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Magma
04-14-2012, 04:37 AM
So I finally figured it was time to join the big kids and get into the 100+ range.

I picked up my stand a few weeks ago and have been getting plywood cut and painted and started to collect some of the electrical work I want done and some plumbing supply's. I really have no clue on what im doing with this tank.

I had 2 smaller tanks. One 38gal running a canister filter (Bad idea!) and the other 40gal I bought as a plug and play system with a sump but all plumbing done. It is a very basic system with a central overflow basic sump just to give me the idea how a sump setup should work. It has been going for over a year with little problems.

But enough about the past! lets get to the now!

New tank is 72x20x20 I went with this size for a few reasons.

#1 I wanted a 6ft tank
#2 I live on the top floor of a 4plex so I wanted to keep the weight down. (tank is placed in the middle of the house near the dividing wall of the 4plex and near the front of the house)
#3 The wife wants to keep tangs so longer the tank the better imo.

Sump is 60x16x16 which works out to around 67gal but of course I dont think it will be full with all 67gal.

So of course everyone wants pictures! here we go...

Stand in the house
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/9885/standx.jpg

Some Plywood cut
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/4982/standprep.jpg

Display tank
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/7329/displaynp.jpg

Stand with sump and part of the plywood in place.
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1462/standsump.jpg

This weekend I hope to get the stand leveled out (needs a small shim for the front). Get the side panels for the stand mounted. Get the back panel painted and mounted then if time permits cut out the holes for the bulk heads in the top.

The tank will probably go into place sometime in the next week or so.

Still need to figure how I want to plumb the system (this will be all new to me) rather confused but I figure with help from Kevin at RC I can figure it out.

The electrical I have a plan and just need to sit down and do it, I want to be able to control parts of the tank from switches mounted on the side of the tank. so i can shut of pumps when I want to feed/clean the tank.

I really down know what return pump I will use or what skimmer. I do know I would love to go LED with this tank but the costs are so high I might end up with a MH fixture, I dont care much about SPS but I do like softies and LPS and want to keep my options open if I want to do SPS later.

Stock list is a whole other issue...I have some fish from other tanks I will keep and others im not so sure about.

I have and want to keep

3 Clowns
1 yellow tail damsel
1 coral beauty
1 Banggai Cardinalfish
1 Yellow tang (being held in a friends tank till mine is ready)

Unsure of keeping
6 line wrasse (I love him but I know he can be mean)
Orange Spot Goby (wife loves him I hate him, the sand everywhere is getting start to get old.)

Wanted
Blue Tang
Powder Blue
Bristletooth Tang
Leopard Wrasse
Mandarin
Bartlett's Anthias


Now I know I cant have them all but I figure others on here can help me narrow down what to keep, what to sell, what to switch out etc.

Thats about it for now, thanks for reading/skimming through :D

Cade
04-14-2012, 04:51 AM
Looks good. :wave:

Your off to a very good start, IMHO if you go metal halide dont buy new there are lots of good deals out there, BUT seriously consider LED's. The AI Sols are getting great reviews and at only $400 are a really good bang for your buck. Of course if you want to spend some dogh there are the EcoTeck Radion's an AMAZING light!! Oh and about SPS.... One day the bug will bite you and when it does LOOK OUT:eek: It bites freaking hard! I never thought much about SPS but now Im obsessed. Its just natural progression after having a successful reef for a while you get bored/brave/confident.

Good Luck.

Magma
04-14-2012, 04:56 AM
Been looking into LED systems, sure AI SOL units are nice but AI has also been saying the Vega/Phoenix units are coming soon for months now but still seems expensive, 3-4 AI units is still $1200-1600 and 3 Radions are $2450 now if you look around some "no name" brand units can you run you 400-600 for a full setup but not as many fancy options.

Im thinking I will go MH if I can find a cheap unit on here and if not order one off ebay for around $500.

Problem is being an Electrical Apprentice I am going to school April 23rd so budget is tight already and once school starts the tank build gets even slower :(

Cade
04-14-2012, 05:09 AM
I just finished carpentry 4th in january. Nice work my fellow tradesman.:biggrin:

Ahh the never ending light dilema.. I know man I know.. Im currently running halide and I just dream daily about owning LED's, after seeing radions in person on a fellow reefers tank I was hooked. Dont go with a cheap brand, Im constantly hearing about whole rows of led burning out and no way to fix them. If anything go DIY you are an electrician...:wink:

Cade
04-14-2012, 05:12 AM
For DIY.. Modular LED is a sponsor here and had great review. They sell whole kits so the guesswork is taken out.
check em out.

