Reefaddict29er's 125 gallon Upgrade

[reefaddict29er]

Hey everyone,

This is my first attempt at a tank journal so I will do my best to keep this updated.

I moved into an apartment a couple years ago and decided to take a break from the hobby. After getting the itch to start up a new tank I decided to try an AIO tank for the first time. I figured get something easy, low maintenance, and overall "simple"


Red Sea Max 250 White




Unfortunately, the AIO experiment lasted only 3 months. Although the tank looked great, I was frustrated daily with the stock skimmer and the lack of ability to add additional equipment.

So here we go...

Specs (so far):

- 125 gallon concept starfire tank 60"L x 24"W x 20"H
- 50 gallon concept sump 36"L x 18"W x 18"H
- Spit.fire custom steel stand and light hangers
- Vertex Omega 150 skimmer (for now)
- Vertex 3.0 Zeo reactor
- Laguna Max-Flow 2000 return pump
- IM HydroFill ATO controller and pump
- IM Hydrofill ATO reservoir
- 60" ATI LED Powermodule Hybrid 8 bulb T5

Production/install goes to spit.fire

Custom steel stand is ready for powder coating.




Its here...



Light hangers up...




I gotta say this light is a beast. Very impressed by the power and it's a very slick looking fixture. The LED clusters are very bright. I have a feeling I'll be running these at 50%








Now for the display...




The tank is 3-side starfire with a starfire eurobrace. External over flow set up for Herbie drain. Black bottom with a black acrylic wall.

[reefaddict29er]

Lights on..




Very clean plumbing job. 3 head PVC manifold installed to make the addition of another reactor much easier down the line.

Plumbing and tubing done in white to go with the stand.





Water is in!




Custom white filter sock holder and filter sock compartment door. fabricated by spit.fire



More custom work done. This time a couple filter sock silencers fabricated and installed. These are just prototypes .

The stock sump was rather noisy. The tank is in my living room and the sound of falling water was a distraction.

Thankfully, between the compartment door and the silencers this tank is almost completely silent other than the hum of the skimmer.

[reefaddict29er]

Got some live rock from a fellow canreef member and after an acid bath/bleach treatment, it's in the tank. Still gonna need a lot more rock.

Also, IM HydroFill ATO system installed. Very nice looking controller and pump. The reservoir is only 5 gallons but it is nice. I may eventually keep the reservoir beside the tank on the outside if I run out of room in the stand. Luckily its pretty slick looking so it wouldn't be an eye sore.

The ATO itself works great. The high/low sensors are a bit pointless in my opinion. Keeping the salinity as stable as possible is the point of the ATO in the first place not sure why you would want to leave such a gap in the sensors to allow any excess evaporation. I pretty much have the sensors aligned. The pump itself is very similar to the aqua-lifter. Built in check valve to prevent back siphoning. (Will post pics of the actual controller, pump, and reservoir)

[reefaddict29er]

The tank has been running for a couple weeks now and I've decided to buy some vinyl and attempt to wrap my sump. It would've been a lot easier to do this before the install but will try to work around it.




I was lucky enough to find some dry rock from another fellow canreef member. Some nice pieces and just the right amount I was looking for to start building some rock structures.




I've always done my aquascape by stacking the rock "nicely", however this time I decided to try to make my own structures using Reef Crest Aqua Weld Pro.

The product was very easy to use. Very forgiving. Dried and harden quickly. And most importantly held together very well without any mess.








Rock structures in!

[reefaddict29er]

Once again a fellow canreef member came to the rescue and helped put together some panels for the stand on very short notice. Always such helpful individuals on this forum and hobby in general.

I decided to go with the Red Sea Reefer look.

[Skimmer Juice]

very nice , loving the scape .

[Myka]

I like the rock scape too! The stand panels look very nice - I did similar for my stand too. Are they held on with magnets?

Did you put anything between the stand/sump and your floor?

[reefaddict29er]

Originally Posted by Skimmer Juice

very nice , loving the scape .

Thanks!

[reefaddict29er]

Originally Posted by Myka

I like the rock scape too! The stand panels look very nice - I did similar for my stand too. Are they held on with magnets?

Did you put anything between the stand/sump and your floor?

Thanks Mindy!

Panels are held in place by French cleats. Much more stable than magnets and the panels always line up. The actual cleats are a very nice design and low profile. I'll admit tho...I am missing how easy it is to pop off panels held by magnets.

And no I dont have anything between the stand/sump and the floor.

[WarDog]

Everything looks awesome.... except for that hairy guy in your stand.