TKLB's 120 Build

[gmcpickup66]

Wow this is really coming along nicely! Congrats on the new build and thanks for all the information so far!

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[tklb]

Thanks all. This is my first tank build thread, and it is actually quite fun to document the process. While I did a lot of planning I feel like I have been really lucky in that things have fallen into place quite a bit (knock on wood). Tomorrow my skimmer and lights are supposed to be here, then Friday I am getting my ATO Pump and Float Switches. I will have an update later tonight, just wanted to say thanks for the comments.

[tklb]

OK, so here is the progress I made today. I received a shipment today, which contained my Trigger Systems Ruby 10 gallon ATO Reservoir, Seneye Reef, Seneye Slide 3 Pack, Spare Filter Socks, Spare BRS Reactor Canisters, BRS Rox 0.8 Carbon, and the Neptune Systems IO Breakout Box. I didn't get a pic of the ATO Reservoir, but it is very nice.



I got the IO Breakout Box mounted to my Controller Board, and made a Bus Terminal for the Ground Connections. I am not a fan of multiple wires into one Ground Connection, so I had to do something. I took a 2x6 terminal from Home Depot, and wired across one side and on to the Ground port on the BOB. Then I can wire each switch's Ground to one of the screws on the other side. I was surprised at how small the IO BOB is. Did some tests on the BOB, and all looks good. I won't have my float switches and ATO Pump until Friday, but the IO BOB seems to be working. I also cleaned up my wiring.



I did play around with the Seneye Reef a little today. I mainly bought it as a PAR meter, but I will use the slides as my Rock Cures, and as my tank Cycles. Unfortunately, you have to soak the slide for 48 hours, so I can't get any ammonia readings until Friday. As a PAR meter, it is pretty cool. I am supposed to get my Radion xr30w Pro G3s tomorrow, so I played with the Seneye in my Bio Cubes. I was surprised by the PAR readings in the Bio Cubes. I have one with just the PC, and one with the PCs and loaded up with the blue LEDs. Really couldn't get any more than about 140 PAR anywhere in the Bio Cubes, and it took everything I could do to get that. I will need the Seneye's PAR meter when I move corals from the Bio Cubes to the 120 with the Radions. Overall it is a pretty cool device. Hopefully I get my Lights tomorrow, and I can check out my 120's PAR readings. Come Friday, I can check on my Cure and my Cycle.

[JMorris271]

Originally Posted by tklb

LOL. I know. Not sure if I am going to ultimately replace it with a bench, a few stools, chairs or what, but for now it is a folding chair.

I love this thread and I also have a solo folding chair. You are documenting things very well.
We have that Monteray stand we ordered from Marineland and unfortunately the top screw in a left hinge split the wood. I'm glad yours worked out.
It is a surprise that you didn't have to valve back the left supply line some as it is first to be fed and may get the lions share of the water.

[tklb]

Originally Posted by JMorris271

I love this thread and I also have a solo folding chair. You are documenting things very well.
We have that Monteray stand we ordered from Marineland and unfortunately the top screw in a left hinge split the wood. I'm glad yours worked out.
It is a surprise that you didn't have to valve back the left supply line some as it is first to be fed and may get the lions share of the water.

I thought about that, but it hasn't been a big deal (yet). LOL. I am not planning on a ton of flow through the sump. I have been running it maybe 600 GPH-ish. I ordered 2 Neptune WAV Pumps, which will handle flow in the tank.

[tklb]

Wow, sorry for the lack of updates. With the brand new APEX came some growing pains. Had major issues with the APEX, but Neptune Systems lived up to their reputation and I got outstanding customer & technical support. I am back up and running, and the new Firmware release seems to be working like a champ.

So I found out that the Radion Single Mounts will not fit under the Marineland Monteray Canopi. So I had to come up with a DIY mounting solution. I ended up getting square aluminum and drilled it top and bottom. Here are the rails almost done.


Then I mounted the Radions to the rails using Aluminum spacers.



And Got them mounted in the canopi over the tank.

[tklb]

My NYOS Quantum 160 Skimmer came in too. I had to build a skimmer stand, but it is working away now.




My WXM Module came in and I got that mounted to the Control Board and connected to the Radions.



I got 3 float switches for the IO BOB. 2 for the Sump water level, and one for my ATO reservoir, so I will get an email if it starts getting low. It is enclosed in a cabinet, so I won't be looking at it all the time and will need reminders. The switches are color coded and connected to the IO BOB


I Took a nice piece of Rock out and put it in the tank along with some Green Chromis and a few frags. I am going out of town for 8 days, so this will be a nice test for the APEX to see how everything runs. I also got 2 of the Neptune Systems WAV pumps set up, and they are amazing. You can see them in this picure. They are well built and move a lot of water. They plug directly into the EB832's 1-Link Ports (No additional module needed with the new APEX) I am really impressed with them, and the Flow tiles in APEX Fusion are really cool.


Here is a really out of focus picture of my ATO Reservoir. The open door closes and it gets hidden away. I have a Tom's Aqualifter pump connected and the APEX is controlling it perfectly.



That is about it for now. There won't be any updates until I am back from my trip. I think really only Aquascaping and Livestock.

[tklb]

Sorry for the lack of updated on this build. I am trying to be paitent while my dry rock cures. I am changing out the water in my Garbage cans that the rocks are curing in, and they are starting to smell a little less each time. Man, it was the smell of death the first couple of times I changed the water. Hopefully soon they will be cured and I can get on to the actual aqua-scaping.

