120 Tank Build... My first Saltwater Tank (Pics)

Bigjohnwoody · 10/31/2010, 05:17 PM

Ok so I have been working on this tank on and off for about 2 years now! I have had a lot of different things come up financially in my life that has delayed this project a lot but I am finally going to do a build thread and get this thing up and running!
So a little background on myself. I grew up around saltwater tanks when I was a kid so about 20 years ago and always thought they were amazing. My parents had three tanks but all were fish only tanks. They did not do any kind of live rock or corals what so ever. I think they were in the era of bleached out fake corals and crushed coral substrate. My dad does not have the time now to have a tank so he is living a little vicariously through me and is begging me to get this thing up NOW

.
So through much research I decided to go with a 120 because I heard I need to go as big as possible. Everyone seems to like the footprint of this tank and my wife insisted on no bigger than 4 foot tank. I really wanted to do a 180 but that will just have to be my upgrade

. So I bought a AGA 120 rr. I am going to put the tank against a wall and behind that wall is a walk in closet that I have turned into my fish room! I will have my sump in that room and will be running the drain and return lines through that wall.
Thanks in advance for all the support and ideas everyone has and I will be posting as many pics. as possible for your enjoyment and also to help make my questions and things more clear.

Bigjohnwoody · 10/31/2010, 05:41 PM

So I started with buying my tank and then I found on here a stand that I fell in love with and copied his build thread on the stand! This was about a year and a half ago and have now forgotten his name and I feel horrible about this because he was very very helpfull. If anyone knows who this is please let me know so I can give him credit. I know that within the year he got out of the hobby and many people were very upset about him leaving the hobby. He took absolutely amazing pictures and had a 90 gallon tank. So here are some pics of my stand.[IMG]

[/IMG]

m_wonnacott · 10/31/2010, 05:43 PM

mnellis3023 · 10/31/2010, 06:37 PM

Beautiful stand.....looks familiar

Bigjohnwoody · 10/31/2010, 08:25 PM

More Pics of my Stand Build!

Pallobi · 10/31/2010, 08:28 PM

you did a wonderful job! patience is a virtue... kudo's my friend!

Lynnmw1208 · 10/31/2010, 08:33 PM

wow I absolutely LOVE that stand! I wish I was handy so I could build things like that. the build looks good so far!

scubasteve06 · 10/31/2010, 10:10 PM

Wow that is a gorgeous stand. I am going to skin my stand this winter with white pine and stain it to match our cabinets. I would love to add some crown molding to match what we have in our house also. Patience in this hobby only pays off tenfold!!!

Menellis that is also a gorgeous stand and even more gorgeous canopy you two guys are awesome craftsman!!! I like to think I am that handy too, but have never tried my hand at skinning a tank. I have only done cabinets and crown molding in our last two houses. Do you think if I can do cabinets and crown molding that the skinning and canopy building would be a snap? I built my stand too with the DIY plans in the DIY forum of the website. I used 2x6's for the top frame and 2x4's for the bottom frame and used 2x2's for the legs and L'd the 4 outer corners of the stand for extra support. I also ran two center braces out of 2x4's across the top frame for rigidity.

Bigjohnwoody · 11/02/2010, 02:20 PM

So the First thing that I ever purchased for my tank (even before the tank itself) was my skimmer. I bought a AquaC EV-180 with mag 7. I actually saw it on the first inside page of a marinedepot catalog and thought it was king! I did not know much. I am not saying that AquaC is not a good skimmer but I wanted to only do it once and have the best skimmer possible.
So anyways I ended up just dealing with what I thought was a mistake and built my sump around this skimmer! I modeled my sump after Melevsreef model f I just used a little different measurements. I built mine using 3/8 inch plexiglass G. My dimmensions are 47 1/4" x 18" x 15 3/4" and . I put my return section in the middle and my Skimmer and fuge section at either end. My Skimmer section is 18x11x10. The return section is 19 3/4x18 and the fuge section is 13x18x12 3/4.
I decided to go with 3/8 just because I wanted the piece of mind of it never bowing over time. Plus me doing this for the very first time I fugured my joints might not be the best so the more surface area to be in contact the better. I hope that is true.
So here are some pictures of my sump build.

allsps40 · 11/02/2010, 03:02 PM

Looking good so far. Good job on the sump.

mnellis3023 · 11/02/2010, 07:11 PM

what did you do for your doors?

Bigjohnwoody · 11/02/2010, 07:29 PM

I Used mdf and routed the edges of it and of course then painted it black with a hvlp system. I actually painted the whole stand with an oil based paint and the hvlp system.

