Outlining Setup Help

[LxOxSxI]

It's been a while since I had been thinking of a setup. And since that time, I've pretty much forgotten everything I had learned , but I've put a new foot down, and decided it's now or never to join the fun

I went out Thursday to look for a tank, and after 3 hours of driving around to local stores I had brought the price down on 4x2x2 foot tank from $675 to $299. Sold! It should been in roughly 2 weeks from last wednesday. At the moment I have a 55 gallon tall I plan on using for either curing or a sump. I saw a new 33 gallon for the sump for about $70 if I were to use the other for curing. So... where to go from here?

If it's not out of the question, or no one has a better idea, I'd prefer to get around 1.5x120 lbs of live rock curing and the tank stable before I even consider doing 1) anything non-fish (corals/anenomes/etc -- priority)
2) fish (lastly - well maybe a maroon clown or something )

I have plans for a stand that should start tomorrow, so I need a little help with:

- sump/refug designs/ideas/links
- equipment
- plumbing designs/ideas/links (and how to calculate flows etc)
- equipment
- lighting designs/ideas/links
- equipment

I realize I'm asking for a lot here, but I've researched so many topics i think i'm starting to lose ground on any one subject. I need ski or someone to help me get ideas straight and into one thread



My setup:

I live on the second floor of a newer house, but i've talked with the builder and he said I should have absolutely no problems with this tank size. The floor trusses are 16" (nearly twice that of standard) and have a 4x4 support beam directly under where I would like my tank. I have 2x water outlets in my bathroom to outfit washing machines, but I have those in the basement, so I thought i'd use those for a RO/DI unit.

I'm stuck trying to figure out how to calculate water flow based on whole size etc, to figure out what PH's i'd need, pump i'd need, skimmer i'd need etc. I guess if you undertake this thread, you're commiting to holding my hand for the next month or two while i get this going. Thanks for any feed back!!!! You guys rock.

- LxOxSxI (Losi)

 

[Redstratplayer1]

http/www.melevsreef.com sumps

 

[LxOxSxI]

http/www.melevsreef.com sumps

Beautiful, thank you.

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, you've picked a VERY common size tank in a standard 120g there so you'll have a wealth of products and possibilities to choose from . Lets start with the basic questions:

Is the tank standard braced with a black plastic strip across the top, or braced with horizontal glass across the top?
Will you be drilling the tank? (I'd HIGHLY reccomend it)
Can you work with glass or acrylic even in an amateur fashion?
How much is setup cost of concern to you?
How much is electrical operating cost of concern to you?
Are you moderately proficient with PVC plumbing?
Are you comfortable with ordering parts online?
Does the tank come with Stand and/or Hood and if not, will you purchase a pre-made or make your own?
Where in the US are you from?

And then in the livestock area.
What fish interest you the most? (not what do you think you can keep, just what do you like the looks of)
What corals interest you the most? (same as above)
Do you have a desire to keep anemones? (again, your tank is capable and even you the aquarist can be trained )


Now that those questions are out of the way, let me first caution that you should NOT use the 55g as a sump for a 120. The short width of a 55g and its height make it a PAIN in the tail to work with, clean, and fit equipment large enough for a 120g inside. A better option would be a 40 or 50g breeder tank modified to your specifications, not someone else's.

That should be a good starting point and at least give us some direction in guiding you

 

[LxOxSxI]

Well, you've picked a VERY common size tank in a standard 120g there so you'll have a wealth of products and possibilities to choose from . Lets start with the basic questions:

Is the tank standard braced with a black plastic strip across the top, or braced with horizontal glass across the top?
Honestly, not sure. Can only tell you it's a perfecto 4x2x2
Will you be drilling the tank? (I'd HIGHLY reccomend it)
Yes, I plan on drilling the tank, and am in the process of tracking a diamond bit whole saw bit down.
Can you work with glass or acrylic even in an amateur fashion?
I'd say I'm very handy. I've done construction/Maintenance most my life with a large helping of computers in my free time
How much is setup cost of concern to you?
Bottom line isn't so much the total cost, as much as any one purchase may be. $400 a month maybe, until I'm geared up?
How much is electrical operating cost of concern to you?
Is $50-100 unreasonable?
Are you moderately proficient with PVC plumbing?
With assembly or plumbing concepts? Assembly seems straight forward
Are you comfortable with ordering parts online?
Sure. Poor LFS
Does the tank come with Stand and/or Hood and if not, will you purchase a pre-made or make your own?
Making my own starting today.
Where in the US are you from?
Minnesota

And then in the livestock area.
What fish interest you the most? (not what do you think you can keep, just what do you like the looks of)
What corals interest you the most? (same as above)
Do you have a desire to keep anemones? (again, your tank is capable and even you the aquarist can be trained )
I need time to answer all 3 of these. Sorry.


