125G tank transformation into SPS

[Whystler]

I plan to transfer my tank over the next few months into an SPS dominated tank. I plan to document my changes and discuss why i did things on this Thread.

Introduction

I have been fascinating and keeping aquariums for 20 years now. I purchased my first 5.5g desktop aquarium kit in 1994 when i was a pre-teen using my birthday money. It was a freshwater tank with all kinds of fish. I learned the basics and upgraded to a 10G tank on my next birthday. i tried to convert the small tank to a saltwater tank but the only thing i could keep alive in it was a 2 strip damsel for almost 2 years before my mother made me take it down because it smelled bad. I have stuck with freshwater tanks since then and focused on planted tanks and was huge on the "Walstad" method came out. My wife has always been very supportive of my hobby. I always found her wondering to the saltwater section of the pet stores every time we visit.

Finally 2 years ago she said to me "you grow plants so well why cant you grow those(pointing at some corals)?" My response was well maybe i will try soon. Christmas came around and my wife asked what i wanted for Christmas. of course i started with aquarium stuff and she commented again about why not start a fresh saltwater tank and retire one of the small planted tanks(had 3 going at the time). So for Christmas she purchased me a 55g tank and stand combo with crappy lights and the glass hinged lids,She made a point in saying that she "hoped" it would not end up another "jungle tank".

I started slowly. I got rid of one of the smaller tank/stand setups and set the tank up there with no water or anything. I started doing my research. I purchased some saltwater mix and made me some saltwater straight from the tap to get the tank started cycling. i bought one 10lb piece of live rock and sat it in the 55 with one power head to get the tank started.

First tank
The 55 had one piece of live rock sitting on the Bare-bottom with 1 hydor koralia 1450 pump in the corner blasting away. It stayed this way for about 3-4 weeks. The only thing i tested was the salinity and worked on keeping it at 1.024, while doing research I came across this site so I browsed and soaked up as much as possible. I was introduced to reefrocks.net here. I placed an order! 50 pounds of rocks and free sand! whoohoo i was getting excited. The rocks finally showed up and so i went to town trying to build a rock formation i liked. 2 weeks later i finally got tired of moving them and the sand finally settled "somewhat". I went ahead and purchsed a few different already cured live rocks from the LFS about 25 - 30 LBS more to add to the tank.

Fast forward~ over the next few months I added fish and equipment, Including a t5ho light setup, HOB Skimmer, HOB Refuge, and a heater.

We encountered all the fun stuff including a fungal infection outbreak that killed half my fish. We battle algae outbreaks, purchased corals and watched some thrive and others not so much. We learned how to train a mandarin goby to feed and had success(grew 2 inches and got super fat)with it until the fungal infection outbreak took the fish in less than 24 hours... It broke my wives heart as she was the one that basically raised and spot feed the goby.

1 year later Christmas is coming around again! Ask my wife what she wanted for Christmas and she responded with a bigger better saltwater reef tank! So we combined our money for each other and purchased a 125G tank and stand....

 

[Whystler]

Current tank
We spent a long weekend disassembling the 55G tank and stand setup. We placed the new 125G (72x18x22) tank in its place. We decided not to drill the tank, the tank will be our reef-tank for the next 3 years but when we move it will prolly become my ONLY planted tank and we will do a MUCH bigger reef-tank.

Rocks and sand bed:
Our previous sand-bed in the 55G was very deep at around 3-4 inches so we decided we didn't want it that deep anymore. We rinsed the old sand with old tank water from the 55 and used the same amount in the 125.

I had learned my lesson and read about different ways to do rock work. I had sold the 55 tank (only) to a friend for next to nothing. He was placing an order with reefrocks so i tagged along and got an extra 20 lbs of dry rock (shelf shaped) to add to the new tank.

I planned out the rock arrangement this time much better to allow room for fish to swim, easy access to clean the glass, and plenty of caves and "shelf's" for coral placement. I drilled holes in the existing live rock and used a fiberglass rod to stack them "lego style". My reef rock previously had flat bottomed pieces that i used to have the rock sit flat on the bottom. I made sure the structures were very solid before adding the sand to the tank. it looked perfect. The sand bed was around 1-1.5 inches deep.


Initial Water, Circulation, and skimmer
We filled the tank using mixed saltwater from our LFS, I had the owner make me 80 gallons of ro/di mixed with reef crystals. I had learned my lesson about tap-water and algae outbreaks... I placed the water in the tank. I also added a second Hydor koralia 1450 circulation pump. I placed the HOB refuge, HOB skimmer, and heater on the tank from the old tank. I knew i needed to add a sump and get larger/better equipment but for the interim this would work.
After everything seemed settled in I moved my transfer resident fish and corals into the tank.

Upgrading tank equipment
At this point i knew I need to upgrade equipment. I also had already decided there would be a sump. It was very obvious I needed my own RO/DI system, tired of paying money to the LFS and hauling buckets.

