Hobbzz's 120g + 29g build

hobbzz

How do I change this?
Hello RC. I've been on this site for a long time, but this will be my first build thread here. It's about time. My wife and I will be moving sometime next year, and we don't want to move our current tank. Not to mention that we will be renting for an unknown time frame while selling our house and might not even be able to fit it into a condo/apartment. So we will be selling the current one and setting up a 120g and 29g tied together, until we purchase a house and so a final upgrade. I've been in the hobby for about 16 years and really enjoy doing the work myself, and to tinkering with diy fish projects. I think setting up a new tank, no matter how big or small, is probably my favorite part.

Each tank will be a mixed reef. The 29 will be mostly lps, clams, and macro. The 120 will be more sps, but still mixed. We've got a magnifica anemone and a small haddoni that we'd like to keep as long as we can, so hopefully they won't outgrow this system. I've accumulated lots of equipment over the years, so most of it will kept from the current tank and used on the new system. On to the equipment list.

Tanks:
- Aqueon non reef ready 120g (4x2x2) with black silicone, bean animal overflow on back glass.
- Aqueon 29g, drilled with standard overflow in corner.
- 40 breeder sump

Skimmer:
- Reef Octopus SRO 3000 with neck cleaner

Flow:
- Quiet One returns for both tanks
- MP60 QD for the 120. Probably something to push across the tank length behind rocks like a modded maxijet or similar. I also have a Tunze 6105 and two 6255's. I could add one on low flow if I need to disperse the flow more.
- MP10 QD for the 29g
- Diy rocket engineer stands for both tanks, skinned. I'm thinking high gloss white, but not sure yet.

Lighting:
- diy full spectrum led
- T5HO retro kits
- RapidLed diy royal blue supplement strips

For the lighting I'm going to be doing an experiment with led vs T5 to see which does best with color and growth. I've used every kind of lighting over the years, but never had the chance to compare different types on the same system at the same time. The 29g will be led only. One half of the 120 will be all T5, with royal blue led supplement for color only. The other half of the 120 will be one led fixture and 4 T5 bulbs with reflectors. Probably (2) actinic bulbs, a coral plus and a pink bulb like purple plus.

Controller:
- Full apex, 3 energy bars, wxm

Other:
- Diy methanol denitrator
- Possibly a diy lanthanum chloride reactor
- Modded eheim auto feeder. It runs on ac and is controlled by the apex
- Might use our sea swirl depending on space
- Reactor for carbon

Fish list:
- Bangaii cardinal
- Pair of pink skunks, pair of percs/occs. One in each tank.
- Chevron tang
- Borbonious anthias
- Sunburst anthias
- Cleaner wrasse
- Harlequin tusk (currently 1.5")
- Pair of Helfrichi firefish
- Lineatus wrasse
- Rhomboid wrasse
- Mystery wrasse (not a bully...yet)
- Moorish Idol
- Yellow/Scopas tang hybrid (currently 1.5")

Possibly:
- Midas blenny

We will try to keep the tangs, idol, mystery, and tuskfish if we can. But if anyone gets stressed or aggressive before we upgrade I will rehome them. I dont usually keep tangs in anything under 6', but we already have them and removing hem if needed will be easy. This list also depends on how everyone gets along in a "smaller" tank system. We currently have all of them except the lineatus.

That's about all I have time for right now. Next I'll post up some pics of the progress so far. I apologize in advance if this is a slower build, however I should have everything up and running in a month or two. Thanks for looking!
 
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I picked up this guide on amazon, but it didn't work out so well. Ended up doing all four holes by hand.



All drilled and painted






Yesterday I cut all the lumber for the frame of the 120 and started assembling it. I should be able to finish tonight. Maybe even get a coat of killz on it.
 
Looking forward for more pictures especially the new overflow. Also I am interested into the DIY Methanol Denitrator. I have the alcohol Deltec version. How fill the you feed the reactor?
 
mp60 is gonna be a TON of flow in that tank!
btw, you're planning on a Tusk?

