badAZZlars' 125 sps reef build (Updated FTS)

[The Grizz]

Looking good man!!

[lastlight]

Very nice looking so far! Looks like a lot of rock in that badboy.

[dave_C]

Originally Posted by badAZZlars

This is an initial shot at getting the base aquascaping in. The end result is bound to look quite a bit different as I still have 50lbs of live rock to add to the system once its flowing.

Also I got the back of the tank painted black...

Hay Mike you may want to spin the sump around before you do your pumping lol the filter socks on the outside will be way easier to take out and clean

[badAZZlars]

Originally Posted by The Grizz

Looking good man!!

Thanks Greg, stand is working out well. I'm really glad we went with flat bottom and no feet. I would have next to no room under the tank if we hadn't done that.

[badAZZlars]

Originally Posted by conceptaquariums

Hay Mike you may want to spin the sump around before you do your pumping lol the filter socks on the outside will be way easier to take out and clean

Great point!!! It will make it alot easier to plumb the return lines as well.

Thanks for the heads up.

[badAZZlars]

Originally Posted by lastlight

Very nice looking so far! Looks like a lot of rock in that badboy.

Yeah it is alot of rock, I ordered too much. You get alot of bang for your buck when you buy dry rock. I didn't realize it would amount to so much. I have even left some out of the tank that I got in my order. Maybe it will end up in the sump.

[lastlight]

Make sure it's accessible. I have maybe 30 lbs in mine but I can't really get to it and stuff does accumulate there. More so now that I'm not running filter socks.

[badAZZlars]

Got the plumbing all done. Went pretty well for my first time. Haven't leak tested it yet but i'm pretty confident it should be fine.

[badAZZlars]

Tank is up and running!!!

There were a couple of leaks but just on the threaded joints with teflon tape. Glued joints all seem good.

I was quite surprised at the level of evaporation after the first full day of running the system. Almost 8 litres over 24hrs. The sump compartment that my return pump is in will go dry within 2 days at that rate so I will be needing to get an ATO working right away. I'd say that even after a day and a half the pump would start sucking air.

Also I added the filter socks to the sump and even though they were cleaned first they made the skimmer go crazy. Gonna run them through another cycle in the washer before trying them again.

[The Grizz]

Once you close in the stand Mike it will help some what with the amount of evap. not a lot but some and an ATO is always a good idea. My ATO consists of a 5 gal bucket, my kitchen sink and my 2 arms ATM