New 120 Build - Getting back into it

[Srixon]

Dan,
Make sure you flush a lot of fresh water with the water change water it most likely would kill any vegetation surrounding it. Also for a wall covering that is pretty bulletproof I'd use FRP board...its around $34 A 4 x 8 sheet but covers well and cleans up well...they use this in car washes on the walls.

 

[block head]

I'm building a reef /bar / lounge room . Thinking i might do some type of accent wall. Frp board might be a practical/ affordable option. Vinyl plank flooring or wood grain tile are my top choices for flooring.

 

[Willistein]

I'll definitely check out FRP board. Where the pipe dumps out is a grass field area, and amazingly the grass seems unaffected by the softener salt so far. I was thinking of digging a dry-well type thing (hole plus gravel) to help it disappear into the ground.

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[Willistein]

Can I find FRP at Lowes/HD?

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[Srixon]

I believe that both Lowes and HD carry it

 

[Willistein]

Picked up some 3/16" smoked acrylic and built the frag tank overflow.

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[jfl14609]

Looks good dan I might have some reflectors crap I think I even have the sit ones you made me I also have a few black box leds

 

[Willistein]

I still have my DIY reflectors! although two of them are getting pretty corroded...
Do you still have a tank going Jeff?

 

[jfl14609]

sort of i have a 65 recently my ato stuck on and wiped mot of it out first loss in all these years

 

[Willistein]

man, that's rough. My plan for this build is to use a litermiter to dose kalk for 90% of the topoff, and for the rest, I'll rely on a float switch (and redundant float switch) to activate a pump from a brute can freshwater reservoir.

 

[jfl14609]

i ditched the top off i just put a wifi outlet on a pump that top sit off for 5 mins a day every once and a while i have to add more but or the majority it works are you still living locally?

 

[Willistein]

Yep, I'm near Mumford

 

[jfl14609]

thats cool ill have to check the tank out when your going

 

[Willistein]

So, its been slow going, but here's an update. Picked up a standard Aqueon 120, and it's sitting in the basement waiting to be drilled. Still have to work out how I'm going to move it up the stairs...

I've made some progress building the sump. Because I'm not going to spend $500 on a sump, I'm using a 40 breeder and fitting it with acrylic baffles. The acrylic baffles are be bonded to each other with acrylic cement, and bonded to tank with GE silicone I. I'm still coming up to speed on acrylic routing, bending, bonding, etc, so bear with me...
The picture shows the inlet portion. Beananimal full siphon and trickle line enter on the right through two 1" bulkheads. Water will overflow the black baffle and enter the filter sock section. Water flows down through the socks, and out through the slot on the bottom into the skimmer section. If the socks get plugged, water rises and flows out the slot at the top. I'll post more pics tonight. At the opposite end of the sump, I'll drill for an external return pump (Blue line 40). Still need to work out the anti-bubble section.

 

[Willistein]

Now I'm wondering if I'll even need bubble-reducing baffles... Anybody out there running bean-animal overflow - can you tell me if bubbles are really an issue?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Every set up differs

Every set up differs

But (generally speaking) bean animals aren't known for producing a copious amount of bubbles

One thing I do NOT like about my Synergy sump are all of the baffles.

My old 75 gallon DIY sump was (IMO) a better (and much simpler!) design: one up baffle, one down baffle and a sock holder.

 

[Willistein]

Yeah, I really favor simplicity as much as possible. I think I'll go without, and worst case I'll drain the sump, and add a couple baffles. One thing I'm doing this time around is making the inlet and filter sock area make a lot of sense and easy to maintain. The filter sock section will also have a cover to reduce any salt spray/creep.

Looks like this might get hooked up tonight!

In other news, I picked up an algae blenny to live in the frag tank and do some lawn mowing, and he'll be done with QT/tank transfer method tonight

 

[Willistein]

Things are happening, sump is on line and connected to the frag tank. 120 is patently waiting to go upstairs.

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[Willistein]

Sorry for the slowest build thread ever, but I want to do things right, and I don't have unlimited funds (just ask my wife...). Over the weekend I ordered a 20" low-profile overflow kit from Exotic Marine Systems! I will have to drill the tank for it - it will sit centered along the back wall of the tank. I looked at a few different companies that all sell something similar, but I chose EMS for a couple reasons:
-1/4" cell cast acrylic for both inside and outside boxes - I don't like how some companies have switched to flimsy ABS.
-inside box is black, outside box is smoked so you can see water level for bean animal setup
-a spacer is included the goes between the back of the tank and the eternal box to allow the external box to sit level with the top of the tank (and not interfere with the tank trim). For power out situations, this seems like it will reduce chance of a flood.
-external box is euro-braced with large radii to minimize stress (and it has a cover)

I'll document the overflow installation process - probably this coming weekend!

https://www.exoticmarinesystems.com/collections/overflows-systems/products/24-overflow-kit

 

[Willistein]

Waiting for overflow to arrive... I mounted a repurposed cabinet above the sink, and got the litermeter dosing Alk and Ca... Though there's not much usage at this point, the rocks are starting to get nice purple spots.
I need to come up with a slick shelf to house the 2-part gallon jugs and the dosing pumps. I may even build some custom acrylic containers. I'll probably locate the dosing stuff near the sump, maybe even in the cabinet/shelf.
Couple beginner corals to test the waters...
System is at the 3 month point, so algae is gone. I have an algae blenny, emerald crab (son's request) and a brittle star that are doing well for the past few weeks.
It does help having a skimmer sized for 200 gallons on a 60 gallon setup...

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