4th SW tank but first real build. 120 reef

[RVANANO]

Hello everyone. I am usually a lurker here as I never felt the 34 was too special to post.

But I have been planning on doing a 120 for quite sometime now. I wanted to do all my homework and decide on most of what I want before I started buying. I also wanted to do it right and do it once.

I started with a 120 gallon tank. I had a custom black overflow box made with twin 1 1/2" bulkheads. For the returns, I went with twin 1" bulkheads drilled in the top left and right. I didn't want anything going into the tank.

I have all the plumbing running to the coat closet directly behind the tank. My best friend who is incredible with plumbing and electrical helped me design everything. We planned and drew out all the plumbing and then went to lowe's and started buying it up. We used all the materials we got and only had a few different angle elbows left as we knew we may want to alter. Great planning!!!

Twin 1 1/2" pipe drains to the sump and fuge with ball valves to regulate flow. We used standoffs and mounted the plumbing to the wall to make it clean and strong. We then painted all the plumbing behind the tank black so it won't be as noticeable.

For returns, one of the LFS's put together the manifold that goes from the 50 gallon breeder which has been drilled for an external Pan world pump rated at 1275 gallons per hour. I have two smaller lines on there for my dual coil denitrator and my future calcium reactor.

I will submerge 2 250W Jager pirex heaters in the sump for temp control.

The skimmer is an Octopus Extreme 200 with purple pinwheel upgrade.

The lighting is a Giesemman Infinity 48" with twin 250 DE 15k Megachrome's and 4 blue T5 acinitic bulbs.

The only items I don't have yet are my Vortech MP40W's which will be for flow. I already ordered my Neptune Apex which will control everything.

In the closet, I painted the walls with anti mildew paint and will be adding an exhaust fan up through the attic. I also have louvered doors and will put filter elements on the back to soften the noise. The power is via a dedicated 20 amp breaker wired to a 4 plug outlet. I also have the house hard wired for a generator for power outages.

So here are some photos so far.

The stand frame and basic skin was done by a local member. I did the top and bottom trim and then sanded and painted. I used precat primer and base clear and chose African Night as the color with a semi gloss finish.

All in all I think it is coming out better than I ever could have expected. Is is soooo worth doing right the first time.

Water is being delivered this eve at 7 pm

Thanks for looking.

Here is a link to my 34 and a link to my 120 project

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1404980...7608556403964/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1404980...7623310464822/

[RVANANO]

[RVANANO]

[meco65]

WOW looking good. Nice setup.

[skinnywater]

Great looking setup. Nice attention to details.

[scomar31]

Looks like it's going to be a sweet set up! Tagging along!

[Cramz07]

Sweet! My dream tank is around that many gal. but rimless so i'll be taggin along....I like your sump set up through the wall like that

[afernandez]

very nice.. well planned out. currently starting to get ideas for my 120. very nice pluming. what skimmer are you planning on using and more pics of your sump and what size is it? lol

[afernandez]

nvm lol i was so excited by pics. very nice! ps. jager best reliable heaters! IME.

[WhoDey64]

Mmmmmm Giesemman Infinity.....

[RVANANO]

Yeah I decided not to cut any corners. Which is why is has taken me a while to setup.

The sump/fuge is a 50 gallon with a Octopus Extreme 200 with purple pinwheel mod.

I am running 2 Jager heaters. One set at 77 and the smaller set at 75 as a back up just in case.

Water in as of last night. This morning it has already cleared up a ton.

It is very scary starting up a system this big IMO. I was having trouble sleeping b/c I was nervous

One tiny drip leak off the rear right return. I will have to get my good friend back out to fix. Only about a drop a minute so not too bad.

I also want to add check valves in the returns b/c when I cut it off, the sump fills to within a 1/4" from the top. Just a little to close for my comfort





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[Saltcity]

Very nice!! I'm doing a 120 right now too so Keep the pics coming!!

[Stickboy97]

Very sweet set-up! I like the stand, very clean!

[SawdustInTank]

Clean modern look to the light fixture and stand......Looks nice. May I ask what the two 1/4" tubing from the return manifold will feed. Also, are you going to install some trim at the sides to close the space from the wall to the tank? Thanks.