Now that those questions are out of the way, let me first caution that you should NOT use the 55g as a sump for a 120. The short width of a 55g and its height make it a PAIN in the tail to work with, clean, and fit equipment large enough for a 120g inside. A better option would be a 40 or 50g breeder tank modified to your specifications, not someone else's.
Noted. I'll use the 55 for curing I guess.

That should be a good starting point and at least give us some direction in guiding you

 

[SkiFletch]

Ok, well we've got a good place to start from then and you're gonna have some fun . So, here's what I'd reccomend:

Flowrate - Closed loop with Ocean Motions 4-way
Sump system - Single center calfo overflow (black internal acrylic) with single 1.5" overflow pipes down to a 50g breeder divided up how you want, and then returned to the main display with a moderate pump
Lighting - Dual 175watt halides with probably dual T5s or PCs for actinic supplimentation

One thing to consider right now, will you be either making your own base rock or purchasing base rock in order to off-set some of the cost of LR for the tank? Remember, 120-240lbs of LR is EXPENSIVE, so consider that right away . You can do a lot with baserock if you do it right from the start and stock very slowly (I know I did) but making your own takes time to cure, so that might be a good first task

Good to hear that you're handy, we'll be making use of those skills a lot . Do you have any plans for your stand yet?

 

[LxOxSxI]

Ok, well we've got a good place to start from then and you're gonna have some fun . So, here's what I'd reccomend:

Flowrate - Closed loop with Ocean Motions 4-way
Sump system - Single center calfo overflow (black internal acrylic) with single 1.5" overflow pipes down to a 50g breeder divided up how you want, and then returned to the main display with a moderate pump
Lighting - Dual 175watt halides with probably dual T5s or PCs for actinic supplimentation

One thing to consider right now, will you be either making your own base rock or purchasing base rock in order to off-set some of the cost of LR for the tank? Remember, 120-240lbs of LR is EXPENSIVE, so consider that right away . You can do a lot with baserock if you do it right from the start and stock very slowly (I know I did) but making your own takes time to cure, so that might be a good first task

Good to hear that you're handy, we'll be making use of those skills a lot . Do you have any plans for your stand yet?

This is already in the works. The stand should be started tonight, and completed by monday i suspect. I'll try to get a camera to help us out, but not sure i want to budget for it .

but making your own takes time to cure, so that might be a good first task

Agreed on so many levels

 

[SkiFletch]

Nice, some tips on making your own LR. Form it in a bed of aragonite sand to make neat shapes . Don't go more than 4-1 sand to cement. Be careful you dont use too much water cause too much water will lead to a weak mix. Cure at least some of the rocks in your toilet cistern

 

[LxOxSxI]

so would you suggest using aragonite only for mix and mold as opposed to play sand? Was mixed opinion at swf. I've only made 2 rocks so far to experiment with and used the following:

Mix
----
2c Portland
3 1/2c Play sand
3 1/2c Aragonite

Mold
------
big ol rubbermaid tub with 4-6inches? play sand.

 

[SkiFletch]

Depends, have you done the "vinegar test" on the play sand?

 

[LxOxSxI]

Depends, have you done the "vinegar test" on the play sand?

Never heard of a vinegar test so... no.

 

[SkiFletch]

Pour vinegar in a small bowl with the playsand. If it fizzes for 5+ minutes its aragonite based and suitable. If not, its silicate based and not advisable.

 

[LxOxSxI]

Pour vinegar in a small bowl with the playsand. If it fizzes for 5+ minutes its aragonite based and suitable. If not, its silicate based and not advisable.

Cool, I will do that when I get home in a few hours. If it's silica based, I think I will pass on homemade rocks, because the aragonite was fairly spendy around here.

 

[Redstratplayer1]

Marco rocks is the best source(IMHO) for base rock in the US

 

[N1z]

Can i just try and give another cool option in the plumbing, i read it in a fish magazine. If u got that 33gallon tank running aswell as a sump or just some where u could close off the tank u could do water changes while the tank continues to be filtered from the larger sump it would be easier and wldnt effect the display tank, then u could let it be pumped back into the other sump and then main tank. Just an idea.