My first tank - 120 Gallon Reef

J

jsharp13

New member
Hello everyone,

So after a ton of research and lots of money spent, I am currently filling my brand new 120 gallon tank. RO takes forever! At 100 GPD, that is 30 hours of fill time. Anyway, here are a few pics of the progress:

From the front. This was an adventure all its own. I put the tank in place on the stand where we had discussed having it. After I made it very clear that once water was in it, it wasn't moving, my wonderful wife decided that she wanted it in a different spot. At least she said it then! Plus, it is now the centerpiece as you enter the front door, which is nice.
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Now some plumbing. Sorry the pics are sideways. I did all of this last night. I had a spill though, and have a nice spot of purple on the carpet now (warning: pipe cleaner will eat right through a vinyl tablecloth!!). Wife nearly killed me this morning when I told her. Well, at least the plumbing is done!

Left
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Right
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From the end
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Been really happy with everything, and it looks like I will have it filled by the end of the day today. Then, salt, live sand, and then a shipment from Richard at TBS with my live rock!
 
If you don't mind me asking, where and how much did you pay for the tank? I'm looking for a 120g and just curious.

And welcome!
 
jml1149 said:
If you don't mind me asking, where and how much did you pay for the tank? I'm looking for a 120g and just curious.

And welcome!
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I don't mind. Unfortunately, I don't have the details behind what each piece costs. I worked up a deal with my LFS that included everything (tank, stand, skimmer, refug, air pump, sand, and RO unit. Total was $1900. I think the tank was one of the cheapest parts of the whole deal at $400-500.

Since then, I have added 2 MP40s, a heater, the live rock that I should get next week, and the Razor LED.

Not sure how much that helps.
 
nuxx said:
Good size to start with.

Keeping small tanks when new is a challenge!
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That is what I kept reading, so I figured I would start with a decent size (if I did a 55 to begin, I would just want a bigger one next year anyway!).

Originally, I had looked at a 90 as my minimum, but the 120 only ended up costing about $300 more including the increased price for the stand and the more powerful skimmer. Plus, instead of 1 big overflow in the middle, the 120 has a small overflow in each corner, which I liked a lot better.
 
Update:

Tank is filled (has been for a few days). Salinity and temp at good levels. Added live sand, which fogged up the tank for a couple of days, but cleared up well. Also added the screen top from BRS and an APEX (see pics below). Was not happy with the way the deep blue 300w heater was managing temp, so purchased 2 Jager 150s. They are working fantastic. Also added a Tunze Osmolator after realizing how often I would be topping off.

Here is the tank with the sand.
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Board with my apex and other gear. This will be mounted on the wall, a frame and doors put on it. Right now, the baby gate stop my twin 18-month olds from electrocuting themselves...
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And the screen top. So very happy with this. Glad I found the reviews about this online. Was going to use a glass top, but this is so much better.
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My live rock is on a plane now from TBS. Will be picking that up this evening and adding it. Excited about my first non-microscopic organisms in the tank.
 
davocean said:
Great start and such a nice tank and footprint to start off with, makes scaping easier.
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Thank you. That is actually the thing I am most worried about. I am in no way a creative person. I am going to get the rock tonight, and it terrifies me that I won't be able to get it arranged in a nice pattern. I know that is the basis for everything else that will go in the tank (corals need shelves, fish need hiding places, etc). Plus, it will be the first thing everyone sees when they look at the tank.

Any advice on scaping or any websites that have some good examples would be much appreciated. I have done some searching, but nothing that has been of any great help.

Was watching Tanked last night, and all I could think was "Man, those custom-made acrylic reefs sure would be a lot easier."
 
I have found that running two heaters is a challenge to dial in, especially when you look at data logged in your apex. I used one of my Apex plugs to control my heaters and what a difference. I'm able to hold just about to 0.5 degree if I choose.
 
jml1149 said:
I have found that running two heaters is a challenge to dial in, especially when you look at data logged in your apex. I used one of my Apex plugs to control my heaters and what a difference. I'm able to hold just about to 0.5 degree if I choose.
Click to expand...

Yeah, hooked them up to my apex. I have the heaters set at 79, I think. And then the APEX at 78.5-79. Has been holding within .5 degrees. Both heaters are in my refug. I use a probe in the compartment before it to control the apex and I have a probe in the compartment after. Going to move the one in the compartment after though. I think the return pump is screwing up the readings.
 
Personally I like doing pillars for scaping, it helps secure everything.
Since you are started already it's a little trickier, but this is what I would do.
Make a template of your tank, cardboard or plywood works, mark dims and overflow.
Keep your LR in buckets or even better brutes.
Pull out a few pieces and fit them until you find something that looks nice(try not to let rock dry out too much, keep as wet as much as possible)
Me personally, I would drain your tank into brutes, place rock in, and then pump water back in.
It's easier to manipulate and causes less cloud storm, and you can see what you are doing.
I also cover my glass on both sides w/ cardboard so I don't scratch it or drop a rock into it, of course pulling it to see scape as I go(This is also why I'd drain it)
 
Update:

Got the live rock in from Tampa Bay Seawater on Friday. Overall, everything looked very good. I scraped 1 sponge off that smelled pretty bad, but everything else smelled like the ocean. :)

Have done 3 20% water changes over the past 3 days to keep ammonia down, but it hasn't hit over 1.2 yet. Hopefully, that keeps going.

I have some obvious life like sponges and snails. I think I have a few fan worms, I spotted a long-spine urchin, but not sure if he will survive or not. Also have someone hiding in the rock who is clacking. Could be a mantis or a pistol. Obiviously, hoping for a pistol...

The boxes. 150 lbs of live rock, 300 lbs shipped with water (something I didn't realize is that when the TBS website says $.65-$1.00 per pound shipping, that includes the water. Costed about $260 to ship everything.)

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Opening

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Opening bags. Most were triple and some were quadruple bagged. I had no leaks that made it to the box. A couple that got to the outside bag.

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First glance

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And, skipping ahead a few hours, the finished product. Any suggestions on the aquascaping are welcome. The link that dbl provided above was very helpful. This is about 2/3rds of the rock. I put one big one and a couple of little ones in the refug, and ended up leaving out 2 decent size rocks. If I had to do it again, may have gone with 120 lbs. Glad I threw one of them out though. I had put it out in the yard to die off and dry. When I went out and looked at it the next day, it had a very large gorilla crab on it!

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Now, I wait for the cycle. I'm hoping for 2 weeks, but preparing for 2 months. Then, the clean-up crew which I have decided to order from Premium Aquatics.
 
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