Magma
04-14-2012, 05:14 AM
I just finished carpentry 4th in january. Nice work my fellow tradesman.:biggrin:

If anything go DIY you are an electrician...:wink:

Doing 3rd year myself, not finished yet but hey its 1 step closer.

and sure I could go the DIY route but after working with power all day I have little patience to come home and fiddle with LED's and my own $$ lol

I have checked out things like Modular LED but even then im still looking around 1200$ plus my time to build them so all said and done isnt it still cheaper to buy a bunch of AI units lol

Cade
04-14-2012, 05:29 AM
You could allways spend $100-200 on some cheap 2-4 bulb t5ho fixtures as temporary light till you find something..

Where did you read about these new Sol's any word on price?

Magma
04-14-2012, 05:31 AM
Found them through the AI facebook page, cost seems to be about 100$ more per unit than the SOL, and yes my "temp" fix for this tank will be my 2 current HOT5 fixtures end to end on top of the tank.

Cade
04-14-2012, 05:33 AM
There yah go.. no rush, save for LED's !! :mrgreen::mrgreen:

Magma
04-23-2012, 02:26 AM
Well I managed to get the top and back onto the stand tonight, and start some of the electrical.

These plugs will be controlled by 1 switch and will be for my lighting system, so this way I have 2 plugs will both have a main on/off switch in case I need to turn the lights off for whatever reason.

Later this week I start the other feed which will power the pumps and powerheads.

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/8759/calgary2012042200145.jpg

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/8780/calgary2012042200147.jpg

fishytime
04-23-2012, 02:59 AM
and the electrician shows up in the build:lol:....looking good so far!

Magma
04-23-2012, 03:25 AM
and the electrician shows up in the build:lol:....looking good so far!

Well im no wood butcher so the plywood I didnt cut, and im no plumber so the plumbing wont be anything pretty so I have to shine in some place.

School starts Monday for 3rd year so for 2 months I will have limited income but lots of time to work on the tank.

Magma
03-30-2013, 07:01 PM
Well its been almost a full year and its just sat in the living room collecting dust...so this past week I have really started to do something with it. Deadline for it to be setup and ready for fish is June as the wife and I are expecting a little boy in early August. I want this setup and going so its less stress when that day arrives. (Also might help de-stress sometimes lol)

Filled the tank with sand, and some base rock.

Purchased 3 LED Units (Evergrow d120's) and have hung them over the tank (removed one fixture temp to hang over the older tank)

Started the plumbing, I was going to use PVC pipe but I ended up going with flex just because it was faster, the overflow pipes are still PVC but only because I happened to have some left over from a previous tank.

Also plan on finishing the electrical this weekend.

Sorry about pic quality its just an iPhone :p

Loose fit on over flow plumbing.
http://imageshack.us/a/img24/2767/overflowo.jpg

Flex pipe on 3/4" returns
http://imageshack.us/a/img580/8655/plumbing.jpg

Flex fitting into the bulk head
http://imageshack.us/a/img62/9343/fittings.jpg

Full Tank Shot
http://imageshack.us/a/img33/2498/ftsmarch2013.jpg

Full Tank Shot with LED's on 100% blue and white
http://imageshack.us/a/img203/8608/ledlights2.jpg

Full Tank Shot LED's 100% White Only
http://imageshack.us/a/img441/893/ledlights.jpg


Edit: the skulls on the tank are from halloween ;) they just looked neat so onto the glass they went.

Magma
03-31-2013, 11:02 PM
Just got a new return pump today, and I can not be more pleased with it. I bought the Speedwave DC 1320. Also known as the Waveline dc-5000, its adjustable up to 1320g/h (at 0 head) along with a 10min feed button which shuts the pump off for 10min during feeding then restarts. The pump also has a soft start which mean it slowly ramps up to its set speed so its not turning on full power right away.

I did a test with in and its silent to the point I had to check the water was actually moving. Also NO LEAKS! so now all I need is some heaters and the tank can start being filled and cycled....wow so close to finishing this!

http://imageshack.us/a/img46/7246/returnpump.jpg


I also got a few new frags and 3 bubble tips when I bought the pump. 1 sun coral frag with about 3-5 heads which is currently in another small tank being feed so no pictures yet.

http://imageshack.us/a/img843/4408/coralfrag.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img820/2283/bubbletips.jpg

nrosdal
04-01-2013, 05:03 AM
Tank look great! Add some water and take more pictures.

