120 in wall

[Pat02026]

Hey BRS it’s been a while since I’ve been involved both on the forums and in the hobby. Figured I’d share a little bit about the latest adventure. We are updating our basement with some paint and new carpets, and I decided it is a wonderful time to add a reef tank. We have a lightly used storage room, so I decided to occupy some of it as the “system room” and have a two side viewing display in the wall. Ive always wanted to do a 120 tank, and I was lucky enough to find one here locally and for the right price. So I got to work this week. The tank needs some more cleanup, I’ll just get it running and use filter socks to catch the gunk as I clean the glass and overflows.

Here’s a before and after, all roughed out. I have a little drywall work to do and then I can trim out around the tank. The front will have a hinged access panel above for maintenance. The back side of the tank is wide open to the room that it is in;

I’ll add details as we make progress on the setup, I have just about everything to get up and running. I even still have ~50lb of rock in a heated and circulating barrel from my last tank breakdown about a year and a half ago. Not sure that there will be much life left in it, but it should be a good jump on the cycle anyway. Hoping to have it full of water and cleaned up in the next couple days. Already have ~ 30 gal in it. 30 gallons mixing in the mix station and the RODI is pumping the RO storage container as I write this. Here’s a few photos for fun. Don’t mind the ugly paint, carpet, and mess. It’s all a work in progress. And the site Super is Archer. Making sure we stay on track

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Looking good so far Pat. Is that Archers entry to the storage room as well?

 

[Pat02026]

Looking good so far Pat. Is that Archers entry to the storage room as well?

Hahaha not for long! That’s the decommissioned laundry chute. Pretty good progress considering this whole idea was born a week ago today

 

[Duds]

Welcome back nice build and progress keep it up!

 

[Pat02026]

Dr Tim’s fishless cycle underway. 110lb of mixed sand (mostly pink and special grade). Stopped by @All Things Aquatic today for some bio block and a few supplies to get up and running. Tank is up to temp and salinity is on the low side per the Dr Tim’s recommendations. System is full and main pump is running with an mp10 in the display.

 

[thrillreefer]

Love the minimalist aquascape! Hah

This is going to work great, clean front look with all equipment easily accessible in the back. Plus front access. I’d like to do something like this in the future

 

[Edward]

looking good!

 

[Pat02026]

Thanks! Starting to see some clearing of the water, once I can see what’s going on in the tank I can start adding in the rockwork.
Also sorting through the pile of equipment so that I can plan out setting it all up. The tank is running on life support at the moment. I am planning on plumbing everything in PVC with unions and ball valves; there will be silicone hose connections between the rigid plumbing and pumps/sump/equipment to help reduce pump noise.

I have 750 watts worth of heaters in the tank to get it up to 82* and they are all running full tilt; I have a 500w finnex on the way, and I’ll probably grab another. Basement system and water volume are sucking the heat right up! I covered most of the open areas of the sump, and got the lids on the tank covering 90% of the top. This should help keep some of the temperature in while it continues to cycle but it’s not fully sealed up so it can still get some oxygen exchange especially since the skimmer is still offline (per Dr Tim’s instructions- no mechanical filtration during cycle)

Keeping the tank dark also, at least for the first few days while the bacteria population builds, again per instruction.

So far I have a Current DC return pump as the main return

An undersized coral Box skimmer, DC powered- this will be temporary while the bio load is still low. I have a nice SRO 1000 that needs a pump- well just an impeller; I’m planning on upgrading it with an Octo DC skimmer pump and that should handle this system.

I have two MP40’s and two MP10’s. I need to pick up 1 new MP10 wet side and 1 new MP40 wet side.

Going to light the tank initially with a pair of AI SOL’s just to get up and going; it’s TBD as to what I end up buying for lights, I’m leaning towards LED with T-5 supplements. There’s even a piece of me that wants to go old school; if I can find a 48” Aquamedic fixture with 2 250w MH I might jump on it. Nothing like Phoenix 14k bulbs, reefers that have been around awhile know…..

 

[Pat02026]

Progress update. Ammonia has dropped off, still detecting some nitrites so we are only a day or two away from being in the clear to add a few cleaners and maybe a pair of small fish. Dr Tim’s system worked pretty damn good for a quick cycle, although half of the rock has been “Cooking” for almost two years and some of which had already spent time in an established tank.

Picked up a pair of SOL Blues off of a fellow Reefer here, and got them hung up last night. Added a Finnex 500w to the sump, and started laying out some of the plumbing I’d like to set up for final assembly. I still need to build a shelf under the stand to get the sump up a bit off the ground and reconfigured the way I want it.

