It's the Last Tank, I Promise... dustinc's 120 gal SPS Build (BRS/WWC Hybrid)

[dustinc]

The tank has arrived! I'm very excited to have the tank in place. It's crazy how big the tank seems to me and I'm definitely looking forward to getting it wet. Also, I feel like an idiot, because I forgot that the overflow wasn't a square, so where I cut out the holes for plumbing, you can see from the top of the tank and I'm going bare bottom... So another project will be cutting a piece to cover that area. Today, I also got all the cabinet frame completed for the stand and tomorrow I plan on applying primer and paint with a goal of attaching it by Sunday.

Tank Has Arrived

Overflow Mistake

 

[Fishboy9227]

I suspect with your rock work, you won’t see the stand around the over flow much. It’ll eventually cover with algae, too.

 

[dustinc]

I suspect with your rock work, you won’t see the stand around the over flow much. It’ll eventually cover with algae, too.

Thanks. That's definitely something I'm considering as well. Hopefully I'll know more next week once the rock comes in.

 

[dustinc]

Sneak peak of the cabinetry face for the stand...

 

[dustinc]

Plumbing fail...

I was working on plumbing the bulkheads this morning and on the very last one, the pipe pushed through the bulkhead while glueing and came through the other side. So I had to get creative and find a way to cut it out. I ended up using my multitool and putting a piece of cardboard between the glass and tool and cutting the pipe out. It's a good thing I ordered an extra union, but had to go on Amazon and order a new 3/4" bulkhead. Now I'm off to paint the cabinet frame.

 

[dustinc]

***Plumbing and Cabinetry Update***

So my cabinets are complete for the stand, attached and painted. I'm now going to be working on the doors as well as the canopy as my next wood project for the tank. I'm also finished with the pluming on everything except the return line, because I'm waiting on my return pump to be delivered to finish that line. I also received my skimmer and all the rock and some is in the tank, but just because they are the base pieces that needed a place to sit until I get my rock work complete, so don't mind the rock. I'm really happy overall with how the sump, plumbing, and equipment came together. Attached are a couple photos for where we are now.

Sump & Plumbing

Tank Shot as of Today

 

[Fishboy9227]

I’m interested to see how you like the filter roller. I’ve been checking out sumps and have had several Triggers, but not the roller.

 

[dustinc]

I’m interested to see how you like the filter roller. I’ve been checking out sumps and have had several Triggers, but not the roller.

Just based on how it's setup and how it feels, I'm really excited about it. They are local to me, so the LFS around know the guys that run Trigger, and they told me they had been designing and perfecting their roller for almost 2 years to ensure it works as intended. I'm most excited it will polish the water well and keep me from having to constantly wash nasty filter socks.

 

[dustinc]

We're Wet!!!

So over the weekend, I felt like I had the RODI unit non-stop. But I finally have the tank full and everything running. Tonight, I dosed 8 oz of Dr. Tim's One and Only and also added 25ml of Brightwell's Microbacter7 as well to start the seeding process. I then dropped in 1 raw shrimp as a food source for the bacteria and now we wait... I will be letting the bacteria and rock settle in for 2 months before I add my first fish. During this time there will not be any lighting on the tank, only circulation, skimmer, carbon, and weekly water changes. I'm very pleased with how the rock work came out and it gives plenty of hiding places for fish large and small, plenty of swimming room, and lots of space for corals to grow. Attached are a couple photos from tonight...

P.S. Don't pay attention to the corded mess below, this weekend I'll be working on my controller cabinet and organization as well as adding doors and the canopy.

Front Shot w/ Water & Rock

Left Side

Right Side

 

[Fishboy9227]

Nice!

What are you going to do for doors on the stand?

 

[btmedic04]

beautiful set up! I've been considering a mega matrix 120 as a potential future upgrade. How do you like it so far? also is that shelf rock and the base pieces by marco rocks? how much in weight did you use? It looks awesome!

 

[dustinc]

Nice!

What are you going to do for doors on the stand?

Thank you! I was going to build them myself, however, I found a cabinet maker in the local reef club, so he's building them for me for basically the cost of the wood. I already have the frame of the canopy completed as well, so he built those doors for me too. I'm supposed to pick them up sometime this week and then I'll paint them and get them on.

beautiful set up! I've been considering a mega matrix 120 as a potential future upgrade. How do you like it so far? also is that shelf rock and the base pieces by marco rocks? how much in weight did you use? It looks awesome!

I like it very well so far. I'm using 1 of the 3/4 return lines as my main drain so that I'm able to run the bean animal setup. The rock is a mixture of Marco Shelf and Marco foundation. I also ordered some reef saver, but didn't use any. I ordered 50lbs of the shelf rock and 8 foundation peices (they aren't sold by weight). My best guess would be somewhere around 90lbs of rock overall. Thank you very much for the compliment.

 

[dustinc]

I have all the doors for the stand and canopy now, just have to paint them and finish building the canopy and controller cabinet. My goal is to finish that all this weekend. Just thought I would post a picture of the doors retrofit for the stand. I'm really happy with how they turned out.

 

[MuffinMonster]

Sick build bro, cant wait to see this tank up and running! Im currently building a tank too on the BRS/WWC method, SPS Bare-Bottom only, check out my thread! Love the sump and the integrated roller mat, and planet tanks are gorgeous. Nice wood work too man, looks sharp. Cant wait to see what this looks like in a couple months.

 

[dustinc]

Sick build bro, cant wait to see this tank up and running! Im currently building a tank too on the BRS/WWC method, SPS Bare-Bottom only, check out my thread! Love the sump and the integrated roller mat, and planet tanks are gorgeous. Nice wood work too man, looks sharp. Cant wait to see what this looks like in a couple months.

Thank you very much. Very nice build you have going yourself. I absolutely love the implementation of the filter rollers. I think we both made a great decision there! Good luck with your build, I'll be keeping an eye on it.

 

[alton]

I think I made that promise about 32 years ago, and I was probably your age when I upgraded from a 55 gallon to a 135? Then came a 200 in 99. 158 in 2003, 300 in 2009? 180 in 2016, and now a 310 Planet. Have fun its a great hobby and past time.

 

[dustinc]

I think I made that promise about 32 years ago, and I was probably your age when I upgraded from a 55 gallon to a 135? Then came a 200 in 99. 158 in 2003, 300 in 2009? 180 in 2016, and now a 310 Planet. Have fun its a great hobby and past time.

Ha ha! I'm many tanks in for sure... I told her the only way this one goes is if we relocate somewhere and need to do something different because of the home layout. I'm really trying to learn to be content and I struggle with that at times with my hobbies...

 

[dustinc]

Just posting a little sneak peak of my controller section I'm finishing up now that will be in the stand. Behind the tall wall is where all the power supplies and cords will be hidden and organized. I also added 2 fans, 1 in and 1 out, to help keep some air circulating inside the cabinet and keep the power supplies cool. I'll be adding a top as well, which will double as a shelf inside the stand. I'm really happy with how it's coming together and will definitely make the stand much cleaner with power.

 

[dustinc]

So today, I didn't get to complete everything I wanted to complete, but was still able to make quite a bit of progress. I'm almost complete with the canopy and have done a primer coat on all the doors and a majority of the canopy as well. I did complete the controller panel and shelf. I'm very happy with how it all came together and definitely looks much nicer. I still have to get a custom ATO container to fit the tight space I have available, but it will be long so it should still hold about 12 gallons or so. Here are a couple completed pictures of the shelf/controller area.

 

[jstephens24]

looking great so far. following along