New 120 Build

[TroyClark]

I am finishing my basement and plan to do an in wall 120 xhigh (60x18x26). The location is right by a floor drain and water supply. I have an RO/DI unit and will be making my own water. I have 80 lbs of aragonite sand (30 lbs in an already set up 35 hex), about 70 lbs of dead rock (30 lbs in the same hex, starting to get red and purple coralline algae). I am planning on using an eheim pro 4-350 canister that is running the 35 hex and a couple of aquaclear 110 power filters I have laying around. I have a 1000 watt heater on a Ranco controller. I have never done a sump before but understand they are recommended. My 120 is not drilled nor do I want to risk drilling it. I have led lighting.

I have plenty of extra tanks laying around (55's, 29's, 40's etc. to use as a sump if I decide to go that route). What would be the recommendations from some of the more experienced reefers? Is a hangon tank overflow safe? Do I have to match the overflow with a return pump?

I want some corals, anemones and fish (clowns, tangs, hawk, etc.) A friend has fragged a Kenya tree and a mushroom coral that are growing nicely in my 35 hex.

Any opinions are appreciated.

Troy

[FishAndPhysics]

If you want a reef, ditch the canister filter. They simply aren't needed, and don't provide the most needed service in reef tanks, removing nitrate. And for the little bit of mechanical filtration you might like, a sock is a much cheaper simpler option.

If you don't want to drill your 120, you can either use a hang on back or not have a sump. Honestly, given the cost of everything else for a 120g, I'd suck it up and buy a drilled tank. This is obviously not something that is easily changed later. Equivalently, I'd try drilling it (assuming it isn't tempered) with the understanding that if it works, great, and if not, you were going to buy a drilled tank anyway. A drilled 120g is around ~$900 if memory serves, which is not so much money compared to the cost of stocking a tank that size. Of course, you can get one much cheaper if you wait for a sale.

Any plan for a protein skimmer? There are alternatives, but they are a bit less common than the protein skimmer approach. You can certainly do without any such things, but keep in mind in that case your only nutrient extraction method will be water changes. Expect to keep your stocking lower and you will have to be disciplined about water changes. There are people who keep very successful tanks which are just a tank, powerheads, heater and a light, but it is not the easiest path to success.

With regards to overflow size, the overflow needs to have higher capacity (or the same) as the return pump. They do not need to be matched. That story may (I'm not sure) get more complicated for some types of hang on backs, but for drilled overflows it is certainly true.

I'd be interested to know what sort of LED lighting you have. Is it a "reef" style fixture with 5W leds, or one with lower power 1w leds? Not that it matters so much, but for identification purposes, brand and model?

With regards to stocking, I would not start with anemones. They are delicate animals with very specific requirements, and are not, in my opinion, good reef inhabitants. There are people on here who have very successful reef tanks with anemones, but they generally have lot of experience with both corals and anemones. If you really are super into anemones, I'd start with a second, smaller tank (maybe 30g or so) and do a tank with a single anemone and clownfish.

Sounds like a great location though, having a water supply and a floor drain means with a little work up front, you can make water changes consist exclusively of turning valves. No buckets!