[zachxlutz]

I'm very inspired by your thread! I'm also setting up a 120 currently. I'll be following along!

[DePinchGonze]

Do you have a stocking list yet?

[tklb]

So I finally got my rock out of the curing bins and into the tank. Going to go with this Aquascape at least to start. None of the coral placement is permanent at this point, just trying out places to see what is happy where. Most of these pieces are coming over from one of the Bio Cubes, so they will be much happier here, once they are light acclimated. I absolutely HATE Frag plugs, and I can't stand that I still have a few in the tank, but for now they help with moving things around to find the right place for each coral.

Overall I like the Aquascape. Hard to tell in pictures sometimes, but it showcases the dimensions of the tank really well and leaves a lot of swim space for the fish which will mostly be Anthias. Man, the WAVs can move some serious water. I was originally debating between 2 or 3, but I am glad I started with 2.

My Subject to change stocking list includes SPS and LPS corals only, except for 3 set of Zoanthids; Rastas, Blue Hornets, & Tangerine Zoas. Maybe a frag off of my Green Toadstool at some point, but that would be about it for softies. No mushrooms, Ricordia, leathers, or any other softies.

Fish will be Bicolor Anthias, Lyretail Anthias, blue-green Chroms, a Royal Gramma, possibly my Midas blenny or a tailspot blenny and a pair of undetermined clowns.

In a few months, I will probably get a couple Maxima Clams.

Only Crabs will be Emeralds. It will be a snail only, no Hermit Crab tank. Hermit crabs do nothing but **** me off.

[zachxlutz]

That aquascaping is GOLD! This is the exact same idea that I'm going for. Looks great.

[nmotz]

This is a really nice build and is a good blend of DIY technique/factory designed equipment. It's not over the top hard to understand how you did everything (sorry, but I'm not a master plumber/architect like some of the people on this forum!) This looks like it will be a really nice tank when it matures.

[BarIzoN]

One thing is correct: it's amazing the difference of experience and know-how makes. Your tank is looking awesome - aesthetically and technically speaking... Congrats!!

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[tklb]

Thank you, guys. I really appreciate it.

[tklb]

Tank is going through the Uglys right now, but I got some beautiful Redsea Lyretail Anthias, and they are in Quarantine. The picture doesn't even do them justice.

[eric_j]

Originally Posted by Capiross1

I'm not sure I've never did it but I have read on here where people say that putting eggcrate on the bottom of the tank cause Derris build up, just something to thing about


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Why would you put eggcrate on the bottom anyway???

[eric_j]

This is really great to see you doing this. I'm having a 150g tank delivered this weekend, and do not have a clue of what to do!!! I'm watching you very carefully...it looks like you know what you are doing. Thanks for keeping such an excellent log.

[tklb]

I put the eggcrate down to protect the bottom glass a little. It is one sheet, and I vacuum the shallow sand bed every water change, so I am not really worried about detritis build up.

[tklb]

OK, so I pulled the trigger on the Neptune Systems DOS & DDR Combo. Just got it installed yesterday. It is really cool. I will be dialing it in over the next few weeks, but it is a really nice couple of pieces of equipment. I took a picture of my sump. It seems every time I get the cords arranged how I want them, I need to do something in the stand, and have to undo everything I just did. LOL. Anywhere here is the picture of the Sump area.



And here is the same picture with all of the hardware labeled. Enjoy.

[tklb]

No new pictures today, but I bought a set of LED strip lights on clearance at Lowes for $11.97. I got a magnetic door switch at Frys for $5 and set it up as Under Stand lighting that turns on when you open the stand doors. Works pretty well fo $17 and an hours worth of work soldering, shrink tubing and installing. The 2 18" LED strips put out plenty of light. I spliced the Magnetic switch into one of the power wires. Pretty cool.

[zachxlutz]

I really dig your tank and your setup. I hope you keep us updated.

How are those anthias doing?

[tklb]

Thanks, all is going well. Tank is coming along nicely. I will try to get a pic up in the next few days. Current Stocking list, which is pretty much all of the fish going in, consists of:

5 - Black Axil Chromis
5 - Lyretail Anthias (All still Female)
2 - Darwin Clowns
2 - Chalk Basslets
1 - Yellow Tang
1 - Royal Gramma
1 - Tailspot Blenny

[zachxlutz]

Do the 5x chromis and 5x anthias school/shoal? I really want schooling fish in my 120. What's your feeding regiment like for that stocking?

[tklb]

Originally Posted by zachxlutz

Do the 5x chromis and 5x anthias school/shoal? I really want schooling fish in my 120. What's your feeding regiment like for that stocking?

The Chromis school more than the Anthias, though they are all almost always out in the water Column. For food, I mix Reef Frenzy, Cyclopese, reef cavier, & Reef Roids and do one scoop 3x/day. On occasion I put some Seaweed in the tank for the Tang.

I got the Neptune AFS for when I go out of town, and I have a mix of flakes (Mysis, Color, and Spirolina) which I do 3x/day when I am traveling. I set up a tablet as a web cam when I travel also. This past weekend I went on a short trip, and was able to really try out the AFS. through the web cam/tablet I was able to see all 17 fish eating the flake food, so I was really happy. We travel 7-10 days at a time 2-3 times per year, and the tank with ATO and AFS is self sufficient for up to about 10-11 days, as long as I make sure all of the maintenance is completed before we leave.

The tank is perfectly busy for what I want. Always fish in the water column, lots of activity, but no feeling of it being too crowded. I will see if I can get a good picture in the next few days.