Reelss's 120 Gallon Reef Build

reelss · Jan 2, 2018

Hi everyone,

New to this forum and to saltwater in general. I got a start in the freshwater world about 9 months ago and have had great success in keeping african cichlids. I still have several freshwater tanks, however, a couple of months ago I decided to try my hand at the saltwater world.

I set up a 20 gallon nano reef with a pair of clownfish and some corals, and soon realized that I wanted more. I am really excited to start this thread as I managed to snag a 120 gallon tank today. And so the build starts in earnest.

This thread will allow me to document my journey, but perhaps more importantly let me ask questions and get guidance from you all as I am still fairly new.

Here is what the set up looked like before the original owner took it down:

reelss · Jan 2, 2018

Build Components:

Aqueon 120 gallon reed ready tank and stand ($400), came with:
- 30 gallon sump (may need to be reconfigured)
- Sea Side Aquatics CS8 Protein Skimmer
- Sicce PSK1000 Pump
- Light bar (not sure which ones were these, I'll find out on the weekend)

Shopping list:

Here's what I got so far:

Lights (thinking about going with 2 AI Hydra 26 HD, but open to suggestions)
Pump (thinking about getting a Jebao DCT8000)
Protein Skimmer (how do you guys feel about the CS8? worth keeping or find something different?)
Powerheads (considering two Jebao RW8s)
Heater (I have a ehiem jager 300 watt heater, might add another)
Rock (considering getting BRS saver dry rock, not sure how much to order)
Sand (open to recommendations)
Plumbing (TBD)
Refugium light (TBD)

I will definitely appreciate any recommendations on above. I will update as we go along.

reelss · Jan 3, 2018

Put in the order for the following:
150 lbs of live rock from Reef cleaners
Two Jebao SW8 powerheads

The plan is to pick up sand from petco. I am considering 60 pounds of Caribsea Aragonite to give me a shallow bed of substrate. May add more if needed.

I do have some questions:
1. The tank comes with two overflows with two holes drilled in each and plumbing for durso. Both holes take 1" piping. I would like to use herbie for my overflow. I came across this article that describes some options, and wanted to know which route to go with. Has anyone had experience doing the herbie with two overflows?
2. Do you guys recommend curing the Reef cleaner rock? My assumption is it comes pre-cured and may require some gentle washing to get the debris off.

Thanks!

I will be adding pictures as I start to assemble this.

reelss · Jan 6, 2018

Just got the stand delivered. I also picked up a used Trigger sump. The space might be right underneath and getting the protein skimmer in and out will take some maneuvering. Not impossible though.

Plumbing parts are on order. Will try to tackle that next week. Also hoping to pick up some AI Hydras.

reelss · Jan 6, 2018

Trigger sump I picked up.

reelss · Jan 24, 2018

Spent this week in plumbing the tank. I have no prior plumbing experience, so this was a challenge, however, I think I managed to fit everything. Ordered tubing and a couple of barb fittings so that I can attach the pump. Once they are here, I can do a test run to see how I did.

I did fill the bulkheads with water to check for any leaks. There were a couple I caught, but I suspect there may be more once the tank has more water volume and flow.

I also attached an LED strip for under cabinet lighting.

Please excuse the blue spray paint. This was a last minute decision that I might soon regret. Any way, here are a few pictures:

The manifold still needs to be strapped to the cabinet top.

reelss · Jan 24, 2018

Parts list as of 1/24/2018

$400: 1/2 - Tank, Stand, Skimmer, Sump, Pump, Lids (Used)
$270: 1/2 - Dry Rock from Reef Cleaners
$120: 1/3 - Jebao SW8 x 2
$25: 1/4 - Gate Valves
$30: 1/4 - Bulkheads
$100: 1/4 - Plumbing Parts
$150: 1/6 - Trigger Sump (Used)
$500: 1/7 - AI Hydra 26 x 2, Jebao DCT8000, Reefkeeper Lite Basic x 2 (Used)
$90: 1/16 - 80/20 Stand and AI Mounts
$25: 1/16 - LED Light Strip
$55: 1/21 - 80lbs Aragonite Sand

Kmore1219 · Jan 24, 2018

Looks like you are getting off to a great start! I started with a 20 gallons also and quickly escalated to a 125.Any thoughts to what you are going to stock with yet?

reelss · Jan 24, 2018

Kmore1219 said:
Looks like you are getting off to a great start! I started with a 20 gallons also and quickly escalated to a 125.Any thoughts to what you are going to stock with yet?

That seems to be a long ways away!

The clowns I have in the 20 will move over. I would also like to get a royal blue tang. Other than that, I haven't given it much thought.

reelss · Jan 25, 2018

Last night I decided I couldn't wait any longer for the braided tube to arrive to plumb the pump in. So I went with pvc plumbing to at least test the system out. I will be out of town for about a week starting Tuesday of next week, and I would like to get the cycle started before I do.

I made significant progress towards that goal. The pump was plumbed in last night. After letting the plumbing cure overnight, this morning, I filled it up with tap water. I am happy to report that there were no major catastrophes

There are two very minor leaks, one in the drain on the right and the other in the return. I will try to put additional cement on it. I won't fret about it since the water drips in the sump anyway.

One mistake I made is I totally forgot about accommodating for the skimmer height when setting up the manifold. I may have to make some tweaks there to reclaim some vertical space.

After adjusting the gate valves, the drains are quite silent. The sump is a little noisy from the water splashing into filter sock section. Will look into this later.

Also tried some aquascaping ideas last night. The rock is quite easy to work with and form some neat structures, without the use of cement, putty or rods.

reelss · Jan 25, 2018

There's water!

reelss · Jan 25, 2018

AquaART · Jan 25, 2018

Anxious to see the progress! Good luck on keeping all the books. Once you get everything down, you’ll think why you didn’t just buy a new car.

reelss · Jan 27, 2018

Good progress today.

I drained the tank of tap water, and did my best to catch as much as I could from the tank and the sump. Rinsed the rocks and set them up in the tank. The two overflows took up a fair amount of real estate but I managed to work around it. Stability was important, and overall I am happy with how it turned out.

Saltwater is being prepared, and I hope to have tank full tomorrow.

Finatik · Apr 13, 2018

reelss said:
Hi everyone,

New to this forum and to saltwater in general. I got a start in the freshwater world about 9 months ago and have had great success in keeping african cichlids. I still have several freshwater tanks, however, a couple of months ago I decided to try my hand at the saltwater world.

I set up a 20 gallon nano reef with a pair of clownfish and some corals, and soon realized that I wanted more. I am really excited to start this thread as I managed to snag a 120 gallon tank today. And so the build starts in earnest.

This thread will allow me to document my journey, but perhaps more importantly let me ask questions and get guidance from you all as I am still fairly new.

Here is what the set up looked like before the original owner took it down: