MThompson - First S/W adventure (120gal)

[Mthompson]

I finally got everything I need to start up my new system (previously freshwater). Here is a list of my components:

- 120gal All-glass display tank
- two Overflow boxes
- 29gal sump/refugium
- ProClear Aquatics MPS 150 (protein skimmer)
- Mag 7 return pump
- Coralife 48" Lunar Aqualight (2x65w Actinic 03 blue, 2x65w 10,000K and 4 blue LED)
- 75gpd RO/DI from H20Science (on ebay) (with dual TDS meter, Pressure gauge, Float-valve and auto shut off solenoid, and flush valve)

 

[Mthompson]

I had the sump filled and running for the past month or so. A friend of mine went on vacation to Florida and brought me back a bucket of sand and water from the ocean, so I ran the return pump back into the sump to keep it and the critters alive.

I have since added some height to the baffles and an extra piece of plexiglass to the first compartment (on the left) to help keep all the particles in that compartment.

To get the sump in the stand, I had to remove the center brace in the back. I then replaced it with a very snug fitting 2x4 (pounded into place with a hammer) so that it can be removed if the need arises.

Once the sump and overflow boxes were in position I plumbed the system with 1" pvc.

 

[Mthompson]

For the return pump, I had to go from 1/2" on the pump to 3/4" on the flexible ball joint return nozzle. I thought that this might also be a good place for ball valve just in case it is needed.

I ran the tubing in front of the sump so access would be easy, and attached it to the center support beam (that was also replaced in the stand remodeling) with zip-ties. The tubing then swings around the skimmer collection cup, through the pvc plumbing and up to the return nozzle. This route for the tubing was the only way I could run it without using angle joint connections and also not having any kinks or deformation of the tubes. (hopefully I can get every bit of power out of it this way)

I also did a final fit on the plumbing and then painted it black so that it would be less visible. I glued all of this together except for joining it to the overflows, so that this can also be removed if necessary.

 

[Mthompson]

I attached a surge protector to keep this tidy and installed a GFCI for safety Next, I i put the whole thing in its final position then added the light fixture and snapped a photo of a thoroughly distraught and confused (read concerned about the status of or dining room) wife! I am sure most of us can relate to this on some level! :wink: :wink:

I am going to start filling the system tomorrow after I place a few of those furniture slider things (said to move up to 3000lbs?) underneath the stand.

 

[Anonymous]

cool, lookin forward to seeing it develop.

Is there much of a reefers community there in Phoenix? What about LFS selections? There's a possibility I may move back sometime in the future

 

[extremepb319]

Thats a really nice job you did on the sump I really like it.

 

[FinalPhaze987]

sweet setup...good luck with everything...

 

[mr_X]

nice! yes, shavo has those slider things under his 125. they actually work.

 

[Mthompson]

Is there much of a reefers community there in Phoenix?

I am located in Arkansas, not Arizona. But I can almost guarantee that there is a better sellection of LFS and a better reefer community.

Here in Pine Bluff, there is one LFS and it has four 15 gal saltwater tanks total, absolutely NO product selection, and the people don't know jack about the hobby (I asked if they had any hydrometers when I broke mine, and there response was literally "I am not even sure what you are talking about")

 

[Anonymous]

oops... I need to get my eyes checked :lol:

Well at least there are online vendors. what kind of livestock were you thinking of?

 

[Mthompson]

X, I did get those sliders applied to the bottom of my stand last night and started filling the tank. This morning it was about half-filled, and I was able to slide it easier than an empty tank and stand w/o the sliders.

 

[Mthompson]

I am planning on this being mainly a FOWLR for now. This is my first marine tank, so I think this will be better to start off with. Plus I am a fish-head, with a b.s. in fisheries biology and currently in grad. school for aquaculture. I mainly want to get a Picasso Trigger and one or two other main fish.

That is another reason, I will be located here for only about two years, so a reef tank would take most of that time to completely set-up. All to just tear it all down?

I may eventually get some softies or leathers, but don't have funds to get a better lighting set-up, so my options are a bit limited. I eventually want to add a 2x2x2 cube on the side of this tank (all plumbed together) and have coral in there (along with a 125gal sump on the floor filled with a stand of mangroves).

Any suggestions on stocking and/or coral selection would be appreciated.

 

[Katfsh]

Hey there Mr T the tank is looking good, can't wait to see it up and running. How did the fish grading go the other day, where did you go, Harvest Select?
Katfsh

 

[bleedingthought]

The tubing that connects to the ball valve says 5/8 on it, right?

 

[Mthompson]

Katfish - We never went down because the fish we were going to grade were deemed off-flavor. I think we are planning on going this coming Monday. Not sure yet where we are going, but I will try to find out today for you.

I set-up a ghetto float valve holder (pictures to come) late last night so that I could let the RO run all night. I am guessing it shut off around 3-4 this morning. However, my guess was off and there was too much water to accommodate the sand bed, so I had to remove about ten gallons this morning.

After removing some water I dumped in 120lbs aragonite and 80lbs arag-alive in the display, and another 20lbs arag-alive in the sump. I still have 80lbs of arag-alive left, but am not sure if I am going to use it since I could not see what it currently looks like with all the cloudiness.

Once the sand had settled a bit, I turn the pumps on and everything looked ok. I also added a Rena Filstar XP3 canister filter to help clear some of the cloudiness. I am thinking of just keeping the XP3 hooked up so that I can run carbon or other chemical absorbers if the need arises.

 

[Mthompson]

BT - you got some damn good eyes and pay attention to tubing diameters very well! Yes, it is 5/8" tubing. When I was at Lowe's fiddling with all the fittings and tubing, the 1/2" tubing was super tight on the 1/2" fitting. So much so that I had to slice it to get it off (so I owe lowe's 1.5" of 1/2" vinyl tubing). I decided to just use 5/8" tubing with a bit of teflon tape on the fitting, and then snug it down with a hose clamp. So far no leaks, and removing the tubing is super easy.

 

[mr_X]

xp3 is a good machine. i used to run one on my oscar tank(75 gallon...my old sump)












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[Mthompson]

I too like the XP3. I used it on this tank when I kept native freshwater fish in it over the past two three years. I never had a single problem with it, even though I often neglected to clean it for a month or so... :roll: :roll:

I took more pictures of the filled tank last night after it had cleared a bit, but I forgot the camera at home today. Everything appears to be running correctly, but I did notice a slow drip coming from the 3/4" side of the ball joint. It is coming from the threads in the joint itself and not the nipple, so a bit more teflon tape should fix that. The salinity should be stabilized enough by tomorrow that I can restock the stuff that was in the sump (~6lbs live rock, a few hermits, and some mollies).

As a side note, I had two mollies that have become about 20. The female was really pregnant when I put them in the bucket last week. We found her on the floor Tuesday morning, even though there was saran wrap over the bucket held in place by some tape and a light fixture. I guess she had a severe case of post pardum depression or something....but at least she left the little ones so that I won't need to by more for the cycling process!!!

 

[Mthompson]

The salinity and other parameters were good to go last night, so I drip-acclimated the bucket of mollies, crab, and live rock last night. I stocked them in the tank and sump at about 1:30a.m., but the camera batteries were dead. I ended up finding 30 mollies when I took the rock out, so I will have fresh live food for something down the road....

I have a picture of my rigged-up top-off system and one of the tank filled (but a bit cloudy from the sand).

Now all I need is to find some live rock.....(X?) :wink:

Oh, X - did you ever get those koralias back from the recall? If so are you gonna sell 'em?

 

[mr_X]

i got the koralia back. the other one was still good, so i have an old(6 months?) k4 and a new k4. i'm still not sure what i'm going to do with them yet. i'll let you know if they become available.