My 120 gal. LPS, Softie tank.

[Srfnhooker]

Hi all. I'm returning to reefing after about 10 or 15 yrs. Travel competitive soccer with my kid and coaching HS soccer left little time for my tank.

I got the bug so I picked up a used 120g DT w/ stand, 40gb sump, 40gb qt tank w/ stand, aquatic life 4 bulb t5 hybrid unit, octo 202s skimmer along with a few other odds and ends. $400.
I just received 3 new leds to add to the t5 hybrid, return pumps, 2 power heads (I will probably add 2 more depending on flow) and Barracuda RODI unit.

I picked up some rock from from a couple different places. I got 40 lbs of coraline encrusted Fiji live rock from an established 55g. My friend was done with fighting algae. $0. It's in buckets curing.

I also picked up about 40lbs of carribean rock that hasn't been used in yrs. Currently going thru a 1 week bleach cure.

Still need more rock, sand, salt, test kits, etc...

I am currently doing a reseal job on the DT and have removed all the old silicone and overflows. The joints are all in good shape. The center brace is cracked so I'll be removing it and going with euro bracing followed by a 2 week water test. Tank is 1/2" glass.

If that all works out, great! If not I'll be putting this all on hold until I save for a new tank. Although I could use the 40 gal breeder to get started.

I'll be building a ceiling mounted floating canopy to house the t5 hybrid.

The 40g breeder refugium will be redone with a new baffle kit from, I believe it's JaxRacks.

It's been slow going but I'm not in a rush. There is so much more info now than when I had my last tank. I'm really excited to be getting back to reef keeping.

 

[blaxsun]

Looks like a great spring project!

 

[Srfnhooker]

Update.
I went in a whole new direction. Scrapped the 120 and got an IM 75 EXT with stand, sump and plumbing. New skimmer. Finished my scape today. Sand and water go in tomorrow. Cycle starts.

 

[Srfnhooker]

Added water and a few new pieces of rock for small fish to hide, suggested by another member.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Aquascape looks great!

 

[Srfnhooker]

Aquascape looks great

Thanks Gumbies. Still going to add a few more cave/hiding spaces. Also, looking at adding some Tampa Bay Saltwater rock to the sump to cycle the tank. They're only an hour drive from me. Next on the the build list is going to be an equipment/controller cabinet. The APS stand has literally no space for anything other than the sump.

 

[Idech]

It looks great ! Is your rock sitting on the glass, so critters who like to dig won’t get squished ?

 

[Srfnhooker]

It is. Thanks.

 

[Tcook]

Nice tank! What happened to the fiji rock?

 

[Srfnhooker]

Nice tank! What happened to the fiji rock?

Thanks. Still have the rock but will be using it in a 60 gal breeder once i get the 75 up to speed. In the meantime I'll keep up with water changes and feeding the live rock.

 

[Srfnhooker]

Started the fishless cycle this morning using Dr Tim's. I had a slight bit of ammonia, 0.25ppm, before dosing the ammonium chloride so I only used 2 drops per gal instead of the 4. Also because directions say to cut dose by 20% due to rock and substrate. I guess the existing ammonia could be from the live sand I put in last weekend?
Took me a bit to get the overflow dialed in, but since the tank has been pretty much silent with the exception of a slight gurgle going into the sump from the full siphon. It may not be purging all the air. I'm going to shorten the final piece of outfall pipe to about an inch or 2 below the waterline and see if that helps.

 

[Srfnhooker]

Update. Been a while. Tanks been going since August and doing pretty well. Have had really good luck the ugly stage. Not to much hair algae to speak of and the purple coralline is starting to ramp up finally. What's weird though is I have the purple on the rock and green on the back.
I added the tunze osmilator about 3 months ago. Best thing ever.
I purchased a UV but haven't installed it yet. I plan to tackle that job this weekend.
I got 2 cabinets from IKEA to flank each side of the stand. One for power equipment and one for a 5 gal ato reservoir, which lasts me 7 days, and some storage.

Inhabitants:
2 b/w ocellaris clowns
3 firefish
1 melanarus wrass
1 Tomini tang
Small cuc (new arrivals tomorrow)
Future Inhabitants:
Royal Gramma
Some type of sand goby
Antheas

Coral:
Red/Green Blasto merletti
Purp/green blasto merletti
Icey raven blasto
Purple blasto
Firework clove polyps
3 orange ricordia florida
1 ricordia Yuma (got it for 5 bucks at LFS)
4 diff zoas. No names.
5 diff small acan colonies (rainbow, purple with orange, green red, orange, red.
Purple torch - no name
Purple green hammer
Hollywood stunner
No name orange/green chalice.
Green poscilapora
Purple candy cane
Purple/green fungia
Rock flower anemone
Pink encrusting goni
Lost a favia and a JF Jack O Lantern. Not sure why, probably too early to add.

Parameters
Temp 77.7 - 78.4
Salinity 35
Ph 8.15. Salifert
DKH 8.1. Hanna
Cal 420. Red sea
Mag 1420. Aquaforest
Nitrate 8. Nyos
Po4 .03. Hanna

Heres a few pics of the tank from beginning til now.