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Moving a 120 gal tank any advise
Hey everyone I guess I will make this thread my intro to the forum, I've been brousing for a while now but have finally taken the plunge.
I have recently purchased a 120 gal “reef” setup. At the moment it really is a FOLWR but it has a few remaining coral pieces and a couple small fish and inverts. The tank itself has an over flow on the right side and a drilled 1” drain on the upper left side. Both drains feed into a 50gal sump w/ skimmer and Mag drive 12 return pump. The tank is also set up with a closed-loop system with a snapper pump however the pump housing will need to be replaced so the system is currently shut off with ball valves. The current lighting is a single 250 watt HQI pendent fixture with led moon lights. After reading a bit on moving tanks and marine life I figure the best way is to move the livestock and as much LR, sand and water into an empty 30 gal tank with a few power heads and the light. The remaining sand, LR and water can then just be stored in some large containers (garbage cans) with an air stone and power head until the tank is set up at my house. I figure I should be able to have the tank up and running in a week or two. The stand is in need of some pant to hide the 70s wood grain and the tank itself could use a good scraping and reseal the bulk heads. There are probably a number of other items I will have to figure out before I fill the tank but it should only be down for a couple of weeks. Once the tank is moved to its final location I figure I should be able to add all the sand, LR and water I have stored in the garbage cans and top off the remaining water with new. At this point I will bring the water in the tank up to temperature and make sure water parameters normalize (ph and salinity). I assume the tank will probably go through a mini cycle at this point since there will be a small amount of die off from the LR and sand. Once the cycle is complete I will move the contents of the 30 gal to the 120. I figure this arrangement will have the least effect on the inhabitants of the tank and should minimize any losses. If anyone has any pearls of wisdom to add I am all ears. As this is my first plunge into marine aquariums I’m sure the learning curve is going to be steep. I will also add pics of the tank as I go through the move, it should be interesting. |
when your moving stuff into the 30 g scrap the sand as its only a temp home and use rock that isnt in sand and it will hep moving it over:)
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Thanks for the reply I will only be storing the LR that has any life attached to it and will avoid the sand, and will definately leak test befor filling that would suck to find out later that a bulk head on the bottom the tank hasn't sealed.
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Moving day has finally arived, if all goes to plan by the end of the day today everything will be moved except the tank and stand and the temp tank will be up and running. Woo Hoo
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Alright an update from the weekend and the first couple of days with the new tank. The new tank is in the carport waiting for a good cleaning and the stand is being sanded and ready for paint. Will have to wait untill weather warms up overnight before painting. the temp 30 gal is up and running "bare bottom" with as much live rock as i could fit in it. The fish seam to be doing well and the coral have survived the move looks like things are going well.
Here are a few shots of the tank and the equipment and plumbing enjoy:) |
looks like I cant upload any more photos, weird. The tank is a 120 gal as the title suggests 4'x2'x2'. It is currently drilled for a 2" overflow box on the right and a 1" drain upper left. Three holes were drilled in the bottom for the closed loop returns, the inlet was originally plumed in over the top. I plan on keeping the three bottom returns for the close loop as they are but I think I will move the inlet to the 1" left drain location. This means I will be drilling the back of the tank to increase the hole size up to the 2" for the snapper pump. The return pump from the sump is the mag drive 12 so at 5-6ft of head it will only be pushing 1000gph so the overflow with 2" drain should be plenty. The curent close loop return has one return on each side coming up from the bottom at 45 deg and a spray bar running between them. I like this setup as I think it will increase flow through the display rock and by moving the inlet through the back of the tank will be a beter visual. The sump just needs a good cleaning and it should be good to go.
weather permitting the stand should be inplace this weekend with the sump. The tank will have to wait untill I can get a large enough hole saw but in the mean time I can clean it up and get it ready. Then I can start looking into the lighting. The PO found a second MH pod but the coil is gone in the ballast so if I can get ahold of a replacement coil I will be running 2 - 250watt MHs. Should be good enough to start. |
After your move, I suggest you at least double up on your lighting. It looks like your anenome is bleached. They have zooxanthelea just like the stony coral and need intensive lighting.
