Ahoyhoy239's 120g Peninsula

So for lighting you're gonna do 175ws? What are you planning on keeping in the tank, what bulbs are you planning on using, and what reflectors? I only ask because I've got 2x250w in Luminarc minis over my 120, and a lot of times I'm feeling that I'm not getting enough light into the tank... :/ ... You can do 175w, but it all depends what bulbs, reflectors, and corals you plan on keeping. The overflow is looking great so far, and I can't wait to see where this goes!
 
I hope everyone's New Years went better than mine, I spent the night in a hospital bed in horrible pain with appendicitis. They finally gave me some pain meds around 2 am, CT scan after that, then I went into surgery at 8 am and I made it home yesterday around noon. I have pretty limited mobility and cant lift much so I wont be making much progress on the tank for a week or two. Not helping things at all is that we will be tenting the house Friday the 9th for termites so Im not sure sure yet whether to take the 92g down now and move everything to my grandparents house or cover the whole tank with plastic and intake/exhaust ducts with fans leading outside the house.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14053879#post14053879 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefWreak
So for lighting you're gonna do 175ws? What are you planning on keeping in the tank, what bulbs are you planning on using, and what reflectors? I only ask because I've got 2x250w in Luminarc minis over my 120, and a lot of times I'm feeling that I'm not getting enough light into the tank... :/ ... You can do 175w, but it all depends what bulbs, reflectors, and corals you plan on keeping. The overflow is looking great so far, and I can't wait to see where this goes!

Eric, I will be running Icecap 175w ballasts and Lumenarc Minis. For bulbs. I have a new pair of Reeflux 12ks right now but I might sell them for a loss and spend the extra cash for Iwasakis for couple of reasons. 1) MUCH higher output which equals better efficiency. Comparing info from Sanjay's testing Reeflux has a PPFD/Watt of like ~.19 while Iwasaki has ~.52, no brainer there.
2) Comparing the color, I tested the Reeflux in my current setup (mag ballast) and it was really blue and looked like straight actinic. I will have to see what they look like on the Icecaps before I make a final decision.

I plan on keeping a mixed reef; some rics and zoos, maybe a nice toadstool; alot of LPS and some SPS, a few monti caps and eventually I will try some acros; my RBTA will be transferring as well. I really dont think lighting will be a problem for what I want with this tank, I dont have the SPS bug, at least not yet, and Ive been able to keep most of the corals I like in the 92g with a much weaker setup. I guess time will tell, but I am confident.
 
Its been a while since my last update and Ive only made slight progress but in the hope of keeping the thread alive heres a few pics lol.

I finally got the stand welded, sandblasted, and painted. The dimensions are 49" x 25" x 42".
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That first pic is where the tank was originally supposed to be positioned but after some deliberation it was decided to move the location a few feet away where it happens to fit pretty snuggly and in a unique location, with plans to add some furniture and make it a little loungy area to relax or whatever and move the table and other stuff somewhere else.

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Last night I spray painted the overflow side of the tank black.

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Im still waiting on Lumenarc Minis I ordered a while ago but apparently production was backed up or whatever. Im about to get a refund and order Lumenbrights. Opinions?
 
My brother showed up tonight and helped me get the tank on the stand, im going to level it in the morning then get the RO/DI cranking and mock up the plumbing.

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javier the stand looks great-any plans for gussets and or at least one x brace- IMHO u don't need them but 4 sure there's gonna be that doubt.

My concern is that the top does not have a 3rd brace.

But then again I truly believe that many tank stands are way overbuilt. Once the tank is skinned it will also add to the streght of the stand.
 
12 hours or so worth of RODI

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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14235727#post14235727 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gasman059
javier the stand looks great-any plans for gussets and or at least one x brace- IMHO u don't need them but 4 sure there's gonna be that doubt.

My concern is that the top does not have a 3rd brace.

But then again I truly believe that many tank stands are way overbuilt. Once the tank is skinned it will also add to the streght of the stand.

I followed this thread for a long time, you will notice that there are stands that look much more flimsy and underbuilt than mine and hold 200 and 300 gallon tanks. I saw the pics of your stand as well which also looks great and I agree that most people overbuild the heck out of these stands. The welder that made mine has been doing this for ~30 years and I worked with him as a machinist for 2 years so I have seen what he can do.

As far as the top not having a 3rd brace, you should see the wood stand that I bought the tank with! It only supported the tank along the edge with nothing in the middle and it looks like it was only put together with small nails. I think it was like an All Glass tank/stand package kinda thing, so if the tank manufacturer will trust a full tank to that wimpy little stand, I have faith in my steel lol.

I hope im right :D
 
The plumbing is almost done and I cut and painted some plywood for the stand bottom. Tomorrow I need to run to HD for a couple things, maybe get a much needed haircut :rolleyes:, then try and get the system running and put some rocks in there. Oh and I cant for get the Superbowl as well lol.

