OKC Newb's 120 Gal. Build

[Adam Houston]

Hello R2R Fam!! After a pretty crappy introduction to reef keeping I can finally say I ended up getting a great deal on a new-to-me 120 gallon setup with eshopps sump & plumbing included. As a former African Cichlid breeder of 8+ years ago, I have to let yall know I am completely new when it comes to reef keeping so expect a lot of questions!! I will attach a series of photos to document the entire refurbishing process as I am rather OCD and my goal is to make this setup look as new as possible. It literally took a month of week nights and weekends (working around some heavy OT at work) to polish the aquarium up to perfection (coralline algae removal & cerium oxide for scratches) as well as refinishing & painting the stand and canopy. The $100+ paint job was well worth it- loving the aesthetics of this 2 tone paint job!

 

[Bj’s Reef]

You are off to a good start. Keep the pictures coming.

 

[Adam Houston]

1st step was soaking the entire aquarium in a bath of citric acid and circulating it with a few powerheads and wave makers to get rid of that gnarly coralline algae buildup. After a 3-4 day bubble bath I was finally able to scrub and scrape all of the algae buildup off.

 

[Adam Houston]

You are off to a good start. Keep the pictures coming.

Thanks man! Will do for sure.

 

[Adam Houston]

2nd step was sanding the stand and canopy to get rid of previous water damage and provide a nice surface to apply paint. I also spackled several areas with wood filler to make sure all surfaces were even and smooth. I then used a foam paint roller to apply Rustoleum Marine Coatings Topside Paint (1+ quarts Battleship Gray) to the interior.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Very nice looking stand!!

 

[Adam Houston]

Very nice looking stand!!

Thank you!! Pics of the finished stand are coming soon.

 

[Adam Houston]

3rd step was to apply nearly 2 quarts of Behr Premium Chalk Paint (Classic Noir) to the exterior, as well as the spray paint version for touch ups and additional coverage on the cabinet doors. I tested the Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2X Ultra Cover clear spray paint on one of the cabinet doors for my clear coat and it actually started pulling paint from the surface and developing a film of light gray dust so I discontinued that real quick. Waiting on an order of Rustoleum Chalked Protective Topcoat clear spray paint from Amazon so I'm hoping that won't give me any problems to finish up the stand!!

 

[Adam Houston]

Good Evenin’ R2R Fam!! It’s still a work in progress but after a lengthy refurbishing process we finally moved my reef tank in from my workshop. A few essentials for the system are on the way (protein skimmer, return pump, wave makers, heaters, etc.) Can’t wait to add some Tangs & a few wrasses

 

[RedReefer]

Looking good! Awesome job on the paint job!

 

[Adam Houston]

Looking good! Awesome job on the paint job!

Much appreciated!!

 

[Adam Houston]

Just got these 2 new toys in the mail today: AquaMaxx DFC-180 and the Jebao DCP 13000 Sine wave return pump. Hoping this will be a good combo for a mixed reef with a medium/heavy bio load in the near future!

 

[Adam Houston]

Living room update

 

[Adam Houston]

Got this crazy aquascape idea in mind a few days ago & ended up swinging by our LFS- Prestige Worldwide Corals for some dry rock to get started with my design. Honestly the best corals and rock selection I’ve seen around here- I’ll be beyond stoked once I get my tank cycled so I can start buying their corals & fish

 

[19Mateo83]

Nice rehab on the tank, looking forward to seeing it bubbling!

 

[Adam Houston]

Nice rehab on the tank, looking forward to seeing it bubbling!

Thanks man!! This aquascape is going to be a time consuming showpiece to build so I might just higher a local aquascaper and get this reef tank up & running faster than expected. Stay tuned!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Got this crazy aquascape idea in mind a few days ago & ended up swinging by our LFS- Prestige Worldwide Corals for some dry rock to get started with my design. Honestly the best corals and rock selection I’ve seen around here- I’ll be beyond stoked once I get my tank cycled so I can start buying their corals & fish

Can't wait to see all those rocks inside the tank!

 

[Adam Houston]

Stay tuned for sure man! It’s going to be an epic aquascape fr. I’m recruiting my buddy who is awesome at constructing custom aquascapes. I just ordered another 40lbs of CaribSea life rock from saltwateraquarium.com so I’m hoping 60+ lbs total should be enough for 2 massive purple McDonalds-style arches Lol Going to draw up a design in a few to get a better idea of the dimensions.

 

[19Mateo83]

I just finished building my aqua scape out of marco rock and superglue. Maybe this will help give you some ideas. I wanted an airy scape that had some arches, caves and ledges without the rubble pile look.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/mateo’s-seapora-50-build.984518/

 

[Adam Houston]

I just finished building my aqua scape out of marco rock and superglue. Maybe this will help give you some ideas. I wanted an airy scape that had some arches, caves and ledges without the rubble pile look.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/mateo’s-seapora-50-build.984518/

Very cool man! I dig the arches & ledges. Just started following your thread, solid DIY skills