Lights are nice too :)

DigitalWeight
04-01-2013, 11:24 AM
Nice looking tank - I think we saw each other at Concept yesterday - I was the guy with the two kids waiting (im)patiently. I am thinking about the Speedwave my my new build so it is good to see the quick review here.

Looking forward to seeing this sucker with water in in.

Magma
04-01-2013, 10:30 PM
Nice looking tank - I think we saw each other at Concept yesterday - I was the guy with the two kids waiting (im)patiently. I am thinking about the Speedwave my my new build so it is good to see the quick review here.

Looking forward to seeing this sucker with water in in.


Ahh yes! we did, pump works amazing! I have to say im really happy with it. Also saw the model below the one I bought today at another store for 30$ more than I paid for mine....so the Concept price is great.


Sadly last night when finishing up the VERY LAST section of hard pipe, when pushing it in, I cracked the bulkhead right down the seam so I had to go buy a new one today.

Hopefully I can start filling this tank by mid week :p

Magma
04-06-2013, 05:08 AM
I took a quick video with my Iphone just to show how the tank is working right now.

125gal tank - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WKITjTDPH4)

Finally filled! I have to be honest im still worried about the weight of the tank but hey so far so good...*knocks on wood*

DigitalWeight
04-06-2013, 12:12 PM
Looking good man

Magma
04-15-2013, 05:49 PM
Well its been a long weekend for me, so I transferred all the stock from my old 35gal setup, which has been running for 2+ years. Everything went great minus the loss off 1 clown, 1 emerald crab. I checked the tank and have been all weekend, no cycle happened but the clown wasnt looking so hot when I transferred him. As for the crab, well he got stuck in the sand of the old tank, and I thought I got everything out, but alas I found him legs up not moving when i went to clean the sand out of the old tank.

Here is a shot of the tank with the LED's on about 50% White, 40% Blue

http://imageshack.us/a/img138/5894/transferl.jpg

Here is a shot of just the White's on.

http://imageshack.us/a/img594/9972/transfer1l.jpg

So officially this tank is gone :(
http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/2;10726;103/st/20101217/n/35Gal+Sump+Setup/dt/-1/k/3417/age.png

But this one has just started!
http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/2;10726;125/st/20130412/n/125g+Mixed+Reef/k/2052/age.png

Long road ahead.
For stock right now I have:
1 Clown
1 Yellow Tail Damsel
1 3 stripped Damsel
1 Coral Beauty
1 Six Line Wrasse
1 Banggai Cardinalfish
1 Longspine Urchin

Looking to add, yellow tang, Blue tang, Kole tang and a Green Mandarin, that may change depending on what else shows up that I would rather have. Any suggestions are welcome.

Im planning on adding 2 media reactors, one for Carbon one for GFO of course a bigger skimmer.

Magma
05-18-2013, 08:37 PM
Had some ups and downs with this since the transfer. But its back on track finally... So few updated pics of the tank and a new stock list.

~~~~~~~~
~Stock List~
~~~~~~~~

~~Fish~~

~Foxface
~Blue Tang
~False Perc
~6 Line Wrasse
~Banggai Cardinal
~Yellow Tail Damsel
~3 Strip Damsel
~Coral Beauty

~~Inverts~~

~2 emerald crabs
~10 hermits
~10 Astraea Snails
~5 Cerith Snail
~3 Nassarius Snail


~~Coral~~

~4 Devils Hand Frags
~Pom Pom Xenia
~Colt Coral
~2 blue/green zoa frags
~Large Purple Acan Frag


http://imageshack.us/a/img841/8125/dorif.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img705/5588/fingerju.jpg


Full Tank Shot May 18th 2013
http://imageshack.us/a/img708/9051/ftsmay18.jpg

Magma
07-08-2013, 05:57 PM
Well it has been a few months so how about an update and some more pictures.

The tank transfer was just a disaster most of my coral sucked up and fizzled away and now almost 3 months later the corals are just starting to open back and colour up. What a long road this has been.

I upgraded my skimmer and added a Dual Media Reactor which I scored of Kijiji for a great price.

Running a SWC Xtreme 160 Cone Protein Skimmer and I have to say WOW. Before I only been using the hang on back remora skimmers for my old tank but after using this SWC I can see the difference in the nasty paste im pulling out now. Skimmer found here. (http://www.saltwaterconnection.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=116&zenid=6210cf4d0969a52177189215d51620a4)

Been running GFO and Carbon (BRS media reactor and media), never really run any sort of media before but I did notice the big difference it made within only a day of running it so I am sold on running this for the life of the tank.


