Zach's 120 Gallon Reef Resurgence

[zachxlutz]

Hey all!

First off, let me introduce myself... I’m not new to reef-keeping, but I am returning after a long absence from the hobby and I'm very excited! My girlfriend and I recently moved in together and in going through all of our stuff and cleaning things out I stumbled across all of my aquarium equipment. Look, it was an honest mistake - I was cleaning it all out, taking stock of what I had and a little spark went off... LET'S SET UP ANOTHER REEF TANK! I HAVE ALL THE STUFF... (I didn't have all the stuff, I've been buying things left and right getting to where we are today including a used 120 gallon tank/stand/hood). Ok, wait, let me back up... here's the progression of things since the beginning of my reef addiction.

I’ve had a 10 gallon nano back in 2009:


I’ve had a 33 gallon long w/ 20 long sump in '09-'10:


...and I’ve had a 55 gallon w/ 20 long sump in '11-'12:




Now, we’re embarking on a new adventure… a 120 gallon (4’x2’x2’) with a 55 gallon sump/refugium in the stand. It’s going to utilize two 700 GPH glass-holes overflows on either side of the back wall as well as dual 3/4” loc-line returns in the center. The sump will contain skimmer, fuge, etc.

Build List:
• 120 Gallon - 4’x2’x2’ Drilled Glass Tank
• Custom Stand and Hood
• 2x250 watt 14,000k Hamilton Metal Halide Lights supplemented w/ PC
• Coraline Super Skimmer
• Danner Supreme Aqua-Mag 9.5 Return Pump
• 3/4” Loc-Line Returns x2
• Glass-Holes Overflow Kits - 700 GPH x2
• EHEIM Jäger Heater - 300 Watts x2
• PC Fuge Light
• RO/DI set up in water closet with 3x 44 gallon Brute Trash Cans set up for RO/DI storage, salt mixing, etc.

without further ado, photos!

07/20/16 - 120 Gallon (4'x2'x2') Tank, Stand, Hood


07/20/16 - 55 Gallon Sump/Refugium in Stand


07/20/16 - Setting Up Live Rock Curing "Tank"


07/20/16 - Live Rock Curing in "Tank"


07/20/16 - Ammonia Test - 2.0 PPM


So, that brings us up to date. Currently, the live rock (dead!) is cycling in the trash can in the water closet in the garage. The rock has been sitting in a bucket for the past couple of years so it's dead rock at this point. I bleached the live rock, rinsed it and now it's sitting the the trash can cycling while I wait to get the tank ready and the dining room painted in anticipation of the tank. I set up the "Live Rock Curing Trash Can" last night (07/19/2016) and this morning (07/20/2016) when I checked the ammonia it was already at 2.0 PPM. We're well on our way to cycling. I guess there was more dead material on those rocks than I had figured.

Well, that's all for now, I'll keep updating as things come along. I'm currently waiting on another shipment from glass-holes for the return loc-line equipment and one more 700 GPH overflow and then I'll be drilling the return lines in the back of the tank, plumbing it, and then leak testing the whole system in the garage while we get the dining room painted and ready for tank installation.

[zachxlutz]

*** reserved for future updates ***

[zachxlutz]

*** reserved for future updates ***

[zachxlutz]

OOOOOF. I went home for lunch and checked the curing live rock and damn... STINKY!

I'm guessing that I'll do 100% water changes on it once a week until I place it in the tank, does that sound like a good plan for the next couple of weeks?

I'm also planning on taking it out of the curing bin before I place it in the tank and doing my aquascaping then. I shouldn't have a problem with taking it out, working on it, getting what I want and then putting it in the tank should I? I have an idea of how I want to aquascape, it's just that I'm concerned about the time out of the water after it will have spent a couple of weeks cycling in the bin. Thoughts?

[zachxlutz]

Checked my levels again this morning. Needs a water change asap!


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[zachxlutz]

Checked my levels again this morning. Needs a water change asap!


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[tjm9331]

Originally Posted by zachxlutz

OOOOOF. I went home for lunch and checked the curing live rock and damn... STINKY!

I'm guessing that I'll do 100% water changes on it once a week until I place it in the tank, does that sound like a good plan for the next couple of weeks?

I'm also planning on taking it out of the curing bin before I place it in the tank and doing my aquascaping then. I shouldn't have a problem with taking it out, working on it, getting what I want and then putting it in the tank should I? I have an idea of how I want to aquascape, it's just that I'm concerned about the time out of the water after it will have spent a couple of weeks cycling in the bin. Thoughts?

I've heard of folks having success with taking there cured rock and aquascaping out of the tank and using a spray bottle with tank water to keep the rocks wet.

