March 2017 TOTM Mike(thegrun)

[Misled]

Thank you Reef Central for considering my tank for the Tank of the Month! I have received inspiration and advice for years from so many of our forum members that I feel it is truly a collaborative group effort that put this tank together. I designed and built the stand, canopy, sump and reservoirs. The tank itself is a SCA 120 gallon tank with low iron glass on the three viewing panels. I removed the factory center overflow and built and installed a coast to coast ghost overflow with a rear overflow box. The stand and canopy are made of quarter sawn white oak and I lined the inside of the stand with Melamine to provide a waterproof surface that is easy to clean.



The canopy hides the lighting consisting of three AquaIllumination Hydra 52's and two 200mm (8") fans that are tied to my Apex controller for cooling.



I set the lights at a 15 degree pitch and located them near the front of the tank. This causes the corals to grow towards the front of the tank and provides a semi-top down view of the corals.



Lights extended out in normal position (side view).



Lights pushed towards the back of the tank for front maintenance.

I built the 70 gallon sump to maximize the available cabinet space and I kept all plumbing and reactors above the sump so that any leaks would fall back into the sump. I use an Eheim 1262 pump with a single 1" Sea Swirl as the return and two Neptune WAV power heads to provide water flow. All reservoirs were sized to allow my wife and I the ability to leave the tank unattended for at least 18 days of vacation without the need to be refilled. I use three dosing pumps to provide the necessary calcium, alkalinity and magnesium that the stony corals require. Two Eheim Jaeger TruTemp 300 Watt Heaters provide the heating. A combination of three 100mm (4") cabinet fans and two 200mm (8") canopy fans allow the tank to run without the need of a chiller even when we forgot to keep the house air conditioning on while on vacation and the house temperature got up to 92 degrees. All power supplies are mounted behind the tank on a rack. Air being blown into the cabinet from the fans causes a chimney effect that pushes the heat from the power supplies up away from the tank.

[Misled]

I have two filter sock holders built into the sump, but rarely use the socks unless I'm disturbing the sand bed. I have an AquaMaxx CO-2 protein skimmer and run a carbon and GFO reactors fed from my return pump. The tank is run by an Neptune Apex Classic controller with two Energy Bar 8's and one Energy Bar 4. Other modules include Ecotech Wireless Expansion Module (WXM), AI Wireless, Expansion Module (AXM), Neptune PM 2 Module with Conductivity Probe, Temperature Probe, Neptune I/O Breakout Box, Quadruple Float Switch ATO system and a Neptune Leak Detection Module with Two Leak Detection Probes, one inside the stand, the other below the stand on the floor. I use toggle switches connected to a breakout box to quickly turn on or off various pumps, turn the lights on to full intensity or full blue/UV lighting.



Livestock: A pair of mated Black and White Clown Fish, male and two female Flame Angels, Kole Tang, Purple Tang, Starry Blenny, Yellow Coris Wrasse, Purple Firefish, Flame Angel, Royal Gramma, Cleaner (Skunk) Shrimp, Orange and Black Urchin, Black and White Serpent Starfish



Corals: 21 different SPS corals, LPS include Duncans, Euphyllia, Acanthastrea, Caulastrea, Favia, 43 different Zoanthids and Palys, several different Corallimorphia and Gorgonians.





120 Gallon Aquarium 4-22-16
• 120 gallon SC Glass Aquarium 48 x 24"x 24".
o Starfire Glass three sides with the back painted black. Diamond mitered Corners.
o Internal Coast to Coast overflow.
o External Overflow Box with three 1" drains.
o 145 gallons total system true water volume.
• Custom Stand (56"x34"x40"tall) White Quarter Sawn Oak. Three 4" ventilation/cooling fans.
• Two Neptune WAV pumps
• 70 Gallon Custom Sump (43"x18"x21"), Refugium/Frag Tank, Return Section.
o Two 7" Filter Sock Holders.
o AqualIlluminations Hydra 26 Refugium Light.
• 19 Gallon Top Off Reservoir with MaxiJet 400 Pump.
• Three BRS Dosing Pumps with 3.5 Gallon Calcium and Alkalinity Reservoirs, 5 quart Magnesium Reservoir
• Eheim 1262 Return Pump (900 GPH) 80 watts.
• 1" Sea Swirl.
• Two Eheim Jaeger TruTemp 300 Watt Heaters.
• Aqua Maxx CO-2 Protein Skimmer.
• Carbon Reactor feed from Return Pump.
• GFO Reactor fed from Return Pump.
• Three Aqua Illuminations Hydra 52, 135 Watt LED Light Fixtures.
o 52-3 Watt LED emitters: 16-cool white, 4-deep red, 4-green, 12-royal blue, 8-very deep blue, 4-violet, 4-400nm UV.
o Custom hanging kit with slides.
o Two 200mm Cooling Fans.
• Neptune Apex AquaController
o Neptune Base Unit
o Neptune Display
o Ecotech Wireless Expansion Module (WXM)
o AI Wireless Expansion Module (AXM)
o Neptune PM 2 Module
 Conductivity Probe
 Temperature Probe
 Neptune I/O Breakout Box
 Quadruple Float Switch ATO system
o Neptune Leak Detection Module
 Two Leak Detection Probes
o Energy Bar 8 (x2)
o Energy Bar 4 (x1)
o Lab Grade pH Probe
o Lab Grade ORP Probe
o Temperature Probe
• Surge Protector Power Strip

