New 120 Gallon Build

[thewbell]

I am relatively new to the SW world and have had a 75 gallon tank up and running for a few years now with 2 clowns, watchman goby, lawnmower blenny, coral beauty, flame angel and scarlet cleaner shrimp. I have been wanting to redo the plumbing on this tank for a while (noisy overflows due to poorly located holes) and the thought of spending money on it and dealing with the livestock while I put in a new overflow and plumbing did not appeal to me so I began searching CL for a 5' or 6' tank of 120 gallons or more.

After a few days I located a 5' 120 gallon on CL for $300 and it came with all kinds of FW accessories (canister, UG filter, Lights, filter media, decorations, etc) so I jumped on it. The 75 gallon will be converted to FW for some painted turtles and gobys that are currently in a 40B so what I don't use on the 75 will be sold to recoup some money.

I got the new tank home and began working on the stand almost immediately. I set the tank on a SS prep table we had in the carport but it was a little wobbly so I did not want to leave it there long.

I built the stand out of 2x2x.120 square tubing and C4x5.4 channel on Saturday after many drawings and calculations. Based on my calculations and a SolidWorks model I was able to determine that the channel would deflect less than .050" with an estimated 1750 lbs. I then added the gussets to the corners which should drop the deflection even more but I did not get them modeled.

I read over the steel stands thread and .050" seems to be the limit for stand deflection so I should be good here. Correct?

The plan is to skin the stand with hardwood panels and cabinet doors held on by magnets but I have not decided the exact design yet.

This will be a slow build and I am planning to use the equipment from my 75 with the addition of some more dry rock and sand to bring it up to around 120 lbs of rock 120 lbs of sand (currently 80/80).

 

[thewbell]

I was able to get a decent bit of work done on the stand and tank over the last few weeks and the tank is now residing close to it's final home. I got the stand painted along with plywood cut and painted to go under the tank and provide the bottom shelf. I also made a 2x4 frame that is held up by tabs inside the channel so I have a nice place to screw into if I want to add any cross members for hanging reactors or piping.

The stand is drilled for a Bean overflow with 3 1" pipes in the center about 4.5" down from the top of the aquarium. I made the overflow out of the old lids for the tank and it is 29.5" long and 4" deep so it should give me some pretty good surface skimming.

At this point all of the piping (hopefully) is ordered and will arrive today so I will be plumbing the tank over the weekend and pushing it back closer to the wall after a plumbing leak test. I also have the following equipment on the way that should arrive this weekend, so it will be a busy few days.

• Jebao DCT-1200 return pump
• 140 lbs Marco Rocks Sand
• drain/return plumbing fittings
• Reefbreeders Photon 48 Long

I have been trying to decide on an aquascape and I think I will use my existing 80lbs of rock from the 75 to make two separate islands on either end of the tank rather than the basic rock wall I have in the 75. I have convinced myself to try the MarinePure block (8x8x4) in the sump to make up for the lower amount of rock. I read a long (20+) page thread on this and it seems like the general consensus is that the blocks work great but there is a very slight chance that they leech aluminum(alumina) and that this could be bad for some corals. As of now I do not have any corals but I would like to do a mixed tank so I will give it a shot and see what happens.

Still on the list to buy is a skimmer to replace my Curve 5 and the rest of the wood to build a cabinet frame around the steel stand. I am looking at either a Vertex 150 or Reef Octopus 200 INT skimmer. What does everyone recommend for a mixed tank this size with a 40B sump?

 

[thewbell]

I got the stand filled with RODI water over the last few days and that was a slow process. I also washed all of my Marco Rocks sand (140 lbs) and added it to the tank with the water. Even with washing I had a cloud but it cleared up pretty quick with my filter socks on.

After a few hours I added the salt slowly to my sump. I put a cheap powerhead in my drain/skimmer area to the far right and added most of a bucket of Reef Crystals Salt. I am going to check the salinity when I get home and make some final tweaks as needed since I added less than I needed up front.

