120g Into the Sea -- My First Saltwater Build

[Nijessi]

Good news -- pulling out the big guns My dad is flying down to take care of installing support for the floor! He has done complicated floor support (1st and 2nd story) for the custom solid wood furniture he builds. Some of his pieces have weighed almost twice what the tank will. I'll share photos and what not in case it is helpful for anyone else who finds themselves in the same predicament. Breathing a little bit easier now that my budget wont be blown on the other options -- and instead can use that money for what it was intended --- REEFING!

 

[Nijessi]

Few updates --

• The tank arrived! It was in great condition and the stand is perfect! SC Aquariums ftw. It's currently in the garage while I finish up its new home.
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• We have decided to put the tank in the basement in a new office that we're finishing up now -- All the discussion on the benefits of basement reefing PLUS being able to upgrade my office space substantially were the deciding factors. The photo below is what the space was like to start with. I'll post the "after" photos when done!
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• Been able to pick up a few more bits and pieces from Facebook marketplace. A bubble magnus 9 skimmer and a 10 gallon tank (to be used for QT)
• Still on the hunt for a sump, powerheads, and lights - I'll buy new if I have to but hoping to still snipe some used deals. The other essentials like the heaters and return pump I will buy new for peace of mind. Just have to decide which ones they'll be.

 

[Nijessi]

It was just pointed out to me over at R2R that I should probably be cycling rocks in brutes >_< Now I need to find where I can get rocks without breaking the bank. Any suggestions?

 

[Sponge]

It was just pointed out to me over at R2R that I should probably be cycling rocks in brutes >_< Now I need to find where I can get rocks without breaking the bank. Any suggestions?

You have several options. Of course I’d recommend you keep checking this forum. We often see people breaking down old systems. The down side is if they have any pests. And they probably will. Then you will inherit them as well. There are two schools of thought here. One. Go new and clean and never have a pest (but is that realistic. The likelihood is you will eventually get them anyway.). Or take the old rock and sterilize it. And start your cycle. You can save money by using less rock in your display. And using products like marine pure in your sump to make up for the lost bioload housing. The man made “Bricks” are extremely porous and a little goes a very long way. The only advantage to using brute cans is getting a jump on the cycle while you build and prep your system. I can tell you. I went with all new man made rock and marine pure. And waited out the cycle. It’s really just a case of efficiency if you have the space.

 

[Nijessi]

Update Time!

So Phase 1 of the basement office rebuild is complete. My dad really outdid himself, he even built a custom secret bookcase door as the entrance



I put the stand there so that I will have access to all sides of the tank. Plus it will allow me to run cable, piping, etc. over the concrete wall in the crawl space. The closet there is actually a sump pump so I'm hoping I can setup a continual water change system. Would that take away the need for ATO? I guess it would still evaporate....thought I could maybe combine the systems? The tank itself will be moved down today or tomorrow along with my remaining (read: heavy) office furniture. I also installed two new 20 amp circuit breakers that I have someone helping me run to two GFCI outlets that will be dedicated for reefing. Any suggestions on placement or other thoughts on the electric?
The beam is going to mean that there is little wiggle room on the lights if I go with a bar style but I should still have over a foot and half to play with above the tank. I could also move the stand to the left of the sump closet but I would lose good access to the right side of the tank since my desk is also on that wall. Plus, I like that the tank will add visuals to the cement wall and have a long side view from the other part of the basement (pool table and darts area).
As far as rocks - I think I am going to go with dry rocks and cycle this bad boy slowly and steadily. I'm not in a rush per se and I want to do this in such a way that I learn the process of monitoring and controlling the saltwater cycle as I go. Figure its better to do that with a slow and deliberate initial cycle before I have expensive corals/livestock.
I'm figuring that to get this cycle going I need to pull the trigger on a few necessary things - sump, rock, sand, heaters, and salt. Should I be establishing the refugium in the sump during this initial cycle as well? I was going to order the ruby sapphire sump listed in the top of the thread but my LFS gurus are saying I should really just build a sump to save some cash. The process from scratch seems a little involved and the fiji baffle kits with a 40g breeder seem like only slightly less expensive than the ruby acrylic. Am I missing something here?

 

[amado]

This is amazing !! Go dad!
if you have a dedicated fish room
You can’t go wrong with a rubber maid stock tank as a sump. They are tough/ cheap and a very easy way to add water volume.
you can also use it to hold some of your rocks.

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[Nijessi]

This is amazing !! Go dad!
if you have a dedicated fish room
You can’t go wrong with a rubber maid stock tank as a sump. They are tough/ cheap and a very easy way to add water volume.
you can also use it to hold some of your rocks.

