other stuff for 125$ today


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

spit.fire said:


> Update.....
> broke the tank moving it...


Must be frustrating


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

gklaw said:


> Must be frustrating


yes and no, at first i was kind of ticked off because of all the hours i put into drilling, plumbing, driving around finding plumbing parts etc, but now that i think about it i can start over with a braceless tank which will be nicer for my halides


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

although i cant get the sound of the glass breaking out of my head


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Think Hagen :lol:

Seriously, they are super nice tank. All tanks should be made like Hagen used to!


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

so i started over with a tank i had laying around, a leaky tank, with ugly trim
i started out by pulling the trim off to realize that the tank was made out of 3/8 instead of 1/4 like the one i broke which worked out perfectly because it has no center brace like i wanted and it has all polished edges

after pulling the corner overflow out of my 55 i realized the tank i was dealing with was not a 55, it is a 50 so my corner overflow doesnt work on it (ps if anyone wants to by a plastic corner overflow let me know)

so ive decided to go with the same style overflow as i did on my 100g freshwater tank

heres a pic of the overflow on my freshwater, the box is 6'' x 6'' x i dunno tall









old corner overflow (for sale, cheep cheep)









pile of broken tempered glass after trying 5 different pieces trying to make my corner overflow(none of them were marked)









tank pulled apart after drilling to be resealed with black silicone

































biocube i bought after breaking the tank last night... paid 150 and it came with 3 korilias, phosban reactor, a full unopened bucket of salt, and alot more goodies
unfortunately my biocube skimmer doesnt fit in it


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