120cm journal, my return to the hobby...

coseal

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took a few year break due to life and a move. ready to dive back in! been gathering needed equipment some new some old. huge fan of rimless minimalist aquariums. so that's where i'm headed with this build.

when i left the hobby a few years ago ULNS and bacterial driven systems were real popular and triton method was just being mentioned. probably going to ease my way back in and not commit to a particular system at first. i have been seeing some really nice acro tanks using triton method and i think ATI has a similar system now.

the tank i chose for this build is a UNS(ultum nature systems) 120U (120cmx60cmx60cm). its a low iron rimless similar in dimension to a standard 120gl tank. really impressed with the initial fit finish and build quality of this tank. i have owned a few ADA tanks and i would put this tank right there with them in terms of fit,finish and detail. stand will be made from 40mm aluminum extrusion.

some pics of tank and stand material.
image by s. seal, on Flickr

tank has mitered corners. really nice detail!
image by s. seal, on Flickr

the last sump i had i used filter socks.. and while i liked how clear they kept the water in my tank i hated cleaning them! this go around i am going to give the theiling rollermat a try. hopefully this will help combat "lazy reefer syndrome" lol. skimming duties will be handled by an ATB 840. i have owned a few ATB skimmers. they are pretty much set and forget. dug this one out of storage and it cleaned up nicely!

image by s. seal, on Flickr

other items of the build are stuff out of storage, going to be running an apex lite with a few modules, waveline 6000 and a couple vortech mp40's for flow. these do not have the quiet drive drivers or wetsides. worth the upgrade?

still havn't decided on lighting yet! i have used all of them in the past. really partial to t5 but a halide/t5 or t5 led is not out of the question.

still sorting through stuff in boxes cleaning powerheads and pumps. its almost embarrassing the amount of aquarium stuff i have squirreled away over there years!
 

rich nyc

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Nice way to return with a big tank. Gl and will follow
 
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coseal

coseal

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Love your Fotos. Following along for inspiration. Also just starting a new 120cm build.

thanks! last 3 tanks were shallow .. trying something different this time around.

Nice way to return with a big tank. Gl and will follow

thanks for the follow!




well first snag has been hit! cleaning my vortech wetsides and they felt kind of tight/hard to turn. opened them up and....

image by shaun s., on Flickr

image by shaun s., on Flickr

did a little research and found this is not as uncommon as i would think? i have 2 40's and 2 10's.... one 40 wetside was like this and one of my 10's were as well. kind of disappointing really. apparently the quiet drive wetsides are not immune to this either? got some decisions to make i guess. do i spend 150$ on new wet sides or try something different?

i was having sps issues before i took the tank down. wonder if this was the culprit? was in a hurry to move so kind of just put all the equipment in boxes didn't really take the time to inspect everything.
 
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coseal

coseal

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looking at flow options for inside the tank and came across these!..
waveline_wavepuck.jpg

not a whole lot of reviews out there or anything outside of the big blog sites really. 129$ for pump and controller seems like a good deal? the blogs say they produce a very wide flow stream. i dunno.. still shopping i guess lol
 
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coseal

coseal

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finally got a chance to get back at this! have been trying to assemble my stand this week and well... when i ordered the extrusions i specified the wrong hardware holes. this was supposed to be easy! lol even paid extra so i wouldnt have to drill any of it myself! i came up with a solution in the end but have many holes to drill yet...

they drilled very nice 13mm holes exactly where i wanted them! only problem is the hardware calls for a 20mm hole on the outside of the extrusion...
Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

fired up the 3d printer and printed a plug with a centering hole. i had originally tried enlarging the hole with a step bit.... but by the time i hit the 20mm step i was damaging the center bore that needed to stay 13mm. so i needed to use some kind of hole saw to enlarge the hole on the exterior. plug worked great!

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

ended up using a 20mm broach to make the final hole..

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

and the desired outcome!

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

i need to paint the room the tank is goin in cause once its up no painting in there for a looongg time.. but hopefully i can get that taken care of and move foward with my build! anyway... back to drilling!
 

