an unthinkable 120G Reef

[Unthinkable]

Hello all!

My name is Mike and I live in St. Louis, Missouri. I've had FOWLR tanks in the past, but became disinterested when I started college. I've always had an affinity for animals and marine life so I knew I'd be back to the hobby when time would allow. I work IT support at a hospital that has a bunch of reef tanks in the children's hospital and I happened to catch someone doing some maintenance on a tank and I was able to see some of the cool new equipment and it got me motivated to do some research!

I initially wanted to start a 60 cube, but the wall I want to place my tank is the perfect size for a 4 ft. tank. I searched craigslist for months trying to find both a deal and a tank that I felt comfortable putting in my house but didn't have any luck.

I ended up finding a deal of the day on a SC aquariums 120 g euro braced tank and began my reef journey! This is going to be a slow process for me since I have a 13 month old baby girl that keeps me busy and my finances in check ($300/wk infant daycare is simply extortion). I think this will also benefit me because I will have to take things slow and I will have plenty of time for planning/research.

My current plan:
A mostly LPS tank with space for some SPS later: I love Scoly's, hammers and acans. I also like zoas and will decide on these once I see stuff in-person
Fish: I'm struggling on my wishlist, my FOWLR heart wants angels, triggers and a H tusk, my reef side wants small reef fish and cleaner shrimp. atm i'm leaning towards a mix of compromises! My wife is also aware if I'm successful with this tank I plan to do a big FOWLR tank in the basement (am I seriously planning my 2nd tank before my first is even running!?)
Sand bottom
Marco Rocks for foundation
chaeto in the fuge

Equipment:
BRS 5 stage RO/DI with TDS meter (2 carbon blocks for chloramines) STL water is great
Trigger systems triton 44 sump in basement
Reef Octopus Regal 150int skimmer
Reef Octopus Varios 8 return pump
Tunze Osmolator ATO
2x Ecotech MP40 WQD
Lights: 3 Ecotech XR15 G4 Pro with diffusers, thanks BRS!
Refugium light: AI Prime Fuge light
10, 20L and 29G QT tanks
Heater: 2x BRS 150W heaters and controller
Controller: APEX, DOS, Flow meter, and Autofeeder

 

[Unthinkable]

here is my living room with my tank taunting me:

The tank fits pretty snug. My idea is to have a small freezer under the tank for frozen foods since everything else will be in the basement.

 

[Unthinkable]

here is my Basement sump, BRS deals were too tempting and I picked up the Trigger Systems Triton 44, Tunze Osmolator, Reef Octopus Varios 8, and Reef Octopus Regal 150 skimmer.

I will be building a Fish Room to accomodate the equipment and QT tank at a later date.

 

[cracker]

Welcome Mike to R2R Glad Ya decided to join up & post. Your plan sounds good. Let us know how it goes !

 

[Chef Tommy]

Are you planning to go with Triton, I am currently going to switch back to a regular calcium & alkalinity but like the fuge first

 

[dantimdad]

Welcome aboard!

Originally from STL.

 

[Unthinkable]

Are you planning to go with Triton, I am currently going to switch back to a regular calcium & alkalinity but like the fuge first

We'll see, I'll probably start with kalkwasser at first, all though the All-For-Reef stuff Ryan and Randy talked about on BRS Black Friday live feed sounded intriguing. I picked up the Triton sump because I love the large fuge, and the black friday price was pretty enticing.

 

[Unthinkable]

I was the LAST drawing for BRS $500 giveaway! I picked up 2 Radion XR15 G4 Pros!

 

[Unthinkable]

Christmas was good, I got a bunch of giftcards and bought some Rocks:

 

[Barrett]

Christmas was good, I got a bunch of giftcards and bought some Rocks:

Everything is looking good. Following along I am in the planing stages of a 120 right now.

 

[sfin52]

Hello all!

My name is Mike and I live in St. Louis, Missouri. I've had FOWLR tanks in the past, but became disinterested when I started college. I've always had an affinity for animals and marine life so I knew I'd be back to the hobby when time would allow. I work IT support at a hospital that has a bunch of reef tanks in the children's hospital and I happened to catch someone doing some maintenance on a tank and I was able to see some of the cool new equipment and it got me motivated to do some research!

I initially wanted to start a 60 cube, but the wall I want to place my tank is the perfect size for a 4 ft. tank. I searched craigslist for months trying to find both a deal and a tank that I felt comfortable putting in my house but didn't have any luck.

I ended up finding a deal of the day on a SC aquariums 120 g euro braced tank and began my reef journey! This is going to be a slow process for me since I have a 13 month old baby girl that keeps me busy and my finances in check ($300/wk infant daycare is simply extortion). I think this will also benefit me because I will have to take things slow and I will have plenty of time for planning/research.

