120 gallon journal - picture Feb 27

[kwirky]

I will keep the most up to date picture of the tank on the first post here:

Taken Feb 27, 2007

Current Specs (as of Feb 23, 2007):

• 120 gallon glass 48x24x24, tubular steel stand
• Sunlight Supply 4', 8 bulb teklight fixture
• 1 x Rio Seio 1500
• 2 x Rio Seio 1100's
• 33 gallon sump
• Mag 7 sump return
• currently ~100lbs liverock
• Euroreef RS135
• Aqua FX 75gpd RO/DI
• phosban reactor (rowaphos media)
• 1 cup carbon actively run in aquaclear HOB filter (in fuge)
• DIY air driven top-off

livestock in the tank now:

• Royal Grammy, aprox. 1.75"
• Pair of cinamon clowns. Viscious buggers.
• 2 adolescent sixline wrasses
• one finger leather coral about 5-6" wide.
• Three various toadstools, 3" and smaller
• Fragged toadstool (was 1' across)
• Silver, pulsing Xenia that's growing like a weed.
• Green Star Polyp, 2"
• Blue/Purple leather frag (like capnella but not)
• Pink chalice w/ green hilights, 2"
• Red chalice, 2"
• Green porite frag
• favia coral frag, about 5 polyps, still small
• red paly frag (about 5 polyps), still small
• pink mouthed zoos
• purple body, green mouthed zoos
• 6" branching hammer/frogspawn
• 1 sea hare
• 5 trochus snails
• 3 turbo snails
• 4 cone snails
• 1 left handed hermit crab (he's in there somewhere...)
• 2 emerald crabs
• 1 hitchiker crab that behaves like the emeralds, and hasn't caused trouble YET... (innocent until proven guilty)

plans as money comes in (and time):

• more liverock
• peristalic pump array for dosing

the following is the beginning of the thread, where I found some metal halide lighting, and started thinking of converting my 120 gallon cichlid tank to a reef tank

ok so I've gotten my hands on some free 400W M59 lights yesterday. gotta test them. I've been REALLY humming and hawing over whether to convert my 120 gallon cichlid tank to a reef tank. It's what I wanted it to be in the first place when I was building it. It's 20% stocked where I want it, and I could move most of the fish to the 3 foot tank I own already.

here's what I have:

• it's a 120 gallon tanganyikan tank, 48x24x24, with a 33 gallon sump w/ trickle filter. mag 700 return pump. drilled overflow/return

• a little 18 gallon nano reef which I've already spent close to $300 on upgrading it's crappy 36 watts of lighting to 150 watts of geissemman HQI, which still aren't operational

I went nano reef instead of big reef, because the initial cost of liverock for the big reef was so daunting. But now I've spent whackloads on this nano, which isn't very satisfying in size, and wished I did the big one in the first place. I could have cultured half the rock with baserock.

I've been considering the costs required to build a little nano cube the way I want it, and it's just so rediculous to do something that small. I'd be saving on the liverock, but the equipment doesn't scale in price the same way as a large tank.

If they work, I'm wondering if they'd be too crazy in heat for me to use? Before I covered the tank, the basement was SUPER muggy, since it has no ventilation. I would need to buy a chiller which would defeat the purpose of taking advantage of these free ballasts.

So if the heat's a major issue, I'll be getting rid of them one way or another.

I'm going to have so much leftover gear after all these changes in decisions. I should just start saving my money and buying everything at once instead of bit by bit as I go. That way I can't change my mind. They say gemini's are fickle, they must be right lol

any input, though?

I'm sure when all's said and done, I'll be giving the same advice everyone gave to me: go big or you'll regret it.

[niloc16]

where you from? i went the same route, if a reef tank is what you always wanted and are itching to do it, then stop spending on the smaller tanks because 9 times out of 10 you'll go bigger, and its cheaper to start bigger than to work your way up to it. a 120 is a good size, i would some research on the trickle filter, they are a little out dated, but its your option. a straight sump with baffles and skimmer would be better IMO. i started with a 55gal, then turned my 10gal QT into a nano and then now i'm almost finished assembling a 280gal and i wish i went straight to the 280 because i would have saved a bundle.

