125g Reef Build

[mkrizzz]

So, decided to take the plunge and see if I can put together my first saltwater tank. A couple of FYIs up front...I will be moving from Milwaukee to Houston next July so this build (and thread) will be probably be long, slow-moving, but detailed. I have minimal to no saltwater experience but have owned several freshwater tanks. My goal is to slowly piece this tank together over the course of the next year. I plan on having a 125g DT with semi coast-to-coast overflow, beananimal type plumbing with in-stand sump. I have learned a lot from reading this forum and am hoping to have a good thread with lots of feedback.

Here is the tank that I picked out so far...125g Used AGA with oak stand and hood for a good deal off of a local craigslister for $300.

More updates to come soon. Anything you guys wish you would have known at this point in the game?

Matt

 

[Bike2k]

Good luck! We'll be watching

 

[darkiss]

Dang you have to drill that tank?

 

[mkrizzz]

Yes, I plan on drilling 5 holes in the tank. 3 holes to accommodate 1" bulkheads for the overflow and 2 to accommodate 3/4" bulkheads for return lines.

 

[sail33]

Yes, I plan on drilling 5 holes in the tank. 3 holes to accommodate 1" bulkheads for the overflow and 2 to accommodate 3/4" bulkheads for return lines.

Sweet ! I'll follow this one

 

[darkiss]

Nice, where do you plan to get the overflows from?

 

[mkrizzz]

I plan on building the overflows out of 1/4" plate glass from the local glass shop and silicone. Ordered the drill bits today from BRS.

 

[Fizz71]

Since you've never had a reef tank before let me tell you about the main banes so you can design for them...

RO Production, storage and tank top-off (which is constant)
Water Changes (which you'll hate doing if it's not easy)
Skimmer Removal (for cleaning)
Pump Removal (for cleaning)
Algae Removal (you won't need to worry about this one for a while)

I spent MONTHS designing my current setup so that all the stuff that was a pain to do was less pain full. My RO and top-off system is automated, but fail safe. My water changes are done without picking up a single bucket of water. My equipment can all be removed for cleaning without issues. I'm fortunate to have a basement for my sump and all the other stuff...the only thing in my living room is the tank and pipes going into the floor.

I used google sketch-up for everything..it was time consuming, but I was in a similar situation as you... Having to wait is the mother of planning.

 

[mkrizzz]

I have a lot of that stuff thought out but do have a couple questions that I'm sure will come up as this build progresses.

1. Since everything will be in-stand in terms of sump and ATO reservoir, how do most people do their water changes with setups like this? Obviously it would be easier if I had a basement or fish room but this won't work for my current setup.

2. I want the biggest sump/refugium possible and the best way for me to do this would be to build my own sump (glass) inside the stand. Because of the spacingmof mymstands styles, this would mean the sump wouldn't be able to be removed from stand (at least not without great difficulty). Would that really be that big of a deal as long as I could get the equipment out of the tank?

More pics to come soon as I am getting the glass for the overflow tonight.

Matt

 

[Fizz71]

The only problem with not being able to remove the sump is if it gets damaged, you're looking at a full breakdown. As for the water changes...pump it. Get a nice work pump to move water out of the part of the sump that normally doesn't empty. Of course that only works if your sump holds enough water to provide a sufficient water change. You can use the same pump to fill or leave it in place and use another one to fill.

Good luck...not having a fish room or basement makes things tougher...I did it for years...then took over a closet...then moved to the basement. Then when I moved homes I made sure I never went back to the single area. For smaller tanks it's not too bad, but a 125g DT means about 30g to 35g of water every water change to hit 20%. Not to mention 2g to 4g a day of topoff for evaporation. You'll need a place to store the RO and a holding tank for the water change water to mix and heat up...that takes space.

I guess I should add that I tend to be lazy... ...so I know I will NEVER go back to a stand alone tank with daily top-offs and bucket water changes.

Good Luck! ..I'll be tagging along.