I've never done this so I really can't vouch for it but it's an avenue you can research

[zachxlutz]

Originally Posted by tjm9331

I've heard of folks having success with taking there cured rock and aquascaping out of the tank and using a spray bottle with tank water to keep the rocks wet.

I've never done this so I really can't vouch for it but it's an avenue you can research

That seems like a good plan, I can't imagine too much die off happening during aquascaping and filling the tank.

[JeepGuy34]

Following starting up a 125 this month also

[zachxlutz]

Originally Posted by JeepGuy34

Following starting up a 125 this month also

Awesome, I'll follow along.


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[zachxlutz]

Levels this AM. 07/22/16.

It's coming along! I've been busy this week and throughout this weekend with a big bicycle stage race. I'll be racing every day through Sunday so not a lot of time to mess with the new tank.

Almost all the equipment is in the garage, I'm just waiting to drill two more return holes in the tank, plumb it up, do a leak test, re-paint and re-skin the stand and hood, and then move it inside after we paint the dining room.

Really looking forward to it!


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[zachxlutz]

We're making some progress... I'm excited to fill everyone in on what's been going on.

Dining room progress:

The dining room has been painted, walls, ceiling and trim. The light fixture is going to be changed for something a little more modern to offset the older style furniture in the room. The furniture is my Grandmother’s, she lives with my parents now and my girlfriend and I decided to bring some of her furniture in to our place. My girlfriend is going to recover the old looking fabric on the chairs and once we add wall decorations and the final touches I think it’s going to be a really great looking room with vintage furniture, modern updates and a beautiful reef aquarium. The color was off putting to me at first but with lots of photographical motivation, my girlfriend has convinced me it’s going to look great.

The tank is going to take the place of the long serving table on the left side of the photo.


Plumbing progress shot:



Completed plumbing:



Manifold plumbing for future expansion:

I’ll be adding a carbon reactor, a gfo reactor and likely some form of calcium supplementation system via this manifold. I’m also considering some way of automating water changes via this system, going to have to do some more research on that front.



Completed plumbing with lighting doing a leak test:



Leak test report: I’ve got two small leaks from the bulkheads on the right side. I believe the main leak on the overflow is from over tightening the nut. The gasket seems to be bulging. I’m going to loosen the nut a tad and try and get the gasket to take it’s original shape back rather than bulging out.

The other two leaks appear to be from the return line 90’ that screws into the bulkhead. I hand-tightened it what I felt was appropriate and used teflon tape but i’m still getting a leak.

Options to fix: Seal the connection with a PVC/acrylic cement without disassembling or cut the PVC, add a coupler/union and try and reseal/rethread in the 90’ elbow. Same goes with the 90’ on the overhead. Not really sure how to go about this now. Thoughts? Opinions?

Remaining steps in order to bring tank inside:

• Waterproof/paint stand before skinning.
• Paint all plumbing black.
• Paint back of tank black.
• Repair broken center brace using acrylic cement and strengthen using acrylic sheet.
• Add new fans and grills to hood.
• Modify hood to include doors at front for easy access to tank for feeding, etc.
• Make +/- 150 gallons of ro/di water and subsequently turn that in to saltwater.
• Aquascape using cycled dead rock.
• +Many more steps…

That’s all for today folks, thanks for reading along!

[zachxlutz]

Leak Test Part 2 Update:

Last night I went home and disassembled the return lines and the drain lines at their respective unions. I added two new unions to the 3/4" return line directly below the 90' elbow out of the bulkhead. This allowed me to easily disassemble the whole plumbing situation and get a grip on the leaky bulkheads and threaded elbows. I removed the existing teflon tape and used a non-hardening TFE paste thread sealant on the elbows. I loosened the bulkhead nuts a little to help with the distortion in the gaskets from over tightening and then reassembled the whole shebang.

I turned the return pump back on, did a quick wipe down of the plumbing and crossed my fingers. I checked it a couple of times throughout the night... no leaks. I checked it again this morning... no leaks. Just checked it again on my lunch break... no leaks.

LEAK TEST PASSED!

Here's a photo of the back of the tank (again!) showing the two new unions I added at the return line 90' elbows:



I think it looks pretty good for my first time plumbing up a more complex system such as this.

Someone on my local forum asked about the overflows so i'll copy and paste that conversation below.

Thanks for tuning in again!

[zachxlutz]

Here's my response to the individual on my local forum asking about the overflows.

The overflows are from glass-holes.com. Each of them is rated for 700gph. They are fairly noisy at the termination of the drain pipe in the sump. Trying to think of a solution to that. Not sure how far under the water line they should terminate. Still fine tuning.

Here's some pics.





These seemed fairly well documented and is a huge upgrade over the original overflow situation the tank came with. The original setup was just 90' elbows coming through the holes with overflow strainers. The original owner of the tank said "it's quiet and you can just rotate to adjust the water level.". It was unsightly, seemingly going to be loud and really not what I had in mind.