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Put it on wheel's and tow it :P sorry
had to put my two silly sense in |
Thanks for the input. I figured that since the light intensity is a function of the tank depth and most comercial MH light fixtures are equipped with 250 watt MH I assumed that the location in the tank would ie distance from the fixture would dictate quantity of light available to the coral. so basicly if i have 4 - 250 watt pendants over my tank I may be able to grow SPS coral at the lowest point in the tank but with the 2 I currently have I should be able to grow SPS at the top and leathers and lower light coral near the bottom. On a side note the anenome has desided it didn't like its current location and has relocated itself to a lower light sheltered area of the tank. so I will watch its colour over the next few days and see if there are any changes.
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From the sounds of it you bought Lego's tank, which used to belong to heyfredyourhat. Those were their screen names anyways.
Two 250W pendants should be fine to grow anything anywhere in a tank that size. The quality of the reflector will make a big difference though. |
I think the tank has been around for a while but a little TLC and it should be back in business. As far as the lighting goes that is kinda what I figured, at this point I have the one pendant over the 30 gal temp tank and judging by how well it lights up the room there should be plenty of light with 2 on 120 gal.
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Just a quick update on the progress.
The stand has been sanded and painted and the tank cleaned up. I just dropped off the tank to have the holes for the close loop and left drain drilled so I should be able to pick the tank up tomorrow. I have all the bulk heads I will need so it is just a matter of plumbing everything up. Hopefully I will be able to leak test everything next week and move the tank into the house on the following weekend. |
update for this week, All the holes have been drilled, and the stand has been painted. I've also just built my 2 overflow overflow boxes so hopefully this weekend I will get those installed. I have also got the plan together for the plumbing layout for the close loop and 2 drains so I will be picking up some plumbing supplies tomorrow. I will try and get some pics up of the progress.
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Here we go, here are the first photos since the tank was in my hands. I will upload some more up to date photos of the panted stand and the new plumbing.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream |
couple of shots from yesterday. I still have to paint the back of the tank, and finish up the plumbing.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream |
The painted stand is a big improvement. Do you plan on adding some doors to the front? I remember Jason had just used a window blind to cover the opening.
Useless fun fact for today: The skimmer waste collector was built by Lance and has been passed around town a bit over the years. |
Yes I plan on building some doors for the stand, they will have to wait though because I have to build some doors for some other shelving units in the house so I will build them all together. Good to know about that skimmer it may be old but it still works well.
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So this tank move has turned into more of a tank "build" however on the plus side I now have a crash course in reef keeping. So far no losses in the temp 30 gal and have learned a few leasons on "scaping". I am now starting to see some good blue coraline growth and the coral that came with the tank has even seen some growth although I am gurently battling with hair algea which I think Im winning that one.
The 120gal is now in the house on the stand and plumbed, I'm waiting on a seal kit for the snapper so hopfully that will be comming shortly. The old live rock is cycling away in a rubermade bin so once that is complete it will be time to fill up the tank again. I ended up modifying the sump to relocate the skimmer to the drain side and added some baffles for a bubble trap and to keep the water level uniform at the skimmer. At this time I have also raised the skimmer about 5" off the bottom the sump. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream |
Its recommended not to use ABS plumbing on our aquariums. During manufacturing they add something to the plastic to inhibit the growth of bacteria on the pipe. Its not a really potent effect so you can get away with a little but it might not be a good idea to have all of your plumbing done with it. If I didn't need to leave for work right away I'd find some information for you... but I'm running short on time so maybe someone else will chime in.
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Not really what I wanted to hear but...