BobNY · 11/02/2010, 10:30 PM

Nice Job!!!
The stand looks awesome. I'm in the process of building a stand for my 125g. Today I went to buy a router bit to round the edges of my doors and almost fell over at the $40 price tag. What was I thinking when I thought building my own stand would save me money!
I have a AquaC EV180 that I am planning to use as well. I ran it on my 90g for a long time. It's a good skimmer, but it does take some fiddling to get it adjusted. I ended up using a Mag 9.5 with a valve to throttle it back on mine. That combo worked well for me.

Keep up the good work!

92Bow · 11/02/2010, 11:08 PM

nice. hope it works out for ya

scubasteve06 · 11/02/2010, 11:19 PM

That sump looks 100% professional really good job on that.

Korrine · 11/03/2010, 06:51 AM

lookin fabulous!

Highlandjedi · 11/03/2010, 07:53 AM

nice looking sump, it looks huge

Bigjohnwoody · 11/04/2010, 03:42 PM

I have been tiling my Fish room that was once a walk in closet! It is finished being tiled now but I have to wait to grout it! I will take another pic when its completely finished!

Fish Room

kaserpick · 11/07/2010, 10:28 PM

Looking amazing!

Thanks for the link!

Bigjohnwoody · 11/18/2010, 06:26 PM

Ok So I finished my tiling job and am now ready to start moving stuff into the room.

Bigjohnwoody · 11/18/2010, 06:29 PM

I Brought the tank in the house! My wife was actually kind of excited! All she has really seen so far is money going out

. Now she finally saw something come in. She will come around....I hope.

zmckenzie · 11/18/2010, 06:42 PM

Looks great so far. I am looking forward to your progress.

Bigjohnwoody · 11/18/2010, 06:48 PM

So I got my Light! Thanks Champscorner! I decided to go with the Current Outer Orbit 2X250 mh and 4 t5's with 18 lunar light fixture! I did not really want to do the retro fit thing. I don't know if that is a good or bad decision only time will tell.

Alunai · 11/18/2010, 06:57 PM

WOW. Impressive. That's what I hope to do as well with my next setup, plan plan plan plan and save save save save for the best setup possible. Looking real good. Tagging along!

Bigjohnwoody · 11/18/2010, 07:08 PM

I am a little behind on updating my tank build so there are going to be a few posts to catch everyone up to speed. So next up is my skimmer! I ended up selling my aquac ev180 and bought a Bubble King 180! I heard these things are absolutely tanks and the best so I droped way more than I should have and bought one used from Kaserpick. He was awesome to deal with and the skimmer was everything he said. This thing is amazingly built. I still have not plugged it in but I am sure I am in for a treat. So here is some eye candy for all to see!

10/31/2010, 05:17 PM	#1
Bigjohnwoody Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 167	120 Tank Build... My first Saltwater Tank (Pics) Ok so I have been working on this tank on and off for about 2 years now! I have had a lot of different things come up financially in my life that has delayed this project a lot but I am finally going to do a build thread and get this thing up and running! So a little background on myself. I grew up around saltwater tanks when I was a kid so about 20 years ago and always thought they were amazing. My parents had three tanks but all were fish only tanks. They did not do any kind of live rock or corals what so ever. I think they were in the era of bleached out fake corals and crushed coral substrate. My dad does not have the time now to have a tank so he is living a little vicariously through me and is begging me to get this thing up NOW. So through much research I decided to go with a 120 because I heard I need to go as big as possible. Everyone seems to like the footprint of this tank and my wife insisted on no bigger than 4 foot tank. I really wanted to do a 180 but that will just have to be my upgrade . So I bought a AGA 120 rr. I am going to put the tank against a wall and behind that wall is a walk in closet that I have turned into my fish room! I will have my sump in that room and will be running the drain and return lines through that wall. Thanks in advance for all the support and ideas everyone has and I will be posting as many pics. as possible for your enjoyment and also to help make my questions and things more clear. __________________ In wine there is wisdom In beer there is Freedom In water there is bacteria -Benjamin Franklin

