My 125 to 180 build thread

[FishN00b83]

So my wife and I are expecting our first kid in November so we decided it was time to move into a house. we always said that when we did we would upgrade the current 125, but we really didn't know what size we wanted to go with. we moved in last Monday and decided a 180g would fit perfectly downstairs in the main part of the house.

I bought a AGA 180 and bought a 60" custom low profile overflow and had the LFS drill the tank. the overflow has 3 2" bulkheads that hold the two pieces together and has 3 1.5" drains for a bean animal. I had 2 1" returns drilled on either side of the overflow and I'll use lock line to get the flow up to the surface.

I am going to use everything from the 125 including the apex, 2 tunze 6105s, 3 ai sol blues, 2 eheim heaters, an eheim 1262 return pump, and a reef dynamics 180E skimmer. I have about 130 lbs of live rock in the 125 and I'm thinking of adding another 50 lbs of BRS reef saver rock (that's what the other rock is and it worked perfectly).

I bought a iron stand that the tank will sit on, but I am getting cinder blocks to raise the tank up a bit more. I plan on painting the iron stand with hurculiner and the back of the tank with chalkboard paint that I used on the old tank (it looked really good).

once the tank is up and running I plan on making a shell for the iron stand and canopy to match the kitchen.



the tank came last night so I figured it was time to start a build thread. I do have once question so far. I noticed that the overflow teeth are maybe a 1/4 inch under the trim of the tank (it looks like it now but in not 100% sure. will the water build up a bit on the teeth so the water level is not visable? I posted a few pictures below. I'll have more updates later on today.

 

[screamingibis]

Looks like a great job on your BA overflow. Did you order it build it?

 

[FishN00b83]

I ordered it from Modular Marine on eBay. The guy was AWESOME to work with. He was very responsive and answered all my questions. Honestly I was a little nervous ordering something like this on eBay, but after communicating with him for a few days I pulled the trigger. He has a bunch of standard sized overflows that he makes, but he'll also do a custom one of any size. I definitely recommend him to anyone that's looking for a low profile/custom overflow.

 

[alten78]

Man, you are having a kid and get a new house and build a new tank, we just had another one and the wife wants to sell my tank and Harley...I like your deal much better :lmao:

 

[FishN00b83]

Man, you are having a kid and get a new house and build a new tank, we just had another one and the wife wants to sell my tank and Harley...I like your deal much better :lmao:

lol I tried twice to be the responsible one and sell the tank but she wouldn't go for it. the megaflow overflows always bothered me so I was just going to get a drilled 125, but then we started talking about a 180 and it was decided when we saw the house. I'm hoping she stays this into it...I don't need her waking up one day telling me to get rid of this thing lol I'd freak out

 

[bmullikin1]

nice, you will love this type of overflow, and the teeth level looks fine as level will rise depending on how much flow you put thru it, are you going to paint the back black, or you could use black vinal like i did, was easy and removable.

 

[don_chuwish]

Love the dimensions of a 180 - and that long overflow is great! I've been looking at Modular Marine's stuff on eBay so it's nice to read a good review.

 

[FishN00b83]

nice, you will love this type of overflow, and the teeth level looks fine as level will rise depending on how much flow you put thru it, are you going to paint the back black, or you could use black vinal like i did, was easy and removable.

that's good to hear, I was a little nervous about the water level. as for the back glass I'm going to use the chalkboard paint I used on my 125, it came out really nice.

Love the dimensions of a 180 - and that long overflow is great! I've been looking at Modular Marine's stuff on eBay so it's nice to read a good review.

yeah the extra few inches really makes a difference, even when you look at it empty, I can't wait to fill it!

modular marine couldn't of been any better. I asked him a million and one questions and he made this for me real fast because I was moving.

 

[FishN00b83]

the guy at ace recommended this 3M rubberized coating instead of the herculiner...and I will say this stuff went on awesome and looks/feels even better.

 

[tanksfishtank]

Having a baby and getting a new tank. Sounds like a good deal to me! Lol Good luck with the setup!

 

[Bent]

Having a baby and getting a new tank. Sounds like a good deal to me! Lol Good luck with the setup!

Exactly.

Secrets please. Spill it.

 

[FishN00b83]

Having a baby and getting a new tank. Sounds like a good deal to me! Lol Good luck with the setup!

Thanks!!

Exactly.

Secrets please. Spill it.

Right before she got the ring I asked her when we're about to have a baby, and get a house, can I upgrade my fish tank?"¦she said yes LOL :inlove:

 

[FishN00b83]

I have a couple of things I need to make decisions on pretty soon, this tank will be up very fast...

1) I have a 45g sump for my 125 right now and I was going to use it for the 180. The refugium had a hard time keeping up with the bioload but grew cheato like crazy. I’m thinking of taking that baffle down and doubling the size of the return (basically having a 2 section sump). In the refugiums place, I was thinking of doing an ATS lit on both sides…thoughts


2) With the bean animal overflow, does the difference in height between the full siphon and the non-emergency drain matter? Also the emergency height should be a little lower than the height of the external box?

 

[Shawn O]

I believe the 'siphon' should be a little lower than the 'open' channel to cause the siphon to start there rather than just splitting between the two pipes evenly. Emergency can't be above the o-flow box or the "emergency" will be water all over your floor and a pi**ed off wife.

 

[FishN00b83]

I believe the 'siphon' should be a little lower than the 'open' channel to cause the siphon to start there rather than just splitting between the two pipes evenly. Emergency can't be above the o-flow box or the "emergency" will be water all over your floor and a pi**ed off wife.

Side note, my name is Shawn, spelt the same way and my last initial is an O...nice to meet you! HAH

anyway, that's what I figured I just wanted to make sure. I know about the emergency drain needing to be below the overflow box top. my wife would probably change her mind very quickly if I started spraying water all over the new house LOL

 

[FishN00b83]

so Home Depot didn't have cinder blocks...***?! I did talk to one of the guys there and he said I would have no problem at all putting the tank on bricks. what do you guys think of that? I bought 1.5" washers to level the tank but I'm unsure of the bricks.

 

[Shawn O]

Side note, my name is Shawn, spelt the same way and my last initial is an O...nice to meet you! HAH

anyway, that's what I figured I just wanted to make sure. I know about the emergency drain needing to be below the overflow box top. my wife would probably change her mind very quickly if I started spraying water all over the new house LOL

Well hello S.O. :wavehand: It would be rather ironic and humorous if I could say Shawn O was just a screen name and my actual initials were F.N. but this is not the case.

Yeah, wives can be rather picky about where water should be. Such is life.

 

[FishN00b83]

Well hello S.O. :wavehand: It would be rather ironic and humorous if I could say Shawn O was just a screen name and my actual initials were F.N. but this is not the case.

LOL that would be funny

 

[FishN00b83]

a few pictures of the tank painted...you can't see it in the pics but the reason I like the chalkboard paint is when it dries, it's not jet black. it has a blueish tint to it.

 

[Shawn O]

I like the drilling on that tank with the drains and returns. Going full internal o-flow or ghost?