What should I do with the old tank?

[Letterkenny]

I have a new 130g coming in soon and my wife does not want my current 45g in the living room with it. I’m currently torn as to what I should do with it. It’s almost a year old so I’m struggling with the thought of selling it just given the loss on all the equipment. I would consider putting it in my office but I don’t think I have time to continually care for two tanks (plus dealing with the stairs). Could potentially work if I could get it to the point of needing very minimal maintenance (e.g. biopellet reactor and skimmer for nitrate removal, large ATO, no water changes, and just having fish and nems) but not sure how feasible that would be?

 

[andrewey]

Do you currently have a QT? Have you thought about using it as a QT and trading the equipment for your new tank/livestock?

 

[Letterkenny]

Do you currently have a QT? Have you thought about using it as a QT and trading the equipment for your new tank/livestock?

Yes I have a 20g QT. All new equipment purchased. Could potentially trade for corals but would think that may be a limited market since all the local reefers with the higher end corals I would want already have the setups they need.

 

[jeffrey750750]

Can you use the old tank as your sump?

 

[Letterkenny]

Can you use the old tank as your sump?

The new tank already comes with a sump and the old tank is an AIO cube so not really ideal sump.

 

[Auquanut]

I have a 90 gallon tank sitting empty in my shop in case of an emergency in one of my bigger tanks. If you have the room to store it, it never hurts to have an emergency spare.

 

[austibella]

I have a new 130g coming in soon and my wife does not want my current 45g in the living room with it. I’m currently torn as to what I should do with it. It’s almost a year old so I’m struggling with the thought of selling it just given the loss on all the equipment. I would consider putting it in my office but I don’t think I have time to continually care for two tanks (plus dealing with the stairs). Could potentially work if I could get it to the point of needing very minimal maintenance (e.g. biopellet reactor and skimmer for nitrate removal, large ATO, no water changes, and just having fish and nems) but not sure how feasible that would be?

You never know when you might need an emergency smaller tank. i keep 2 around ..one is set up and running and one empty that I would need for quarentine which I can set up real fast with my water from my 180, it's a personal decision for each reefer and depends on if you have the room..

 

[Bryknicks]

Easy solution. I'll take care of the tank in my home and will send you pictures with updates. It will be just like having it yourself minus the maintenance

 

[Letterkenny]

I think I can carve out some room in my garage. Just seems like a waste to be storing a Hydra 26 HD, MP10, 9004 DC, reactors, rock, etc. Could I get away with keeping a pair of clowns in it with a BTA and not do water changes relying on the skimmer and maybe adding a fug to one of the chambers for nitrate control? Would love to just add an auto feeder and a 10g reservoir that I would top off occasionally, clean the skimmer every other week, and harvest chaeto as needed.

 

[Fezbearer]

QT tank, or do a planted tank?

 

[austibella]

I think I can carve out some room in my garage. Just seems like a waste to be storing a Hydra 26 HD, MP10, 9004 DC, reactors, rock, etc. Could I get away with keeping a pair of clowns in it with a BTA and not do water changes relying on the skimmer and maybe adding a fug to one of the chambers for nitrate control? Would love to just add an auto feeder and a 10g reservoir that I would top off occasionally, clean the skimmer every other week, and harvest chaeto as needed.

I keep in my 20 gallon (just in case emergency tank ) I raise snails and emerald crabs in there.so you always have a back up crew to add to your main tank if needed, plus they keep the emergency tank clean and they are already quarantined!! . You can add a fish and use it as a frag tank....So many hitchhikers come in tanks from the shells of snails kind of solves several issues in one tank.. I personally would put a tang to keep hair algae under control instead of clowns but that is a personal preference. I would still do water changes

 

[Letterkenny]

I keep in my 20 gallon (just in case emergency tank ) I raise snails and emerald crabs in there.so you always have a back up crew to add to your main tank if needed, plus they keep the emergency tank clean and they are already quarantined!! . You can add a fish and use it as a frag tank....So many hitchhikers come in tanks from the shells of snails kind of solves several issues in one tank.. I personally would put a tang to keep hair algae under control instead of clowns but that is a personal preference. I would still do water changes

45g is too small for a tang though. I wouldn’t be opposed to water changes if it weren’t for the stairs...

 

[austibella]

45g is too small for a tang though. I wouldn’t be opposed to water changes if it weren’t for the stairs...

Your right.i wasnt thinking.. mine is filled with extra tank crews..sounds like you have it under control. Wish you were my neighbor. I need to hire someone that knows what they are doing.tried to hire a plumber to put lines from garage though the ceiling come down the wall.so I can do automatic water change .I want to set up water station in garage..plummers dont want to mess with anything for fish tanks. Well if they dont know how, I dont want them touching anything...your going to end up with a good set up. post updated pics so we can see as you finish your fish room.

 

[Letterkenny]

Your right.i wasnt thinking.. mine is filled with extra tank crews..sounds like you have it under control. Wish you were my neighbor. I need to hire someone that knows what they are doing.tried to hire a plumber to put lines from garage though the ceiling come down the wall.so I can do automatic water change .I want to set up water station in garage..plummers dont want to mess with anything for fish tanks. Well if they dont know how, I dont want them touching anything...your going to end up with a good set up. post updated pics so we can see as you finish your fish room.

Must have miscommunicated here. I am not running any lines up stairs to the office. Wife won’t allow it since the house is only a year old. I will be running lines between my living room and garage though for my DT so I can keep a large ATO reservoir and my additives out there and also enable me to do AWCs if I want. Going up to the office would potentially void some warranties on the house so can’t do that. This is why I would like to do a no water change setup vs keep it in the fish corner of my garage. I’m debating giving the no water change a shot and if it works it works and if not, would just break down the tank for a spare and keep it in the garage.