Hi everybody! Gradually making progress with my new 125 gallon setup but I could still use a lot of help. I have all sorts of advanced tropical/freshwater planted tanks, etc., but this is my first shot at saltwater. I've probably spent about 200-300 hours reading up on reef tanks so far and am trying to move forward with the project. So far I've got:
- amazing custom-made solid oak, black stand and canopy built by Jim who is here on Boston Reefers (Calciumbuf). Once I get the tank going, I'll be sure to add pics. I would highly recommend him to anyone interested in having a really nice setup
- new 125 gallon non-reef ready Aqueon tank
- new ADHI 45 sump/refugium
At this point, my main questions are:
1.) where exactly should I drill the holes in the tank? I'm planning on doing a Bean Animal setup with a coast-to-coast overflow. I'm about to drill, but despite reading a lot, I still feel unsure on the hole placement. After reading his threads thoroughly, I know that all three holes leaving the tank should be at the same height and a minimum of the width of a hole away from each other. My plan is for the horizontal center for the holes to be 5" from the top of the tank trim (this is based on Bean Animal and other tank build websites' recommendations) and about 1 to 1.5 inches of space between each hole. Also planning on drilling a 4th hole at the same height, in the center of the tank for a return, which will run just up and over the coast-to-coast overflow (I've seen a picture of this done and it looks great). Any advice here?
2.) Any advice on a quiet, reliable, powerful skimmer for this tank? I'm probably gonna go with a Reef Octopus brand skimmer, just wondering if anybody has experience with these in an ADHI 45 sump or recommendations in general for a super quiet Reef Octopus skimmer that will way overfilter this 125 gallon tank (I'd like one rated for 180++ gallons). The sump is 18" deep, so I've gotten the impression that some skimmers won't work in this since it is so deep. Also, any experience with sitting the skimmer on top of something in the sump to, in essence, "lower" the water line that the skimmer sees?
Thanks SO much in advance for any advice! Can't wait to get this plumbed and up and running! I'll try to keep this thread updated, along with some pics, to show progress on the Bean Animal overflow, etc.
- amazing custom-made solid oak, black stand and canopy built by Jim who is here on Boston Reefers (Calciumbuf). Once I get the tank going, I'll be sure to add pics. I would highly recommend him to anyone interested in having a really nice setup
- new 125 gallon non-reef ready Aqueon tank
- new ADHI 45 sump/refugium
At this point, my main questions are:
1.) where exactly should I drill the holes in the tank? I'm planning on doing a Bean Animal setup with a coast-to-coast overflow. I'm about to drill, but despite reading a lot, I still feel unsure on the hole placement. After reading his threads thoroughly, I know that all three holes leaving the tank should be at the same height and a minimum of the width of a hole away from each other. My plan is for the horizontal center for the holes to be 5" from the top of the tank trim (this is based on Bean Animal and other tank build websites' recommendations) and about 1 to 1.5 inches of space between each hole. Also planning on drilling a 4th hole at the same height, in the center of the tank for a return, which will run just up and over the coast-to-coast overflow (I've seen a picture of this done and it looks great). Any advice here?
2.) Any advice on a quiet, reliable, powerful skimmer for this tank? I'm probably gonna go with a Reef Octopus brand skimmer, just wondering if anybody has experience with these in an ADHI 45 sump or recommendations in general for a super quiet Reef Octopus skimmer that will way overfilter this 125 gallon tank (I'd like one rated for 180++ gallons). The sump is 18" deep, so I've gotten the impression that some skimmers won't work in this since it is so deep. Also, any experience with sitting the skimmer on top of something in the sump to, in essence, "lower" the water line that the skimmer sees?
Thanks SO much in advance for any advice! Can't wait to get this plumbed and up and running! I'll try to keep this thread updated, along with some pics, to show progress on the Bean Animal overflow, etc.