[gokarter88]

looks great!! what are you planning on keeping in the tank?

[Jake007]

How many pounds of sand did you end up going with?

[RVANANO]

That is 40 pounds. I may end up trimming the ends once everything is running for a while. I want to make sure there are no leaks and I am waiting until the water clears to be sure I am happy with the position of the light. It all looks great now but there is still a little sediment and/or air bubbles.

I re-routed the main to drain line as it was close to the return. I ran it to the front side of the bubble trap b/t the baffles. It reduced the air bubbles tremendously. I still feel there are too many micro air bubbles coming from the return pump. How can I fix this???

The two 1/4" lines are for a dual coil denitrator and a future calcium reactor.


I will be bringing everything over from my 34. I want to add some hammers, acros, and lots of zoa's. I already have a real nice brain, yellow leather, frogspawn, green and purple mushrooms, xenia, green digitata, superman monti, orange monti (plate) and some other stuff.

I also have a pygmey angel, YWG w pistol, spotted mandarin & two clowns.

I want to add a sargassum trigger. Then who knows

I plan on having two large rock formations on the left and right sides about 6-8" from the glass with about 10-12" in b/t the formations. They will also be placed a few inches from the back for plenty of flow and swimming room for all the critters

[d2mini]

Very nice!
I like the nice clean looking stand with no doors. Are you planning to keep everything in the closet? Stuff like food or other quick access items?
That plumbing job is outstanding!
Nice choice in light fixture too. I almost went with that one for my build but then a friend recommended the Aqua Photon. The Geisemann looks realllly nice. Good choice mounting it a little forward of the overflow.

What car is that in your garage?

[RVANANO]

Thanks!!!! Big compliment coming from you.

That is my 72 Datsun 510. I posted a link in your thread before I realized you posted here. Sorry to thread jack

My babies were featured on a well known blog recently

http://bulgogibrothers.wordpress.com...five-and-dime/

I do love the fixture!!! And am happy with the placement as well.

I do plan on putting everything in the closet. Except reactors. They will probably go behind or under the stand as there is 7.5" b/t the wall and stand and it is open underneat. I will probably trim the left and right w access doors for the back.

I also plan on adding top off and dosing tanks in the closet. Is there a manual float level valve I could hook up to the top off for now?

[RVANANO]

I noticed my overflow going to the sump is gurgling a lot. I have it cut back to about half on the ball valve. I also have 1/4" hole drilled in the cap. In the overflow box the water level comes up to about 3/4-7/8 of the height of the bulkhead holes.

Is there anything I can do to reduce the gurgling? I have heard that putting a T fitting on the end may help to disperse the water in 2 diff directions. I also thought about putting a 60 bend at the end. Currently the 1 1/2" pipe goes about 3/4 the way down to the bottom of the fuge and has a 45 cut in it.

Here are some photos. And some of the tank with rock. It was clear but then I added sand to the fuge.

[RVANANO]

Some aquascaping I decided to go with larger pieces for the main structure. These have all kinds of holes and platforms in them. I hope to form a bridge between the two main structures and then use smaller flat ones around the edges on the sand.

[RVANANO]

Was fighting a major microbubble problem. Realized it was a two part problem. Too much turbulance in the water from the overflow drains and the bioballs in the bubble trap. Here is my temporary solution until I can have a box made to replace.

Tank is now quiet, and the water is crystal clear.

I also decided to downgrade from the Coralife external 1270 to the 1000 GPH version. Which will be remote mounted under the house. I will also add a remote fuge on a higher shelf in the closet and a bulkhead in the sump near the top that drains under the house in case the sump overflows from loss of power etc.

[RVANANO]

What do you guys think? This formation or something more like the first way I had it (shown in the last photo)?

[glaukos]

emmm i think i prefer the 2nd!
it looks a little more natural in mu humble opinion!
and the sand space looks much better!

in the end it's your taste that matters more!

[the_rider]

Your stand looks really nice !! Awesome build

For the aquaspace, I like the second better but I will try to raise the left island because now, they are at the same height which doesn't create enough dynamism(not sure about the word lol).

And I would also like to ask, what is that fish in your avatar ? It's looks like a target/spotted mandarin but really colorful !!

Thanks
Alex B