Hart's 120 3/4" starfire expansion!

[hart24601]

Picked up a purple tang from nyaquatics from ebay. He looks great, but for now is just chilling in a QT tank. It's good he is little since I have a large white-tail bristletooth that is more laid back he will be living with.

 

[hart24601]

Got my new sump... Looks great but it's cracked! The box was tore up, terrible shipping. Marine depot handled it well, said they would open a claim with ups and they sent me a new sump the same day that I told them!! Other exciting news, the maxspect gyre shipped today from them too! Really excited about the gyre.

 

[MarineDepot]

Got my new sump... Looks great but it's cracked! The box was tore up, terrible shipping. Marine depot handled it well, said they would open a claim with ups and they sent me a new sump the same day that I told them!! Other exciting news, the maxspect gyre shipped today from them too! Really excited about the gyre.

It was very disheartening to learn about the condition of your sump but we appreciate you giving us the opportunity to make things right. Let us know how you like the Gyre!

 

[hart24601]

So with carbon dosing and the total system volume I was thinking the cadlights skimmer might not cut it anymore. It has been a fantastic skimmer, but with 280l/hr air draw it is a good time to upgrade. So here comes the vertex omega 180i!

Vertex Omega 180i Protein Skimmer - Bulk Reef Supply

I was deciding between some of the reef octopus models, but I don't have a ton of vertical room with the 28" stand and the 180 is a bit shorter than the RO regal 170. I know DC skimmer pumps are all the rage, but I don't obsess about getting everything just perfect and it's another controller to mount. The price is very close between the two and I would expect them to perform about the same from what I have researched. The 180 draws a bit less power and a bit more air.

At over 4.5x the air draw of the cadlights I don't think this guy will have a problem with anything I throw at it.

 

[hart24601]

Wow, that brs shipping was crazy fast. This skimmer is a beast. Vertex has the nicest packaging I have ever received for reef related gear.

 

[hart24601]

I bought the skimmer yesterday afternoon. Bulk reef supply got that here crazy fast, 1 day to Iowa? Impressive.

 

[hart24601]

Gyre is in and the mp40s and mp10 are out. Wow, this thing is hardcore - have to work on positioning it. The tank is only 36" until I get the 120 so there is a ton of undertow. I put lower flow corals there and with the increased movement there is a bit too much on them. Using pulse mode with 10s.

Planning on putting it in the external overflow on the 120. I read that the mag is safe to submerge.

 

[Fish76]

Great pics of the 65gal! When is the 120 suppose to be done? I always like this phase of builds, when all the new equipment comes in and looks all shiny and new.

Planning on putting it in the external overflow on the 120. I read that the mag is safe to submerge.

I wish my overflow was long enough to place it there. I also have a 120 but the 5' version and I got the gyre also but haven't tested it in there yet since my builds also not done yet. When are you thinking to have the 120 up and running?

 

[hart24601]

I don't know when the 120 will be here. They are building it right now and I gave them the external overflow change about two weeks ago, so maybe early December? I sure hope there will not be too much snow and ice....

I was torn between the 4 and 5ft version. I like the depth of a 4ft, but I use ceramic rock so the depth isn't quite as important since the structures are already made. Maybe I can put them so they are not just against the back wall. Plus I can use 3 reefbreeder values on the 4ft and totally cover the tank. But 5ft would be sweet for more swimming room...

 

[Fish76]

I picked the 5' because I wanted it to cover the length of the wall it was against, I actually wanted a 6' but it would have been too close to the door that's next to the wall. But having the 18" depth is a bit more challenging for rockwork but it's doable.

Well your build is looking pretty sweet! Have you had any issues with your gyre? Been reading about some of the problems so I tested mine in my 20gal (which was pretty ridiculous, my fish were not happy) and mine seems to be working fine. I'm hoping to fully test it in my 120 hopefully by Jan when I plan to get it up and running.

 

[hart24601]

No problems at all with the gyre. Just trying to position low flow coral so they don't get totally nailed by the current in a 36" long tank!! Amazinly the large Hawaiian feather dusters seem to like the crazy flow along the bottom. I put them there because I didn't think they liked that much, but they have been out even when I cranked the pump to 40%. I would like to mount it vertically, but the 65 there isn't room, but I think I will mount it vertically in the 120.

 

[hart24601]

Put 1 mp40 back in, aimed opposite the gyre but lower. The gyre undertow was still a lot for the low flow guys, but adding back the mp40 is perfect. Still tons of flow at the bottom, but much more around the mid level where more sps are and gives the low flow guys a break.

At our clubs frag swap I picked up Ora pearlberry, just a little frag but hopefully grows well. Nothing else there caught my eye that wasn't 100 or more... So hit the lfs (show was across the state) that I have never visited and picked up a sweet coco worm. Never seen one this big...

Here he is a few min after settling in.

And a much smaller one I have had around a year.

 

[hart24601]

Shots of the vertex in action on the 65. Working amazingly well for being so crazy oversized. Really impressive skimmer.

 

[hart24601]

Thanks marine depot! Replacement sump arrived in great shape.

 

[hart24601]

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

this upgrade is going to be awesome following along.

 

[hart24601]

Thanks! So because the tank is rimless and needs foam under it with a flat base, I had Home Depot cut a 48 1/4 x 24 1/2 oak plywood sheet for the top of the stand. I took out the 3 braces the stand had for the tank to sit on and put the plywood in their place. These stands are really pretty cheap, but should be just fine. I did reinforce it just a little. Painted the top with oil based heavy paint to hopefully give some water resistance when I spill a bit. Painted the inside trim as well and then put the plywood down when tacky, then painted the top and put extra around the edges. This should be better than the stock stands half done spray finish.

 

[hart24601]

I do like the lip the stand has. Since foam has to go under the tank per manufactures orders, the lip should hide it a little better.

 

[luxauterna]

The build looks great! That coco worm is ridiculous lol I have gone through quite a few basic store bought stands such as marineland. They are very cheaply built. After one split apart on me while a tank was sitting on it, I always reinforced them or built my own since then.

 

[hart24601]

The build looks great! That coco worm is ridiculous lol I have gone through quite a few basic store bought stands such as marineland. They are very cheaply built. After one split apart on me while a tank was sitting on it, I always reinforced them or built my own since then.

It's pretty surprising how those stands are built with the lack of 2x4s or anything that substantial. I did a quick search and while I didn't spend a ton of time on it, I didn't find any reports of the stands failing, a few tanks, but I was expecting to see a few more reports on the stands considering how badly people abuse them. They sell stands for tanks a lot taller than 24" and I would expect to hear more reports on them failing if they did so regularly. With the bit of reinforcement and considering how many stands they must sell and don't fail, I think this should be plenty strong with the new top. I don't have to tools to build my own, but I am pretty happy with how this turned out with the little bit we did. But if I had the tools I would rather try building it!