Hoss's 120 Gallon Build

[Hoss]

This one is long over due, but I wanted to get it rolling. Tank will be predominantly SPS with a few LPS as well. I dont have everything hooked up yet and functional, but the tank has been cycling for a few weeks and I am getting the smaller stuff done as time permits. Here are the specs thus far along with pictures.

120 Gallon DSA 3/4" Glass
- Center overflow with 4 1" bulkheads
Melev Sump: Skimmer --> Return <-- Refugium
Eheim 1262 Return
MSX 160 Skimmer
JBJ Arctica 1/4hp Chiller (emergency use only)
Aquacontroller III
2 x Tunze 6055
Tunze Nano Wave Box
Lighting - DIY lightrack
-2 x 250w SE Halide w/ Lumatek Ballast and 14k Aquamaxx Bulbs
- 2 DIY Refectors
- 2 x T5
- 1 x VHO Super Actinic

Two coolest parts about this tank thus far in my opinion are the DIY reflectors and teh DIY rockwall on the back glass.

Enjoy the pics and I'll do my best to update as often as possible. Let me know what you all think and if you have any suggestions.

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[Hoss]

The shelving is actually behind the tank. I am a pretty big guy and I can still fit and move fairly comfortably back there. I plan on putting a tank on the bottom for the RO reservoir, a tank on the second level for 20 gallon water changes and eventually a 20G tall on the very top for a frag tank....but that is way in the future. For now the top shelf will be for random stuff.

The two shelves on the wall will be for ballasts and other random things.

 

[Hoss]

Sorry this is all in pieces, but I am getting the pictures confused.

DIY Reflectors:

This was a cool project and I did save a ton of money, but it took a very long time and a lot of patience. Sorry I dont have more pictures of the entire process, but if you have any questions, let me know.

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[Hoss]

Here is the last one for now.

Rock Wall:

I have more pictures of this process. Again, this was a very interesting DIY. I did a ton of reading and prep for it. Probably went a little over board, but I had the time and really wanted to do it right. I got the rock from Marco rock and specifically asked for smaller pieces for a rock wall. They did a great job and I highly recommend them. I used Black Eggcrate and black zip ties of various lengths. Because I have a center overflow, I had to get creative with the wall. There are essentially 3 main pieces. The left and right pieces are in the shape of an L to essentiall wrap around the overflow. **One of the biggest complaints I read about was the foam bending and manipulating the eggcrate/rock structure. So, I built a frame out of wood and zip tied the structure to the wood frame prior to foaming. This worked VERY well. I let the foam cure for about a week and the pieces fit perfectly in the tank.

I did have to pick out the excess foam so that the walls did not float. Pliers did this very well. I used silicone to help adhere the structure to the glass, but the structure does not float and with the sand and live rock resting against the wall.....it is not going anywhere.

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Last picture for now......my cycle starters!!

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[bimmerzs]

Looks good bro.......you will love your equipment selections. Good job on the lumenarc clones, and I appreciate the fishless cycling.

Cheers,

 

[hitillidie]

Hoss, I'm glad to see you've gotten that tank up and running. I was waiting to see if you were going to start a thread. I've moved into my new house and just set-up my new tank. viewtopic.php?f=100&t=63705

I really like the back wall that looks awesome

 

[Hoss]

Thanks. I'm now having trouble with my skimmer. I am getting a TON of microbubbles out of the discharge pipe and the bubbles in the skimmer body will not get high enough to reach the neck of the collection cup....so it is not producing any skimmate.

I used rock that had been curing for 5-6 months and all of the sand is new, so there may not be enough wasted for the skimmer to function properly. The skimmer is used, but I cleaned it VERY well, so I was thinking it needed to break in some, but after a week of running, nothing is any better.

I'm going to take the skimmer out this weekend and take it apart. Maybe something in the Sicce pump is problematic. I need to change the venturi hose to something more rigid anyway.

If anyone has any idea, let me know. I've got a small video of the skimmer in action on you tube, but not sure exactly how to post it. I'll grab the link when I get home. If you go to youtube and search MSX 160 microbubbles...it will probably come up. Disregard the fact the cup is overflowing....it does this for about 3 minutes after turning it on, then the water column in the body drops considerably......

Josh

 

[hitillidie]

I wouldn't worry too much because my skimmer is doing the same thing but their is nothing to skim. It pulled out stuff for the first three or four days but once the water cleared it stop pulling stuff.

 

[bimmerzs]

@Hoss wrote:

How deep do you have the skimmer Josh. Also make sure the sicce pump isn't spinning the wrong way and make doubly sure that the ceramic impeller shaft isn't broken. The MSX skimmers do take a bit to break in again after cleaning.

Cheers,

 

[Hoss]

It's sitting in 8.75" of water. I can raise the skimmer.....but cant get it any lower.

I'm going to take it apart the pump this weekend and see what I can find.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[bimmerzs]

You using mesh or pinwheel on the sicce???

 

[Hoss]

@bimmerzs wrote:

Using an Octopus Extreme 160 volute and pinwheel in the Sicce pump. The guy I bought it from had done lots of testing with various methods and found this one to be the best. He sold it as he was adding more water volume and needed a bigger skimmer.

Should I look for a different combination?

 

[bimmerzs]

@Hoss wrote:

Using an Octopus Extreme 160 volute and pinwheel in the Sicce pump. The guy I bought it from had done lots of testing with various methods and found this one to be the best. He sold it as he was adding more water volume and needed a bigger skimmer.

Should I look for a different combination?"]