10/31/2010, 05:41 PM	#2
Bigjohnwoody Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 167	So I started with buying my tank and then I found on here a stand that I fell in love with and copied his build thread on the stand! This was about a year and a half ago and have now forgotten his name and I feel horrible about this because he was very very helpfull. If anyone knows who this is please let me know so I can give him credit. I know that within the year he got out of the hobby and many people were very upset about him leaving the hobby. He took absolutely amazing pictures and had a 90 gallon tank. So here are some pics of my stand.[IMG][/IMG] __________________ In wine there is wisdom In beer there is Freedom In water there is bacteria -Benjamin Franklin Last edited by Bigjohnwoody; 10/31/2010 at 05:53 PM. Reason: picture

10/31/2010, 05:43 PM	#3
m_wonnacott Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Stratford, Ontario Canada Posts: 631	__________________ 55 Gal about50 lbs of dead lr , 15 lbs lr to seed, 2x18" NO 50/50, penguin 350 with just carbon, pinpoint wireless therm, 300w heater, 2x korilia 3 Current Tank Info: 55 gal FOWLR atm

10/31/2010, 08:25 PM	#5
Bigjohnwoody Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 167	More Pics of my Stand Build! __________________ In wine there is wisdom In beer there is Freedom In water there is bacteria -Benjamin Franklin Last edited by Bigjohnwoody; 10/31/2010 at 08:46 PM.

10/31/2010, 08:28 PM	#6
Pallobi CTARS, BRS & OSRAS Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 7,001	you did a wonderful job! patience is a virtue... kudo's my friend! __________________ Zoas & Palys

10/31/2010, 08:33 PM	#7
Lynnmw1208 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Brunswick, Ohio Posts: 3,306	wow I absolutely LOVE that stand! I wish I was handy so I could build things like that. the build looks good so far! __________________ equipment: Eshopps psk-200 skimmer, Mag 12 pump, 30gal sump, 2x 300w Finnex heaters, glass-holes 1500gph overflow kit with 3/4" return kits, 72" 8x36w t-5 AquaticLife light, 66lbs of LR, 150lbs of tropic eden reeflakes, 2 Koralia Evo 1400, JBJ ATO, BRS dual GFO/carbon reactors, Hydor smartwave Current Tank Info: 125gallon

10/31/2010, 10:10 PM	#8
scubasteve06 Jeeper Reefer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 1,171	Wow that is a gorgeous stand. I am going to skin my stand this winter with white pine and stain it to match our cabinets. I would love to add some crown molding to match what we have in our house also. Patience in this hobby only pays off tenfold!!! Menellis that is also a gorgeous stand and even more gorgeous canopy you two guys are awesome craftsman!!! I like to think I am that handy too, but have never tried my hand at skinning a tank. I have only done cabinets and crown molding in our last two houses. Do you think if I can do cabinets and crown molding that the skinning and canopy building would be a snap? I built my stand too with the DIY plans in the DIY forum of the website. I used 2x6's for the top frame and 2x4's for the bottom frame and used 2x2's for the legs and L'd the 4 outer corners of the stand for extra support. I also ran two center braces out of 2x4's across the top frame for rigidity.

11/02/2010, 02:20 PM	#9
Bigjohnwoody Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 167	So the First thing that I ever purchased for my tank (even before the tank itself) was my skimmer. I bought a AquaC EV-180 with mag 7. I actually saw it on the first inside page of a marinedepot catalog and thought it was king! I did not know much. I am not saying that AquaC is not a good skimmer but I wanted to only do it once and have the best skimmer possible. So anyways I ended up just dealing with what I thought was a mistake and built my sump around this skimmer! I modeled my sump after Melevsreef model f I just used a little different measurements. I built mine using 3/8 inch plexiglass G. My dimmensions are 47 1/4" x 18" x 15 3/4" and . I put my return section in the middle and my Skimmer and fuge section at either end. My Skimmer section is 18x11x10. The return section is 19 3/4x18 and the fuge section is 13x18x12 3/4. I decided to go with 3/8 just because I wanted the piece of mind of it never bowing over time. Plus me doing this for the very first time I fugured my joints might not be the best so the more surface area to be in contact the better. I hope that is true. So here are some pictures of my sump build. __________________ In wine there is wisdom In beer there is Freedom In water there is bacteria -Benjamin Franklin Last edited by Bigjohnwoody; 11/02/2010 at 02:23 PM. Reason: spelling

11/02/2010, 03:02 PM	#10
allsps40 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Arizona Posts: 4,627	Looking good so far. Good job on the sump.

11/02/2010, 07:11 PM	#11
mnellis3023 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Kansas City Posts: 444	what did you do for your doors?

