140 Gallon Reef Tank Adventure

[Farmreefer]

Hi everyone! I'm new to the hobby and forum.
My wife and I got interested in the hobby and thought we would just have a small tank, well that idea went out the window after talking to my LFS. We went from wanting a 54 gallon corner tank, to a 120 gallon tank and ended up with a sweet deal on our 140 gallon tank.

We will be waiting for delivery for a couple weeks, which is driving me nuts but here is the list of goodies on order.

Planet Aquarium 140 Gallon 48x24x29 Tank
Costal Design stand and Canopy - Heritage design in Mocha (my brides choice and because it's beautiful it gets to be in the living room)
Custom sump with heater, pump and skimmer, plans for a refugium
Maxspect Gyre
Seneye Reef monitor
AI Hydra 26 HD x2 with rails for mounting in canopy
Black live sand
Contemplating Real Reef rock or perhaps live rock

Pictures coming soon! Developing plans for fish room in the basement.

This hobby has absolutely consumed me, I love research and the many aspects of this hobby, tech, biology, building, design, the list goes on!

[Bogue Chitto]

Welcome to the hobby. You will have a great time setting your tank up. I hope you two will enjoy it and have fun with it as well. It gets exciting as time goes on. Will be looking for pics when you get them....

[Farmreefer]

Welcome to the hobby. You will have a great time setting your tank up. I hope you two will enjoy it and have fun with it as well. It gets exciting as time goes on. Will be looking for pics when you get them....


Thank you, here are the fish and inverts on our consideration list thus far.
I know there are most likely some that will conflict and have to be removed, or that simply won't fit, this is simply the preliminary fun list which is in constant flux. We plan on taking our time adding livestock.

https://missourireeftank.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/livestock.png?w=700

[Bogue Chitto]

That's a good list, I'm not familiar with some of them but It is probably too many tangs for that size tank. I'm sure some of the more advanced people on here will tell you more about what you can put in the tank. Good luck with getting started.

[Farmreefer]

Yes we will probably have to trim the list of tangs, hard choices

[Bogue Chitto]

I like the marine betta, I had one years ago and it was a cool fish.

[oldbones]

Two Hydra 26's will be marginal at best for a tank that size, especially if you plan to keep anything but the least light hungry softies. I have three Primes (almost 1.5 26's) over a 56 and am looking at upgrading. It 'looks' like plenty of light, but you're going to have shadowing problems and with that depth, serious par deficiency.

[Farmreefer]

Two Hydra 26's will be marginal at best for a tank that size, especially if you plan to keep anything but the least light hungry softies. I have three Primes (almost 1.5 26's) over a 56 and am looking at upgrading. It 'looks' like plenty of light, but you're going to have shadowing problems and with that depth, serious par deficiency.


I will consider that, but we may not really care to have much coral at the bottom, so it may not be a problem, or we can place species appropriately in relation to the light level.

Am I mistaken in believing the hydra 26 hd will reach 30" of depth? I know reds fall off fast at depth.

I guess this is the nice thing about being in the planning/waiting phase, we can hopefully avoid expensive mistakes.

One last question. Is the color blending better on the AI Primes than the Hydra 26 HD's?

[oldbones]

I haven't used the 26's, but it would appear that each one is basically two Prime pucks. I like their look, and wanted to believe they were the ticket, but a borrowed PAR meter showed me they were marginal at best. Plus, the puck design doesn't provide the even spread you'll want for that 48" tank. If that's the light you really want, I'd say you need at least three, probably four.

I'm honestly considering a Reef Breeder Photon V2 as a replacement. My pal runs the V1, and I love the way it lights his 90g. It's less expensive, more powerful, and has better coverage...

[Farmreefer]

I'll have to check that out. There was another brand of LED I saw for about $895 with two pucks but they were spread out better than the Hydra, I think it was the Kessil.

[Farmreefer]

After more research I'm sticking with a pair of Hydra 26HD's. I'll just have to patient and disciplined when placing corals. Since we want larger colonies instead of the shotgun spray of frags this should be doable.

[oldbones]

Good lights, I'm pretty sure you'll like them. Down the road, you may decide to add a third to even out the par levels, but two should be fine to get you started.

[Farmreefer]

Good lights, I'm pretty sure you'll like them. Down the road, you may decide to add a third to even out the par levels, but two should be fine to get you started.


I'm betting you are right about the third light, probably more for an even spread of light than actual power. The people I have talked to run them at about 40%, but that wasn't in a 29" deep tank.

