- Joined
- Apr 17, 2017
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 8
Hi Friends!
Like many of us, the pandemic nudged me back into the hobby after a 5-year hiatus.
My Wife and I moved into a new house this past spring, and I immediately built a 22g LPS/Softie tank from scratch for my new home office. Here’s a photo of how that project turned out:
Inspired by how happy I am with that system, I decided to build an additional, larger system in the same style.
The system this thread is meant to document is a 5-foot 120-gallon display, using a sump made from a 60-gallon breeder. The stand is made from extruded aluminum, and the plumbing will be similar to my smaller system (red PVC with schedule 80 fittings). I really like the exposed plumbing style system design, with the plumbing, sump, and filtration being part of the overall display. Here’s a photo of the start to this build:
Obviously, my first concern when building a large-ish system in my house is the weight. The water alone in this system will weigh about 1,300lbs. The stand weighs 180lbs. The display tank weighs 250lbs, and the sump weighs about 75lbs. All-in I’m estimating this will weigh over 2,000lbs once it’s up and running.
My house is built over a crawl space, with 2x10 floor joists on 16” centers. To help handle the weight, I located the system in my office along the wall that conveniently is located on top of the house’s main load-carrying beam in the crawl space. I also reinforced the joists directly under the system with two 10-ton house jacks, 4x4 uprights, and a supplemental 4x6 beam supporting the floor joists. I feel much better about the weight having done this, and the floor feels rock solid.
Stay tuned for additional updates as we go along. My intention is to make this a mixed reef, with a thin sand bed. Let me know what you think! Im specifically looking for suggestions about sump configuration.
Like many of us, the pandemic nudged me back into the hobby after a 5-year hiatus.
My Wife and I moved into a new house this past spring, and I immediately built a 22g LPS/Softie tank from scratch for my new home office. Here’s a photo of how that project turned out:
Inspired by how happy I am with that system, I decided to build an additional, larger system in the same style.
The system this thread is meant to document is a 5-foot 120-gallon display, using a sump made from a 60-gallon breeder. The stand is made from extruded aluminum, and the plumbing will be similar to my smaller system (red PVC with schedule 80 fittings). I really like the exposed plumbing style system design, with the plumbing, sump, and filtration being part of the overall display. Here’s a photo of the start to this build:
Obviously, my first concern when building a large-ish system in my house is the weight. The water alone in this system will weigh about 1,300lbs. The stand weighs 180lbs. The display tank weighs 250lbs, and the sump weighs about 75lbs. All-in I’m estimating this will weigh over 2,000lbs once it’s up and running.
My house is built over a crawl space, with 2x10 floor joists on 16” centers. To help handle the weight, I located the system in my office along the wall that conveniently is located on top of the house’s main load-carrying beam in the crawl space. I also reinforced the joists directly under the system with two 10-ton house jacks, 4x4 uprights, and a supplemental 4x6 beam supporting the floor joists. I feel much better about the weight having done this, and the floor feels rock solid.
Stay tuned for additional updates as we go along. My intention is to make this a mixed reef, with a thin sand bed. Let me know what you think! Im specifically looking for suggestions about sump configuration.