Cheryl P. Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 Last night I brought home a 220 gallon tank and stand that someone was selling for stupid cheap. Right now it's sitting in my garage full of water to make sure there's no leaks. We're going to be doing a facelift on the stand to pretty it up. This is my first time buying a 2nd hand tank so my first question is, how long should I leave it filled up before I can be reasonably sure that the seals are good? My biggest tank now is 90 gallons that I have running with HOBs. I've never dealt with canisters or sumps. The 220 did come with a sump tank but it looks dicey (cracked rims) and I'm not really sure I want to go down the sump path. So I have a couple of questions here. What filtration should I be looking at? I'm not entirely sure what we're going to put in the tank. Right now I have a common pleco that will definitely be going in. I'm leaning towards an oscar and some blood parrots but that might change. We are certain we want to put big fish into it though. I would love to get away with something cheap like sponge filters but I don't know if that's going to cut it. I'm thinking an FX6 would be able to handle whatever I want to put in there but this is new territory for me. The tank has 2 bulkheads in the upper right corner. They have cut off pieces of PVC glued into them. I imagine getting those pieces of PVC out of bulkheads is going to be hard so we're considering removing them completely and replacing them. I don't think I'm going to use them so we'll probably just install new bulkheads and cap them. Is that the best way to go about it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 You can use the bulk heads with a canister if you don’t want to deal with the sump. If the tank holds water for the next couple of days you should be good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Blake Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 As far as the sit time I think you are fine with a few days in the garage but you can do it for as long as you want. On my 300 I run an fx4 but I will probably be upgrading before to long. Here are some options I would go with sump because they can be great if you like to tinker with it and get the most bang for your buck in my opinion. A canister filter can be wonderful if you get a big pond one with a back flush mode it is one of the easiest ways to do a water change I have one on my 800 gallon. However if sponge filter is what calls to you they work great and are one of the most energy efficient filtration out there. I have a questions for @Daniel how do you filter your big tank? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 17 minutes ago, Taylor Blake said: As far as the sit time I think you are fine with a few days in the garage but you can do it for as long as you want. On my 300 I run an fx4 but I will probably be upgrading before to long. Here are some options I would go with sump because they can be great if you like to tinker with it and get the most bang for your buck in my opinion. A canister filter can be wonderful if you get a big pond one with a back flush mode it is one of the easiest ways to do a water change I have one on my 800 gallon. However if sponge filter is what calls to you they work great and are one of the most energy efficient filtration out there. I have a questions for @Daniel how do you filter your big tank? I don't have any filter on the big aquarium, it doesn't need one. I stock it lightly, and there is so much surface area that there is plenty of room for beneficial bacteria in the sand and on the logs. It has an automatic water change setup if I want to do a water change. Underneath the tank is a heater and a recirculating pump: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggie Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 Lucky you! Good luck with setting it up! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 no sponge filters wouldn't cut it. for filtration I would do the fluvalf fx4 or fx6. I have bought a used tank, I filled it up for 24 hours, also check silicone seal and make sure its still intact and reliable. If i were to reccemonds any stocking ideas, I would do defentely get a... arowana datnoid sevrums oscars (As you mentioned) blood parrots (as you mentioned) Peacock Bass Here is a video I watched when I picked up my second hand tank, its very useful... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl P. Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 Thanks so much for all the advice! Petsmart has a 25% off one item coupon today and that made the FX6 $255. I don't know how often these things go on sale but that sounded like a great price for it. I picked it up but figure if I change my mind before I set the tank up I can always return it. @Taylor Blake If you're looking to upgrade it might be a good time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChefConfit Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 Sponge filters can definitely handle it. I believe @Cory runs just sponges on the 800. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now