New 120 build. Advice and tips welcome!

Zer0Sum40

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1st of all thanks for following along. This will be my third build. I started with a 30 and quickly upgraded to a 90. A major house remodel project forced a tear down of the 90. Now that the house is spouse approved I can focus on reefing!

I am in the process of building the stand and acquiring gear. To guarantee a perfectly flat stand I poured 3/8” self leveling concrete. A tank failure is not acceptable!

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Zer0Sum40

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Update

I have the frame for the drawer and the bracing for the refugium built. Tomorrow I will attempt to install drawer slides, wish me luck. I’m a hell of an electrician not much of a carpenter.
 

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Zer0Sum40

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So I went to HD today to grab some slides for the drawer and found out my plans were all wrong. To put bottom mount drawer slides you have to build a legit drawer. The instructions call for 1/2-5/8” thick sides and the bottom had to be datoed 1/2” up . As I said I’m an electrician not a carpenter and 3 hours later this is what I managed.
 

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Zer0Sum40

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Tonight I installed the drawer slides in the stand and completed the skin. To get the soft close slides to work correctly took some finesse. I would highly recommend them just know they are not easy to install.
 

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Zer0Sum40

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I drilled my 1st tank! The YouTube videos were right, super easy! If you can care for a reef aquarium you definitely can drill a tank.

Next on the list is to move the water softener and get plywood on the wall next to the aquarium. I plan on moving the electrical panel and consolidating the Wi-Fi and ethernet. Any suggestions on how to organize controllers / RO system?
 

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PicassoDan

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looks like a great build! I'm glad to hear you're moving the electrical panel.
If you hadn't already drilled the tank, I would have recommended a slim profile overflow like the EMS. The internal box is only an inch thick or so. This style overflow is also dead silent.
20191117_213622.jpg


Are you going to keep all the tank panels clear or paint any of them?
 
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Zer0Sum40

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I planned on painting the back panel and one side. Viewing facing the living room and coming out of the bathroom. I would regret not being able to see the long view.

here is how far I got tonight. Internet is off the wall and started on the elec panel. I also picked up an extra panel from work to hide all of my internet and future relays. It a 24”x20”x6”, should have no problem fitting all of my gear.

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OrchidMiss

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You have some excellent work going on here!!
Following along to enjoy your journey! Keep it up!
Job Linkedin GIF by InternIn
 
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Zer0Sum40

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Forgot to show the water softeners new home. Tucked under the stairs and out of the way. My wife is so excited to have me working on the laundry room. It was kind of a catch-all dump

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Zer0Sum40

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What a day moving the panel and rerouting the wire took a little longer than expected. I have to say I like the way it turned out, even if it is flex.

Having the wall covered with plywood will make mounting shelves and equipment a breeze. 10x the cost of Sheetrock but well worth it.

What do you think of the drain stand pipe? I stubbed up the pipe a few years ago when I put in a bathroom. I can’t wait to put it to use. No more buckets!
 

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Zer0Sum40

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I’ve started my aquascape. I want the fish to feel at home with plenty of place to hide and sleep. Can someone let me know how big the caves and coves should be? I am planning on a purple tang, blue jaw trigger, and a blue hippo or powder blue. I haven’t nailed dow the small fish yet. Also if I skip the small fish and get a snowflake, recommendations for its den
 

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Zer0Sum40

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Here is what I have so far. There was a bigger structure on the right but it broke. I wasn’t in love with it, build back better ;)
 

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Zer0Sum40

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Had to take some time off of the build for the Christmas season. Happy to say I am back and hard at work on the build

I completed the rework of my home network wiring, finished my aquascape. The network panel turned out just the way I wanted, “very happy spouse”. As for the aquascape I am torn. It does not have the shelves I think I will need for coral placement but the hiding places for fish is spot on. As I said before the fish are #1. If you have any suggestions that don’t require a complete rework please share.
 

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Zer0Sum40

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I have started getting my controller up and running. Having the power strip centrally located doesn’t work for me. So I decided to hardwire cords to the outlets around the tank as needed. 1 thing to note is the Neptune reads current off the neutral. Wiring your commons “neutrals” to make a multi wire circuit will stop power monitoring. Now that I know this I will have to go back and add dedicated neutral for each cord end. If that doesn’t make sense let me know.

I cycled the tank with bottled bacteria and 2 clowns. Tank didn’t skip a beat. I love how fast this can be done compared to days of old. My nitrates are hold at 1 for the last week and phosphate steadily rising. I need some advice here. Do I it back off the food, start doing water changes, or a refugium to stabilize my levels? I am thinking water change and starting the fuge to keep levels lower longer. Thoughts?
 

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