My First Saltwater Tank - 120G in NJ

[Nijessi]

Good news -- pulling out the big guns My dad is flying down to take care of installing support for the floor! He has done complicated floor support (1st and 2nd story) for the custom solid wood furniture he builds. Some of his pieces have weighed almost twice what the tank will. I'll share photos and what not in case it is helpful for anyone else who finds themselves in the same predicament. Breathing a little bit easier now that my budget wont be blown on the other options -- and instead can use that money for what it was intended --- REEFING!

@paintman my dad had some of the same thoughts!

 

[dbowman5]

Welcome to the land of "what? You mean i can't? But! What if? Yay! I knew there was a way!! Thanks, R2R!" You and the fam' are going to like it here!

 

[Nijessi]

Few updates --

• The tank arrived! It was in great condition and the stand is perfect! SC Aquariums ftw. It's currently in the garage while I finish up its new home.
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• We have decided to put the tank in the basement in a new office that we're finishing up now -- All the discussion on the benefits of basement reefing PLUS being able to upgrade my office space substantially were the deciding factors. The photo below is what the space was like to start with. I'll post the "after" photos when done!
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• Been able to pick up a few more bits and pieces from Facebook marketplace. A bubble magnus 9 skimmer and a 10 gallon tank (to be used for QT)
• Still on the hunt for a sump, powerheads, and lights - I'll buy new if I have to but hoping to still snipe some used deals. The other essentials like the heaters and return pump I will buy new for peace of mind. Just have to decide which ones they'll be.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Are you opposed to getting a 55 for the sump? I think Petco might still have its $/gallon sale running, and that's a very cheap way to get a tank for a sump unless you want it custom designed...

 

[K7BMG]

I recomend getting the largest sump you can get.
Before I thought you could put the sump in the basement and the tank above. But with the tank going in the basement now well......

I am of the opinion that more water volume the more stable it will be.
You have done good getting a RO/DI setup right off the bat.
Your TDS should be 0. You will be needing to upgrade it down the road.
The membrane, carbon block, and resins need to be changed.

I am wondering where your brute trashcans are?
They should be full of clean dry rock being cycled right now.
Be careful when you get your rock. If you buy from a private party,
I highly recomend finding out its history.
Did they ever use copper, many questions need to be asked when it comes to used rock.
If used I would bleach cure it. Many threads here on R2R on how to do this.

You need to decide on your salt mix and dosing method.
Salt mix first so you can start cycling your rocks now.

 

[Crabby48]

Welcome to R2R. Many great fish and coral stores in NJ and surrounding area.

 

[Nijessi]

Are you opposed to getting a 55 for the sump? I think Petco might still have its $/gallon sale running, and that's a very cheap way to get a tank for a sump unless you want it custom designed...

Not oppposed -- Particularly now that it is in the basement and weight is no longer a concern. How would I divide up the space? I definitely want to be sure to have a refugium chamber -- learned the benefits of plant filtration and parameter help in my small freshwater tank.

 

[Nijessi]

I recomend getting the largest sump you can get.
Before I thought you could put the sump in the basement and the tank above. But with the tank going in the basement now well......

I am of the opinion that more water volume the more stable it will be.
You have done good getting a RO/DI setup right off the bat.
Your TDS should be 0. You will be needing to upgrade it down the road.
The membrane, carbon block, and resins need to be changed.

I am wondering where your brute trashcans are?
They should be full of clean dry rock being cycled right now.
Be careful when you get your rock. If you buy from a private party,
I highly recomend finding out its history.
Did they ever use copper, many questions need to be asked when it comes to used rock.
If used I would bleach cure it. Many threads here on R2R on how to do this.

You need to decide on your salt mix and dosing method.
Salt mix first so you can start cycling your rocks now.

My TDS comes in at 1 right now. I'm wondering if that is from the hose I have on it for now just to test and pull water while I get it setup. I def. want to upgrade the system overtime but thought that trying to work a simple pump system into the basement might be a better budget use for now?

OMG, I've been so concerned about the actual location and house logistics I didn't even think to start cycling rocks. >_< I will start scouring for rocks, if I can go used to save some money and spend time getting them clean I'll go that route. I'm thinking 150lbs of rock is around where I want to be? Or am I undershooting that?

As far as dosing that is my next big research project this week. I have to figure out the best way to approach this manually for now. A dosing system is likely out of the budget for awhile....

