SCA 120G - First Saltwater Build

[DC504]

Greetings All,

Well after many years of mulling it over, I decided to go forward on my first saltwater build. After what seems like an eternity of research, purchasing, and waiting for stuff to ship, I'm finally at the point where I've begun the assembly.

Stuff:

SCA 120 G
SCA Glass Sump
SCA - 302 Skimmer
Eheim Jager 300 W Heater (primary)
Eheim Jager 250 W Heater (fail over)
Neptune Apex
Neptune ATK
Neptune PMUP
Cor-20 (return)
Cor-15 (manifold / sump circ)
Neptune WAV x 2
Neptune FMM x 2
Neptune 1 Link Module
Neptune FS-100 (still undecided on placement)
Neptune DOS x 2
AI Hydra 26 HD x 3
Aquatic Life 48" T5 Hybrid
AI Prime Fuge
120 lbs CaribSea Life Rock
80 lbs CaribSea Arag_Alive Fiji Pink

At this point, Neptune Systems owes me stock options (at the very least) if they ever go public

Pics of stuff and build progress to soon follow... Please to feel free to share knowledge and by all means, let me know if I'm doing something wrong!

Regards,
DC

 

[SPR1968]

Sounds great so far and we need lots of pictures!

And welcome to R2R as well, it’s great to have you with us!

 

[DC504]

Some pics...

Tank -


Gutted the SCA sump and reconfigured baffles for a large fuge. New fuge has roughly a 13 gallon capacity.



Drilled back of tank for dual 3/4 inch returns - will touch up paint of course


Mixing Station - Unfortunately outside was my only option. Will be fully enclosed when done



More to come!

 

[DC504]

More random pics. None of this was done in any particular order and most of it isn't complete lol. I just kind of work on what I feel like at the time.

Stand alone bathroom cabinet re-purposed into tank controller cabinet (El Target Especial)

Back


29G QT (Petco dollar/gal sale) - been cycling nearly 4 weeks and just about ready for it's first inhabitants. I figure by the time I get the main DT up, filled, and cycled my quarantine fish should be pretty much done with the observation period.


Canopy - After much debate, I decided to use the canopy verses going open top. The DT is going to reside in my living room and I know the light spillage would have driven me insane. Fortunately, with some careful demolition, I was able to utilize the canopy with the Hydra / T5 Hybrid I decided on. I think it's going to look pretty good once I'm done.



Well that's all for now. Will be working on plumbing the DT for the remainder of the weekend.

 

[DC504]

Finally finished the plumbing...







Leak tested earlier today, so far so good . I'm going to let it soak for a couple of days before I take the victory lap. On to the scape next and honestly, not looking forward to it. I'll spend way to much time on it and I won't like whatever it is I ultimately come up with. I had the same issue with freshwater plants... Never been good at the creative / artistic side of things.

Oh, pretty much finished the t5 hybrid canopy retro.



Cheers!

 

[DC504]

It's been awhile since I last added content, but here are the latest updates on the build.

Scape pics - getting this done was a lot work and undoubtedly my least favorite part of the build so far.






FT and system shots




Sump with some new mods for better flow



First inhabitants - Unfortunately, I'm likely going to lose one of the little clowns


PAR testing and overall tweaking is next... See you soon.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I think the aquascape came out great! Looks very interesting and natural.

 

[DC504]

I think the aquascape came out great! Looks very interesting and natural.

Thank you! To clarify when I said my least favorite part of the build, I was referring to the task not the results. Pretty pleased on how it turned out.

 

[Ibarra_1919]

How much for everything?