Albertan22's 120g Reef Build

albertan22 · 09/07/2009, 12:28 PM

It almost seems cliche to start another 120g build thread on this site, but hey, this tank has been my dream for several years and I'd like to share it.

After 3 long years of reading and research, I finally started this project. It's been a slow process of accumulating equipment and a failed stand build so I decided to wait to start a build thread until things started moving faster. My wife has convinced me that it's finally time to get one going though, so here we go.

Here's my equipment list so far:

Marineland 120g reef ready tank with 1 corner overflow
40g breeder as a sump
Aqueon Cherry Mission stand and cannopy
Sunlight Supply Tek 8 bulb T5 light fixture
SWC Xtreme 200 protein skimmer
Quiet One 3000 return pump
2 Koralia 4s for added circulation
TLF reactor w phosban
autotopoff.com rig attached to a maxijet 400 for ATO
29g QT tank
1 Koralia 1 for the QT
Sponge filter for the QT

The project started with me attempting to build my own stand.

I had planned on skinning this stand in maple then applying a red stain. The build seemed successful at first, but then I left it for a month and found that a lot of the wood had shrunk, leaving gaps and warping the top box frame that the tank would sit on. Rather than trying to fix it, I decided that I'd feel safer with a store bought stand.

My wife is a math teacher so I got her to help me out with the plumbing design

The final product:

Thanks Vana:

Let there be light:

Sump is up and running!

And the first load of rock:

I picked up some more rock and finished the aquascaping yesterday:

And the tank with the canopy in place:

We had the lights on last night so we could enjoy our handiwork, but they'll stay off for the majority of the cycle in an effort to keep the algae down (probably a futile gesture).

albertan22 · 09/07/2009, 12:29 PM

We've noticed a few hitchhikers in our tank, I'm sure there's more to come.

So far we've observed a featherduster worm, and a few snails.

While I was doing the rockwork I noticed a large crab (about the size of a toonie) way up in a deep crevice of one of my rocks. He was brown with red eyes, didn't look hairy at all. He was to deep in the rock to get out, so I let him be, I hope this doesn't turn out to be a mistake. I seem to recall reading on the forums somewhere that hairy crab=bad crab, and non-hairy crab=good crab. I'm hoping this is the case with this guy, who knows if he'll survive the cycle though.

We also found this guy:

MANTIS!!! My wife thought it was cool that she could see "yellow eyes" watching her from inside a rock, I didn't think it was so cool. The rock was at the bottom of the rockwork, but luckily was not load bearing and easily removed.

I wish I had a place to put him, or some fish to feed him to, but alas his fate was simply to end up in the garbage

Couldn't have him in my tank though. I hope there aren't any more in there.

I also found a small crab (about the size of a dime) climbing around on the rock that the mantis came out of. I decided to be safe and threw him in the refugium.

09/07/2009, 12:28 PM	#1
albertan22 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 83	Albertan22's 120g Reef Build It almost seems cliche to start another 120g build thread on this site, but hey, this tank has been my dream for several years and I'd like to share it. After 3 long years of reading and research, I finally started this project. It's been a slow process of accumulating equipment and a failed stand build so I decided to wait to start a build thread until things started moving faster. My wife has convinced me that it's finally time to get one going though, so here we go. Here's my equipment list so far: Marineland 120g reef ready tank with 1 corner overflow 40g breeder as a sump Aqueon Cherry Mission stand and cannopy Sunlight Supply Tek 8 bulb T5 light fixture SWC Xtreme 200 protein skimmer Quiet One 3000 return pump 2 Koralia 4s for added circulation TLF reactor w phosban autotopoff.com rig attached to a maxijet 400 for ATO 29g QT tank 1 Koralia 1 for the QT Sponge filter for the QT The project started with me attempting to build my own stand. I had planned on skinning this stand in maple then applying a red stain. The build seemed successful at first, but then I left it for a month and found that a lot of the wood had shrunk, leaving gaps and warping the top box frame that the tank would sit on. Rather than trying to fix it, I decided that I'd feel safer with a store bought stand. My wife is a math teacher so I got her to help me out with the plumbing design The final product: Thanks Vana: Let there be light: Sump is up and running! And the first load of rock: I picked up some more rock and finished the aquascaping yesterday: And the tank with the canopy in place: We had the lights on last night so we could enjoy our handiwork, but they'll stay off for the majority of the cycle in an effort to keep the algae down (probably a futile gesture). Last edited by albertan22; 09/07/2009 at 12:33 PM.

09/07/2009, 12:29 PM	#2
albertan22 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 83	Hitchhikers We've noticed a few hitchhikers in our tank, I'm sure there's more to come. So far we've observed a featherduster worm, and a few snails. While I was doing the rockwork I noticed a large crab (about the size of a toonie) way up in a deep crevice of one of my rocks. He was brown with red eyes, didn't look hairy at all. He was to deep in the rock to get out, so I let him be, I hope this doesn't turn out to be a mistake. I seem to recall reading on the forums somewhere that hairy crab=bad crab, and non-hairy crab=good crab. I'm hoping this is the case with this guy, who knows if he'll survive the cycle though. We also found this guy: MANTIS!!! My wife thought it was cool that she could see "yellow eyes" watching her from inside a rock, I didn't think it was so cool. The rock was at the bottom of the rockwork, but luckily was not load bearing and easily removed. I wish I had a place to put him, or some fish to feed him to, but alas his fate was simply to end up in the garbage Couldn't have him in my tank though. I hope there aren't any more in there. I also found a small crab (about the size of a dime) climbing around on the rock that the mantis came out of. I decided to be safe and threw him in the refugium.