underwood
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Starting this build thread in hopes that folks will chime in with thoughts or suggestions for a few topics/items that I am still trying to figure out.
I recently bought a 2 year old 140 gal Planet Aquariums tank/stand/canopy (120 gal style footprint, but 29.5" tall rather than 24"). The goal over the next 4-8 weeks is to acquire the additional equipment needed to get this tank running, then move over everything from my existing tank.
Background: I've been in the hobby for over 20 years. Current tank is a 40 gal SPS tank that has corals breaching the water surface. It started as a short-term tank that's ended up with a longer life span than originally intended. Because moving to a larger tank has always been my intent, most of the equipment for this tank is "oversized", so the intent is to re-use most of it on the new tank.
Equipment that I plan to re-use:
Factoring into the tank's placement, where all the equipment goes, etc. is my wife. Needless to say, she is not excited about the new tank. I think her exact words when she walked into our garage and saw the new tank were "What the f***!?!". In her mind, the new tank's footprint is massive relative to the existing tank's. In reality, since the 40 gal is drilled for an external overflow and because it has equipment/containers/etc. taking up floor space outside the stand, the footprint is largely a wash if I can keep more of the equipment that is currently outside the stand inside the stand on the new tank.
One thought that I've had but that I kind of doubt that I will be able to sell her on is building a cabinet hutch with a counter to go where the current tank is, then using the lower cabinet area to either house the top-off container, doser, etc. or put the sump there and the other equipment goes inside the stand. (We have all kinds of kitchen devices like air fryers that could be moved from talking up prime counter real estate and, with four kids, you can't have too much pantry space.)
I mentioned that my current tank has SPS growing out of the water. Hindsight being 20/20, I would not do the rockwork in that tank the same way that it ended up. It basically is two rock "pillars" anchored by oversized, heavy single pieces of rock with smaller rock attached at the top to form a platform of sorts. Then there's a small rock "island" that's only a couple inches tall in the center. Due to how large some of the colonies have become, if I were to transfer the rock structures as is to the new tank, I'd be left with upward growth room but essentially no room for new frags. I kept an old ice chest full of Tongan branch and Pukani rock from back in the day. I currently have those pieces cycling with some live rock in a container in my garage.
My thought is to use acrylic rods, reef cement, and super glue to build a new (more open) rock structure then, when it is time to move things over, use an angle grinder / etc. to separate the frags and colonies and reattach them around the new rock structure in the 140 gal.
Feedback & Suggestions Wanted:
I recently bought a 2 year old 140 gal Planet Aquariums tank/stand/canopy (120 gal style footprint, but 29.5" tall rather than 24"). The goal over the next 4-8 weeks is to acquire the additional equipment needed to get this tank running, then move over everything from my existing tank.
Background: I've been in the hobby for over 20 years. Current tank is a 40 gal SPS tank that has corals breaching the water surface. It started as a short-term tank that's ended up with a longer life span than originally intended. Because moving to a larger tank has always been my intent, most of the equipment for this tank is "oversized", so the intent is to re-use most of it on the new tank.
Equipment that I plan to re-use:
- Lighting: Two Orphek Natura Icons and one Quanta Helix 36" Meso Blue
- Will elaborate in "plan to buy", but my initial instinct is to at least add another bar-type light to supplement these lights.
- Powerheads: 3 MP40s, 1 Jecod GMP-30, also have 2 Jebao Gyres (currently unused)
- Doser: GHL Doser
- Top-Off: Tunze
- Heater: Ranco controller & Rainbird controller with two heaters (oversized, but need to double-check the wattage)
- Heaters and their controllers scare the crap out of me. I've had too many issues with them over the years. Using two controllers provides some protection against one going haywire.
- Misc: DIY CO2 Scrubber, Starboard for tank bottom (bought years ago for a 120 gal that I never setup)
- Return Pump: Preference is a Reef Octopus VarioS-6, but open to other DC options.
