Steve's Tank Build

[Scubasteve23]

I thought i would finally start a thread showing my progress of my new 120 gallon build. So far i have ordered my 120 gallon tank, ordered my Aquamedic 48" dual 250W with dual TFs light, got a Scwd for alternating flow, DIY 40 gallon sump, Oceanrunner 3500 return pump, Eshoppes skimmer, and about 45 pounds of new live rock.

Currently I have a 27 Gallon AA bow front tank running a fluval 304 set up. It has the crapiest lighting known to man..a single bulb T8..ouch..ugh. In this tank i have about 35-45 pounds of Liverock and about 35 pounds of live sand. I have 2 Golden Headed Sleeper Gobies, Cleaner Wrasse, 3 blue green Chromis, 1 scooter blenny, 1 cleaner shrimp, 2 peppermint shrimp, 1 green featherduster, 1 coco hawaian feather duster, and of course my cleanup crew of snails and hermits.

And thanks MedHatReefer..aka...Rod.. Biggest help ever..i have learned so much from this guy and has helped me out the entire way so far and i look forward to the continued help.

On with the Pics..................
27 AA tank


cleaner shrimp

golden headed sleeper gobie

27 again


a piece of rock my sis brought me back from Cuba..shh dont tell anyone...haha


more photos to come..thanks for looking so far

[Scubasteve23]

Ok now that i have this photo thing figured out ( thanks griz)

here are some photos of the stand and sump so far

bare 40 gallon tank

glass from the local capital glass store

drawing in the lines for the baffles

taping everything in making sure it is square and where i wanted it, dont judge, this is my first time doing anything with silicone and glass..haha.. all in all i think it went good though



so i thought that i could use this to get into tight spaces...haha..it didnt work so well but i gotr done

finished product..im pretty happy with myself


rock waiting to go in the new tank

so i got a bit ansy waiting for the new tank and didnt want allot of die off...so i came up with this


i put the rock awaiting the new tank in the sump tank with some out of my tank to help it cycle a bit.. i have the return just running from one side of the sump to the other for flow and then i have the skimmer in the middel chamber helping to pull any die off out of the water minimizing the impact the new rock will have on the new tank when all the rock goes in together.


ok the stand..i dont have the 3d renedered drawing as a photo file yet but ill try to get it for you guys maybe by tommorow...basically the stand will be ur typical 2x4 2x6 construction with a really nice face and side topped with a granite inlayed top..i work at a cabinet shop as a designer...haha..oh ya im a drafting engineer....lol.. anyways here are the photos








extra wood...hmmm..what can i do with this...


so i built a stand for my 33 that this build was originally about...haha..what can i say..i got a job and decided to go big..haha

so there they both are..all painted and good to go... 33 is already in use as my temp tank while i await the new 120..more pics soon..stay tuned

[viperfish]

Nice work on the stands. Can't wait to see it all come together.

[The_new_guy]

Lookin good Steve

hahah and I LOVE how innovative you are hahah Especially the dvd cases to help hold the glass in place. I love it

[Scubasteve23]

ok, update...
here are a couple pics of the temp tank holding my cycled live rock and my fishies..haha...oh and a couple pics as promised of the new tank



marking out the holes for the herbie overflow

and of cource....as needed by everyone building a 100 gallon or bigger....


i couldnt resist.....haha..hope anyone who is following along enjoys my stupidity...more photos to come as progress slowly makes its way

[Scubasteve23]

i did run into one problem though, i found that because of how i made the stand i had to turn one of the 2x4 inner legs due to the overflow...otherwise i would have had like a 15" wide by 6" overflow...and that just wouldnt do..so i have moved the 2x4 and now the overflow will only be roughly 12.5" x6"..hey its only 2.5"...but think of how much more coral i can add ...haha...maybe one or two pieces if im lucky...well the tank gets drilled tomorrow so wish me luck..oh any suggestions on the height of glass i should order for the over flow??? the internal measurements from inside to inside is 24"...should i go with like 22.5" you think?? im running a ocean runner 3500 which will put out 3500L/hr or roughly 1000 gallons per hour at aprox 4' of head...any thoughts or advice would be apreciated

[Greenmaster]

Originally Posted by Scubasteve23

.....and of cource....as needed by everyone building a 100 gallon or bigger....

i couldnt resist.....haha..hope anyone who is following along enjoys my stupidity...more photos to come as progress slowly makes its way

Right on. I didn't get a pic of me inside... but the rest of my family was in it
Do you have a stock wish list yet?

[Scubasteve23]

Originally Posted by Greenmaster

Right on. I didn't get a pic of me inside... but the rest of my family was in it
Do you have a stock wish list yet?

Not 100% sure yet, i really want a yellow tang and a sailfin or blue hippo tang.... the tank will gradually become full of coral....not entirely sure as to what...im kinda taking suggestions at this point from anyone wanting to give them.. it will be a mixed tank of sps and lps...for the first while mostly softies, zoas and shrooms for the most part... i will get into some more impressive corals and fish after i get the tank stable for sure...and ideas as to what or how i should do this are welcome.. thanks for the reply and good wishes so far guys

[Scubasteve23]

so tank is all drilled and i now have the glass to do the overflow..if i can get the top piece for the stand tommorw maybe ill be able to get the overflow installed and the tank on the stand...ill update asap with any new changes...oh and i guess my light wont be in for about another 2 weeks so ill have to work on figuring something out in the mean time or have to push the date of completion back a couple weeks well thats all for now..have a good one guys

[Scubasteve23]

so... nothing new to report except because the light wont be in for a couple extra weeks i have decided to take the long weekend and relax and enjoy the local stampede. On the plus side my stand should be done sometime in the next couple days im excited to show you all what i have put allot of time into. its turning out really awesome... tty all lata