Smite's UNS 120s peninsula

Smite

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This will be a down grade from my current 180 gallon system.
20200912_183639.jpg

My 180 has had its ups and downs, I built it tall for viewing but it ended up making cleaning and maintenance harder. My most successful tank was 100g, and a shallow footprint so I decided to go back in that direction.

This time around I want to keep things a little more simple, smaller (fitting my home better) and easier to maintenance.

Tank:
UNS 120s rimless (48x24x15T)/ low iron/ 45 degree mitered edges & MarineDepot's large external overflow
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The clear silicon and mitered edges sold me on this tank. The mitered edges leave very little silicon inside the tank and should be easier to keep clean and not knick up during the process!
Sump:
Bashea Smart Series SMS 3015
These are very well built sumps for the price, extremely pleased with this sump. 3 x 1" drains will allow me to use a Herbie style overflow
20200817_163319.jpg


Custom diy stand:
I'm an impatient person so I'm trying REAL hard to take my time and do this stand right. I've used my router to make all my own trim on the stand and doors. I used and 2x4 frame layout from rocketengineer skinned in poplar. This is my first attempt and building a stand like this but so far I'm good with how it's coming along.

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My current stand has humidity issues that led to surface rust. I didnt want to build a nice stand and slap some vent covers on it, so I'm trying to incorporate some hidden ventilation. For now itll be passive unless I feel it needs more flow down the road. I've cut 1/4" slots above and below my side doors then I took my router and rabbit bit to cut grooves to meet the slots cut in the skin. These will also function as finger grooves to open the doors. If I seal the majority of the stand I hope to get a convection effect where hot air rises, moves out the top slots drawing cold air in from below. I have a game plan to add some CPU fans cleanly if it doesnt cut it.
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Lighting will be 3 x G5 xr30 blues

Flow:
Either m2 vectors or various 6 return
2 x mp40wqd

Filtration
3 x 4 " filter socks
Deltec skimmer (blanking on model #)
Turbo Aquatics L2 ATS
If needed Chaeto Reactor
Carbon reactor

Dosing:
GEO 6x18 with secondary PM chamber
SS regulator built by Alan Le
TLF rebourne media
5lb c02
Kamoer peristaltic pump
Moonshiner's trace element program/ATI ICP and vitamin X
Benepets coral food
Oyster feast
Bright wells aminos 3 x a week

Water:
Brightwell NeoMarine salt
Modified BRS 75gpd RODI
5 micron filter>chloramine monster>carbon block x2 > membrane> DI > spectapure silica buster
50g salt/50g rodi mixing station

Heating and cooling:
I'm going all LED so hopefully CPU fans will handle all cooling
Eheim heater x2

Live stock plans:
SPS dominant with some lps and an anemone and maximal clam
I plan to transfer and modify the right hand side structure in my current system. I want to keep the rock work low to leave room for growth.

Fish I'm still undecided on. I'm not sure I want to take my current fish and downsized thier swimming space. If I start over I'll be going simple and slow trying to keep disease out while watching my nutrients.

More than likely this will be bare bottom so I can crank up the flow and also maintain healthy undersides to colonies. I painted the bottom gloss white to get as much reflection back up as possible.

I need to figure out my electrcial/equipment management and plumbing then I'll be ready to paint! 20200913_180436.jpg
 
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So I've been going back and forth with ideas and not really getting anywhere, but finally pulled the trigger on what I think will work well for management and ventilation under the tank. I plan on getting my first coat of primer on tomorrow morning :D

I ended up making my front section a separate cabinet. I'm going to add a few shelves for test kits, my moonshiner elements, frag supplies, ect.
20200925_191202

I decide go with active cooling/venting under the tank. I've added a false ceiling with cutouts for my fans/grills. I've also framed and connected my electrical compartment to this so it directly vents out the top of the stand slots.
false ceiling/fan cutouts/electrical compartment on right hand side.
20200925_190909

Inside the false ceiling
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The door to the electrical compartment pulls away and will be held with magnets. My plan is to mount my mp40 controllers to the front and my m2(or varios6) controller. My apex display will be mounted somewhere above, either to the external over flow skin or my floating canopy for easy access.
20200925_191014

My plan is to do a coat of behr all purpose int/ext primer and follow it up with behr alkyd semi-gloss white paint to match an existing fireplace trim in the same room. It seems like it should be fairly water resistant.
 
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Well I look like a snowman and my grass hates me but I'm 2 coats of exterior/interior multipurpose primer down and one coat of acrylic white down as well. Tomorrow a.m. I'll sand it down and hit it with another coat if white acrylic. Then, its on to plumbing!

The farther this build gets the more excited I am to see it through.


I've been binged watching house of cards, so I'm pretty stoked on how this is turning out. Maybe I'll set up some uplighting in my floor for it ;Woot
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20200926_165904
This corner had major drips ( i think I used to aggressive of a nozzle) so I grabbed a brush, dipped it in paint and spread it out while it was still wet. I looped back and hit it again with the gun and it flattened out pretty well.
20200926_165910
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@minus9

Thanks, this paint had me worried as it's still slightly sticky 2 days after coat 2. After reading around It sounds like it can take over a week to fully cure so fingers crossed. It seemed a little harder today, less rubbery.