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Holy Moly! That thread and photos are intense O_O

I don't think I can go that route since the room is also my office and cascading water through tiered rubbermaids might be a bit distracting and detract from the aesthetics. If I put it in the crawl space there wouldn't be enough height and it would be a real pain to service. Maybe there is a way to create an in cabinet sump using a rubbermaid? I just don't want all the little things I would need to do to make that work end up costing more than just getting an acrylic sump >_<

 

[amado]

Holy Moly! That thread and photos are intense O_O

I don't think I can go that route since the room is also my office and cascading water through tiered rubbermaids might be a bit distracting and detract from the aesthetics. If I put it in the crawl space there wouldn't be enough height and it would be a real pain to service. Maybe there is a way to create an in cabinet sump using a rubbermaid? I just don't want all the little things I would need to do to make that work end up costing more than just getting an acrylic sump >_<

than maybe a regular sump would be a better idea to keep it simple.
I would look for used sumps since acrylic is really tough. And usually out live the hobbiest. I am patiently waiting for more updates from this thread lol

 

[Sponge]

Fantastic thread. Love the pics. Love the book case door. This is super cool

 

[Rossim2i2]

@Nijessi Can you send your dad this way when he's finished there! Awesome job! Yes, you would still need an ATO to deal with the evaporation, but my dream right now is an auto water change. Lugging five gallon buckets of water all over the place is not fun lol

 

[Nijessi]

Ok - I need the hivemind! Trying to figure out how I'm going to do an ATO run from my RODI container in the garage. Video below is a sketch of where I'm at. Thoughts?

 

[amado]

Ok this is what I did. The tunze ATO is what I use and it’s very easy to replace the pump that it comes with. You can setup any pump you like and it will work.

I wouldn’t suggest you use that 35 gallon container for ATO. In case your pumps fail or stick on or something happens. It’s better for you to have a smaller container. Next to the tank with like 5-10 gallons. 5-10 gallons of fresh water will not kill your tank. 35 gallons will be a problem if something fails. I have 2 55 gallon mixing jugs. One of the tanks is for fresh water from the rodi and the 2nd is for mixing salt water.

I have a 3rd jug that’s only 20gallons in my fish room and that holds My ATO water.
my system at this time is around 400 gallons so 20 gallons for fresh water is not going to kill my system if something goes bad.

Automatic water changes are a no brainer.
all you need is a dosing pump. If you have a apex using the dos is easy to setup.

you can also do it with any dosing pump.
so you could buy a jebao dosing pump for $60 and setup auto water change.
The distance to the AWC doesn’t matter the dosing pumps just need to be calibrated and you will be fine.

 

[ericrodriguez]

Just been looking the pictures. Very nice job!!!

 

[Nijessi]

Phase 2 - Furniture move and Aquarium unboxing is complete!!

 

[Mark_C]

Tank looks fantastic, love that stand.
Cozy room, fishtank, computer, big screen, secret entrance, no kids visible...its sorta like paradise.

Also, watched the ATO vid. I just picked up an Avast pressurse sensitive ATO system with a diaphragm pump that can push water across a football field and has a backup float for overflow protection.
I'll never buy another brand of ATO again. Done Tunze, Icecap, that little eye one, etc... This thing is SOLID, it could easily cover that crawlspace length.

And, JMHO. If you have a secret door to the room, and a crawlspace to the garage, its almost obligatory to have a Batmobile in the garage.

 

[ericrodriguez]

Are you going to put wood around that column?? That would look even nicer!!!
Very well done I really like it.

 

[Nijessi]

Are you going to put wood around that column?? That would look even nicer!!!
Very well done I really like it.

I was actually thinking of wrapping it in a rope nautical style. I just need to find a thick rope....

 

[Nijessi]

Tank looks fantastic, love that stand.
Cozy room, fishtank, computer, big screen, secret entrance, no kids visible...its sorta like paradise.

Also, watched the ATO vid. I just picked up an Avast pressurse sensitive ATO system with a diaphragm pump that can push water across a football field and has a backup float for overflow protection.
I'll never buy another brand of ATO again. Done Tunze, Icecap, that little eye one, etc... This thing is SOLID, it could easily cover that crawlspace length.

And, JMHO. If you have a secret door to the room, and a crawlspace to the garage, its almost obligatory to have a Batmobile in the garage.

Any chance you can share some pictures of your Avast ATO system?

Also, the batmobile is in the shop

 

[Mark_C]

Wooohooo, new toy

Always wanted to go with a pressure based ATO so took the plunge. Just got it in the mail, looking forward to seeing how it runs.

www.njreefers.org

 

[Nijessi]

I was able to pick up my sump today. Got a great deal on a display model that was used for a YouTube demonstration video. Also picked up some valves and PVC. Going to be grabbing some rock and sand from @ericrodriguez on Friday. I may have water super soon!!! Got to figure out salt and make a cycling plan. Super stoked!!!!