Ordered a replacement MP40 and an MP10 wetsides from Ecotech this weekend to get the other two up and running, for a total of two 40’s and two 10’s. I’m thinking 40’s on the outside of the overflow boxes, and 10’s in between; all the flow will push off the back wall of the tank and I’m hoping to keep plenty of movement around the overflow boxes.

Also planning on adding either a 5 or 10 gallon tank as a refugium. I have some sump space that was dedicated as a refugium previously, but I’d like the keep the sump “clean” this time around. Not to mention I have quite a bit of flow running through the sump, and the full volume passed through that chamber so there was very little dwell time and it was tough to keep the little critters in there long enough to develop.

Also made a little progress on the finish work around the tank. I have started to cut and fit the trim pieces for the opening, hopefully I’ll get the patchwork done on the drywall during this week and we can get some paint on the walls. Photos to come when there’s something good to see!

 

[Pat02026]

Made some more progress this weekend. Last skim coat is on the wall, so we are ready to final sand/prime/paint. All of the trim has been cut and fit up, so I’ll need to seal the oak I used for the ledge, the remaining opening pieces and surround will be white to match the rest of the room trim. Started to remove old carpets, to prepare for new. Should have paint and trim complete this week.

As far as the tank goes, ammonia is zero nitrite is barely detectable, and nitrates are up around 50ppm so we are through the hard part. I have an order of algaebarn pods and phyto coming in this week and I’ll probably pick up a pair of ocellaris to introduce when I see a pair that I’m happy with. Looking forward to seeing some life in the tank!

 

[mandarin]

Nice work I’m also in Taunton so if you ever need a hand with anything let me know

 

[Pat02026]

Nice work I’m also in Taunton so if you ever need a hand with anything let me know

I appreciate it, thank you! I’ll be looking to add some livestock so if your ever thinning anything out, let me know. Open to any types of mixed reef items. I seen your Sixline post, I’d be all over it if you aren’t needing to get rid of him immediately. I’d want to get a few other things in the tank before him, let some of the micros increase in density before the “hunters” come in to play. I’m at least a few weeks to month away from that.

 

[mandarin]

When you’re ready I have a good amount of coral here is my setup 125g and 80g both plumbed to a 40g breeder sump

 

[Pat02026]

Ohhhhh yeahhhh! Killer setup! I will be in touch for sure, looking forward to it.

 

[dilligaf29]

lookking good i have some green watermelon mushrooms if u want them

 

[Pat02026]

assembled the new sump tonight. Started with a 40breeder and came up with my own baffle design with the purpose of maximizing the return chamber volume. The thought process here, is if I have 25+ gallons in the return chamber, I can disable auto top off and run a routine water change without shutting anything down which is what my goal was. I’m hopeful to be able to get approximately 20 gallons out of the system without affecting skimmer level or return pump operation. I have an area for two filter socks if needed but typically I run skimmer only.

Added a clean up crew, a pair of clowns, and a few starter corals to see how it goes. They’ve been in for about two weeks and everything is looking good! Added two jars of algae barn 5200 pods last week and I have some more coming for next week. Already have lots of life running around in there

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

assembled the new sump tonight. Started with a 40breeder and came up with my own baffle design with the purpose of maximizing the return chamber volume. The thought process here, is if I have 25+ gallons in the return chamber, I can disable auto top off and run a routine water change without shutting anything down which is what my goal was. I’m hopeful to be able to get approximately 20 gallons out of the system without affecting skimmer level or return pump operation. I have an area for two filter socks if needed but typically I run skimmer only.

Added a clean up crew, a pair of clowns, and a few starter corals to see how it goes. They’ve been in for about two weeks and everything is looking good! Added two jars of algae barn 5200 pods last week and I have some more coming for next week. Already have lots of life running around in there
View attachment 189350View attachment 189351View attachment 189352View attachment 189353View attachment 189354

Came out great Pat.

 

[Pat02026]

Came out great Pat.

Thanks Paul! I appreciate your offer on the 40 also, I never got back to you on it. Ended up with a new one from pet supplies plus; between the sale and a 20% coupon it was as cheap as I was gonna find a new one for. You can see with the layout, why I preferred an un-drilled tank. The water level is going to run pretty high. Good thing with this tank is the sump doesn’t gain much water at all when the return pump shuts off. Maybe 2-3 gallons before the display levels off. We shall see if the plan goes according to plan.

I have a 10 gallon tank that I will add a pair of standpipes to and run that as the refugium just above the sump. The stand is very tall, so there’s plenty of room under there.