[oldbones]

Exactly. My tank is 34x20x20, I started with two Primes and later added a third. PAR drops fairly quickly when you move out from directly under the light.

[Farmreefer]

Once I'm up and running I'll get some par readings with the Seneye. Just heard today the stand, canopy and tank should be built by Wednesday!

[Muller]

I did a DIY LED light system for my 140 and I am happy with it but could still be more. Some from RapidLED and some from eBay.
It consists of;
26 Cree 5w Cool White XP-G2
65 Cree 3w Royal Blue XTE
13 UV (400-410nm) and (410-420nm)mix for moonlights.
I agree Bogue Chitto is right that you will have to pick and choose your tangs. Good luck with your tank.

Here is a shot of my tank from just before Christmas.

[Farmreefer]

Tank looks great! Did you let coralline grow on the back glass? We are considering doing this and also adding the "alternative reef" magnetic shelves on the back.

[Farmreefer]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160227/d21cf6cc34ac9026006fd9313419a134.jpg
Our tank, stand and canopy have arrived at our LFS Saltwater Island!!!!
Hope to have her home next week!

[Farmreefer]

Question. Should we put this all the way against the wall in the living room or leave room for access?
We have a toddler so we are leaning toward putting it against the wall.

[mgoulding]

Following along

[Farmreefer]

Waiting on the sump still but we got to see the tank! Had my beautiful bride do her best Vanna White impression next to it for scale. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160305/ba05a15e8c62c3bca5129b734d40e452.jpg

[Farmreefer]

Tank is installed and cycling ! Max Gyre should be here later today, lights next week.
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[Farmreefer]

Gyre pump came in!
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[Joeb1983]

Awesome! Very nice.

[sub2hour]

Brian,

I remember seeing you at the store when you ordered your tank cause your baby was not enjoying it lol. Glad to see your progress. Good luck.

Dan

[Farmreefer]

Thanks, she is really excited about it now.

[Farmreefer]

Update - the shady Amazon third party company that sent me my Hydra 26 HD's should be getting them back soon. I was supposed to receive two new black 26 HD's. I got one back and one white, very used, with parts rattling around. Came to my senses today and ordered two more from BRS, should have them tomorrow.

My seneye reef monitor is not working, great support from the company though and BRS has told me they will replace it if we can't get it going.
We jumped the gun a bit and put an emerald crab and a hermit crab in the tank.
Can't wait to get a bunch of inverts on the 1st.

[litebulb]

Awesome tank! I love my 36" from them. It's a great quality setup!

[LakersReef]

Nice tank.

[Farmreefer]

Thank you both, Hydra's come in today!

[KBrady]

Love that tank size! Congrats on the new tank!

[Farmreefer]

I think I finally have the skimmer tuned in, thoughts?
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160324/69be95c8be1cced1f3cc4b1e762fcdba.jpg

[Farmreefer]

Lights are here, time to get the balances set right and the schedule!http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160324/3a84d7fb11012bd929358dd25d97c4d0.jpg
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[Farmreefer]

Some new life in the tankhttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160327/b1a7c5ab51bc53f904fee6e946d00cd1.jpg

[Farmreefer]

Got the return hoses secured with a magnet on the zip tie that was holding them together. Each magnet rests on a chamber wall in the sump. Now the heater isn't being beaten up so bad with the flow and I can see its reading 80 degrees.



Here are before and after photos ( not the greatest )
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[Flippers4pups]

Following. Looks good.

[Farmreefer]

Some crazy yellow and black growth on this rock. Both emerald crabs are feasting on it.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160328/8ef7e4cb6b851e1b2a3ddd8d912a7fce.jpg

[Devaji108]

nice tanks guys and happy family :) good to know your wife support your addiction I mean hobby.

I am curious on how you like your black sand in a few months time.
what brand did you go with? magnetic?
if so be very careful not to scratch your tank.

happy reefing!

[Farmreefer]

I'll have to ask about the brand on the sand. It's slightly magnetic but I'm uber careful with my cleaning. The Tunze cleaner has been great. As for the black we love the contrast, white sands are too bright for our tastes and they tend to look dirty after awhile from what I've seen.
My bride loves the tank and supports the hobby but it does cost me in that I can't say much about her clothes shopping [emoji3]http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160328/02e847940439d4113a3c21f23c653249.jpg

[Farmreefer]

Went to the LFS and had our water tested, the tank is cycled!!!

Bought two very small Vivid Fancy Clowns, another Scarlet Skunker Cleaner Shrimp, a Fire Shrimp, and 10 snails.

