120g in-wall build thread

[JDL]

Hello,

Am semi new and hope to make it to some future meetings. Have had a 90g setup for the past 1.5 years. Am now upgrading to a 120g in wall setup.

First, I built a stand:

finished stand

amazingly it is level

This is the room the tank will go in

removed the carpet and am placing vinyl flooring

Curse you Home Depot, it is 8:50 and you close at 9:00 and I need one more box of vinyl

I purchased a Reefkeeper lite controller
50g rubbermaid stock tank for my sump
will be using nova extrem pro lighting

any skimmer suggestions?

feel free to give criticism/suggestions

 

[trippkid]

Looking good so far. I know that sucks when you need something and the store is closed. Hope to see you sometime at our get togethers. I can't really call them meetings, we just normally talk about our tanks and problems and whatever else comes up. As far as skimmers go, the list is endless. What type of price range are you looking at? Personally I would look at the Warner Marine, MSX, or possibly the Vertex skimmers(definitely a little cheaper than the other two). Again that would just be my personal preference, I plan to upgrade to the WM K-2 skimmer, hopefully sometime in the near future, my second choice would be the MSX 250. Currently using a modified ASM G4-X, it is modded to be a re-circ style with two needle wheel pumps, one feeding and one mixing. I think I may try mesh modding the impellers to get some more air draw. Sorry, I tend to ramble. Hope to see you at the meetings, we'll keep them going as long as people are interested, it is nice to hang out from time to time and trade stories. The next one is Sat April 4th in York if you are interested. Have a good weekend, and I hope you can finish your flooring tomorrow. I just about have my bathroom remodeling finished, tiling this week.
Matt

 

[Jandree22]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14606294#post14606294 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by trippkid
Hope to see you sometime at our get togethers.

x2. The more the merrier

That stand looks like it could hold up a Hummer or two, nice work!

 

[NCNBilly]

The stand looks almost identical to what I built, and yeah you can probably park a car on them.

 

[JDL]

the floor is finished

and molding

next i plan to skin the tank, have the wood already cut but the gf wants me somewhere so skinning will have to wait.

The msx 200 looks like i might have to buy it. Or maybe an Octopus DNW-200 Needlewheel Recirculating. Will keep searching used vs. new.

This in-wall setup is going to be about 10-11 inches from the viewing wall. Will need some type of molding/ledge for this.

hopefully by the end of this weekend i can have the tank skinned, possibly painted (not sure if i want to yet), and hole area either cut or drawn.

Thanks for all input.

 

[JDL]

2 sides of the stand skinned, not planning on skinning the other side

baserock

inside of the wall where a hole will be cut

the viewing wall

the extra wide gap i have to do something to so the view will be nice

another level check after skinning

 

[CBehr]

Looking good! +1 vote for the MXS skimmers. Got a 250 a month or so back and it destroys my modded ASM G3

 

[JDL]

havent cut the hole in the wall yet. Last night i built the sump platform and installed a DJ power strip on the stand. I also mounted my DA Reefkeeper Lite modules on a piece of plywood. They will eventually go on the left side of the stand where it isnt skinned. Would you put them on the inside facing the sump or the outside facing the wall? The modules are the PC4 powerstrips. The head unit will go on the left leg of the stand.

pics when i get home from work

 

[JDL]

installed the powerstrip

sump platform

reefkeeper mounted to plywood. will go on left side of stand

 

[JDL]

cords are a little messy on the reefkeeper picture but they will be clean/organized once it is moved to the new tank.

 

[trippkid]

Looks great so far, and compared to my jumble of wires, that is not bad at all.
Matt

 

[reeftard73]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14624268#post14624268 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by trippkid
Looks great so far, and compared to my jumble of wires, that is not bad at all.
Matt

You need to do what I did and get a sucker, I mean friend, to wire that mess up for you.

 

[trippkid]

Yeah, if I could only find the time to do my own stuff, huh? Someday maybe my friends won't be so shockingly scared of electricity.
Matt

 

[JDL]

that wire mess is from my old tank. I just connected the reefkeeper to make sure it worked correctly so everything is just on the floor as a big mess.

once i get thenew tank setup i'll rewire it to the new stand and it will be nice and clean.

 

[JDL]

I drew the area to cut the hole in the wall. Kinda scared to just cut my wall apart. Anyone with experience doing this?

 

[drummereef]

Looking great JDL! No worries on that wall. There's nothing that can't be fixed, right? :lol: Nah, really nothing to worry about. Just take a hammer and pop a hole in the drywall and start tearing it out. Just make sure to score the outline with a utility knife so you don't tear into the surrounding drywall. Hopefully you won't find any electrical or plumbing back there.

 

[JDL]

This is where my reefkeeper will be placed. Wasnt using the 2nd pc4 so i mounted it. Will place the other modules in this area once i get the new tank setup.

 

[JDL]

the weapon of choice.... will start the hole tomorrow:

 

[ziplight4u]

JDL,

Just found this thread and wanted to tell you that things look great so far. I'm anxious to see this thread progress. Best of luck!

 

[2turtles]

My 2 cents is I would paint that pine under your stand around the sump using a high quality exterior paint. That stand will be there a long time and you want to protect the wood from salt and moisture. Just my opinion for what it is worth (which my wife tells me is not a lot)