Finatik's Twin 120G Builds

Finatik · Apr 22, 2018

Hi Everybody... Finatik Reefer here...

Not new to reefing, but not an expert either. I've been keeping aquariums since I was about 12, yet I'm always learning something new about this wonderful and fascinating hobby we all love. Please feel free to offer any comments and suggestions along the way as I share the ups and downs of this new build. I joined this forum about a year ago, but I never did a "build" thread so since I had to break my old tanks down and start all over due to a move, I thought this was a good time to chronicle the builds I'm currently working on to stand up two brand new twin 120 Gallon tanks. One will be a mixed reef tank, and the other will be a fish only (FOWLR) predator tank. So here is what I have so far.......

EQUIPMENT ON HAND:

TANK #1: 120G Mixed Reef

120 Gallon (48 X 24 X 25) Marineland Tank drilled with center overflow using eShopps Eclipse-L Overflow System (Bean Animal)
40" Tall Wood Stand
LifeReef CLF-2 Signature Series Sump System (37 X 14 X 14) including Reactors, Dosers, ect.
LifeReef SVS2-24 in-sump Protein Skimmer
LifeReef 24 X 14 X 18 Reefugium (20G)
Kessil H380 Light for Refugium
(Two) 48" Reef Breeders Photon V2+ Lighting for Tank
(Two) VorTech MP-40s
(One) VorTech Battery BackUp
PowerPlay 10-Outlet Rack Mountable Tower Surge Protector
GFCI Outlet Adapter
2000w Renogy 12V to 120V AC Pure Sine Wave Inverter (for lengthy emergency power outages)
(Two) 250w Eheim Jager TruTemp Heaters with Seneye Monitors
CaribSea Live Sand
120 pounds of Pukani Dry Rock (which is currently curing in a 44G Brute Rubbermaid Trashcan)
SpectraPure RO/DI System
(Two) 65 gallon Norwesco Vertical Water Tanks for future water changing station

TANK #2: 120G FOWLR

120 Gallon (48 X 24 X 25) Marineland Tank drilled with center overflow using eShopps Eclipse-L Overflow System (Bean Animal)
40" Tall Wood Stand
LifeReef CLF-2 Signature Series Sump System (37 X 14 X 14) including Reactors, Dosers, ect.
LifeReef SVS2-24 in-sump Protein Skimmer
LifeReef 24 X 14 X 18 Reefugium (20G)
Kessil H380 Light for Reefugium
(One) 48" Reef Breeders Photon V2+ Lighting for Tank
(Two) VorTech MP-40s
(One) VorTech Battery BackUp
PowerPlay 10-Outlet Rack Mountable Tower Surge Protector
GFCI Outlet Adapter
2000w Renogy 12V to 120V AC Pure Sine Wave Inverter (for lengthy emergency power outages)
(Two) 250w Eheim Jager TruTemp Heaters with Seneye Monitors
CaribSea Live Sand
120 pounds of Pukani Dry Rock (which is currently curing in a 44G Brute Rubbermaid Trashcan)

QUARANTINE / HOSPITAL TANKS:

(One) 40 Breeder Aqueon (Fish Quarantine Tank)
(One) 30 Gallon Aqueon (Coral Quarantine Tank)
(One) 32" Reef Breeders Photon V2+ Lighting for Coral Quarantine Tank
(Four) 5 Gallon Aqueon (TTM Tanks if needed)
(Two) AquaClear 110 Filters (one for each QT Tank)
(Two) 200w Eheim Jager TruTemp Heaters with Seneye Monitors
40" Tall Multi-Tank Wood Stand (to hold both QT tanks)

EQUIPMENT STILL TO GET:

(Two) Maxspect XF250 Gyres
(Two) 24 Gallon ATOs
Automatic Dosers
Deep Cycle Batteries to go with Power Inverters
Some type of mesh or breathable tank cover for the top of the FOWLR tank to keep my future eel and random jumpers from getting out
Faux Stone panels to skin stands
(One) GHL ProfiLux-4 Controller and one Expansion Box (to control both tanks)
Would like to find a T5 / LED Combo (all-in-one) light fixture for Tank #1 (Mixed Reef). Maybe the 48" ATI Sunpower 8x54 watt T5s paired with a couple of LED light bars
And LOTS of other stuff.....

Finatik · Apr 23, 2018

I'll start out with some pictures of the stands being built. There are 3 stands. Two of the stands are for the 120Gs, and the third stand is a multi-tank stand built to hold both the 40B and 20G Quarantine Tanks. My plan is to skin both of the 120G stands in Faux Stone.
I'll post more pics in the coming days and weeks as I begin to pull everything together. Right now, I've just got a "fish room" full of stuff !

Finatik · Apr 23, 2018

Here is some of the equipment I've gathered so far. And since I've got Twin 120Gs, I purchased two of everything.
Now I just have to put it all together.......

hybridazn · Apr 24, 2018

Off to a great start!

Finatik · Apr 29, 2018

Looks like my Pukani Rock is going to need to cure for a little while longer... I'm trying to cure it without using any harsh chemicals, so it's taking a bit longer than I had hoped.

Bummer.

Brew12 · May 4, 2018

Looks like you are off to a great start!

I do have a couple of questions/comments on your equipment.

First, are these tanks going to be near each other? If so, you only need 1 Apex controller. You can get a PM1 module and EB832 for the 2nd tank and control the systems independently. Cheaper and less work than setting up and monitoring 2 controllers.

For the reef tank, have you considered adding an Aquatic Life 48" Hybrid T5?
https://www.aquaticlife.com/media/import/Hybrid_Brochure_v2.pdf

You would need the 24" widening kit for the V2 to make it work. This would also put the T5's out to the edges of your tank giving you less shadowing than with the LED's alone.