11/02/2010, 07:29 PM	#12
Bigjohnwoody Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 167	I Used mdf and routed the edges of it and of course then painted it black with a hvlp system. I actually painted the whole stand with an oil based paint and the hvlp system. __________________ In wine there is wisdom In beer there is Freedom In water there is bacteria -Benjamin Franklin

11/02/2010, 10:30 PM	#13
BobNY Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 129	Nice Job!!! The stand looks awesome. I'm in the process of building a stand for my 125g. Today I went to buy a router bit to round the edges of my doors and almost fell over at the $40 price tag. What was I thinking when I thought building my own stand would save me money! I have a AquaC EV180 that I am planning to use as well. I ran it on my 90g for a long time. It's a good skimmer, but it does take some fiddling to get it adjusted. I ended up using a Mag 9.5 with a valve to throttle it back on mine. That combo worked well for me. Keep up the good work! __________________ Current Tank Info: 125g, 40g sump/refuge; Seaside Aquatics CS-2; ATI 6x80w T5; Apex Controller; 2x Vortech MP40 ES;

11/02/2010, 11:08 PM	#14
92Bow Moved On Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 6	nice. hope it works out for ya

11/02/2010, 11:19 PM	#15
scubasteve06 Jeeper Reefer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 1,171	That sump looks 100% professional really good job on that.

11/03/2010, 06:51 AM	#16
Korrine You could get a ticket!! Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Upper midwest Posts: 4,288 Blog Entries: 1	lookin fabulous! __________________ Try to keep in mind that we are all human...mistakes do happen! Be kinder than necessary because every one you meet is fighting some kind of battle. Current Tank Info: 40 breeder - started 9/2011 - platinum perc and sanjay's black photon clownfishes; sps and lps, and soft corals; 250w MH, 20 long sump w Bubble Magus Nac 3.5 skimmer 12g nano cube -serpent star, mini carpet anemones, w 6 sexy shrimp, 150w MH, maxi je

11/03/2010, 07:53 AM	#17
Highlandjedi Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 26	nice looking sump, it looks huge

11/04/2010, 03:42 PM	#18
Bigjohnwoody Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 167	I have been tiling my Fish room that was once a walk in closet! It is finished being tiled now but I have to wait to grout it! I will take another pic when its completely finished! Fish Room __________________ In wine there is wisdom In beer there is Freedom In water there is bacteria -Benjamin Franklin

11/07/2010, 10:28 PM	#19
kaserpick Keeping it Simple Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 2,637	Looking amazing! Thanks for the link! __________________ Kasey Current Tank Info: None

11/18/2010, 06:26 PM	#20
Bigjohnwoody Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 167	Ok So I finished my tiling job and am now ready to start moving stuff into the room. __________________ In wine there is wisdom In beer there is Freedom In water there is bacteria -Benjamin Franklin

11/18/2010, 06:29 PM	#21
Bigjohnwoody Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 167	I Brought the tank in the house! My wife was actually kind of excited! All she has really seen so far is money going out. Now she finally saw something come in. She will come around....I hope. __________________ In wine there is wisdom In beer there is Freedom In water there is bacteria -Benjamin Franklin

11/18/2010, 06:42 PM	#22
zmckenzie Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Brussels, WI Posts: 180	Looks great so far. I am looking forward to your progress. __________________ In progress: 120 gallon display with two remote fuges with mangroves (click my homepage for build thread)

11/18/2010, 06:48 PM	#23
Bigjohnwoody Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 167	So I got my Light! Thanks Champscorner! I decided to go with the Current Outer Orbit 2X250 mh and 4 t5's with 18 lunar light fixture! I did not really want to do the retro fit thing. I don't know if that is a good or bad decision only time will tell. __________________ In wine there is wisdom In beer there is Freedom In water there is bacteria -Benjamin Franklin

11/18/2010, 06:57 PM	#24
Alunai Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Minnesota Posts: 174	WOW. Impressive. That's what I hope to do as well with my next setup, plan plan plan plan and save save save save for the best setup possible. Looking real good. Tagging along!

11/18/2010, 07:08 PM	#25
Bigjohnwoody Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 167	I am a little behind on updating my tank build so there are going to be a few posts to catch everyone up to speed. So next up is my skimmer! I ended up selling my aquac ev180 and bought a Bubble King 180! I heard these things are absolutely tanks and the best so I droped way more than I should have and bought one used from Kaserpick. He was awesome to deal with and the skimmer was everything he said. This thing is amazingly built. I still have not plugged it in but I am sure I am in for a treat. So here is some eye candy for all to see! __________________ In wine there is wisdom In beer there is Freedom In water there is bacteria -Benjamin Franklin

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