Murrel's 120

Murrel · Mar 22, 2016

Hello everyone! I have had this Oceanic 120 since December. I purchased it used along with the matching custom 40 gallon sump and the custom solid maple stand.

I want to thank the following folks:http://aqua-imports.com/ in boulder, Tom, Mike, Logan, Josh and my friend Lucas.

Mike and Tom at Aqua Imports let me have the tank at a very good price and they even delivered it!

I also need to thank Steve Tappert from http://acrooptics.com/ for such a amazing fixture and all of the personal time you have spent with me. Nothing better than having the designer and owner personally fit your fixture to your tank!

Oh and to my Wife Anita who lets me enjoy this hobby. The Tank is in the house and I should be leak testing this weekend. But lets start from the begining.

How about a few pictures tonight of what it looked like when I first saw it in the LFS and the condition it was in when I put it in the garage!

As you can see I have a ton of work ahead. Next post will be installing a floor in the stand and cleaning the sump!

Thanks for looking
Murrel

revhtree · Mar 22, 2016

Following!

Murrel · Mar 23, 2016

I do have 2 tanks that have been up and running.

The 60 Fresh that is in my office.

And my JBJ 28. I run a bit of rubble, some micro alge and some carbon in the back, has a JBJ pump ocean pulse hooked to two Hydor Koralia powerheads. I modified the canopy to hold 2 Current USA Orbit Marine 18" fixtures.

Murrel · Mar 23, 2016

Back to the new build! I filled the sump with water and vinegar.......put a heater in it and let it set for a week. Wiped it down and drained it. It came out pretty nice!

Murrel · Mar 23, 2016

So the stand is one of my favorite things about this tank build. It is solid Maple, heavy and well built. The top is removable which has made working on the stand a joy! It did need some work, new hinges were needed a good cleaning and the wife did not like the door handles. The stand was built without a floor so that was first on my list of modifications!

Here are a few pictures of the floor braces and actual floor being installed.

I placed the foor in and sealed it with silicone. It is not permanent and would be easily removable in case it ever needed replacing.

Thanks for looking! Up next......parts are being stockpiled, handles and more handles. Then the fun really starts with custom outlets and the interior of the cabinet gets a makeover!

Murrel · Mar 23, 2016

Parts are piling up. There is still much to do and purchase at this point.

Door handles!

I had ordered the pair one from Amazon and one from Ebay.....but in the end there was only one!
I searched for a week trying to find a match. No luck so back the fish went.

Then I found something much better than the fish! Sand cast brass mermaids! They look beautiful on the tank!

Murrel · Mar 24, 2016

Inside of the cabinet cleaned, painted and ready for plumbing and electrical!

The cabinet had no access for electrical so I decided on a single neutrik powerCON to bring the power inside. It is a twist and lock 20 amp connector very safe and very easy to install. Also makes it easy to remove power in an emergency.

I also build my own power strips they look nice and take up so much less room. I have them in all of my tanks never an issue. I also can pick my outlets and make them switched or non switched. Below are the switched outlets for the pumps. Easy on and off and a single outlet for each. These are moisture resistant outlets. they work nicely under the tank.

This will be where it is placed after it is wired. I needed it to be in place to plan the rest of the wiring.

Back on the bench for final wiring of both of the power strips.

I am installing one of these lights at each end of the tank. Just a small LED mounted under the lip on each end. small and out of the way.

Murrel · Mar 26, 2016

Electrical outlets in place!

Lights wired and working

Time to start on the plumbming. In the sump goes for test fitting.

Murrel · Mar 26, 2016

I am using some nice curtain returns I purchased at Home Depot. These will be the support for the plumbing. They hold 1" pipe very nicely. I used some nice weather stiping in the returns to insulate the pipe fronm the wood. Thet attach with a nice bracket and are very secure when you get them adjusted correctly.

Murrel · Mar 26, 2016

Here are some shots of the test plumbing. It took quite a bit of time
and changing as the tank was on the floor behind the stand. So measuring and remeasuring to get the fittings to line up correctly to match the bulkheads was quite the adventure!
This is not the final plumbing I used.... But you can see how nice it is to have a place to support the piping! Makes it very easy to work with and to work on!

pelphrey · Mar 26, 2016

The power of vinegar! Tagging along. If I can get my 75 freshwater setup sold I'm really leaning towards a 120.

Murrel · Mar 27, 2016

pelphrey! Looks like your 27 cube came out very nice! Like it.

Here are a few shots of creatures in my JBJ 28

Murrel · Mar 28, 2016

Here are some of the different versions of the plumbing........the last photo is what is in the tank right now. I may change it one more time to see if i can make it just a bit quieter.

Murrel · Mar 28, 2016

The tank is on my main floor in the large entryway. I do have a basement that is finished. I did plan to have the tank where it sits and was able to support the floor. The tank sits above my storage room so it was easy to set the supports and have them out of the way.

revhtree · Mar 28, 2016

Nice progress!

Murrel · Mar 28, 2016

So the first set of hinges I ordered were the wrong offset.....all my fault. I got excited and ordered the wrong ones. Now that the correct set is here it is time to finish the electrical!

And hang the doors!

Murrel · Mar 30, 2016

So I built A stand for my http://acrooptics.com/ power supply. this way it is up off of the floor and much easier to reach.

The stand and tank are now in the house!

And with the skimmer! Bubble Magnus curve 7

The http://acrooptics.com/ crave reef slope fixture. Waiting to be installed!

Ok so the tank was still dirty from the previous owner and I decided to clean it in place while I was leak testing. I have cleaned most of all that I wanted and will let the tank run for a few more days. if I get time this weekend I will start adding rock and sand and as my grandaughter says salty water!

I just had to!!!! Still a bit of a mess but just needs a little flushing out now!