Finatik said:
Looks like my Pukani Rock is going to need to cure for a little while longer... I'm trying to cure it without using any harsh chemicals, so it's taking a bit longer than I had hoped. Bummer.

Are you just using heat and circulation to cure it?

Finatik · May 4, 2018

Brew12 said:
First, are these tanks going to be near each other? If so, you only need 1 Apex controller. You can get a PM1 module and EB832 for the 2nd tank and control the systems independently. Cheaper and less work than setting up and monitoring 2 controllers.

Yes, both of the 120Gs and the QT tanks are going to be in the same room. Thanks for the info on only needing one controller. I did not realize that I could control both tanks with just one controller. This will be my first try with controllers.

Brew12 said:
Are you just using heat and circulation to cure it?

Yes... Just heat and circulation. I've got the rock in a 44G dark grey Brute trash can with a circulation pump and a heater set on 80 degrees. But I'm still showing phosphates.

Anirban · May 4, 2018

Hey, the list looks quite extensive.
You can use a ATI dimmable sunpower and combine it with two reefbrite led bars. Its a well tried and tested combination. I think that should work with your mixed reef. Other than this the kessil H380 ideally can cover a 20" area quite well and with your fuge size it should work nicely.

Brew12 · May 4, 2018

Finatik said:
Yes... Just heat and circulation. I've got the rock in a 44G dark grey Brute trash can with a circulation pump and a heater set on 80 degrees. But I'm still showing phosphates.

Are you running GFO in the container with the rock?

Brew12 · May 4, 2018

Anirban said:
Hey, the list looks quite extensive.
You can use a ATI dimmable sunpower and combine it with two reefbrite led bars. Its a well tried and tested combination. I think that should work with your mixed reef. Other than this the kessil H380 ideally can cover a 20" area quite well and with your fuge size it should work nicely.

Good call, I should have mentioned this. I have the H380 on my similarly sized fuge and if anything, it is overkill.

Finatik · May 4, 2018

Brew12 said:
Are you running GFO in the container with the rock?

No... I'm not running GFO.. Should I ?
I haven't used any chemicals or anything else. Just tap water (with Prime), changed out once per week, and the circulation pump, and the heater.

Brew12 · May 4, 2018

Finatik said:
No... I'm not running GFO.. Should I ?
I haven't used any chemicals or anything else. Just tap water (with Prime), changed out once per week, and the circulation pump, and the heater.

Yup, that is the part you are missing. You are getting the PO4 to leach out of the rock, but now you need to get it out of the water. GFO in a reactor is the best way to do that imo!

Finatik · May 4, 2018

Brew12 said:
Yup, that is the part you are missing. You are getting the PO4 to leach out of the rock, but now you need to get it out of the water. GFO in a reactor is the best way to do that imo!

Ahhh... OK... that makes sense. I will get some today. Thanks for that ! I was beginning to regret getting the Pukani Rock because it's taking so long to get it cured. It's very pretty and super porous, but it's been a PIA to get it ready for use in my tanks.

Brew12 · May 4, 2018

Finatik said:
Ahhh... OK... that makes sense. I will get some today. Thanks for that ! I was beginning to regret getting the Pukani Rock because it's taking so long to get it cured. It's very pretty and super porous, but it's been a PIA to get it ready for use in my tanks.

Not a problem! And don't be afraid of running too much GFO, you want to strip as much PO4 out of the water as quickly as possible. Once you get PO4 down to 0 for a few days take the GFO offline for 2 days and test PO4 again to check for rise.

Finatik · May 4, 2018

Brew12 said:
Not a problem! And don't be afraid of running too much GFO, you want to strip as much PO4 out of the water as quickly as possible. Once you get PO4 down to 0 for a few days take the GFO offline for 2 days and test PO4 again to check for rise.

OK... Will do. Thanks @Brew12 !

FredsNJReef · May 4, 2018

wow!! @Finatik !!

Dream set up right there, BOTH a reef tank AND a predator tank! Sick!!

What fish are you planning? Grouper/lionfish/snapper/triggers??

saltyfilmfolks · May 4, 2018

Looks pretty good!
You can test the water in the curing bucket for Po4 to see if you need to take any action.
Myself , I’ve seen more problems with too low phosphate than “high”. If you’re under .2 I wouldn’t sweat it. It’s going to be consumed.

“Why do we worry so much about phosphate now? Becuse we can test for it”-Sanjay

I wouldn’t make assumptions on shading until you dry test the lights and set a Heith. (I’d you want t5 get one but....)

You can dry test like this

Some folks like to aim for the bottom of the tank with the lights. I aim for the top. You want to fill the area the best you can. Somewhere between the two is the correct Heith.

This is also a good time to meter the light now that you have the Heith. Find the fall off , find the hot spot , find the approx par at the bottom of the tank.

Many will complain about hot spots.
But keep in mind , you can use them to your advantage.
If the tank is even (bottom pic) the outside edges are Lower in intensity. That’s good if you’re building a back wall. The higher up, the higher par. Then the hot spot punches down on the sand. (Where I have my clams).

The coral qt light is prettt good, most likely the hardest in a way. You want a hot spot. I’d set the middle t0 350-400(high light stuff) and try and let the edges fall off to almost nothing.
(I have cyphasteria and a couple others growing in “nothing” right now).
And it’s a way to acclimate new corals to the light levels in the tank as well.
Or just be ready to change settings depending on what you’re buying.

Personally I’d look at a diffent Light for the Fowler. Fowler Light typically has less red blue and a higher green ( you won’t notice by looking most likely ), to keep alge growth down.

Reactors , I dunno, I’d plumb for them, but I haven’t ever had one running for more then a month or two. If you plan on heavily stocking with fish, it’s probaly a good idea.