[kwirky]

I'm from calgary, and I'd rip out the trickle portion of the sump, and maybe put in a bubble trap, leaving space for a protein skimmer, and a way to hook up a calcium reactor down the road.

I just need to know if the 400 watts would be too hot. I don't want to spend money on 400W bulbs, then find I have to take them out and redo the ballasts and all because it's too hot, and too muggy in the basement. I'd have to check on the electrical. I know when we used the two 800 watt base heaters in the basement, the breaker would go whenever the vacuum or a curling iron was used. not as much draw as the tanks, but I'd like to be safe.

[psuedo]

once you goto a tank of that size you are gonna want to start off with 2 400 watt MH, as anything else you buy you will end up selling to get enough money to buy the MH when you want to upgrade. All the corals that you will eventually want will require these lights, so save yourself the hassle and get the lights.
You might want to get another breaker installed just for your aquarium if power overload is a problem in the basement, as the last thing you will want will be the heater in winter failing and killing all your corals or your tank overheating in summer and killing all th ecorals all because your power to the fans went off.

If you build yourself a self contained hood and install 2- 4inch fans on them this will dissipate most of the heat generated by the lights. Then all you would need to do would be paint the hood the same color as the stand to make your tank look nice.

[Ruth]

400W lights are hot - there is just no way around it. I run 3X400W lights on 2 of my tanks and am always battleing heat. I am going to put a chiller on my 190g next summer as this tank is acrylic and no matter what I do it get's too hot. If you basement is already hot and muggy what you may want to do is to figure out some kind of ventilation or you will probably be dealing with mould at some point in the future.
On my 230g tank that is glass I can control the heat with fans blowing across the sump but it is just not enought on the acrylic tank.

[kwirky]

Originally Posted by Psuedo

If you build yourself a self contained hood and install 2- 4inch fans on them this will dissipate most of the heat generated by the lights.

yeah, I'll try that for the winter coming up and if it's getting too hot in the summer, I'll have cash then to get the chiller.

Originally Posted by Ruth

If you basement is already hot and muggy what you may want to do is to figure out some kind of ventilation or you will probably be dealing with mould at some point in the future.

The basement's not already muggy and hot. I meant when the 120 gallon tank I have was being run with a completely open top, THEN it was muggy in the basement. the basement's actually quite cool and dry normally. I WAS thinking of a way to vent air from the hood straight to the furnace room on the other side of the wall and tapped into the chimney piping. It would be hot air, so it should rise, right? Anyone think this would be a problem?

Originally Posted by Psuedo

You might want to get another breaker installed just for your aquarium if power overload is a problem in the basement

An electrician was by a few months ago to fix some of the "do it yourself" wiring the previous owners did, and installed another breaker. We stopped using the base heaters before then, so I don't know . Maybe I should get out a couple blow dryers, and turn on two irons to test the maximum capacity?

[danny zubot]

I just need to know if the 400 watts would be too hot.

I run a single 400 watt on my 65 gallon tank and it heats up pretty good in the summer, due to ambient room temp. If your basement is cool though, I'd go for it. 2 400 watters should do fine, with fans of course.

I haven't read the whole thread so sorry if this was brought up already. Your nano tank would make a really nice refugium or frag tank, why don't you plumb it in?

[Ruth]

The other thing to consider is that you said you basement was muggy until you covered your tank. The thing with putting the 400W bulbs over your tank is that the covered top is going to contribute further to heat in the tank. I know that I run both my large systems with open tops and as I said still have heat issues in my 190g even with the top open and fans blowing accross both the sump and the tank. I can't even imagine how hot this tank would get if I put the cover on.

[AJ_77]

you'll need some venting in that room, even though it is in the basement - dual 400's can be pretty hot yes, but people have gotten around that problem. I think Brad runs 400 Radiums on m59's, and over a 75 gallon.

you could also suspend the canopy for a bit of help with airflow:



that's 2 - 400W over a 110, with a stand fan on "low" blowing across the tank top. it stayed pretty cool, in the basement.

[danny zubot]

Hey I remember that tank.