New stock list

~~Fish~~

~Foxface
~Blue Tang
~False Perc
~6 Line Wrasse
~Banggai Cardinal
~Yellow Tail Damsel
~Yellow Tang
~Yellow Eyed Kole Tang
~Coral Beauty

~~Inverts~~

~2 emerald crabs
~20 hermits
~10 Astraea Snails
~5 Cerith Snail
~3 Nassarius Snail
~2 Cleaner Shrimp
~GBTA (aprox 5 of the them 2" big each)
~Maxi Mini Carpet Nem

~~Coral~~

~4 Devils Hand Frags
~Pom Pom Xenia (Fizzed up but is coming back)
~Colt Coral
~2 blue/green zoa frags
~Orange Zoa
~Light blue/brown zoa
~Green button polpys
~Large Purple Acan Frag
~small red acan
~3 frogspawn frags
~red mushrooms
~4 Misc SPS frags (testers)


My frogspawn "died" when I transferred tanks, but I left the body in the tank just as a piece of Live rock. Well a few heads broke off the main body and I thought nothing of it. Until about a week ago when i noticed the main colony had a head on it. So I looked at the few heads that broke off and I now have 3 different frogspawn frags starting to grow. One head already has some pretty big heads on it and the other 2 are showing signs of 5 heads each. Once they start to grow more i will try and mount them on plugs. I cant believe that my favorite coral is making a come back when I thought for sure it was a lost cause.


Now time for pictures! (Sorry iphone quality...)

Zoa Garden
http://imageshack.us/a/img89/1473/dhqv.jpg

More Zoas
http://imageshack.us/a/img838/4562/wep2.jpg

More Zoas
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/1314/r40h.jpg

Large Acans
http://imageshack.us/a/img826/2898/ny17.jpg

Red Acans
http://imageshack.us/a/img547/733/3xhn.jpg

Colt Coral
http://imageshack.us/a/img17/4892/m289.jpg

Not so Dead Frogspawn
http://imageshack.us/a/img441/7753/usgt.jpg

FTS July (White LED's Only)
http://imageshack.us/a/img41/1333/p7gw.jpg

FTS July All LEDS
http://imageshack.us/a/img545/1121/ybx2.jpg

Magma
08-10-2013, 02:08 AM
August Update!

I have been starting to grow an addiction to Zoa's...Reef Wonderland has not helped this new addiction because Angus is bringing in some awesome frags.

I haven't noticed them growing much yet but I do notice they have really started to get deeper colours under my LED's. Its only a matter of time before they start to spread like wildfire. Currently have 11 different zoa frags in my tank. Few of them are mixed so 2-3 different types on the same plug.

Picture time! (Sorry its an Iphone..)

http://imageshack.us/a/img708/5150/htfp.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img19/9209/c6t3.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img839/439/h0rr.jpg

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/8652/oln7.jpg

Also have some bubble tips which my clowns are now hosting.

http://imageshack.us/a/img839/200/t1zg.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img541/5897/nb64.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img5/6868/dxah.jpg

Of course because you cant post pictures will a FTS. Still fighting some Cyno but its starting to clear up, might do a chemi clean soon to just get it over with.

http://imageshack.us/a/img827/9364/s88j.jpg

Don't think I will be getting to many more frags for a while as my wife and I have just had our first baby on July 28th. So water changes and upkeep for a while only. That's ok though as it lets us watch the color we have start to grow out :D

The Grizz
08-10-2013, 02:41 AM
Coming along nice & congrats on the new addition.

Magma
08-10-2013, 03:23 AM
Coming along nice & congrats on the new addition.

Thanks we are happy about him, hes cute as hell. The wife is just happy I got the tank up and going before he arrived.

Hopefully when hes a bit older he can help me out with doing water changes and feedings.

Tanks is still far from anything special in my eyes, but maybe its because I see all the other members awesome tanks (with way more experience on me as well) and I think to myself how do I get a tank looking that awesome! Love that his hobby is always making you ponder. Just takes Time, something that can never go fast enough or goes to fast....

I will try to update a FTS each month.

reeferfulton
08-10-2013, 03:59 PM
Cool build. I like the dimensions of your sump. Wish mine was a little less tall like yours. Makes it easier to get things in and out.
Glad to hear things are turning around for you.

Looking good!

