Nicks 120 tank build/fish room upgrade (diy)

nrosdal · #1 10-27-2011, 03:54 PM

this is about the time that i decided i wanted a fuge and a little more room to work on things (and noticed i had a storage room on the other side of the wall that the tank is against).

Here is the sump as it was under the tank

and the other side, with the acrylic great little box that formerly housed the ATS and also inspired some of the handy work that is to come in this thread.

a pic of the (very messy) soon to be fish room

lastlight · #2 10-27-2011, 04:00 PM

That Vlamingi displaces more water than all your live rock.

nrosdal · #3 10-27-2011, 07:28 PM

yes, that fish was quite something... i got it as a baby and had it for a good 4-5 years. He was about 15" when he stopped eating and was floating the next day... not sure what got him and was very surprised as it was a very resilient fish especially early on when i was not properly caring for then environment he was in. The wife took it pretty hard... but it is known to happen in the hobby... not much can be done to stop it.

nrosdal · #4 10-28-2011, 04:52 AM

since i am kinda cheap and i have used one of these boxes before with success i decided to make my sump/fuge/skimmer compartment out of them

just take off the handles and drill a couple holes and here is the new sump

and a new fuge

and a dry fit and cut to size to see how my intakes were going to look and if i needed to change plans.

here is what i was planning initially.. to have the sump under and the other parts draining straight down into it.. but i decided not to do so due to the fact that i would like easy access to vac out sump and do pump maintenance.

Madreefer · #5 10-28-2011, 05:38 AM

You might want to make sure those plastic boxes are food safe. I was using a back plastic garbage can for an ATO resevoir. It held only fresh water with a clear hose that ran to my sump. After 3 years I noticed the inside of the hose turning black. Which makes me believe that it started to break down and leach in to the water.

nrosdal · #6 10-28-2011, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madreefer

You might want to make sure those plastic boxes are food safe. I was using a back plastic garbage can for an ATO resevoir. It held only fresh water with a clear hose that ran to my sump. After 3 years I noticed the inside of the hose turning black. Which makes me believe that it started to break down and leach in to the water.

i have had a clear one running alongside my sump for a couple years and have nots had any issues yet... the only one that i am relatively new with is the black one... but as far as i can tell they are just acrylic.... it has been running a few months now and i have not had any issues so far(knock on wood).

nrosdal · #7 10-28-2011, 06:52 AM

then arrived my long awaited order of filter socks/sediment pre filters/a couple empty cartriges for my rowaphos

here are the nice new cartriges flushed and ready to go in (sediment pre filers are changed every 10 days on average but can go up to a month before clogging).

nrosdal · #8 10-28-2011, 05:49 AM

here is the room all cleaned out. i fastened the plywood to the walls so that i would have something to screw into when mounting electrical ect. Without having to hammer drill everything.

as you can see, the stands are facing out so that the sump will be in front of them and the fuge/skimmer tanks will be sitting above and draining right into it.

here is where i am mounting a couple 15amp plugs each on separate breakers. Also am running the 1/4" water line for the ATO

MarkoD · #9 03-27-2012, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nrosdal

yes, that fish was quite something... i got it as a baby and had it for a good 4-5 years. He was about 15" when he stopped eating and was floating the next day... not sure what got him and was very surprised as it was a very resilient fish especially early on when i was not properly caring for then environment he was in. The wife took it pretty hard... but it is known to happen in the hobby... not much can be done to stop it.

do you honestly not know why your tang died?

did you maybe think it died from being a tank thats too small for it?

nrosdal · #10 03-28-2012, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkoD

do you honestly not know why your tang died?

did you maybe think it died from being a tank thats too small for it?

i have no idea why...i had it for years and it survived power outages and bad water early in its life but later on it had more open room and better water quality then it ever did and went from healthy one day to not eating and dead the next...

there is not really a disease fish get from not enough swimming room... it had clean water and as much as another couple feet woulda been nice it is definitely not a reason for it to die.