120G Euro Tank Build

rbower04

New member
The wife and I decided to get back into the hobby after being out of it for the past 5 years or so. New to reef central as a posting member, but certainly not new to the hobby. As we are doing our research into equipment it is amazing at how much has changed, especially when you have stepped away completely and come back after a length of time. In any event, here is what we are looking into. I would appreciate any comments, advice, things we might have missed, overlooked, etc.

So here is the equipment build list:
-120G (48x24x25) Visio Euro Braced Tank, Black Back, Off-center trapezoid overflow box
-36" Espresso Oak Stand
-Sump (approx. 32x16x16)
-Vertex Omega 150 Protein Skimmer
-NextReef SMR1 XL Solid Media Reactor
-Lifegard Quiet One 2200 Pump (for reactor/chiller)
-Ecotech Marine Radion XR30W Pro x 2
-Ecotech Marine Vortech MP40w ES x 2
-Waveline DC6000 Pump
-JBJ True Temp 500W Digital Heater System
-JBJ 1/4 HP Arctica Aquarium Chiller

Thoughts, comments, advice, etc.?

On a side note - what is the maximum tank size (in approx lbs) someone has on a wood subfloor out there. We would like this tank to go on our main level (home is split level), but weight might prevent that (at least as the building code goes per CA). That would necessitate it to the concrete slab downstairs.

Thanks in advance for reading and any advice, insight, recommendations etc. you can offer.
 
Grounding rod

Grounding rod

I took a indirect lighting hit and wished I had a grounding rod. I have one now.
 
Welcome to Reef Central! Here are a couple of things I would change or add:
I would go with two 300 watt heaters rather than a single 500 watt heater. When one of the heaters goes bad, having the wattage split between two heaters gives you more time to replace the falty one before damage is gone to your system. They tend to stick in the on position when they go bad more often than in the off position, so only having 300 watts instead of 500 watts makes a big difference. Because of your LED lighting and efficient pumps I would think a total of 600 watts of heating would be better than 500 watts.
I would skip the chiller, with LED lighting a couple of fans should provide all the cooling you need. I haven't used a chiller in 3 years since switching to LED's and it gets warm here in SoCal although we do keep the AC at 82 degrees in the daytime when we are not home.
There is nothing wrong with the JBJ heater system, but I would go with Eheim Jagger heaters and use a controller instead so you can manage all your equipment. I would recommend the full version of the Apex Neptune Controller.
 
As far as your floor goes if your tank is near a bearing wall you should be fine, although I went under out house and added a couple of supports (you can get adjustable screw type floor jacks at Home Depot or Lowe's) just to be sure.
 
Thanks for the input so far. We have made a few changes so far in terms of equipment. We are switching to the ATI Powercone vice the Vertex Omega. Chiller is off the list for the time being. Going to evaluate how things go before adding the chiller - everything will be plumbed for it so it would be an easy add. Noted on the heater scenario - haven't fully decided on a heater yet either. Wanted to get the big ticket items out of the way.

As for the floor, I don't have the option of adding extra supports. Underneath the room the tank will be located in is the master bath and closet. Fortunately the close wall runs perpendicular splitting where the tank we be above - in addition the the external wall of the home the tank will be up against.

Thanks again.
 
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