Sindjin's 120gal Reef Ride & Photo Journal

[Sindjin]

Well, it's time. I have decided to begin posting my progress on my 120 setup. Some of you may know that I had to wait for tile to be laid in the family room before I could set everything up. The tile is getting laid this week!!

Of course I have been very busy getting everything ready, buying all the stuff I'm going to need, etc.

It all began at Honeymoon Island ,which is where I collected my base rock.







Im not sure if I'll use all of it, but it's nice to have beaches to collect this stuff from!

Here it is today... cleaned and waiting patiently:
(Notice the DIY Drain I put at the bottom of the trash can!)

[Sindjin]

For my sump, Im using an old 50 gallon tank. (36x18x20)
I used to have this set up as an African Cichlid tank:



Anyway... In my sump, I will house my ASM G-3. What a Monster this is!



I will use the Recirc Mod and have a feed from the main tank going directly into the skimmer. I'm shooting for about 600gph in and out of the sump. My return pump for now will be a Mag 9.5 running at about a 5ft head.

Here's a picture of the baffles I have set up in the sump:



Im going to get the tank in few weeks and I'll begin plumbing the thing!

[Sindjin]

Ok... here is what I did this weekend:



Not bad for 2 days worth of work!

The stand is 60 x26.
The tank is 48 x 24.

I decided to make my own stand because I wanted the extra space under the cabinet for the usual stuff: Sump, Pumps and Ballast.

Im going to finish it in black. I.ll work on the doors next weekend.

OH, I almost forgot... The inside of the stand I "painted" with a Silconizer...which is what you use to seal Flat roofs...so its waterproof and heat resistant. I will also coat the inside of the canopy with this as well.

[onefin]

Good luck coming along great.

[Polyptician]

Nice stand.

Cant wait to see the skimmer mod.

I have a asm g3 and will be running it on my 120 which will be set up in 8 days and counting.

[Sindjin]

Thanks for the comments!

I'll post pics as I do that mod. It should be pretty easy...just a couple extra holes... I already have the Uniseals. Oh, Im also using the Gate Valve Mod, too.

[Sindjin]

This is what I'll be using for the Returns inside the tank:





Black PVC that I bought from Savko. If you go to their site, make sure you do a search for "black pvc" and "black fittings". Maybe it was just me but that was the only way I found them. Savko was easy to buy from and pretty quick delivery.

[Sindjin]

Here's another shot of my stand. Notice the larger door on the side to allow me to remove my 50g sump if needed. The back will remain open.



Before I coated the interior, I caulked all the gaps and joints with paintable caulk. I will be doing that to the inside of the plywood panels as well and coat them with that Siliconizer.

[MeuserReef]

Sindjin-

How plentiful is this "base" rock on Honeymoon Island? I would like to grab some on my way home from Sarasota next time I'm down there. I will need about 150-175 lbs. I have 100 lbs of Fiji that will be used on top of this base. Do you think I can get this much?

Thanks in advance,
Josh

[Sindjin]

Very plentiful...check this out:



Sorry about the piece of concrete.. lol. I suck at photography!

If you go, head to the Northern most point of the Island...thats where I found the best stuff. Most of the Florida rock can be kinda smooth. I just looked for the most porous rock I could find. Not bad for free!

BTW,

The light colored rock in my old Cichlid display is also from Honeymoon Island.

[MeuserReef]

WOW. Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I will wait a while as I am in Houston and the only reasonable way to Sarasota (and to the mother load!!!) is I-10... which is probably the worst road to travel in America right now. Glad to see its not in short supply!!

-Josh

[Sindjin]

You know... there may be some barrier Islands off of Texas that may have similar rock. Im not sure though.

[fishman805]

along for the ride......


Bob

[scuglass]

i live in canada does ne 1 know of ne laws which i would be breaking if i were to go down there and pick sum up

[scuglass]

i live in canada does ne 1 know of ne laws which i would be breaking if i were to go down there and pick sum up

[Ky_Yaker]

I think it's time for a road trip to visit my mom in North Port, Fl. I'll just have to make a quick stop on the way back and pick up some rock.

[Sindjin]

Keep in mind that its typical Florida rock. Not as porous as Pacific stuff. It's great for free, though!!! In the 120, there is a lot of room for aquascaping. I just dont see the need to buy 300 pounds of Live rock only to have half of it get covered by other rock and die off. The base rock in my tank most likely wont even be noticable when all is said and done.

Ok... so today... I had my tile guy lay Mexican tile in my family room...which is where the tank is going. Here's a pic but keep in mind the tile just got done today so the grout is still wet and the floor will need to be mopped several times:



I'll have to repaint some walls but Im so anxious that I'll probably bang that out this week or over the weekend. Also today on my lunch break I went to HD and got things I will need to finish my stand and to begin my canopy. I'll probably be there everyday this week! Because I work in the Home BUilding industry, I can get a lot of stuff from work...such as PVC fittings!!!

[Sindjin]

So here's what I have done during the week:





I trimmed out the stand, sanded the heck out it and applied the first coat of primer. Tomorrow I will resand it and apply another coat of primer.

Also, I am making the frames for the doors and will be cutting the plywood backers this weekend and assembling them.
I will also be applying the final coat(s) of paint which will be a black eggshell finish.

One tip for all of you... when it comes to doors....always make sure you know exactly what hinges you are going to use. You almost have to design your doors around the hinge itself.

I had some UPS deliveies, too. My 48x24 piece of Starboard came....of course I will have to cut it to size. Im going to try a faux sandbed with sand & epoxy mixed together. We'll see how it turns out. I had a new Mag 9.5 delivered which will run my sump.

Things are rolling along.... my tank arrives on Tuesday. Then I can really get movin'!!

[Sindjin]

Well... here's some more progress on the stand. I sanded the Primer, put on one coat of the black paint and let that dry for 24 hours. Then I sanded it again. These pics were taken today after the 2nd coat of black. Notice the doors! They're done except of course for sanding, priming and painting. I will attach the doors, side trim and bottom trim AFTER the stand is placed where it will remain. That way I can level it if need be THEN set the bottom moulding. The doors Im leaving off just so I can manuever better when Im setting up everything!





I still have a lot of work to do. After the tank arrives, I will begin working on the canopy. Im also going to be painting the back of the tank black and working on my faux sand bed. I bought that Envrotex Lite epoxy to mix with the Reef Sand and apply that to my Starboard. Im just not sure if it's safe long term. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated!!

[MeuserReef]

Sindjin

Im wondering the same thing about the epoxy sandbed. From what I have read here on RC, the epoxy is OK once it cures.

Im thinking.... why even use the starboard?? You wont see it once its in the tank?

-Josh

[Sindjin]

MeuserReef,

I want to use the Starboard because then the faux bed is not a permanent fixture in the tank... I could remove it if I really wanted to at some point. Plus if you try to apply the Epoxy/sand mixture directly inside the tank, you run the risk of getting that stuff all over your glass as you're working it.

[Sir Crabby]

Instead of starboard why not use sand colored Corion countertop material? Your a home builder and could probably get it cheap. Will look more natural.

[RGibson]

Sir Crabby i like the idea of the corion countertop material and there are many colors to choose from.

[mmd]

coming along for the ride, looks great so far
-
can you use corian ? i might try it if its reef safe

[Sindjin]

To me, Corian would look too synthetic. Im planning on building mounds and creating a "realistic" faux sand bed. Perhaps even using sand with tiny shells, etc mixed in for an added effect.
After curing, I would paint on one more thin layer of epoxy to smooth everything over so detreitus would not accumulate.

Thanks for the comments and for tagging along!