The overflow drains are mostly PVC rated for potable water. The issue i ran into was on the closed loop where the bonding of PVC pipe to ABS fittings (PVC fitting selection is limited in town) resulted in leaks so I changed all the PVC pipe to ABS and no more leaks, searching the internet resulted in more rumors some people use it with no issues some people prefir to use only PVC. The PVC is rated for potable water but in the actual amount of ABS im using the benifit of a quality connection out weighs the leaching of any chemicals in my mind. I have also run it for a few weeks with fresh water completely draining the tank several times and I will probably do it again now that its in the house as one final leak test. I also dont notice any odor from the pipe now that it has been thouroughly flushed, at the time when cutting the two different pipes the ABS smelt slightly worse then the PVC but at the same time melted PVC is still not healthy. Quote:
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Here is a post from another forum just some food for thought
Still doing some reseearch on the ABS pipe subject and found this, hope it is helpful to someone: I pinched it off http://www.reefaquariumguide.com...... so black ABS pipe is bad? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- been doing a little reading and see some people are against using the black abs pipe out of fear of leaching something into the tank ABS pipe is black rigid, non-pressurized plastic pipe used to drain your sinks, tubs, showers, toilet and washing machines. It is also used to vent the drain and waste pipes. is there another black pipe not ABS? that is safe to use? a quote from reef central on black ABS pipe safety Quote: just got a reply from a abs manufacturer: Please find the attached with regards to the ABS request you had. For your information we have never heard of any leaching from ABS system. <> Kevin Webb Ph: 905-403-0264 Fx: 905-403-9195 kevweb@ipexinc.com IPEX Inc. ~ Clarkson i checked with ips (the makers o weld- on products),and ALL of there ABS cements are suitable for potable water .however,some of their cements,in particular some of those used for flexible pvc,are NOT safe for potable water.be carful what you pick weld on 795 ,both blu and clear are not safe weld on 747 is safe here is more stuff: ABS (acrylonitrile butadíene styrene) is an extremeiy robust thermoplastic pipework system used by many industries in systems for food and beverage production, sewerage and water treatment etc. ABS is extremely resistant to impact with good resistance to chemicals, is non-toxic, conforming to the toxicological requirements of the British Piastic Federation, British Industriai Biological Research Association Code of Practice for Food Usage 45/5, and EEC requirements for piastic materials in contact with foodstuffs. These systems are light, strong and simple to fit using a solvent cement. and this 'chemical resistance guide for water potable materials notice that abs is rated the same as pvc cpvc...A Thermoplastics PVC A CPVC A Polypropylene (PP) A Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) A Polyethylene (PE) Polyethylene Cross-Linked (XLPE) Teflon A ABS A Gaskets SBR A Viton A EPDM A Neoprene A Buna N (Nitrile) A Hypalon Alloys 316 Stainless Steel A 304 Stainless Steel A Titanium Hastelloy C |
Andrew Sherrit has pretty good selection and pricing for PVC. Have you been going there or somewhere else?
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I ended up going all over however the most conveinient for me up the hart was the home hardware. Afterlooking for a few harder to find pieces I did hear about Andrew Sherrit. Probably should have started there but now i know.
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Its been a while sice my last post but not much has really happened. Work has been crazy so things have been on hold at the moment.... however this week started off with some "forced progress" as my "temp" 29gal desided to give out at 12:30am monday morning. The bottom of the tank cracked end to end luckily I was still up and managed to have only a "few" gallons of water hit the floor. In the 120 I will be placing egg crate on the bottom for sure now, lesson learned. Luckily I have been cycling the remainder of the liverock in rubbermaids so a quick check of temp and salinity and all the live stock from the 29 has been placed in the tubs wich will likely help with the cycling of the liverock. After 3 days no losses and am getting some extension of the coral, so far so good for the getto reef.
As for the 120, this week I have wired a new circut so now I have 15 amps dedicated to the 120 and the seal kit for the snapper came in so I installed that, so it looks like there will be water in the tank in the next few weeks. Have to start figureing out how I want the rock laid out now, still now sure exactly how I want it to look. |
Are you putting some ridged Styrofoam between the tank and stand as well?