That volute was found to not add much in terms of performance when using the pinwheel, if I recall it worked better with mesh because it allowed more layers to be added without the mesh rubbing and causing no start issues. Best pinwheel for the sicce on my tank was the ATB purple pinwheel however, this is not causing your current issue and the skimmer should skim very well as it is. You should be able to at least skim wet by closing the standpipe, it does take very small adjustments(like barely move it) to fine tune these skimmers, then you have to basically wait a day to see it's effect before readjusting. I would also give it more time to break-in, could take 2-3 weeks but normally you have to back it off as it gradually skims better and better. You can also pull the airline off of the muffler, it should be pulling fairly hard and be quite noisey, if not the venturi could be clogged so you can suck a lil hot ro/di water into the airline to help clear any gunk out of the venturi. hth

Cheers,

 

[txraider]

Very nice sent up !!!!!!! Cant wait to see it in person

 

[washingtond]

I really like what you have done with your rock. Looking forward to seeing the final setup.

 

[Hoss]

Thanks everyone. I'll post some updated pictures this weekend. In the interim....can someone who knows the AC III evaluate my program below? For some reason, MH2 will not come on. Let me know if you see anything wrong with this....it's my first one and I was pretty much copying others. Thanks.

MH1$ - A01 (Metal Halide 1)
MH2$ - A02 (Metal Halide 2)
LT1$ - A03 (Actinics)
REF$ - B01 (Refugium Light)
MNL$ - B02 (Moonlights)
HT1& - B03 (Heater 1)
HT2& - B04 (Heater 2)
COL& - A04 (Chiller)
PM1# - B07 (Power head in top off to circulate)
FN1& - B05 (Fan 1 in canopy)
FN2& - B06 (Fan 2 in sump)

<u>Lighting</u>
If Time > 12:00 Then MH1 ON
If Time > 18:00 Then MH1 OFF
If Time > 13:00 Then MH2 ON
If Time > 19:00 Then MH2 OFF
If Time > 10:00 Then LT1 ON
If Time > 22:00 Then LT1 OFF
If Time > 21:00 Then REF ON
If Time > 11:00 Then REF OFF
If Time > 22:00 Then MNL ON
If Time > 10:00 Then MNL OFF

<u>Top Off Power Head Circulation</u>
If Time > 12:00 Then PM1 ON
If Time > 12:10 Then PM1 OFF
If Time > 00:00 Then PM1 ON
If Time > 00:10 Then PM1 OFF

<u>Temp Overrides for Lights</u>If Temp > 83.0 Then MH1 OFF
Max Change 030M Then MH1 ON
If Temp > 83.5 Then MH2 OFF
Max Change 030M Then MH2 ON

<u>Alarms</u>
If Time > 00:00 Then ALM OFF
If pH > 08.50 Then ALM ON
If pH < 8.00 Then ALM ON
If Temp < 75.0 Then ALM ON
If Temp > 84.5 Then ALM ON

<u>Temperature Control</u>
If Temp < 79.0 Then HT1 ON
If Temp > 80.5 Then HT1 OFF
If Temp < 79.0 Then HT2 ON
If Temp > 80.5 Then HT2 OFF
If Time > 12:00 Then FN1 ON
If Time > 19:00 Then FN1 OFF
If Temp > 81.0 Then FN2 ON
If Temp > 80.2 Then FN2 OFF
If Temp > 82.0 Then COL ON
If Temp < 81.5 Then COL OFF

<u>Power Fail</u>
If Power 000 Then LT1 OFF
If Power 020 Then MH1 OFF
If Power 030 Then MH2 OFF

<u>Temp Probe Unplugged Precaution</u>
If Temp < 70.0 Then HT1 OFF
If Temp < 70.0 Then HT2 OFF
If Temp < 70.0 Then COL OFF
If Temp < 70.0 Then MH1 OFF
If Temp < 70.0 Then MH2 OFF
If Temp < 70.0 Then FN1 OFF
If Temp < 70.0 Then FN2 OFF
If Temp > 90.0 Then HT1 OFF
If Temp > 90.0 Then HT2 OFF
If Temp < 90.0 Then COL OFF
If Temp < 90.0 Then MH1 OFF
If Temp < 90.0 Then MH2 OFF
If Temp < 90.0 Then FN1 OFF
If Temp < 90.0 Then FN2 OFF

 

[steelcaveman]

Can we see updated pics?

 

[Hoss]

Well, an update is long overdue. I've been battling hair algea for a while now and have been ashamed to post pictures. Thankfully I am finally getting ahead of it.

I'm starting to transfer corals from the 60 gallon tank. I'm still nervous to put my higher end chalice in the new tank...but it has been up and running for over 6 months and all water params are good.....now that the hair algea seems to be under control, I may risk it.

Just a few updates and then on to the pictures.
- Upgraded skimmers and got a Vertex Alpha Cone 170
- Ditched the Tunze 6055's and got 2 6105's
- Put in the water change station behind the tank
- Got the AC 3 hooked up and everything on the timer.
- Still need to clean up the wires a bit.
- Plumbed up my 50 gallon RO barrell that is in the garage to the ATO tank and Salt mixing tank behind the stand.
- Hooked up the chiller...which is in the garage directly behind the tank.

FTS:

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MISC Coral:

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Purple Tang:

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Pair of Borbonius Anthias.....I Love These Guys

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Sump and Skimmer (about 3 days of skimmate):

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Water Change Behind Tank:

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Thanks for looking. Any and all suggestions are more than welcome.

Josh