**New member needing tank setup help please

Hello,
I am new to this site today. I was referred here for help with tank setup. I have recently acquired this tank and have had no luck finding someone to help me gather the proper equipment. I spoke to one store owner who stated that he thought it might be a Dutch setup with an internal sump. He did not know what I would need for equipment. I know that it was previously used as a saltwater tank but I would like to set it up for Cichlids. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Well first, we need to know is the tank drilled?

Forgive me, I'm not sure what you mean by drilled. It does have 2 holes on the top end above the internal sump system.

[url=https://i.servimg.com/u/f25/16/45/56/04/tank_111.jpg]

does the tank have holes for pipes and stuff on the bottom of it?
or does it have chambers in the back?

Here is the pic for you....

Thank you! Does anyone know the proper equipment needed to set this up for a Cichlid tank? I was told not to buy a sump because it already has an internal system. I have never seen this setup before.

Do you have dimensions of this tank?

yes you do need a sump

are there holes in the other side or on the bottom of the tank a whole picture of the tank will be helpful if you can.... once i see the pics i will then be able to walk you thru setting this tank up

Yes. They are strange dimensions.

Length: approx 63 1/4: https://i.servimg.com/u/f25/16/45/56/04/tank_610.jpg
Height: approx 28 1/4: https://i.servimg.com/u/f25/16/45/56/04/tank_510.jpg
Width: approx 21 1/2: https://i.servimg.com/u/f25/16/45/56/04/tank_410.jpg

There are no other holes in this tank. Only the 2 shown in the picture.

pic 3 shows a piece of PVC in the box where or what is that connected to

It is connected only to the bottom of the compartment itself. It also has a blue mesh-like filter laying at the bottom of the pipe. At first, when I filled the tank to test for leaks, I thought that there was a hole connecting the tank and the compartment for possible bottom filtration. However, when I filled the tank, no water entered the compartment. I had to fill it separately.

https://i.servimg.com/u/f25/16/45/56/04/tank_310.jpg

wow ok i need to ponder on this one its a weird one gimmie a bit
obviously the holes are higher then the box itself right

Hey shawboo


Do you have any pictures of your tank? It might be easier to come up with ideas

Yes. The holes are above the water line. It appears that the only way that water transfers from the tank itself to the compartment is through the "slots" located below the water line. It then flows into only one shallow compartment from there. (shown in the picture on page one). I cannot figure out where the water goes from there. It appears that each compartment is completely separate and cannot figure out a flow pattern between each compartment without numerous tubing.

To MadmaxOr: I'm embarrassed to say that I could not figure out how to load the pictures on here. Another member graciously loaded the first picture on page one for me. The rest of the pictures are linked to URL's shown on the previous postings.

Thank you all for your help. You've been very patient and kind to me.

Quick tutorial for you....

Take the link that you have such as
https://i.servimg.com/u/f25/16/45/56/04/tank_310.jpg

then put these before and after it [img ] link goes here [/img ] <~~~~I inserted a space inside the brackets so that it would show them for you...remove the brackets for the code to work.

or even easier...click the little square with a tree on it (last one in the top row) and paste your link in the box that appears and it does the code for you.

and the result is

oh, I have seen a tank like this before. I think he ended up just flooding the waterfall boxes because they were modified It looks like you have a bulkhead going out the bottom. worst comes to worst just adjust that pvc coming up from the bottom to the desired water level and make a sump setup that way

Has anyone had a chance to ponder what would be needed to set this up? I'm wondering if it would be possible just to remove the compartment altogether and set it up with a sump that way. It appears that the bottom of the compartment is attached to the tank with silicone. I may be able to carefully remove it. Any thoughts on this idea?

the black box is just a strange pump system that some company made so that you would have to buy stuff for it... I like the idea of removing what you don't need in there and then just make your sump as normal... you might have a hard time geting that box out, the one I saw had silicone all behind it where you couldn't get a razor.