taken the plunge and start a build thread…. Whew!! sorry for the long post

[eagle9252]

I have been lurking and reading for about 2 weeks now,…Well I have decided to take the plunge and start a build thread…. Whew!! Correct me if I’m wrong. I normally plan and replan everything before I start. We use this saying in Boy Scouts a lot. “Fail to plan… Plan to Fail…!!! Some of this thread has been posted before.

I’m still undecided on the size tank. The more I think about it I want the larger 120gal 48x24x24 but I think I’m going to have to build it out of acrylic. Would ½” Lexan work or would it have to be ¾”? If it had a 2” rim around the top and say 3” brace down the middle would this work for ½” I would prefer a drilled glass tank. If I can find an annealed glass tank or acrylic I will drill it on both sides 1 for overflow on one side and return on the other and not have to use the HOB. My wife likes the bow front. We have settled on the 37 BW for now from PetSmart but it could change, (hopefully).

I plan to install it about 48” off the floor thru the load bearing wall in the Living room and Kitchen wall. I just did a quick measurement and it will come close to a pass thru door that we don’t use anymore so I have to think about that also. This is not my first rodeo so I know about headers and jack studs so my house won’t cave in. I’m almost finished with moving a pantry wall so I can move the fridge to give me more wall and counter space.

If the BF 36 or 72gal is used it would be flush with the Kitchen wall and stick out in the Living room. I’m going to build the hole about 49-50 inches wide to accept the larger tank. I hate finishing sheetrock so I would prefer to do it once. If the 120gal is used I will have to decide how I want to do it to evenly distribute the weight. I had planned a counter top and cabinet of some sort anyway to hide the sump.

I would like the wider tank as I want the viewing sides both front and back so I will not be able to lean the LR on the glass. I will need it to be freestanding or I might put a small wall in the middle to get it started but that’s a long way away.

Well I have spoken to the LFS and their LR is fully cured and is ready for a tank @ 6.99/lbs. They also sell LS and frags. They even sell saltwater that is tank ready for $1.25gal. It has the salt and correct ph. Of course I would retest it prior. This will help with the startup as all their fish and rocks are already acclimated so I won’t have to go thru a huge cycle time. This helps for a faster startup, when I finally get that far.

The LFS said I could use the BioBalls I bought 20 yrs ago in the sump to start with if I wanted to save some money. I think the smart thing would be to start slow. After I decide on the tank size and build everything I would get some LS and LR for the sump and dry sand and a starter LR for the DT and let it run. Hopefully this will seed the DT. I can get a 20L tank for cheap so this is probably the sump size I will go with for any of the tanks.

Now for the sump.

I don’t know if the 37BF is tempered or not. If it is then I will have to put a HOB skimmer to use the sump on the left side. And return on the right. As stated earlier I want to keep the front and back clear for viewing.

I brought a bender home from work and some ¼” Lexan scrapes to play with. I think I’m going to make a HOB skimmer so I need to practice. My boss’ eyes lit up at work when I told him what I was doing and wanted to borrow the bender and all he said was that “you can glue that stuff together?” so I might be able to get him to order the Weldon stuff from the local McMaster Carr :^) We have safety guards at work that we replace and the solvent welded ones would LQQK more professional.

As for the refugium I don’t know. It will have water coming from the tank go thru some baffles and from what I have read have some LR and sand in there and more baffles but I see it as a moot point cause it’s already in the tank. I will have to decide when it gets closer to that point. I might do it later. All I would have to do is add some of the Cheato and a light in the same area as the LS and LR?

I will have to decide later to add an ATO but I have a remote pump I think 2GPH 12v and I could add a float switch while building the sump. This would bring in the already mixed SW from the LFS. I guess I would have to run a filter on this. I have a 5gal hex tank with a bio wheel on it, would this work? I want to see just how much water loss I will have. I’m thinking I could just add it and not filter it but we’ll see.

I will have to decide if I want to run a protein skimmer. I think I saw somewhere a posting on how to build your own. I’ll have to find it again. I like building everything myself anyway, I think it builds character and adds personal touches and normally cheaper :^) Also I don’t like the LQQKs of things hanging in the tank so I want to put the heater and anything else that is needed in the sump.

I don’t know pump size yet due to not knowing the DT size. I have seen where everyone says use the 1262 900gph +/- on the 120gal or the Max5 which is 500gph or 1260 600gph +/- on the 37gal.

I still have to decide what kindof lights to use. I really don’t want to use MH as they suck power, I have 2 400w MH I use to light up the back yard and can get plenty but what an over kill. I don’t have central heat in the house and I know I have to have a heater on the tank, probably larger than most would use. It will be in the same room about 15 feet from the wood burning stove but the kitchen has no heat unless we are cooking. LED’s use less power so I have to decide.

I would love to have some Sea Horses but everyone says I can’t have them and clown fishes too, why? I want a Lion Fish but they are too aggressive for other fishes so I know that they are out. My wife asked me last night about a puffer fish. I told her I did not know and would have to LQQK, so I’m clueless.

Warning, Warning Will Robinson… I have just have had a brain fart and was wondering about the Sea Horses and such. What are the conditions needed and why can you put them in the normal DT with the others? Will they live in the Sump or a sort of double sump. I could filter the DT tank and the sea horse tank thru the same sump? I have the unused pass thru door that I could setup the 2nd tank, gosh… I’m already talking about a 2nd tank and have not started the 1st.

Or I could just hook the 5gal hex up to the 10gal WD filer I made 20 yrs ago and call it a day. But that would just be too boring!!!!!!!

[Misled]

Ok so I read through "most" of that. I didn't put that much planning in my marriage.

Don't use the bioballs. These will just create problems later. The live rock will cover the biological filtration.