600 gallon setup

[drpo21]

My friend has a huge 600 gallon tank setup for saltwater. Though there is nothing in it other than sand and some rock. no water. he gave up on it saying it was just costing him so much money and it wasnt looking good. hes a rich stock broker and loves to spend money. i was thinking about bringing it back to life for a small fee, but there are some concerns i have.

First - he has the pipes running outside under the ground (good to keep temp) into a sump. I'm not kidding you, the sump is about 30 gallons. For a 600 gallon tank, i would believe that wouldnt do a damn thing. maybe 150 or 180 gallon sump?

Second - there is no skimmer. what size do i need?

Third - the casing outside is not stored in a shed or anything, just sitting outside exposed to the air and bugs and whatever. was thinking about making a shed for his refugium.

Forth - lights are simple little power compacts. was thinking about upgrading but need to know how much lighting would be sufficient enough for such a tank.

I cant think about what else i can do but suggestions would be appriciated.
btw, i am a newbie when it comes to big tanks. i have a 24g for 2 1/2 years. this is an extreme change.
thanks,
Aaron

[mrferrit]

ya might try pm'img this huy he has a 600 reef might give ya some insight

triggerfish1976

would probably need dimensions to recomend lighting and plans for livestock for more advice
probably lookin at 400 watt halides for a reef and maybe 6 of them
def. a bigger sump and out of the climate miami gets warm gonna need a chiller probably

ill be glad to take it off his hands though ill even pick up free =)

[drpo21]

i guess first is first, i need to make a casing for the sump outside. hmm miami does get hot so maybe a chiller is needed. damn i hope this guy is ready to start spending the money.
thanks for the response. i think 6 400 watt halides will do it, lets see if he bites. if he thinks this is too much of a pain in the arse than ill let you know and maybe he'll sell it. but i wana make it a project

[mrferrit]

yea you are looking at big bucks to get that thing running the equipment is gona way cost him loking a few grand for a skimmer alone let alont 700 lbs of live rock

let alone big $ for the electric bill

good luck

[ricks]

Deep pocket and lots of experience... Sometimes that's not enough....

[drpo21]

this guy is rediculous, he buys lamborginis and bentlys and such. he thought having a fish tank would be cool, but has no idea how to manage it.
i was thinking that if i went with a 150 gallon acrylic sump with a 60 gallon refugium in it ill be good. though i need to know where to aquire such a thing.
id like something like this:
http://www.melevsreef.com/280g/280g_sump.html
that should be good for what my friend needs. i'm pretty sure that he's gonna do fish before he even thinks about doing coral, if i can get his tank going well than maybe he'll change his mind and make it a reef tank.