My First Saltwater Tank - 120G in NJ

[Nijessi]

OK -- Its time. The stars have aligned and I have gotten out of my own way. Plus, my spouse has been won over I'm going to be embarking into the world of reefing.

Taking the advice I've seen throughout this forum I am going to outline my plans here and I welcome feedback or suggestions. I try to measure twice and cut once whenever I can.

I plan on keeping corals and a variety of fish - I'm prefer having smaller and medium sized fish for schools and pairs rather than specific large fish.The fish that have caught my eye so far: clowns (I love them), Mandarin, and tangs. As for corals - I love movement and a torch coral is what sparked me to reconsider getting into saltwater. I'm still learning about the different kinds of corals but so far torches and (strangely) green star are my faves. OH I should also mention that my husband is obsessed with puffer fish. I'm not and I think that it would be problematic with coral but I promised I would mention it in case someone had some guidance.

On the the proposed setup -- this is where I really need some eyeballs to make sure I'm being smart in what I'm ordering. I am going with a larger tank so budget is going to be limited for more high end components. My plan is to put in the size tank I want, start basic with components/livestock, and upgrade parts overtime. Aside from where noted I have not pulled the place order trigger yet.

Tank:
120 gallon SC Aquarium - internal overflow (need to be as flush as possible) herbie style drain

Sump:
RUBY SUMP 36 -- I'm still unsure on this one. I am fairly certain I want to go the refugium route (given then desire for mandarins) -- unsure on the proper size for my intended tank

Return Pump:
Eheim - Compacton 5000

Powerheads:
IceCap 4K GYRE FLOW PUMP WITH DUAL PUMP WIFI CONTROLLER (4000 GPH) - I was thinking a decent Gyre (or 2) could hold me over until I can upgrade to several Vortech MPs. Though I don't love the idea of wires coming out of the DT.

Heater:
250W EHEIM JAGER AQUARIUM HEATER x2

Lights:
Maxspect RAZOR X R5 200W LED FIXTURE

ATO:
Tunze OSMOLATOR UNIVERSAL 3155 AUTO TOP OFF

Skimmer:
Classic 152-S 6" Internal Protein Skimmer

RODI:
Aquatic Life 100gpd -- I already have this setup with a 35 gallon container. I'm getting 1 on my TDS meter...Do I need to add another stage or is 1 ok...

That is what I have so far. Thoughts? Anywhere I can save some cash at this initial build or anything that is under-tuned for the setup? Anything I'm overlooking to get up and cycling?

 

[ichthyogeek]

The Problem with Puffers, isn't really that they'll go after corals, but more that they're high-waste fish (one is more than enough to fuel a continuous macroalgae bloom in a 29 gallon tank), and they'll go after the invertebrates associated with the tank; in other words: no clams, no ornamental shrimp, replace your clean up crew often (they will go after them!), no stars, no urchins, etc etc etc. The larger non-toby puffers will also not hesitate to take chunks out of other fish. That being said, ask your husband about his thoughts on toby puffers. If you're willing to have a good protein skimmer and a refugium (which would also serve triple duty as a food source for the tangs, and a food source for the dragonets), it's not improbable to keep tobys. They do puff up, but only when stressed (and if he's obsessed with the pufferfish "puffing up," I'm sure there's a kid's toy that does it without stressing a fish out). And it's a real pain to have to "depuff" a puffer that's swallowed air.

You can pair clowns, and mandarins as well. Look into PaulB's mandarin feeder, it works very, very well.

I am not an equipment sort of person, but do you really need (4000/120 ~=) 33x tank turnover? What are you aiming for with the stony corals? Are you looking into getting acroporas (which may necessitate that much turnover or more)? Or more LPS? I don't think that torch corals really need that much flow...and if you're planning to upgrade the tank, eventually, why not save the money used for the gyre pump thing, and just get a pair of (significantly cheaper) powerheads?

 

[Nijessi]

I think he likes the puffers unpuffed - he just likes their doofy faces. I'm a big fan of the clean up crew so I think this may be a no go.... I'll just get him a brackish tank and he can get little green puffers.

I thought that one gyre at ~$200 would be less than 2 powerheads? If not I'm happy to go that route. What powerheads are you using?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Puffers are best in fish only tank setups. theyre clumsy and will not hesitate to pull out a piece of food that landed on a coral damaging it Unintentionally

 

[ichthyogeek]

They do, indeed, have doofy faces. Why not get him a freshwater tank and he can get the dwarf puffers?

I use the cheap kind I can buy on Amazon

 

[Nijessi]

I've been so hobby/LFS obsessed I didn't even think to troll Amazon for some of the components...Especially since my long term plan is to upgrade each piece over time after initial setup.

 

[Nijessi]

Update: Worked with Steve at SC Aquariums and it is official. My 120G tank and stand has been ordered!!