- My VarioS-2 on the existing tank has been bulletproof. Given the price discrepancy, I looked at the Jecod-type DC options, but keep coming back to the VarioS line as this is one of those pieces of equipment that you need to have confidence will work.
- Protein Skimmer: I've mainly been looking at the Reef Octopus Elite or Regal 200 series (200INT or 200SSS)
- Plan to stock heavy and, with sump water volume, expect total water volume to be in the 160+ gal range, which seems to be a "tweener" size that is in between most skimmer models.
- Open to suggestions. Random hangup, but whatever I go with needs to have an adequate drain hole in the collection cup.
- Sump: Evaluating opens and monitoring FB Marketplace for deals, but leaning toward buying a 40 gal breeder and DIYing one of the baffle kits that you can order on eBay.
- I'll elaborate below, but I need to maximize space inside the stand and most of the plug-and-play sump options either take up the full space or have skimmer compartments that will be a tight fit or too small for the skimmer footprint that I need.
- Lighting: While I think I can get by with what I already have, if I came across a deal on another Natura Icon then I'd probably grab it.
- Worst case, I'll add a 4 ft Quant Helix along the front.
- The flat panel lights that Luca is coming out with soon are enticing though. :)
- Nice to Haves -
- Roller Mat - I hate cleaning filter socks. For this size tank, I'm assuming I'd need to go with either the RedSea ReefMat 1200 or Clarisea SK-5000 GEN3. Any feedback on one over the other, or other options?
- Kalk Reactor - I don't use kalk currently, but prefer to incorporate it on the new tank. However, due to space constraints, I don't think going with something like a 5-gal bucket is feasible. Avast's stirrer is the most affordable but seems the motor eventually fails. Reef Octopus and Deltec seem to make good options, but $$$.
- Top-Off Container - Interested in a 'slim' 5 gal container to help maximize space, but which options are feasible partially depends on sump footprint.
Factoring into the tank's placement, where all the equipment goes, etc. is my wife. Needless to say, she is not excited about the new tank. I think her exact words when she walked into our garage and saw the new tank were "What the f***!?!". In her mind, the new tank's footprint is massive relative to the existing tank's. In reality, since the 40 gal is drilled for an external overflow and because it has equipment/containers/etc. taking up floor space outside the stand, the footprint is largely a wash if I can keep more of the equipment that is currently outside the stand inside the stand on the new tank.
One thought that I've had but that I kind of doubt that I will be able to sell her on is building a cabinet hutch with a counter to go where the current tank is, then using the lower cabinet area to either house the top-off container, doser, etc. or put the sump there and the other equipment goes inside the stand. (We have all kinds of kitchen devices like air fryers that could be moved from talking up prime counter real estate and, with four kids, you can't have too much pantry space.)
I mentioned that my current tank has SPS growing out of the water. Hindsight being 20/20, I would not do the rockwork in that tank the same way that it ended up. It basically is two rock "pillars" anchored by oversized, heavy single pieces of rock with smaller rock attached at the top to form a platform of sorts. Then there's a small rock "island" that's only a couple inches tall in the center. Due to how large some of the colonies have become, if I were to transfer the rock structures as is to the new tank, I'd be left with upward growth room but essentially no room for new frags. I kept an old ice chest full of Tongan branch and Pukani rock from back in the day. I currently have those pieces cycling with some live rock in a container in my garage.
My thought is to use acrylic rods, reef cement, and super glue to build a new (more open) rock structure then, when it is time to move things over, use an angle grinder / etc. to separate the frags and colonies and reattach them around the new rock structure in the 140 gal.
Feedback & Suggestions Wanted:
- Equipment suggestions based on what's described above?
- Specifically, any sump ideas? 43 3/4" by 23 1/4" are the dimensions inside the stand.
- Bean Animal type overflow config to maximize sump throughput? (Drilled for 2 1" lines and 2 3/4" lines.)
- I'm considering running tubing from my attic down the wall and connecting to my skimmer's airline to help keep CO2 levels stable (and ph up). Has anyone else done this?
- Anything else?
