New 125AGA Setup [photo journal]

[FishhyRen]

I've had this tank for almost a year now-
I've been waiting to set it up when my house was complete-

Now the house is complete, I've tiled where it is and here comes the fun!

Unfortunately (in retrospect) I didn't take pictures along the line of my buddy building the stand and canopy, me finishing it, all the sump work, etc... but the fun part is watching it get going anyways...

Here are some pictures from last night after finishing mixing the salt and through adding sand...

The stand is 40inches tall so there is plenty of space to work underneath and you don't have to bend over to look in the tank!

 

[FishhyRen]

new tank

new tank

Here it is w/out any sand (just did pump startup, and got the salt mixed).

Here's the sump w/out the sand and plants in the refugium part-
The sump was built w/a 55gal tank w/2inch bulkead I cut on one side- The deviders and such are made w/1/4inch acrylic.

Here's the pump/plumbing setup (I went with the AmpMaster 3000 w/upgraded seal). Now... I know what you're thinking... What was I thinking going w/the AM3000!? Well, it was a Christmas present from the girlfriend at the time... And before problems started being posted.

I managed to find 200lbs of South Down Sand from a friend in Tallahassee, Fl :rollface:- I put 150lbs in the tank and another 50 will go in the sump...

Here's the sandstorm after adding the sand...

Here's the milkshake being made on the top after turning the pump back on- ewwwwww

 

[FishhyRen]

new tank

new tank

Here's a picture of the SeaLifeSystems 400 Downdraft skimmer... I have put on the beckett mod... This thing can foam pretty good!

This looks like I've got a cappuccino machine going- (That's the southdown "cream" getting pulled out...

And lastly this round is a pic of the power center I picked up on ebay for $20- This thing is nice! (It's really nice to have a switch to control the under-cabinet lights I put in the bottom!)

I'll have more soon- I'll be ordering a lot of live rock soon- I'll try to remember to take pictures when putting the lights in the canopy!

 

[elephen]

Looks nice man, what type of reef are you going to run?

 

[FishhyRen]

A bit of a mix bag-
I'm going to go mostly SPS/LPS but I'm going to put some softies in for movement-

 

[floridareefs]

very nice tank. I like the southdown. that should turn out awesome

 

[FishhyRen]

very nice tank. I like the southdown. that should turn out awesome

Thanks! I know the gobies will love it!

 

[jaxspsreef]

good work ren, I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's finished.

 

[FishhyRen]

Okay- so I ordered 150lbs of live rock yesterday which will be delivered today! I'll be taking pictures of it later tonight!

After it is all cured I'll be moving over an additional ~80-90lbs from the old tank.

I also bought a Reef-Rack system which won't be here until Friday-
Stay tuned- This should get interesting!

 

[FishhyRen]

More pics

More pics

I received 100lbs of 150lbs (Some how UPS has lost one of the packages) :mad2:

Here's some pics of the rock last night-

The tank had cleared up nicely before adding the rock-

Now here's some pics of the rocks

I sprayed off the rock to get any loose dead stuff off-

 

[FishhyRen]

Pics of rock

Pics of rock

Here are a few pics of it in the tank:

I'm pleasantly suprised with the large pieces and the rock seemed like it had some life to it (it was supposedly cured already at Walt Smith's distribution vats out in Cali).
The rock by the way was just under $3/lb shipped!

More to come soon!

 

[FishhyRen]

More Pics

More Pics

UPS finally found the package somewhere and delivered it-
Here are some pictures from this evening...

Here's the 100lbs of liverock finally settled down pretty well

(notice the next two pictures show sand has covered the rocks slightly...)

Here's a picture of the skimmer finally sliming up from adding the rocks-

It finally arrives!!!

This is the last pic for the night... The tank is clearing up quickly...

Just need to figure out a way to keep the sand from making sand drifts...

It should be noted: This has NOT yet been aquascaped- I mearly put the rock in to get it curing... I have a reef rack system coming Friday and will begin scaping then!

 

[gkarshens]

Looking great! I too am upgrading from a 55 to a 125. I built my own stand and made it 40 inches tall as well. I hated having to bend over to look in my tank! You are about 2-3 weeks ahead of me. I can't wait to see it done!

 

[FishhyRen]

Updates

Updates

I haven't updated in a while- I apologize.
Here are a few new pics- (I still need to get new bulbs for the VHO's so I haven't put them up yet or taken pics of the canopy-

But I had to get the lights on the live rock to get this thing going!

Here's a pic of the rock after the tank cleared up (before the reef rack system)

Here are two pics of the Reef Rack system I bought (put together)-
I liked the ability to give more flow under the rocks and allow the fish some more hiding room too...

Here are a couple pics of the entire tank w/just the MH lights on...

Left-to-right I have: 175W SE 10+K AB light, 250W DE Ushio 10K, 175W SE XM bulb- All three on electronic ballasts.

You can really see how blue the blub on the left is... (there is no actinic supplimentation in this picture.
I might not keep this bulb...

Here's a couple pics of the rock starting to come to life-
I saw my first Pod scurrying around last night :rollface:

I'll post pics of the inside of the canopy when I take it down to put the VHO's in...
BTW- I'm going to move the rocks around a little more to cover the Reef Rack better and to create a better "cove" of sorts on the sides and near the middle.

 

[Dubbin1]

Looking good!!!

 

[mecold]

Your tank is coming right along.. If only I had the room for a 6 foot long tank..

 

[chiapet]

I escpecially thought that the Windows cup was appropriate for the skimmer waste....:lol:

 

[chiapet]

I forgot to ask a question...Who drilled your sump?

Thanks

 

[FishhyRen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6270138#post6270138 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chiapet
I escpecially thought that the Windows cup was appropriate for the skimmer waste....:lol:

:lmao:
It's Windows CE... I'm actually pretty fond of 2k3...

 

[Purple Haze]

nice rack