Operation Atlantis

[Ohio]

My 120g build reef upgrade.

Okay, so I currently have a 46g bow front built into the wall in my basement, I am upgrading to a 120g reef ready system. I decided to build my stand and thought that i would document my process.

Let me know what you think.

Current set-up

My new tank

What I have so far on my stand

 

[Ohio]

I am making a little progress. Need to go back to Home Depot and pick up some more trim. I am thinking of putting acrylic in for one of the doors so I can see the sump at all times. Haven't decided yet.

Hopefully I can finish the woodwork and start sanding on Sunday.

 

[rustyjames]

I like the trim around your 46, but I really like your new stand. Well done. Tank is going to awesome.

 

[Ohio]

It's coming along. Staining starts this weekend.

 

[MattShack]

Looking great!!

 

[sjmantis]

Awesome

 

[Ohio]

I haven't updated this in a while. The stand is complete except for the doors. Tank is in position and almost full of freshwater. Hope to start leak test tomorrow.

I am not the greatest plumber(as you can see) but I believe everything is secure and shouldn't leak.

I have a ? About heating. I have 2 200w fluval heaters. They are ranked for 65g. Is it okay to use these or do I need to get a 500w? If I need to get a 500w, can I use one of these as a backup?

 

[Rybren]

Great looking stand. Congrats.

As for the heaters, I think that most people would recommend running two smaller ones rather than one big one. The reason being is that if one fails either on or off, the results would be less catastrophic than if the single one failed. As for sizing, a lot depends on the ambient temperature of the room and your desired tank temp. I have a 200W and a 150W in my 75G+35G system. My tank is in the basement and the room temp is only 68 degrees in the winter. My heaters are on almost all the time to maintain a tank temp of 79 degrees. We had a 5-hour power failure a few weeks ago; my tank was running off of a generator but we had no heat in the house so the basement temp really dropped. The heaters couldn't maintain 79 degrees.

 

[dzfish17]

The stand looks great. I agree that 2 sm. heaters are better than 1 lrg. heater.