Ignore the cords as they are from some random heaters and the mixing PH I had laying around. All cords will be run up the the upper frame and hung neatly out of sight.

I have some help coming over Friday to start moving my LR and fish/inverts from the 75 to the new 120. I am hoping on no cycle since I am using new sand and my current LR. I have also ordered the following items that will be here this week and installed before the move:

• 2ea RW-8 Powerheads
• Photon 48 Long
• MarinePure block

I have also been working on the wood surround for my stand and the canopy. The surround and canopy are made from Poplar 1x4s and 1x6s with some 1x2s also in the canopy for the frame. I will get some pictures today but the plan is to hold the lower panels on with magnets and have 2 cabinet doors on the front and one on each side. The canopy will have 2 cabinet doors on the front and the front will also lift up and fold back on top for large maintenance jobs. So far all I have left on the stand is making my cabinet doors and I should be done with that this weekend.

 

[thewbell]

The tank is up and running! I spent all day yesterday moving rocks and livestock and so far it is all looking good and everyone is loving the new home.

I made a trip to the LFS and ended up with an osmolater ATO, some chaeto and a friend talked me into a torch coral also. Going to keep an eye on things for a few weeks while I finish the cabinet work then hopefully pick up a BTA and a few more fish. We haven't decided what yet, but my wife has been cruising live aquaria for ideas.

 

[csb123]

Very nice. Maybe move the light fixture a bit back to shine on the rocks where the corals will grow?

 

[thewbell]

Thank you. I'm working on the canopy now and it will be set up to hang the fixture and be able to adjust it. I will definitely slide it back in the mean time though. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[thewbell]

I was able to get all of my doors made over the weekend and got one side panel done. Just need to hang the rest of the doors and install the magnets then paint.

The panels will have blocks screwed to the inside to set the height.

 

[thewbell]

I forgot about this thread but the tank setup is complete. Since my last post I have installed an Apex, d700 skimmer, dual brs reactor and a handful of corals. Everything seems to be happy and doing great.

Now the Internet is getting the best of me and I am researching carbon dosing. Don't have any issues yet but in the next few weeks I might start trying out some vinegar and see what happens.

 

[NYCSTORMTROOPER]

Awesome work.....Nice job !!!!

 

[Land_shark067]

quick question what is the power bar you used? what brand is it how much and where can I get one?

 

[thewbell]

I used:
Eliminator E107 Control Center S-Switch/ 60 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GASJF2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_3Ni8wb04MGQF0

I just searched Amazon for "dj power strip" and picked the first one on prime. I'm sure you can probably get one cheaper but this one has worked out good so far. The switches light up when they are on so it is quick to tell at a glance.

 

[stinkyreef]

really nice upgrade. One heckuva stand you got there!

 

[thewbell]

Thank you. I have added a good bit more to the tank and the current stocking is:

2 clowns
1 coral beauty
1 flame angel
1 kole tang
1 diamond goby
1 foxface
1 spotted mandarin (just added today)
1 fathead anthia (just added today)
1 cleaner shrimp
1 rainbow BTA
1 harlequin shrimp

Corals:

1 chalice frag
4 various favia frags
1 5 head torch
1 2 head frogspawn
1 octospawn
1 Duncan (currently growing 4 more heads)
Assorted zoas
1 acan lord frag
1 birds nest frag

The tank has been doing great and showing quick growth on everything. The only loss I have had so far is a lawnmower blenny that swam into a power head while it was cycling on and off. I watch it it happen but despite cutting the lump off as soon as I saw it it was too late for him.

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[thewbell]

It has been a while since I updated this thread and unfortunately the tank has not fared well. We live in Baton Rouge and my house took on 2-3' of water during the flooding last weekend and everything in the tank died. I have not tried any of the equipment yet but as of now I think I lost my Apex, 2 dosing pumps, 1link, dj power strip, wireless adapter and all of the various power bricks.

I guess the only bright side to all of this is now I have a shot at talking my wife into an in wall tank between our living room and our sons play room. Hoping to step up to a 72x24 footprint with a ghost overflow on one end.


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