The stand had very limited space so i set out looking for a sump I could use. At the end of the day I choose to grab a 20G tank from the Petco "dollar a gallon" sale for the sump.

 

[Whystler]

Sump build:
20G tank (24x12x16)

I did not have much room and i needed to get as big a skimmer as i could into this sump. So my design was focused on skimmer. I felt i didn't have enough room for a refuge.

Skimmer design:

I focused on KISS(keep it simple stupid). I used the acrylic 1/8 sheets from Lowes. I cut them and glued them in place with super glue and then used aquarium sealant around them. I let it sure for a few days while i was waiting for the rest of the equipment to show up.


Equipment and setup:
I was looking for around 300gph flow thru the sump. I decided on the Mag 7 pump and a CPR CS90 overflow box. Since i had to pump it up about 4 feet and planned a couple of 90 degree turns I would end up with my desired flow.

I purchased the overflow from BRS and got the kit that included the aqua-lifter pump. Very easy setup and install.

I plumbed everything using pvc pipe and braided hose. I created my own return dump into the tank with pvc pipe. I used 1 inch pvc and hose for the overflow, while i only used 1/2 hose and pipe for the return pump end of the plumbing. I will explain my rationale on the 1/2 hose and pipe on the return in my "to do" portion that i plan to do in the future.

Water tested it and system appears water tight. Flow at first glance seems perfect.

I purchased a Reef Octopus 1000LSS Protein Skimmer from MarineDepot.com. The footprint was listed at 8.3x8.3 and that would fit into my skimmer section allowing my "some" wiggle room. it also was rated for 200 gallon tanks but recommended for a 160g tank by most people that used it. Exactly what i was after and I am a reef octopus fan to begin with.

Skimmer setup was easy and self explanatory. I had to instal an elbow on the skimmer return and force it back under the water in my sump because it sounded like a waterfall.Took about 24 hours to break in and another 8-12 hours to get the skimmer dialed in. It is working flawlessly and i love it! my fish do to. i see more activity out of them and noticeably clearer water. I am glad i did not go any bigger because it barely fits in the skimmer section just right.

Unfortunately i was unable to get my heater to fit into my sump. I tried turning off the heater but i found my temperature at night in the tank dropped down to around 74 degrees at night. while not to bad now during the winter months this may be an issue so i left the heater in the display tank. I am hoping that perhaps when i get my "to do" stuff done I can eliminate the heater all together.

The system is very quiet and I barely notice it is even running. all my pumps and the return make very little noise and would only be noticeable at night if i was trying to sleep in the room.

P.S. I will take pictures and add to this post later on.


Lights
Coming from planted tanks, I know how important this is. I trust T5HO and leaned heavily towards them. BUT when i priced out what i wanted verses LEDs the frugal side of me won.

I ended up purchasing some Reef-breeder value 24 LED setups. I got 3 of them for my tank with standard optics. I am very happy so far with them. And glad I do not have to purchase new bulbs every 8 months like on my planted tanks!

One detail was they are a lot more "spotlighty" so i had some shadows on the front of my rock-work i did not like. I put the original t8 crappy bulb set that came with the tank in the very front of the canopy and use a light-switch to turn them on when i am viewing the tank. Just add a little light to the front of the tank for my viewing pleasure.

 

[Whystler]

For reference here is the starting FTS. I know the camera quality is not good but a camera is on my to-do list.

Also a couple pictures of the Left Side where i need to do some Softie clean up. yeah its going nuts and spreading like wildfire...

A good shot of my male Lyretail

My LPS was mad at me because, I just did a water change right on top of them.

 

[Whystler]

Moving forward:

I purchased a BRS 4 stage ro/di system and installed it in the laundry room. This has made life so much simpler! I wish i would have done this a year ago.

ATO:
I would like to add an ATO system to the tank and it is my next planned purchase in the next couple weeks. I am planning and researching this ATM.

Carbon Reactor:
I love crystal clear water and I need to get better water quality (especially with all the feedings anthias require) if this is going to be a SPS dominated tank.

This will be the next project after the ATO. I already have the initial ideas in my head which include adding a second small return pump in my return section to feed the reactor(s) before going back into the tank. Which is why i was not worried about the smaller pipe and not maximizing the flow leaving the sump because the plan is to pull more thru the sump that way.

 

[Whystler]

Sump design

Sump design

Here is an illustration of my KISS sump design. It is a 20G high aquarium. I had limited real estate in my cabinet.

I have questions about running a dual reactor.

I am thinking of running a dual reactor in my sump. I originally thought of plumbing it up into my tank but have since decided to just run it in my sump cabinet.

Should i place my pump for the reactor in my "return pump area" and go thru reactors and then back to the "overflow area" or should I go from "overflow area" to "return pump area"?

What are the pros and cons of each? Just curious.

I am leaning heavily towards "return pump area" back to "overflow area"

I plan to pick up the BRS Dual reactor setup with a MJ1200 pump. I am a Seachem fan. They have been good to me for years on my planted tank. So my thought was Matrix carbon in one chamber and Phosguard in the other.