For what its worth I used 3/4 ply and counter sunk coated rare earth magnets for my 180 steel stand. It works great, so hard to pull off it's child proof. There are 6 panels and I can remove everything within a minute for full access under the tank. Keeping them in order is another story thought ;)


I had made up my mind about ditching the closed loop idea but now that's it's getting close to being ready for plumbing I'm second guessing myself. With the peninsula 24x15" wall and large overlow I'm going to be limited to 2 mp40s and maybe a gyre under the overlow.

Only thing holding me back is drilling 4-6 more holes in this tank
 

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@minus9

Thanks, this paint had me worried as it's still slightly sticky 2 days after coat 2. After reading around It sounds like it can take over a week to fully cure so fingers crossed. It seemed a little harder today, less rubbery.

For what its worth I used 3/4 ply and counter sunk coated rare earth magnets for my 180 steel stand. It works great, so hard to pull off it's child proof. There are 6 panels and I can remove everything within a minute for full access under the tank. Keeping them in order is another story thought ;)


I had made up my mind about ditching the closed loop idea but now that's it's getting close to being ready for plumbing I'm second guessing myself. With the peninsula 24x15" wall and large overlow I'm going to be limited to 2 mp40s and maybe a gyre under the overlow.

Only thing holding me back is drilling 4-6 more holes in this tank
Have you considered the Tunze stream 3 on the back wall? That thing moves some serious water and would make a closed loop unnecessary. You could lay it on its side in the back corner and it would push water around your rock work.
 
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Have you considered the Tunze stream 3 on the back wall? That thing moves some serious water and would make a closed loop unnecessary. You could lay it on its side in the back corner and it would push water around your rock work.
That's true. I should if thought of that lol, I run one straight across the back if my 180g. I'll need to find the elbow attachment for it. That'll replace the gyre with way less maintenance, thanks for the idea!
 

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Really nice build! I'm doing something similar. How high are you planning on putting your lights above the water and what kind of system are you using for them? I'm doing a floating light system with 1515 aluminum and I'm debating on what height to go with

Video of the system:
 
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Really nice build! I'm doing something similar. How high are you planning on putting your lights above the water and what kind of system are you using for them? I'm doing a floating light system with 1515 aluminum and I'm debating on what height to go with

Video of the system:

I'm really torn on that actually. The only complaint I get about my current system is light spillage into the living room/dining room so I need to come up with a way to minimize that. Well that and visible cords.

I'm thinking about doing something like in they video you posted but with 2 uprights/arms on either side of my overflow or directly off the wall. That way my stand will still sit flush against the wall. Something with a removable skin to block spillage but still allow me to work in the tank easily. I'd love to figure out how to get it to move up and down on sliders as well but everything I've been looking at on 80/20 inc doesn't seem like it is designed for that purpose/vertical movement.
 
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Well I haven't seen sunset anthias in a LFS near me for what's gotta be 6 years. I went back for plumbing parts yesterday and they were still there and eating pretty well. I set up my QT with new sponge air driven filters, a bio wheel 350 (amazon score for $25?! next day) and added a bag of denitrifying media I've had in my sump for the last 6 months to seed it.

I've matched the super low salinity of my LFS 1.018, floated and dropped the 1/5 sunsets in as well as a small white fin tang. These are some of my dream fish, hopefully this QT period goes well for all of them.

For now I'm just watching and going to make sure they continue eating. My goal for the QT process is to rid the fish of internal parasites, flukes and any chance or uronema for the anthias. I'm not concerned about ich, I feel in a properly stocked tank with good feeding and uv it never really presents itself so I don't see the need to put the fish through a harsh treatment in QT, specifically when I do no QT corals and inverts.

I didn't want to bug the little boogers to bad so here are some crappy pics, I'll get good ones once they settle in:
5 females
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1 male
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Nervous about qt with the white tail. I've lost one before, and a kole and tomini. They seem to just endlessly rub on the glass unless they have something to pick at. I may place a toss away rock in there from my sump for that purpose.
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Fish list is basically these with fish that will come from my 180g I'm going to update this with current fish pictures:
6 sunsets
1 white tail tang
1 blue star leopard old pic
DSC_0643 by
1 moyeri leopard wrasse
1 Bangaii cardinal CB by a friend of mine

1 cleaner wrasse
2 davinci x something or other clownfish
DSC_0526

I would love to add:
choati wrasse
if I go sand, pistol x goby
possum wrasse
 

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Nice! I've been holding out for some Ignitus anthias or Fusilier damsels (whatever I find first), but the sunsets are nice. That's a good list of fish. Love Wetmorella's, just lost my Tanaka to old age, really miss that guy, super cool fish.
 
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Nice! I've been holding out for some Ignitus anthias or Fusilier damsels (whatever I find first), but the sunsets are nice. That's a good list of fish. Love Wetmorella's, just lost my Tanaka to old age, really miss that guy, super cool fish.
I had a yellow band possum wrasse in my first SW nano, love how they make their way through the water. Sorry to hear, those Tanaka variations are gorgeous. I'd never heard of Fusilier damsels, pretty cool looking! Are they still aggressive?
 

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