 

[Nijessi]

So I came across a Facebook marketplace post that was intriguing. Someone purchased a house and apparently it was stocked up with several saltwater aquariums built in with all components as well. The buyer isn't an aquarium person and has been trying to remove things and get rid of them. I will be stopping by tomorrow to see if there are any bits I can pick up to use! I'll update with what I find!

 

[Nijessi]

My visit to the Facebook find was't terribly successful. Most of the equipment was older and had been sitting for 4 years O_O I got a couple of pumps -- which I think are Danner magnetic pumps? They were being used in this 180G setup. I also grabbed a couple little air pumps for use in QTs.

He had a bunch of other things that I didn't pickup as well - an old reactor, sump, skimmer, chiller - they just looked like they might be too big for my needs and they definitely needs some serious TLC.....I have photos of that stuff as well if anyone is interested.

I don't know if the danner pumps will be usable as my return or if I'll use them in my RODI/Mixing setup. Thoughts?

 

[paintman]

Welcome! Curious to know where Southhampton NJ is. I live in Northern Hunterdon County. Have you been over to njreefers.org?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Try cleaning the pumps in citric acid (there's a great post somewhere on here on why citric acid vs vinegar), and then they'll be fit for mixing salt. I personally wouldn't use them as a return pump, since you don't know how old they are.

 

[Nijessi]

Welcome! Curious to know where Southhampton NJ is. I live in Northern Hunterdon County. Have you been over to njreefers.org?

It's in Burlington County -- I'm nestled in between Medford, Lumberton, and Mt. Laurel. I just learned about the NJ Reef club today! I'm going to be signing up and introducing myself there shortly

 

[Nijessi]

Try cleaning the pumps in citric acid (there's a great post somewhere on here on why citric acid vs vinegar), and then they'll be fit for mixing salt. I personally wouldn't use them as a return pump, since you don't know how old they are.

I'll try cleaning them up tomorrow and I'll get to testing them for mixing.

 

[Nijessi]

For lighting since I'm just getting started I'm thinking I should pick between the Aquatic Life Hybrid T5 and the Maxspect RAZOR X R5. Anyone have any experience with either of these lights?

 

[Nijessi]

New tank is on a truck in CA and moving!

Also to assuage my husband's concerns we have a structural engineer coming by today to double check that the floor will support the new tank, hard wood stand, and sump. While I'm still deciding on which sump to order is a 40g suml for a 120g tank a fair estimate just for purposes of discussion with the engineer?

 

[Nijessi]

Ugh -- so we had a structural engineer come out today to check the house to assuage my husband's concerns. The engineer said we should do a significant amount of support - which wouldn't be too difficult except one side has an HVAC return and a drain pipe from the 1/2 bath. I might even be tempted to move ahead with that spot anyway but the joists run parallel with the tank there. Does anyone else have larger tanks on their first floor above a basement with parallel joists? Had any issues? Used anyone affordable to reinforce?

The other 2 options now are to put it in the entryway so it is still a visual piece for our first floor - I'm leaning to this, it would be perpendicular to multiple joists and would be easy to reinforce in the crawl space if needed. BUT there wouldn't be a place to sit and look at the tank. It would be standing only. Not what I had envisioned but still adds to the aesthetic of the house and would be accessible for maintenance, etc. The 2nd option would be to put it in the basement where we have a room that is currently our exercise room. I would move my office down there so that I get the benefit of being able to enjoy the tank in my office where I'm spending the majority of the time recently. Down there it would be on concrete and should I decide I want additional tanks in the future I have an office/fish room that can accommodate.....but then the tank isn't in a central area for others to enjoy.

I'm so torn on this....I wish I could have it in the great room but dealing with support columns and having to work around or even move plumbing is going to be way to expensive......Feeling a little disheartened but trying to find the best path forward.

 

[paintman]

What is the span of the floor joist where the tank will be sitting. You can't put a couple of lolly colums and a support beam in the basement under the tank? I moved my tank to the basement years ago. Best thing I ever did! Tank stays cool in the summer.
Engineers are a waste of your time. I found out the hard way when we built our house 20 years ago. we are still paying the price for his " F ups"Get a general contractor to come in a find a solution.
pics would help

 

[Nijessi]

So here is a picture of the area where I wanted to put it. We would move the rats and the chair obviously

Here is the area in the basement. The joist run parallel to the tank above.

 

[paintman]

Is the tank going to sit directly above the AC duct work? Looks to me like you can shot a couple of columns up and catch the floor joists. Maybe a couple on each side of the duct. You would have to support at least the 2 joist nearest the block wall. Re-route your white waste pipe(put a jog in it) and put a column to the right of the duct to catch the first joist. Catch the second joist with a coulmn on the left and right of the duct. Would look hookey but it would work.
If your really wanted to beef up those joists, you could bolt 1/2 inch steel finch plates to them.

 

[paintman]

Another thought...............Why couldn't you build a false 2x4 wall, If you could just catch that first joist off the block wall you would be good to go. Might have to have a plumber move the waste and copper pipes around a bit so you can gain access to the joist, but to me it would be worth it.