Clayton Jessup

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I am totally following this build ! It’s so worthy to follow ! I am a huge fan of the UN Aquariums as well ! I have been thinking of there 120U or 180U as a up grade to my 75g . So I am totally following along !! Keep up he great work coseal!!
 
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coseal

coseal

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thanks for the follow! i had originally set out to get an ADA 120p but after cost of tank + shipping it was so close to the cost of the UN 120u i said might as well go for the larger one!
 

Clayton Jessup

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thanks for the follow! i had originally set out to get an ADA 120p but after cost of tank + shipping it was so close to the cost of the UN 120u i said might as well go for the larger one!

I agree with you on that I have looked a lot at a 120p ADA and at the UN 120u . I feel the same , that I would of done the same choice as you and gone with the same 120u !! Still a good choice !
 
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coseal

coseal

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got all the holes fixed! and had some time to assemble the frame tonight! assembly was fairly straight forward.. keep in mind where your "pre" assembly hardware will go and insert them as needed. the stand is 32" tall, i basically took a tape measure and measured from my armpit to the floor. subtracted the tank height of 24" and that was my max stand height! lol

pic of frame!

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

tapped the extrusions for these groovy lil studs!

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

added some polymounts and bam.. level the stand with ease!

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

bought these endcaps to finish it off. couldnt decide if i wanted gray to blend in. or black to match the feet. thinking black...

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

these are the "pre" assembly nuts i referenced earlier. you can buy "post" assembly hardware for these extrusions but the price jumps way up! so plan ahead and save some cash.

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

there is roughly 29" of interior height. plenty of room for what im working with skimmer wise!

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

going to use some birch plywood for the top,bottom and back. need to get that routed out and a coat or two of poly applied. be a few days on that im thinking....
 

Clayton Jessup

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The stand looks really good ! Love the T-Slot I have been looking at that type stand for when I am ready to upgrade as well . Very nice and very clean !! Props to you @coseal for going with good products from the start !!
 
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coseal

coseal

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thanks! yep t slot is pretty neat! still havnt decided if im gonna skin it or leave it open? we will have to see how quiet it is once its running im thinking.

Very nice and very clean !! Props to you @coseal for going with good products from the start !!

to quote my snap-on rep.. "buy once,cry once..." if only that were true lol! case in point the jacked up wetsides @ the top of this thread
 

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Welcome back and very nice!
 
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coseal

coseal

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I 'm so jealous, .....bty you do clean work..looks good

thanks siggy! put a printer on your to buy list! they have drastically come down in price - can get import kits very cheap. im currently printing with a Cetus. very nice printer for the money.
 
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coseal

coseal

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overflows.. bottom or back? that was the question. looked at the pro's and con's of each. was really after the least intrusive and most minimal i could find. came across the oceanlife overflow.

Oceanlife-Overflow.png


this is a european brand and no one sells them in the states. i found a company in the UK that would sell it to me. but the cost was pretty high! so then i shifted gears and started looking at the Xaqua overflow. this one is available in the states and there are some good and bad reviews on it.

inout-marine-water.jpg

i ended up buying one of these! but im not going to use it lol.. there is just no way i can see this being quite @600gph and i would likely need 2 for a tank my size! so much for minimal.. i am keeping the back of the tank clear/no background so any plumbing will be seen from the front.

the "bolt on box" would let me move a decent amount of water quietly if the right design was chosen. glassholes.com was definitely out as i had owned one of those years ago and didn't really like it. i would just as soon go with one of the ones above and deal with their noise. i really liked some of the features of reef saavy's box ,and i liked the removable box on the modular marine box(really liked that actually). i would really like to pop the whole box out of the tank for a good clean every once in awhile. get the tank back to the "brand new" look you know? i wanted something with a relatively small foot print, and incorporate the herbie drain method. alot of the "ghost" style box's are too big and use too many pipes for what i am trying to achieve. really into building my own stuff whenever feasible.. this should easy enough..
 

siggy

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Sounds like a Home Brew headed this way, can't wait to see what you come up with.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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