Magma
08-10-2013, 04:23 PM
Thanks the only thing I would change on both my sump and main display if I was doing it again would be to make them wider front to back. The heights are awesome but a few more inches in the front would allow me to lay some bigger rocks down allowing for more coral ;)

Magma
08-31-2013, 09:26 PM
Well today I am so incredible frustrated with this tank. I noticed that one of my drain lines has had a large build up of salt creep lately and I thought nothing much of it. Until today when I came home and saw that the wood my tank is sitting on is starting to turn white...

I think the bulk head itself is cracked and has a very very slow leak just enough to make a trickle of water creep out down the pipe and along the bottom of the tank between the glass and the wood.

Now being one of my first tank builds I though it would be smart to cut a hole just big enough for the bulkheads to fit through when I placed the tank...well this has sure come around to bite me in the backside. I think im going to have to find a way to remove a section of the wood with a dremel tool then cut out the bulk head (because of course I had to glue it in!) and replace with a new one...UGH.

Just dont have the time for this now with a new born...larger tank looks great but so many headaches it seems.

Antrias
10-14-2013, 09:39 PM
Sorry to hear that! Bulkhead leaks suck! I have had to deal with that problem - went away for a weekend come back to a bulkhead leak and water everywhere.

I like your tank though! I bought similar lights to yours - I assume you got them straight from China as well? 140 dollars per 55 led fixture is a win in my books.- I can deal with not being able to control them with an aquarium controller

Magma
10-14-2013, 10:10 PM
Actually bought my LEDS through Reef Supply Canada for 180$ per unit (I think evergrow just recently price dropped these units after I got mine)

I love them I have them set to 50% blue 50% white and my corals are doing fantastic.

Some of the SPS I have were browned out from previous tanks and have now returned to there original colours and even better extension now.

Still have to fix the bulkhead I just dont have the time to do it but I am noticing it slowed down once the salt creep "sealed" it.

Antrias
10-14-2013, 10:35 PM
Ah I didn't see any on there when I was buying however I just checked evergrow is just like GrowsSunLight basically - still right out of China haha. They can make it so much more cost effective than anyone else.

Magma
10-15-2013, 01:47 AM
Lights were listed as Evergrow D120's It was the same price to have them direct from China or from Nick at reefsupply so I ended up going with Nick for the warranty.

Magma
01-12-2014, 10:15 PM
Long time no update! So here we go start fresh for 2014. (heavy on the pictures sorry just taken with my iphone)


Lets start with the corals!

Acans
http://imageshack.com/a/img547/5781/rqeb.jpg

Frogspawn
http://imageshack.com/a/img837/1773/is4e.jpg

Devils Hand
http://imageshack.com/a/img824/788/7orw.jpg

Birdsnest (first SPS and It was all browned out when I got it, now its greenish colour)
http://imageshack.com/a/img543/4448/59ol.jpg

Chalice Frag (hasnt really grown at all since I got it)
http://imageshack.com/a/img268/5166/1uk3.jpg

Octospawn
http://imageshack.com/a/img577/162/ijcr.jpg

Candy Cane
http://imageshack.com/a/img13/996/zpxm.jpg

Leather
http://imageshack.com/a/img46/3197/3yqm.jpg

Palys/Zoas
http://imageshack.com/a/img854/1773/kbbg.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img202/6661/6yza.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img844/8885/32da.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img268/5998/ovzd.jpg

Urchin (hes grown so much! he used to be no bigger than a frag disk)
http://imageshack.com/a/img836/3916/24jm.jpg

Another SPS
http://imageshack.com/a/img268/6976/ddyr.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img268/6976/ddyr.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img202/5769/wlfu.jpg


Frag Rack
http://imageshack.com/a/img836/6598/6yvw.jpg


Now for some fish/Bubbletip Garden

http://imageshack.com/a/img32/6396/h4of.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img27/5330/qla5.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img560/4967/wx74.jpg


last but not least...FTS January 2014

http://imageshack.com/a/img11/103/4u54.jpg

Magma
01-12-2014, 10:23 PM
This was the frogspawn back in 07-08-2013

http://imageshack.us/a/img441/7753/usgt.jpg

and now today!

http://imageshack.com/a/img837/1773/is4e.jpg

Its amazing how it bounced back its growing more heads every week it seems.


Also managed to add a Xmas wrasse to the tank but he only ever shows up on Sundays for 15min then hes gone again all week its really weird but at least I know hes in there and eating because hes getting fat.

I also find all my fish are shy, they hide a lot and only roam around if your not near the tank, does anyone else have this issue??