After running my 40 breeder setup for quite some time, I finally started to scratch the upgrade itch. I started this little voyage looking for a 120 at 48x24x24 but had zero luck in finding one that met my standards and my budget.
First there was Tankenstein, a broken 150 that I picked up for free, with big intentions. Then came the question of lighting, clams on the sandbed and not running 400w MHL. So Tankenstein died before it lived.
Then came...something. I didn't come up with a name for it but I kinda loved it. It was a 110 gallon, 5 foot tank. Though I wasn't shot in the tail about the 18 inches front to back, it actually worked quite well for where I needed it to sit.
I cleaned it up, bought some rock, got all of the pieces ready to go, took the drill to it and BAM!
On the last of 5 holes, the bit caught and cracked the tank. Yep, I screwed up. I used a corded drill without a clutch and I was drilling closer to the rim than I should have. I'd drilled quite a few holes before without issue, but sometimes stuff happens. Well crap. Fortunately I was only into this one for $100 so I was heartbroken but not out a ton of cash.
So the search continued. Luckily, one day after I broke the 110 I stumbled upon a 120, in the dimensions that I had been looking for from the start. The owner wanted $350 for the tank, stand an old acrylic sump. I offered $200 and got the deal. Fortunately she had been trying to sell it for quite a while, which I think played to my favor.
The tank is an Oceanic, dual reef ready. It's largely in good condition, but there's a film that I can't quite get to budge. I spent a couple of days trying to get it scraped out but didn't really get anywhere. The tank had been sitting empty for about year, and wasn't cleaned well before storage. You can see a perfect circle with an MP40 used to sit on the left side, so that leads me to think that it's just a mineral residue. Hopefully it will soften in time and I can finish getting it the way that I want it. Fortunately it's largely only on the sides, so the main glass is in pretty great shape.
The stand is a locally-built rolled steel piece. A fellow r2r member had it built for his 105 gallon build, sold the tank and stand to another r2r member as a package and then I picked it up since the 2nd owner wasn't using it.
With the help of some local reefers we got the tank moved into the house on Saturday. That left me the rest of Sunday to get things up and running. I just flipped everything over from the 40 today so it's still pretty cloudy but it's otherwise looking decent. Sadly, since I've still not made a lighting decision, everything's kinda piled to the middle under my 36 inch 4 bulb T5s. That'll be fixed soon...I hope.
The sump is a VERY old 55 gallon. I'm running a center return with about 15 gallons of refugium, filled with 40 lbs of rock that came from the previous tank.
And now, the To Do list:
- Pump upgrade. Likely Jebao DC12000.
- Light upgrade. Totally undecided. Maybe LED but more likely 6 or 8 bulb T5...if I can find one.
- Manifold. I'm running a reactor on an MJ1200 right now and would love to get rid of it.
- Sump skin. I think I'm going to use magnets to attach panels, with trim affixed to the panels for a finished look. Not totally sure yet.
- MOAR POWAR(heads). Probably picking up a Jebao RW15. I'm biding my time for a Maxspect Riptide.
- Replace the tank? Maybe. We'll see. I'm going to give it a few months and see if I can clean it up. If I can't, I'll order a duplicate replacement. Only being a couple hundred bucks in, it won't hurt that bad and it serves its purpose quite well.
I'm sure there will be more, but this is the beginning.
First there was Tankenstein, a broken 150 that I picked up for free, with big intentions. Then came the question of lighting, clams on the sandbed and not running 400w MHL. So Tankenstein died before it lived.
Then came...something. I didn't come up with a name for it but I kinda loved it. It was a 110 gallon, 5 foot tank. Though I wasn't shot in the tail about the 18 inches front to back, it actually worked quite well for where I needed it to sit.
I cleaned it up, bought some rock, got all of the pieces ready to go, took the drill to it and BAM!
On the last of 5 holes, the bit caught and cracked the tank. Yep, I screwed up. I used a corded drill without a clutch and I was drilling closer to the rim than I should have. I'd drilled quite a few holes before without issue, but sometimes stuff happens. Well crap. Fortunately I was only into this one for $100 so I was heartbroken but not out a ton of cash.
So the search continued. Luckily, one day after I broke the 110 I stumbled upon a 120, in the dimensions that I had been looking for from the start. The owner wanted $350 for the tank, stand an old acrylic sump. I offered $200 and got the deal. Fortunately she had been trying to sell it for quite a while, which I think played to my favor.
The tank is an Oceanic, dual reef ready. It's largely in good condition, but there's a film that I can't quite get to budge. I spent a couple of days trying to get it scraped out but didn't really get anywhere. The tank had been sitting empty for about year, and wasn't cleaned well before storage. You can see a perfect circle with an MP40 used to sit on the left side, so that leads me to think that it's just a mineral residue. Hopefully it will soften in time and I can finish getting it the way that I want it. Fortunately it's largely only on the sides, so the main glass is in pretty great shape.
The stand is a locally-built rolled steel piece. A fellow r2r member had it built for his 105 gallon build, sold the tank and stand to another r2r member as a package and then I picked it up since the 2nd owner wasn't using it.
With the help of some local reefers we got the tank moved into the house on Saturday. That left me the rest of Sunday to get things up and running. I just flipped everything over from the 40 today so it's still pretty cloudy but it's otherwise looking decent. Sadly, since I've still not made a lighting decision, everything's kinda piled to the middle under my 36 inch 4 bulb T5s. That'll be fixed soon...I hope.
The sump is a VERY old 55 gallon. I'm running a center return with about 15 gallons of refugium, filled with 40 lbs of rock that came from the previous tank.
And now, the To Do list:
- Pump upgrade. Likely Jebao DC12000.
- Light upgrade. Totally undecided. Maybe LED but more likely 6 or 8 bulb T5...if I can find one.
- Manifold. I'm running a reactor on an MJ1200 right now and would love to get rid of it.
- Sump skin. I think I'm going to use magnets to attach panels, with trim affixed to the panels for a finished look. Not totally sure yet.
- MOAR POWAR(heads). Probably picking up a Jebao RW15. I'm biding my time for a Maxspect Riptide.
- Replace the tank? Maybe. We'll see. I'm going to give it a few months and see if I can clean it up. If I can't, I'll order a duplicate replacement. Only being a couple hundred bucks in, it won't hurt that bad and it serves its purpose quite well.
I'm sure there will be more, but this is the beginning.