First Big Aquarium (110 gallon)

[jdbrown1998]

Ok so this is my build thread on my first large aquarium. It is going to be a Marine Land 110 gallon reef ready tank with their Monterey stand and canopy. The dimensions on the tank are 48"x 18" x 30".

Equipment:
Sump - Eshopps RS-200 3rd generation reef sump
ATO - 10 gallon acrylic container with Tunze Osmolator
Skimmer - Reef Octopus 8" internal
25watt AU UV Sterilizer
Lights - not sure yet starting to cycle tank on Jan 6th so I have time before I need to install these
circulation -
Return pump - Eheim 1262
Powerheads - 2 Hydor Koralia 3rd Generation Circulation Pump/Powerhead 2450 gph (I figure I can add a wave controller to these later if I want to)

For live rock I ordered 80 lbs of CaribSea South Seas Aquascaping Base Rock and 25 lbs of Tonga Shelf. I will seed it with a piece of live rock from my running 24 gall JBJ nano cube. I will use two bags of CaribSea Arag-Alive black sand (40 lbs total) on the bottom of the tank.

For aquascaping I started by trying out a 3 island type look in the tank but I am not sure if I am happy with it.

The cardboard is the full tank size with the black line giving you a 2" buffer from the sides of the tank so I have room for cleaning. The highest point is only 18" though and with the tank being 30 inches deep I think this is too short for the tank. I was thinking I should shoot for one side being about 24" high and then do a cascading down rock work? Any opinions on that. I figure that this tank will be a mixed reef with mostly softies and LPS but I may opt for some SPS. I will definitely want some fish with personality in the tank that are reef safe (any suggestions are welcome!) I still have about 20 lbs left over so I definitely have enough pieces to make it taller.

So my questions for everyone:
How high would you go in the tank? Does 24" sound reasonable? I am thinking the start tall on one side and have it slope down on the other is the best way to get multiple levels and then also will give me a natural place to put a frag rack if I want on the short side. Feedback on the above aquascape vs a sloped one?

Would you pre drill the rocks (especially the shelf rocks) to take plugs? Or just use the glue/epoxy/glue method to mount new frags?

Looking forward to this new tank! I am very excited about getting it up and running.

 

[chelltom]

I like the rock set up just curious why you chose a deep tank rather than a long one .

 

[jdbrown1998]

It is partly because of the room size that I have to setup it in combined with wanting a large volume and a show piece at my work in a lounge area. It was the size that made the most sense to me in the end.

 

[chelltom]

understood looks like it will be a great tank . Have you decided on lights ?

 

[reefer10]

How deep do you have the water in your middle skimmer compartment?