Also thanks to Frankie at VIP Reef for hooking it up with the loc-line I needed to finish hooking up the eductors on my return :thumbsup:
 
sorry guys ive been crazy busy with school and havent had the motivation to update the thread like ive wanted to. the tank has been running for over 2 months now and all my live stock is currently in there but im having alot of problems. Ill make a list lol...
1. The tank gets alot of sunlight and I run light from 5-11 when everyones home so basically the tank is getting lit all day and has a little cyano bloom on the sand bed, but i think its getting better.

2. Still waiting on lumenarc mini's from an ebay seller, long story...but partly because of this i havent built a hood...also still need to built the stand skin. My lighting right now is just a single DIY lumenarc/iwaski 175W/icecap ballast mounted on a wooden frame that I move back and forth every other day or so...

3. Ive redone the plumbing like 3 times. Started with an OR6500 running two eductors but it was wayyy too much flow and lifted all the sand on the other side of the tank even with maxi mods trying to stop it. I switched to a Panworld 50PX (great pump, very silent) so I drilled the sump and went with one eductor. The pressure rated pump runs the eductor VERY well and I still had problems stopping the flow on the other side.

I pretty much came to the conclusion that Im not going to use the eductors on this small of atank with a sandbed. They would amazing if it was barebottom though. My flow right now is coming from two maximods (mj 400 and 600 i think) and a koralia 4. I wanted to get a pair of tunze 6065 but I have to pay for summer semester so tank spending is on the back porch. I will probably get a pair of mj1200 soon though.

4. I lost one of my original fish when i started the hobby 3 years ago, a true perc to ick. The other one caught it as well but survived and is all better right now. My red-belted anthias has had a mean case of popeye for over 2 weeks and i cant catch him to treat in QT but it would probably stress him more anyways. In the past fews days hes been more lethargic and not actively eating like he normally does so Im afraid he might kick the bucket soon. I added a pair of female swallowtail angels about 3 weeks ago and both also caught ick but are still very strong and I think will pull through. The larger of the two seemed pretty irritated this morning though. With all these fish sicknesses im going to hold off adding any fish until the tank matures and everyones healthy. My plan to treat the ick is just feed well and try to keep them healthy.
 
i guess on a positive note most of my corals are very healthy and my rbta has survived multiple tank moves and losing all of its tentacles and color and seems to be on the rebound. I was certain it was going to die back in january. I also have a sicce 2500 with pinwheel waiting to be put on my octo 200 so hopefully I can get that rockin soon. the stock octo pump has been working pretty well though on this tank and has pulled out some really crappy smelling skimmate.

the glassholes overflow is workin ok but honestly i dont think its big enough for use on a penninsula tank like I have. I just wish now that it would have been longer.


heres somes old pics from like february, since then the plumbing has changed, i added a dj switch panel, and 2 phosban reactors. Also the rock work is currently arranged like in the 2nd pic.

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If i can borrow my friends camera with underwater housing i will get some better pics...my cell phone camera is not cutting it lol
 
some pictures I just took, shot with a crappy olympus p&s

Pocillapora
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ORA Green Birdsnest frag picked up at WWC over spring break
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Orange Cap
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the survivor
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RBTA on the rebound, getting its color and tentacles back
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Some swallowtail pics

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Looking good so far. As far as the stand discussion (which I know was months ago), you have no idea how much sleep I lose because of that POS All Glass stand that came with my tank. I get so nervous about it... But I guess they've been doing it longer than I've been alive, so I guess they know something about stands.

Very nice angel, and keep an eye on that pocillapora and make sure it doesn't spawn in your tank. that's something that you DEFINITELY don't want to deal with, or you'll have Pocillapora growing EVERYWHERE (like I do now).
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14764558#post14764558 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefWreak
Looking good so far. As far as the stand discussion (which I know was months ago), you have no idea how much sleep I lose because of that POS All Glass stand that came with my tank. I get so nervous about it... But I guess they've been doing it longer than I've been alive, so I guess they know something about stands.

Very nice angel, and keep an eye on that pocillapora and make sure it doesn't spawn in your tank. that's something that you DEFINITELY don't want to deal with, or you'll have Pocillapora growing EVERYWHERE (like I do now).

i think i bought that poci at the frag swap from you last year :lol:
 
lol there ya go!

I don't have it any more, and it does look very nice and grows quickly, but just be careful, and if you see any white on it but everything else is healthy, start looking for little colonies, and then scrape them off. They're much less bothersome than coralline, and you can always sell the frags that are easily grown out and scraped off.
 
actually the base on the frag plug is covered in transparent polyps that extend like no tomorrow but i think they are just rebounding from getting moved around from the 92 to a 40 breeder to a 20 long and finally to this tank. i dont expect my system to be stable enough for it to spawn anytime soon :D
 
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