The glass-holes overflows are really well built, they came with all the right parts and tools. The overflow in the tank is very quiet, I just need to get the drain pipes to quiet down where they terminate into the sump.

[Michael Hoaster]

It's coming along nicely! I look forward to more.

I noticed a lot of race numbers in your pics. Which stage race did you race? I'm a huge cycling fan, and 30+ year mountain biker. It's nice to see another bike/aquarium aficionado on RC!

Good luck with the build!

[zachxlutz]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

It's coming along nicely! I look forward to more.

I noticed a lot of race numbers in your pics. Which stage race did you race? I'm a huge cycling fan, and 30+ year mountain biker. It's nice to see another bike/aquarium aficionado on RC!

Good luck with the build!

Thanks for the kind comment!

I race as a cat 2 here in the southeast. The stage race I mentioned earlier was actually a 5 day omnium we have here in Georgia called Georgia Gran Prix. 5 days and 6 stages of racing. I've been recovering from breaking my collar bone on April 10th of this year so I've been crawling my way back into fitness, it's been a struggle. I'm glad the road season is over after the next two weekends of racing. Then... Cyclocross!

Mountain biking is the best. I train very often on my MTB as it keeps me sharp for cyclocross and it's a good way to work on that punchy power needed for crits and cross. I race MTB XC occasionally and plan on racing the full calendar here in the southeast next season.

Where are you located? (NVM - just saw Colorado... jealous!)

Thanks again!

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm from Georgia! Went to school in Athens. Ever race the Twilight Criterium? I raced a lot of mtb races in the southeast, way back in the day.

Boulder is nice. Lots of great rides. I see famous pros training here a lot. Plus we have real winters. I stay off the bike completely in the winter and cross country ski, for cross training/burnout avoidance.

[zachxlutz]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

I'm from Georgia! Went to school in Athens. Ever race the Twilight Criterium? I raced a lot of mtb races in the southeast, way back in the day.

Boulder is nice. Lots of great rides. I see famous pros training here a lot. Plus we have real winters. I stay off the bike completely in the winter and cross country ski, for cross training/burnout avoidance.

Athens Twilight is hands down the best race of the year in the southeast! Unfortunately, I missed it this year as it happened shortly after my collar bone ended up in a couple pieces. I've had some good luck racing it in the past though, 2 years ago I made the amatuer finals!

Boulder looks like a great place to train. Staying off the bike in the winter is a great way to avoid burnout. I spend all winter sitting on the trainer inside. It sucks but now we have a cycleops trainer that is controllable so zwift turns riding inside into something a little more enjoyable.

[BigDave]

I went with Glass-holes for my over flow too.

I had them build me the inside box and then I asked him to custom build me an outside box so that I could run a BeanAnimal drain.

[zachxlutz]

Originally Posted by BigDave

I went with Glass-holes for my over flow too.

I had them build me the inside box and then I asked him to custom build me an outside box so that I could run a BeanAnimal drain.

Very cool. I just checked out your blog from the link in your signature. They did a great job on the external box. I was very happy with the purchase from them. I'll be sure to try and remember to check your blog for future updates!

[zachxlutz]

WE HAVE PAINT!



Last night and earlier today I put a couple of coats of gloss black paint on the plumbing and on the back of tank. It really turned out great aside from a few areas on the glass that I apparently didn't clean well enough. I'll be lightly scuffing those areas and applying a little more paint to hide the imperfections. The blue on the valves offsets with the black and creates a visually pleasing aesthetic that shouldn't be too obtrusive when viewing the tank from the sides once it's in place in the dining room.

Every day we get a little bit closer to bringing the tank inside and getting things going. I'm getting very excited!

[BigDave]

Very nice!

[Michael Hoaster]

Looks good!

What are your plans for this tank? Any particular fish or inverts or plants?

[zachxlutz]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Looks good!

What are your plans for this tank? Any particular fish or inverts or plants?

I don't have a plan yet for what to keep but I'm planning far enough ahead that I should be able to keep whatever my heart desires. My girlfriend wants an anemone and clown fish so that's on the list but everything else is open and up in the air.

That being said, the project is on hold for a bit while I wait for a new tank to be delivered. I'm just not happy with the scratches on this one from the previous owner. I'll re-drill the holes for the bulkheads in the same spots so I should just be swapping all the plumbing over and then bringing it inside... Fingers crossed.

[Michael Hoaster]

Good call on the new tank!

The bulb anemone is the most durable, and gorgeous. The common clowns are the least mean of the clownfish. Get one small and one big and you should have a mating pair.

Live rock and sand? I love farmed Florida rock, like Gulf Live Rock-they have shipping-included deals. But there's tons of choices.