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I wasnt going to since the tank actually sits on the brack plastic trim around the edge, if the glass sat directly on the stand then for sure I would, th other reason I,m not too worried about this one is the thickness of the glass, the 29 gal had 3/16 or so thick glass and I had it stuffed with rock upwards of 50 to 60 pounds granded the 120 will have closer to 100 lbs it will be spead out more. however I am now thinking about the foam suggestion.... hmm
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Did Levis have styrofoam underneath it? If the sides of the tank go farther down than the bottom peice than I wouldnt use foam. If it's totally flat all the way across the bottom than you'll be fine.The reason being is that the bottom is designed to have a little flex in it. If you put that foam in there the sides sink in further and take away that flex and the bottom will crack.
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Total Pet had a large tank (180gal maybe?) in their store for a few months that had a black plastic bottom trim and sat on an uneven metal stand. The first time they filled it the bottom cracked immediately. In some cases putting a layer of rigged Styrofoam underneath is necessary. The rest of the time its just a good precaution.
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Water is in the tank!!! No leaks so far....now to figure out what to do with the wavey sea module, it works perfect when its apart but as soon as it goes back together it starts skipping...I think it is a lack of lube on the sealing surface between the two halfs unfortunately I do not know of a water safe lube.. oh yeah and I guess my snapper pump has the AO Smith motor so it sounds like I have a hot tub not a fish tank. Ah well I'll let it run for a couple of days, drain it and refill with salt water.
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So my reeflo snapper has developed another leak at the input shaft after only a couple days use so after talking with reflo today I will be shipping it to them to have the beaings in the motor replaced (if anything it should be silent as new), resealed and tested. The customer service at Reflo is great.
On a side note is there such thing as too much flow? I am tossing the idea around of having reeflo replace the impeller with dart impeller (since it will be there already) so instead of 2,200 gal/hr on the closed loop I could get 3,900 gal/hr, that would give me 47 turn overs per hour versus the current 33. Any thoughts this? |
You dont need to send it away to have the bearing replaced. I got one from Oceans Aquatics and it was really easy to replace on my Reeflo Hammerhead. Took 5 mins maybe at the most.
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Whats your flow?
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...highlight=flow 47x sounds good to me. I knew OA had seal kits but I had no idea about motor bearings and I don't see anything on their website. Bill, are you sure you're talking about the same thing? |
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Thanks for the input guys unfortunately the pump is already in the mail. I will see about the impeller and wether or not it can just be replaced with the dart one to boost the performance.
I'm making a little more progress and tonight I started doing a little scaping now that the tank is full of salt water and up to temp. I will upload a couple photos tomorow. |
Here are a couple shots of some preliminary rock work.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/7697788...in/photostream |
Speaking from experience here. You might want to try a peice of acrylic rather than the eggcrate. If you have alot of flow on the sandbed the eggcrate starts to get exposed. It sticks out like a sore thumb and looks really bad and if you suffer from even a little bit of OCD like most of us that have SW tanks it'll bug the crap out of you. I personally dont have anything other than sand on my tank bottom and have never had a problem and this is my 6th (i think) setup.
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Acrilic would be nice however the dollar figure on that stuff is pretty steep. I made my mind up about having something between the glass bottom and rock though a couple weeks ago when the bottom of the 29 gal tank blew out. I was also thinking of just trimming back the egg crate to the base of the rock so open areas, where sand might have a tendancy to get swept away, would be free from egg crate so it might not show up. Not too worried about having the rock fall on the glass, since the base rock is stable and any spindly stuff will eventually be epoxied in place, more just a percausion and to distribute the weight a little bit.
Ok and an update on the pump, so reflo is going to swap out the impeller for the Dart so my final flow numbers will be approximately 5600 gal/hr for 46 turn overs/hr. woo hoo. Any SPS will be happy there. |
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