I'd rethink that. 120 just isn't big enough. And they're aggressive.
 
Hi Moondoggy! I use a 15g currently. I'll use the same 15g on the new tank, just fill it with less water. The chamber cycles three times a day. 5 minutes after cycling is over, the methanol/rodi mixture is pumped in. 3 hours before the cycle ends, a strontium nitrate/rodi mixture is pumped in to take care of some phosphate. The bacteria grows on eggcrate around the edges of the chamber, and a small sicce pump with the cover removed provides low flow. Here's the thread for the diy version of the Natureef ones (original design).

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2381987

Hi chimmike! The mp60 will definitely be more than enough, but I already have it and will use it on the future upgrade, so I might as well save some coin and use it. Albeit turned wayyy down lol!
 
Overflow for the 120 is cut. Picking up the weldon on the weekend. Hope to have it installed mid next week. It's 24" x 4.25" x 6" (lwh).

 
Got the stand for the 120 assembled last night but was too tired to get a coat of paint on it. I also received the acrylic for the overflow in the 29 so I need to get that cut and installed as well.

I need to get either acrylic or glass for the sump baffles. I had never cut acrylic on a table saw before now. I had always been kinda worried about chipping or melting or shrapnel flying off, but it turns out it's cake work. Much easier than scoring/snapping glass so I'll probably go with acrylic for the ease of working with it.

One thing I'm dreading is dealing with my current rock. I think a good deal of it is leaching phosphate. It's covered in bubble algae and aiptasia. I'm currently looking at doing a kalk bath and seeing how well that does at killing the nems and algae. If that doesn't work, my only other options would be acid bath or replace it. The wife would just about murder me if I bought all new rock lol.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome.
 
I currently have 5 turbo snails about 2" across that do plenty of flipping. They will not be going to the new tank lol.
 
Got a good deal of work done recently. Installed both overflows, skinned the stand for the 120, assembled the frame for the canopy on the 120, and started a little plumbing.

I've filled most of the nail holes and gaps in the stand skin. Once they dry I'll sand and start painting with a primer coat of killz.

Also working on building the doors for the stand today. Once they're assembled and clamped I'll start in skinning the canopy. The canopy is going to hinge in two places. The front face will be able to swing up completely vertical for everyday tasks like feeding. The entire top will also be able to swing up to give more access.

I'll update with pics later today.
 
Mock up of sump. Still have to cut the filter sock holder from some extra hdpe I have.





Building the frame of the canopy. Still drying right now, but it's finished.



Starting to try bending the pvc instead of using fittings.

 
Not bad for my first try if I do say so myself. A few dimples but not horrible. I think I have it down and can avoid them from now on. I think getting them bent in the right spots will be the hard part.

 
Looking good man? Why not use spa flex instead though?
I'm interested in the DIY methanol denitrator and how it works for you. Have you used it in the past? I'm going to research it now actually. :lol:

Following along

Corey
 
Thanks! The denitrator is working great. So well that I had to start feeding a little more and cycle it less often. Three times a day is the standard but that had my nitrates at .2 and I like to keep them a little higher, at least single digit.

I already had the piping and I don't really like the joint between spa flex and pvc unions/couplings etc. Also can't make the radius of the bends as tight. I already had the elbows and other fittings, so if bending it doesn't work out I'll just go the old fashioned route. This just seemed like a fun side project.
 
You have a link to your denitrator? Put the spa flex in the dryer for a second to help out the bends etc.
either way I'm following along. How do you like neck cleaner, I'm about to start looking for one too.

Corey
 
Haven't had it running yet but the build quality is good. I heard that the swabbie has screws that can come loose. I think it was the screws that hold the blade in that loosened up over time iirc. Not a big deal, but I got this one on black friday weekend so it was only about $10 more than the swabbie for a custom fit lid. That way when I upgrade in the future and sell the skimmer, I don't have to worry about the lid being drilled.

Here's the link to the diy denitrator thread. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2381987
 
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