All were acclimated and introduced to the tank. Also got a flat piece of rock to finish off the aquascape.
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[Swatman05]

If you don't mind me asking, what does a setup like this cost? I'm wanting to get into the hobby and I'm trying to figure out a good tank size to start with. Your tank looks awesome by the way!

[Farmreefer]

It really depends on what equipment you get. It can be done relatively inexpensively with a used tank.

[Farmreefer]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160330/cb0b50e5b68d19f861e7cb4ad97734d4.jpg

[Farmreefer]

Got the new power strip in with individual on/off switches. Hydra's are still plugged in the main GFI strip. Having the pumps power isolated will make feeding easier.

It's all just roughed in on this lumber until I build a permanent situation with splash guard for the skimmer, hence the towel for temporary protection.
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Also added this bio media to the sump to help with filtration.
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[Farmreefer]

Bad news - the smaller Vivid Fancy clown went through the return and ended up dead in the sump.
We are going to see about replacing it with a larger Black Misbar clown

[Farmreefer]

We got a Black Misbar Clown, Diamond Goby, Yellow Tang and a Naso Tang today. That's it for the fish until our engineer Goby's come in.

So relaxing watching them under the moonlight. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160401/635928f39973cbf748638a273e50d6e4.jpg

[Farmreefer]

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Group photo

[Farmreefer]

Changed the orientation of the Gyre so it blasts the rock instead of moving all the sand out of the corner. The Star Polyp seems to like the added flow but I may have to turn it down a level.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160403/2652137addbccd720bf446b0c3baf485.jpg

[Flippers4pups]

Sorry about the clown. Need to cover the tops of your overflows. How are you topping off? ATO? And where did you get your dry rock from?

[Farmreefer]

I am topping off manually, I keep an eye on the levels in the sump, I have them marked for full level with a Sharpie both for normal operations and when the return is off. We got all of our rock from Saltwater Island in StL

How would you recommend covering overflows?

[Flippers4pups]

I use plastic animal netting from menards. Use could use bird netting or egg crate.346897

[Farmreefer]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160404/4bc5bbae3f3f53a6cd5cd5d25b5da6a0.jpg
Cleaner shrimp made an appearance

[Farmreefer]

Got some Frogspawn coral, a citron clown goby and 5 more hermit crabs tonight. Absolutely in love with the frogspawn. Better pictures tomorrow
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[Farmreefer]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160406/b56cfa6fb99301617ef9ab8093c812ca.jpg

[Farmreefer]

Thanks!
Just moved the Maxspect Gyre. Tried horizontal on the right glass but it was pounding the Star Polyp while barely moving the Frogspawn, also the cord hanging in the water look horrible. So we moved it back next to the center return on the right side and cranked pulse mode up to 60% and it looks good!
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160406/c26d0160b2b00e2f522dfdd2f9b1f977.jpg

[Farmreefer]

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[Farmreefer]

Random tank shots for today
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[Farmreefer]

Added this Torch Coral today, can't wait to see it in its full glory again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkhttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160409/0f29cd694f57e615bcdb3c4d54296192.jpg

[Farmreefer]

Love the new light for the refugium.
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[Farmreefer]

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[Farmreefer]

Corals doing wellhttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160509/842829a6c51647080756e4a0bbabbea3.jpg
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[monkeyruler90]

wow, that is an amazing 140!

btw, i love the color of the cabinet too. looks great !

[Farmreefer]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160613/aa79a1b45bcddf83ecdeb66869bcff2c.jpg


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[Farmreefer]

Updated coral pictures

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[Farmreefer]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170108/6b1db20f95fc5ad3f680c7a2b3b670ed.jpg
Latest addition


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[Farmreefer]

Sea Apple in all its glory
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170110/c55654c7a22f9eaa9cac1c3e981c2e2f.jpg


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[Farmreefer]

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[Farmreefer]

Sorry for the repeat picture on the last post, meant to include this one
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[Farmreefer]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170113/2d60fc6fca2da466404637cf97490528.jpg
Although mushrooms are often spoken of as beginners coral in a dismissive tone I am finding them beautiful. I also like that in our future/larger tank they have the potential to stand up to abuse from Angelfish while still providing a beautiful backdrop.


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[Farmreefer]

We got carried away today and move our live rock to a concept we have been toying with for a month or so. Two large pieces of rock made it into the sump. Some corals still need to be moved but the rock work is finally where we want it.

Before
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After
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170115/e199197b9cc7d77db21418c707788ec1.jpg


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[Farmreefer]

Niger Trigger is caught and removed!!
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170118/b9520792b3ff4db43f6c04ccb3e52ce8.jpg


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