(2) Black and White mated Clown Fish
Flame Angel
Kole Tang
Purple Tang
Starry Blenny
Yellow Coris Wrasse
Cleaner Shrimp
Orange and Black Urchin

[ca1ore]

Mighty fine looking flame wrasse (didn't see it listed)?

[thegrun]

Originally Posted by ca1ore

Mighty fine looking flame wrasse (didn't see it listed)?

I forgot to list my wrasses!
Trio of Flame Wrasses (1 super male, 2 females)
Lineatus Wrasse (super male)
also a Royal Gramma, Purple Firefish

[ca1ore]

Sorely tempted. Unfortunately all my non burying wrasse always seem to end up in the overflow, on the floor, etc. Despite a well fitting screen top.

Congrats on TOTM. Fine looking tank!

[monkeysee1]

Love it!
Beautiful Bird's nests and Montiporas!
Nice Purple Tang and Flame Angel! Love those!!
Your tangs get along? Really?
You like those Aqua Illuminations lights?
I have a quasi FOWLR ( 10 fish) and am thinking about giving feeling another try.
Is that a Refugium I see in your bottom cabinet? You'd tank looks algae free!!

[gp2]

Sexy use of space in the bottom cabinet!

[greengeco82]

Its like looking under the hood of a Ferrari! Under the hood is as beautiful as the tank itself. Well done.

What is your lighting and feeding schedule? Can you elaborate on your Nitrate and Phosphate levels?

[solitude127]

Great tank Mike and well deserved. Your craftsmanship is second to none.

[GimpyFin]

Awesome looking tank Mike.

[bobbravo2]

Originally Posted by gp2

Sexy use of space in the bottom cabinet!

Totally!

[thegrun]

Thank you all! Monkeysee, yes my two tangs get along well. The only aggression I ever see between them is when I feed them nori. The purple tang tends to hog the nori initially but the Kole tang just waits for its turn. Other than that they get along great. The two aggression issues I have are between my Kole tang who does not like my Starry Blenny and my Flame Angel trying to get too close to the Clown's nest. The Flame Angel is likely to find himself in another tank soon since it does nip a little at my SPS and it's overall aggressiveness.

[thegrun]

I have been very happy with the AI Hydra 52 lights. I run a 5 hour ramp up and ramp down and 3 hours at peak intensity. The outside two lights peat at 70% blues, 50% white, 30% green and red, the middle light peaks at 50% blues, 35% white and 21% green and red. I've considered adding a couple of t5 bulbs to light the shaded areas, but the tank is doing so well now I hate to mess with it.

[thegrun]

My sump does have a refugium with Chato along with a small frag tank. I have a lot of rock and a couple of spun glass bricks in the sump which help keep my nitrates low. The nitrates run between 4 and 6 ppm, I try to keep my phosphates between 0.02 and 0.03. In the display tank the Kole Tang, Starry Blenny, Black and Orange Tuxedo Urchin and a small army of Chitons keep the tank free of algae.

[joshbrookkate]

Amazing setup!

[tkeracer619]

Love it! Congratulations and keep up the great work!

[Wazzel]

Very nice tank.

[JonezNReef]

Great looking tank and awesome colors. Very inspiring!

[d2mini]

Beautiful! Congrats!!

[Skippy2512]

I am inspired by your stand. I've been bless to have some amazing friends who have given me a stand and tank to upgrade from a 29 biocube to a planet aquariums 90. I really enjoyed your build, it really gave me some ideas for wire management and tube routing. thanks for sharing!


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[Andrew D]

Beautiful. Nice to see a mix of everything doing so well.

[TOOMANYFISH]

Just beautiful

[cincyjim]

Great looking tank and setup!!! Congrats!!!

[davocean]

Congrats, one of my favorite tanks, and one of my very favorite cabinets, well deserved!

[nitr8]

Very nice set-up. Congrats. I use the same pump for my return. Do you find that it doesn't handle head pressure very well. I have a "Y" in my plumbing so one pump feeds both return inlets and the water just kind flows out like a waterfall, just spilling out. Is yours the same way?