New to salt! 100g reef build... PICS!

[Phil D. Bowl]

i just wanted to introduce myself, I am new here and new to salt water.....

My wife and i recently decided to take the plunge into marine aquaria with the purchase of a used 100g tank. The tank came with a 20g sump and a few boxes of extra junk (mostly un-used for this build).

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6056/6335297283_1a10e20762.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6335297283/)
Tank front 100g (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6335297283/) by Phil D. Bowl (http://www.flickr.com/people/55489591@N03/), on Flickr

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6091/6335297371_fe16591b88.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6335297371/)
tank back (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6335297371/) by Phil D. Bowl (http://www.flickr.com/people/55489591@N03/), on Flickr

we put the tank up on a partition that divides our dining room and living room and it FITS! with about 3 inches on either side.
For lighting we have (for now) 1x 400w MH and 1x 600w MH and a 250w MH over the sump. we do have a 2x 250w balast that we will use in the future with 15000k lamps. ill be useing that and a 476w T-5 for the final set up ( to save a little power over the 1k watts of MH we have now w/o losing wattage)

we started out with this sump

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6239/6336056228_bc1bd60825.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6336056228/)
20g sump full (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6336056228/) by Phil D. Bowl (http://www.flickr.com/people/55489591@N03/), on Flickr

(the pepsi box is a kitty barricade... ) that's a 29g acrylic tank that was cut to be a sump. it was bowed out and ready to break so we took it down and swapped out the 55g fresh water tank. we have a rena X3 that i use to help scrub out particulate. its washed out once a week to prevent buildup and eventually will be removed and only used to scrub on large tank cleanings.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6096/6344874301_f0d678113d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6344874301/)
2011-11-13_22-18-34_476 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6344874301/) by Phil D. Bowl (http://www.flickr.com/people/55489591@N03/), on Flickr

we don't have any chambers in it yet. im looking for a 75g tank to use as the permanent sump, at witch point ill be cutting the old acrylic tank up to build the chambers.

we have a bit of LR, 2 clowns, a 6-line wrasse and 50 (give or take) blue leg hermits. (also 5 tonga snails and a few assorted snails and shrimp)

the chunks of live rock and rubble we got where all cured and ready to go in the tank. they helped greatly, kicking off the cycle and culturing our tanks beneficial bacteria.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6112/6336060106_44fa167806.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6336060106/)
Live Rock (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6336060106/) by Phil D. Bowl (http://www.flickr.com/people/55489591@N03/), on Flickr

this cloudy shot was shortly after adding the LR. i kicked up some sediment while arranging the rock

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6091/6336171292_49157ea37f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6336171292/)
LR about 30min after adding it (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55489591@N03/6336171292/) by Phil D. Bowl (http://www.flickr.com/people/55489591@N03/), on Flickr

that's all for now i guess. i hope this is the right forum and what not and ill be looking forward to getting to know you guys. :fish1:

[Phil D. Bowl]

so this second post is a bit of a test... im checking to see if i can post a pic form G+... let me know if it comes up broken! if not... what the heck is this blue worm? i saw it swimming in the tank and it landed against the glass... very vivid blue!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eqtmGbAYPbw/TsH_gCroSiI/AAAAAAAAAHo/fmuwNYc_FLA/s912/2011-11-14_21-54-06_787.jpg

[fishgate]

Looks like it will be nice. I am more then a bit scared however where you have that tank sitting. I would not trust that wall especially with the counters sticking out on each side. That tank will weight over 1000lbs sitting on what looks to be a 2x4 wall with a tile countertop. If you want that where it is, you should probably tear that wall/section out and rebuild it appropriately for the tank.

[rayn]

Agreed. Tank will be cool, but there is a ton of weight sitting on that wall. Make sure you are setup for it and the weight.

[skimeister56]

I would agree with fishgate. typically partitian walls like that have very little structure to them. They are only supported on one side and that only by a couple of nails into the wall stud because it was not designed to support any significant weight. As soon as you get any torsional stress, I am afraid it fold and collapse.

[ed102475]

I dont know about the worm sorry .
I do agree about the wall you may come home to a wet floor some day .
It would be a easy fix . Good luck.

[Phil D. Bowl]

before placing the tank i took the load into consideration. we inspected the counter top and wall and found it was well constructed with 4 support studs under the wall section and a load bearing beam on one side and the main stud (under the peak of our house) on the other end. i did not consider that the counter top may be a bit thin and could possibly bow. beneath the tile is 3/4 ply....

we had a 55g tank on the counter top for the better part of 2 years with no problems, however a 55 does weigh significantly less! I did tell my wife im a bit leery of the counter top with that much weight on it... maybe all this feedback will help my case!

i wanted to add some 4x4 posts under each corner of the tank. i can cut to length and wedge them in for now. i can make it a little more permanent when ever i empty the tank.

[sponger0]

IMO I would invest in a much larger sump. At least 55 gallons or so.

[Phil D. Bowl]

@sponger0 already done! if you look at the pics youll see the new 55g (temp) sump... im looking for a 75g tank...

[sponger0]

@sponger0 already done! if you look at the pics youll see the new 55g (temp) sump... im looking for a 75g tank...

Ooops my bad..missed that

[Phil D. Bowl]

its all good! its a looong post... and i agree! that sump was way to small :)