Henrystyle's 120g SPS tank build

Whats up people?
Well its about that time again. Time to get something bigger. I have been planning this new 120g for over a year and now its finally coming to life.
So hear it is.
Tanks dimensions are going to be 48x24x24. Its is going to be placed under 2-400w 14k Artemis SE metal halide bulbs and 2-110w 454nm Vho's. The halides will be powered by a duel 400w PFO M135 ballast <!-- m -->http://www.flippid.com/item/1001524617/ ... rt_Ballast<!-- m --> and the VHO will be powered by a Icecap 430 ballast <!-- m -->http://www.aquacave.com/icecap-430-elec ... t-874.html<!-- m --> . The sump will be 32x14x16 and made out of 3/8" Spartech Polycast cell cast acrylic. The sump will house a BM-100 bubble magus in sump skimmer <!-- m -->http://www.marinefanatic.com/bubble-mag ... -bm100.htm<!-- m --> , a 6" deep RDSB (remote deep sand bed), and a return/frag section that will be under 2 leds (blue/white) to grow out and color up frags. The tank will also feature a 30 gallon container/auto top-off setup. Circulation will be provided by a Iwaki 30 rxt return pump <!-- m -->http://www.oberread.com/IW_MD_Pumps.htm<!-- m --> , and a 2 maxi-jet 1200's with the mods.

The first piece of gear I bought was my light fixture. I have a funny story about how I came across this fixture. While at work, I responded to an aided call (person sick or hurt). As I walked in the house there was a drunk guy butt ass naked on his living room floor laying in his own ****...FREAKING DISGUSTING!. As his wife starts to tell me what was going on, I notice behind her a light fixture hanging in their dining room. No tank, no ballast, just hanging there from the ceiling. While waiting for the AMT to show up, I looked underneath the fixture and saw 2 se metal halides and 2 flourscent tube bulbs. I thought to myself, HOLY **** I FOUND A LIGHT! Forgot all about the drunk guy on the floor. LOL.
Once we took care of the drunk guy, I asked his wife about the fixture and she said I would have to talk to her husband about it. I returned to the house several weeks later and asked the man if he wanted to sell it and he said sure. When I asked him how much he wanted for it, he said $100. I laughed my ass off with a serious face and then said, I will take it. LOL
Except for some dust, this fixture was in brand new condition. The man said he had it for about 5 years hanging there but only used it for a few months back when. Said he had a water leak and it damaged the ballast. That was the end of his reef tank days. To this day these fixtures still sell for hundreds of dollars.
http://www.innovativelights.com/pfo-c-69973c.html

I later found an excellent deal on http://www.manhattanreefs.com for a duel 400w PFO m135 magnetic ballast for $50. I snatched that up quickly. (They are no longer made)
I am a fan of SE Metal halides and magnetic ballasts. http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/sale-trade/70546-dual-400w-pfo-ballast-50-a.html
Also obtained an Icecap 430 ballast from my buddy Craig. (Zona) thx.
Being that the light fixture had old no longer used connectors, I had to bring it up to speed with todays newer technology. Thats where my boy Chrishew came in. Dude is an electrical wiz! He pulled apart the fixture and ballasts and put it all back together for me. Even made a new wire harness for the icecap ballast. Dude is good!



Chris looking up parts on the internet for the PFO ballast.


Chris doing his thing..

The next phase to this project was the tanks stand and cabinet build. For this part I called on a good buddy of mine Kelvin (knockout) for his vast knowledge and understanding of the hobby. I showed him a picture of a stand that I saw on the internet and he went to work. In 2 days the stand and cabinet frame was done. Outstanding job my friend!
Days 1- Went to home depot and bought some 2x4's and some screws and went to work!
First step. Top and bottom frame.













Day 1 work complete!

Day 2-Cabinet build. Back to Lowes for more needed supplies.
Frame for top and bottom. My buddy Chris Hew stopped by to take in the action for a minute.




Screwing down the sump and cabinet floors.

Day 2 done. The white 30 gallon container will be my top off water supply. Above it I will keep all my junk.

I sealed my stand floor with silicone in all the cracks and spaces then applied some deck sealing paint. Then I poured about 10 gallons of water under there. Not a drop on the floor. Did this just in case water spills under there once the tank is running.

Due to ridiculously high acrylic prices I decided to buy a glass tank.
Got my tank yesterday..Allglass 120g 48x24x24
Nicely built tank. Solid thick glass. Got a sweet deal on it. Good looking out Jim!

New skimmer! Bubble Magus BM100 v2

Looking good... I do think that skimmer is overrated though,, Best of luck with all.. Any skimmer that the top comes off like that usually ends up spitting skimmate through the little holes in the lid which becomes a headache down the line..

Bob 1000 said:

Looking good... I do thin k that skimmer is overrated though,, Bets of luck with all..

Click to expand...

thanks. We shall see. Skim-mate cup does have a drain line attached. Don't think that would be a big deal, only if I let it fill up.

Looking Good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nice job on the stand. Look like its going to be a killer tank! Also like to see how the skimmer stack up. What kind of pump does it uses?

Its nice to have the space to built what you want
i had to do my stand in the kitchen on an appartment :-( lol

ctxmonitor said:

nice job on the stand. Look like its going to be a killer tank! Also like to see how the skimmer stack up. What kind of pump does it uses?

Click to expand...

Thanks all. It uses a Atman PH2500 pump which has a pinwheel.

Got my sump acrylic in the mail today so I decided to start putting it together.

Setup my routing station. lol

1st thing was the deep sand bed wall. The design calls for teeth to be cut for the water to return to the sumps return section.


Had to improvise with the router. One main piece was missing thats why you see the 2x4 and the clamp.

good luck with it man. cant wait to see it finished and filled!

Couldn't stop there. Decided to put the 4 walls of the sump up.
Tools of the trade.

Started with the front.




My son, Ant Jr.

Done deal. Tomorrow I will route the top brace and attach it. Then put the dsb section and bubble trap in place.



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SUMP-part 2
Time to route the top brace. Today the bottom will become the top and the top will be the bottom.
Doing a 2" euro brace..Marked it out on the acrylic.

Bought a router guide just for this. Keeps the router straight for a nice straight cut.

Goes on simple and worked great.

I drilled a starter hole and ran some masking tape along the top edge so that the router guide does not scratch the acrylic.







Brace routing done!

Now attaching the bottom, bubble trap and dsb section walls. Had to get the skimmer to measure how much space will be needed. Want to be able to remove it with ease also leaving a little space just in case I switch skimmers in the future.

Put anything I could find in my garage to put some weight on top after applying the solvent.


Now for the bubble trap. Each panel is 1" apart. The middle panel being 1" higher than the other 2.




Ripped off the paper, sump done.




Router guide served its purpose. It will be going back to home depot! lol

Tomorrow will be the moment of truth...Water/Leak test! looks good. Came out better than I expected.

Looking good!