 

[StevieD]

I have the exact same tank, stand, and im sure canopy sitting in my garage...I drilled mine for a GH 1500 overflow kit, two 1.5" holes...its quite easy...as for a sump, 55 is too tall but the right width, 40b is too wide but the right height, you would need a 40 or 45 long (48x12.5x16 or 17) to fit the existing stand i believe (unless you had something custom made)...thats the issue im running into now is finding one that fits in my existing stand... or junk the stand and build new for a 55 gallon to fit

 

[cbbram]

I have a 125g also with a similiar stand. I ordered this sump/refugium system online from LifeReef.

 

[meegwell]

Good luck with the build. I just went through a setup on a 90, first sw, and did the bean animal on 1" downs x 3/4" return. Got plenty of other issues but the system flows silent and smooth after tuning it in. my mag 7 is noisy but thats another (g.d.) issue. All the quirks are fresh in my head so feel free to hit me up for questions on my experience.

 

[mkrizzz]

Did a couple of things today. I picked up the glass for the over flow and siliconed it together using GE momentive RTV 108 clear silicone which I heard is strongern than the regular GE stuff. I also put kilz on the bottom of the stand to protect it from potential (read: inevitable) water exposure. I will put a couple coats of oil-based lacquer once the kilz dries.

Drill bits should be here in a day or so and I'll let you know how the tank drilling goes.

Any further thoughts on building a sump in the stand and not being able to remove it in the future?

Here's a couple pics....

 

[mkrizzz]

Sorry, second pic of the semi c2c overflow

 

[RocketEngineer]

My biggest concern with the sump/stand is actually the skimmer. Have you decided on a skimmer yet? If not, look at what is available and measure the inside height of your stand. You may have issues fitting the skimmer under the tank.

Just a thought.
RocketEngineer

 

[mkrizzz]

My thoughts were "go big or go home" on the skimmer. Thinking about a bubble king mini 200. I have about 24" total to work with under the stand and that skimmer is about 21" tall. With the summary cup off, do you think I'll be able to remove the skimmer if the sump wall is 15" high?

Matt

 

[mkrizzz]

My thoughts were "go big or go home" on the skimmer. Thinking about a bubble king mini 200. I have about 24" total to work with under the stand and that skimmer is about 21" tall. With the summary cup off, do you think I'll be able to remove the skimmer if the sump wall is 15" high?

Matt

 

[sail33]

I saw a design for a top off tank in another thread. It's an acrylic box It occupies the space between your tank and the wall where no other plumbing will exist. Build it to hold 5 gallons or so and connect your RO/DI line to it. One valve reads low water in the holding tank and turns on the RO/DI. The other valve reads low water in the sump and tops it off. Both can be designed without a power demand. You've just solved your top off problem.

Of course you can "T" off the RO/DI to your salt mixer but I take an even greater step and buy it at the VERY trusted LFS. With you limited space, you may end up doing the same thing. Once you add salt and the cost of making that much water...well, I found the cost to be close enough to carry the load.

I don't even have a basement and my wife won't let me take over the dining room with storage tanks. If you can believe that !!

OH...don't forget to add an algae turf scrubber. They are Da Bomb !
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1977420

 

[mkrizzz]

So I have a lot to update. I got everything to drill the glass and I fit all of the plumbing together (and glued). I still have some of the return plumbing to figure out but the system is at least up and working. Drilling the glass didnt go as expected seeing as I chipped the inside of the tank for one of the holes that managed to leak even after the bulkhead was installed. Ended up put silicone in the chip and that seemed to fix it. I got glass cut for the overflow and also for the sump, siliconed it together and installed both of them. I chose to do a DIY sump because I couldn't find any standard tank that fit in the stand and I got the glass pretty cheap (under $100). I have a Laguna Max-flo 1500 for my return pump. My overflow is a BeanAnimal style and is pretty quiet when up and running. The return is split 1" PVC that goes to 3/4" bulkheads that will eventually have loc-line attached to them. Here's some pics. Please gives as many comments, compliments, suggestions, and criticisms as you can. I have a lot more details of the whole process if anyone wants to know more!

Matt

Oh, and thats the amazing gf who puts up with my addiction...