# Need Help putting my equipment together



## phongt86 (Feb 25, 2010)

i just got all this stuff for a salt water aquarium for free. very interested in taking care of a s/w aquarium.
im ask for help for the following things. i dont know how many gallon it is but its like the same length but wider then my 55 gallon

1 putting all these things together 
2 what other things i need to buy (dont have any salt or water testing equipment nothing! any suggestion?) 
3 how to take care of one

desperate need in help with my new addiction
thanks


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

Wow. Ok, you have some nice equipment. You also appear to be missing some equipment. Do you have an overflow box?

Your sump has a return pump with 2 returns on a ball valve. This is fine. Getting the water to the sump will require an overflow, which hopefully you have. If not, you can order one online.

The sump is a very old design without baffles for water regulation. You may want to gut the sump and then glue in baffles. More information on sumps here: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/member-submitted-articles/understanding-sumps-15930/

You have 2 protein skimmers, both simple counter current models, with a venturi for mixing air with water. You did not post pictures of the water pumps that power the protein skimmers. Do you have them yet? The skimmers will sit in the large chamber insider the sump, which won't leave much room for the return pump. This is another reason to modify the sump, because it is currently set up to perform more as a biological filter, which is really a freshwater filter. More on that here: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...-filtration-101-how-differs-freshwater-31955/

Your lighting looks very nice. Wake can provide more details on the specifics. He has more background with different light fixtures.

The concept of marine aquarium filtration is to create a natural system that processes or removes waste without introducing any harmful byproducts. This is accomplish with a protein skimmer, live rock, and live sand. I do not see any rock or sand pictured above, so you would benefit from Marco Rocks The finest aquarium rock available, base rock, live rock, reef rock, marco rock, reef tank saltwater fish, live corals, Marco rocks, Fiji live rock, Tonga Live rock. They are a dry rock supplier. Dry rock can be used to create your reef structure, and can be seeded with 8 to 10 pounds of actual live rock. I would suggest ordering this package 75 Pounds Key Largo Rock, <br>160 Pounds Bahamas Aragonite Sand<BR>pay shipping on rock only - KL75-160. This will give you enough rock to get started and enough sand for the proper sand bed depth of 4'' to 6'' that you want in a marine aquarium.

Hopefully this helps. I have no idea what your background in the hobby is. If any of the concepts are confusing just ask. It would also benefit greatly if you would read some of the "build" threads in our Pictures&Videos area. This is the easiest way to visualize what you are trying to accomplish.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

For free, you got it all for free? Score.


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## phongt86 (Feb 25, 2010)

yea i got it for free. so do i use both skimmer? thanks for the good info


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## phongt86 (Feb 25, 2010)

the other pump dont know where it goes and dont know how to set up my sump


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

For help setting up your sump you are going to need to do some research. If you read other build threads and see sumps in action, and read the link I gave you above on sumps, then setting it up will be rather easy. It is extremely difficult to explain on a forum, primarily because a lack of understanding stems from vocabulary and technique terms that you have yet to have exposure to. Reading a few of these articles will give you this background and limit your questions to very specific details. 

One thing I will tell you, the picture above is not how to set up a sump in a saltwater aquarium. You do not want to use drip trays and bioballs.


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

Can you post a pic of the underside of the lights (on & off). Thanks


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