My current plan:
A mostly LPS tank with space for some SPS later: I love Scoly's, hammers and acans. I also like zoas and will decide on these once I see stuff in-person
Fish: I'm struggling on my wishlist, my FOWLR heart wants angels, triggers and a H tusk, my reef side wants small reef fish and cleaner shrimp. atm i'm leaning towards a mix of compromises! My wife is also aware if I'm successful with this tank I plan to do a big FOWLR tank in the basement (am I seriously planning my 2nd tank before my first is even running!?)
Sand bottom
Marco Rocks for foundation
chaeto in the fuge

Equipment plan:
BRS 4 stage RO/DI with TDS meter
Trigger systems triton 44 sump in basement
Reef Octopus Regal 150int skimmer
Reef Octopus Varios 8 return pump
Tunze Osmolator ATO
2x Ecotech MP40 WQD
Lights: 2-3 Ecotech XR15 G4 Pro, thanks BRS!
Fuge light: either ecotech XR15 FW or Kessil H380
10-30G QT tank, depends on what deals I can find
I also may end up doing the T5 Hybrid fixture to not only save on mounting cost but be ready for SPS later
Eheim 250w heater x2


I will eventually get an apex and dosers when the time comes, but I want to do the leg work first to know how/what to dose, test and learn my system before I set it for automation. I look forward to building this setup and bugging everyone with lots of questions like how probable is it that a harlequin tusk fish eats ALL my CUC!?

Try day care in D.C. My brother was at 1200 a week for one.

 

[Unthinkable]

I’m still messing around with my aquascape, I probably won’t make a final decision until I’m ready for water.

My wife has been asking for basement shelving so I took the opportunity to pick up some extra 2x4s, 3/4” birch plywood and built the framing for my stand. I made it 37” tall so I would have plenty of room underneath. I want to have a mini fridge underneath for fish food since my sump is in the basement. My next move is to make the basement sump work area and work on the plumbing.

 

[S-t-r-e-t-c-h]

Nice stand!

Maybe reconsider a mini-fridge right under the tank. Heat rises and it might cause issues maintaining stable temp in the tank...

 

[saintsreturn]

I am excited about this build! Thank you for sharing and keep the pics coming

 

[JoshH]

Definately following along on this one! Looks like an awesome start! I'm in the midst of planning my new 120 build as well and seeing builds of similar size get me super excited to get mine off the ground

 

[Unthinkable]

I’ve been a bit busy with life and fathering a busy 18 month old, but I’m getting closer and closer...

I bit the bullet and picked up an apex since I was planning on it anyway, and I like the idea of starting out basic with it's functions and growing with my needs.

I also have some blue PVC incoming and hope to start plumbing this weekend. I also have to drag the tank outside and test for leaks before I fill with water!

a few things I still need to accomplish:
buy some barrels for water storage
connect RO/DI system
cut plywood and paint tank stand
build light mount out of 8020 Aluminum

 

[Hemmdog]

Nice set up!

 

[Unthinkable]

Hello! Long time no see! I've been busy chasing a toddler around the past few months, and slowly planning my tank... My home needed some piers to remedy some foundation issues so that was a big hit to the ol' coin purse (both the wallet and below the belt variety). The original plan was to have some animals by now!! Well I'm still here... slow and steady wins the race right?! RIGHT???

Back to updates:

My stand is all but complete, I wrapped the 2x4 frame with some 1/2" plywood, added some poplar for a nice shaker style finish. Not too bad for a guy who watched some youtube videos and has access to basic power tools (doors are off and drying in garage):

Because my Tank has Euro Bracing and I don't love the mounting options, I decided to go with 1515 extruded aluminum. I like that the wiring is easily hidden. I also chose brackets that would allow me to raise the lights over 20" and tilt functionality to adjust any sagging from the weight of the lights:

I'm getting so close! I am planning on picking up some water barrels and setting up my RO system in the basement this weekend, and I'm starting to dry fit my plumbing tonight. The new goal is to have water in this tank and cycling this month. The family is heading to Colorado mid September for a week so I'm hoping it will be cycled and ready for some live animals once we get back! I'll try to snap some picks of the RO/DI, plumbing and sump set-up as I go!

 

[Katrina71]

Hurry up already! I'm wanting to see this happen!!! Lol

 

[Unthinkable]

Plumbing is installed and rock is in place! I’m currently filling with ro/di water to leak test the fittings. I also picked up a switched surge protector I just need to figure out my wire management and build a battery back up for my MP40s