 

[dbowman5]

Not oppposed -- Particularly now that it is in the basement and weight is no longer a concern. How would I divide up the space? I definitely want to be sure to have a refugium chamber -- learned the benefits of plant filtration and parameter help in my small freshwater tank.

check out my build thread i have a 75 DT but my sump is a custom 55 made from a marineland 55 combo. the fuge is 24" wide.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Not oppposed -- Particularly now that it is in the basement and weight is no longer a concern. How would I divide up the space? I definitely want to be sure to have a refugium chamber -- learned the benefits of plant filtration and parameter help in my small freshwater tank.

Depends on what all you have/want. If you're running equipment like reactors and skimmers, those deserve a compartment to themselves. And so does a refugium (which should have maximum area to be as efficient as possible, and places for the overflow to drain into as well as the pump to take water from.

My TDS comes in at 1 right now. I'm wondering if that is from the hose I have on it for now just to test and pull water while I get it setup. I def. want to upgrade the system overtime but thought that trying to work a simple pump system into the basement might be a better budget use for now?

OMG, I've been so concerned about the actual location and house logistics I didn't even think to start cycling rocks. >_< I will start scouring for rocks, if I can go used to save some money and spend time getting them clean I'll go that route. I'm thinking 150lbs of rock is around where I want to be? Or am I undershooting that?

As far as dosing that is my next big research project this week. I have to figure out the best way to approach this manually for now. A dosing system is likely out of the budget for awhile....

For cleaning, make sure to look into bleaching vs peroxide vs acid cleaning rock! I personallly prefer acid cleaning the rock, but it takes space and you need to be careful to neutralize all the acid and have an outdoor area.

 

[Nijessi]

Update Time!

So Phase 1 of the basement office rebuild is complete. My dad really outdid himself, he even built a custom secret bookcase door as the entrance

I put the stand there so that I will have access to all sides of the tank. Plus it will allow me to run cable, piping, etc. over the concrete wall in the crawl space. The closet there is actually a sump pump so I'm hoping I can setup a continual water change system. Would that take away the need for ATO? I guess it would still evaporate....thought I could maybe combine the systems? The tank itself will be moved down today or tomorrow along with my remaining (read: heavy) office furniture. I also installed two new 20 amp circuit breakers that I have someone helping me run to two GFCI outlets that will be dedicated for reefing. Any suggestions on placement or other thoughts on the electric?

The beam is going to mean that there is little wiggle room on the lights if I go with a bar style but I should still have over a foot and half to play with above the tank. I could also move the stand to the left of the sump closet but I would lose good access to the right side of the tank since my desk is also on that wall. Plus, I like that the tank will add visuals to the cement wall and have a long side view from the other part of the basement (pool table and darts area).

As far as rocks - I think I am going to go with dry rocks and cycle this bad boy slowly and steadily. I'm not in a rush per se and I want to do this in such a way that I learn the process of monitoring and controlling the saltwater cycle as I go. Figure its better to do that with a slow and deliberate initial cycle before I have expensive corals/livestock.

I'm figuring that to get this cycle going I need to pull the trigger on a few necessary things - sump, rock, sand, heaters, and salt. Should I be establishing the refugium in the sump during this initial cycle as well? I was going to order the ruby sapphire sump listed in the top of the thread but my LFS gurus are saying I should really just build a sump to save some cash. The process from scratch seems a little involved and the fiji baffle kits with a 40g breeder seem like only slightly less expensive than the ruby acrylic. Am I missing something here?

 

[Nijessi]

Ok - I need the hivemind! Trying to figure out how I'm going to do an ATO run from my RODI container in the garage. Video below is a sketch of where I'm at. Thoughts?

 

[Nijessi]

Update!
Got most of my plumbing for the sump -- missed a couple pieces that should be arriving tomorrow. Found a great plumbing supplier right down the road (Stevenson's) that has almost everything you could possibly want at good prices. My neighbor came over with his pex kit and helped me run a pex line to the area in the crawl space right behind the tank so NOW I can relocate my RODI and storage tank to the other side of the wall!! Ordered a dosing pump and going to pickup a smaller 5-10 gallon container of some sort so I can setup AWC and ATO. Picking up rock and sand tomorrow from another NJ reefer! Moving and shaking over here!
Also, being real I am nervous about setting up the hard plumbing. A bit of a worry wart and I don't want to waste parts -- ESPECIALLY the gate and ball valves.......deep breaths.....Any tips?

I was also a bit blindsided by the length of the eheim 250W heaters...they are not going to sit in my sump due to where the baffles are. Thinking I will have to put them in the overflow but wondering if it makes more sense to return them and find something shorter that will work for a 120G...