Carey's Final Reef Upgrade- 180g

[carey]

It's finally time! I need to upgrade my 125g reef to a larger tank. I've been tossing around the 180g vs a 210g but I think it will be the 180g. So much easier to get into and clean etc...

So far I bought a 6 foot by 2 foot black stand from an LFS that is upgrading, got a super deal for $125!! The stand is a RJ one which retails for over $600! It has some cracked wood on the inside floor but thats' easy enough to cut out and replace. It's also 3 feet tall so it will give people a great view as you wont have to look down to admire it!

here she is, just waiting for me in the garage!




I also have a mag 18 brand new that I bought a year or two ago in anticipation of the eventual upgrade so the return pump should be done as well.

I have the 12 bulb nova extreme pro light fixture if my thoughts of getting led's isnt do-able right away. That remains to be seen if I can swing that kinda $$ right away.

But onto the sump. I currently have an RS-200 from eshopps under my 125g. It is rated for a 200g tank so I could use it BUT I am thinking of getting a new regular ole Berlin sump. The rs-200 is a refugium sump and I will not be going with one for this build. I also HATE how the intake is with the filter socks, it takes rectangular bags which is a pain. lol I can jam a 7" round sock in there but it falls out and just stinks overall.

What do you guys think? Should I go for the new sump or make do with what I have? The same LFS that sold me the stand has berlin sumps that are huge and were $375 retail that he will sell for $150 as they are used. ( he used his equipment for a year so it's all relatively new)
The only upside is that the skimmer section is huge, I mean HUGE and it is a bit bigger than the RS-200 that I currently have.

What should I do? Use the money for the sump or for other stuff? I was going to get the sump this week so let me know what y'all think!

Thanks everyone for reading! For those that don't know me I tend to ramble in my threads and they turn out pretty long so just bear with me.

 

[JustinKBreen]

I think I have the 300 sump, same stupid rectangle filter bag.. my only concern with you sump would be finding a skimmer that fits.. I had to put mine in diagonally to fit, I assume you're upgrading the skimmer too?

Carey your one of the people I trust on here lol, you're not allowed to ask questions you are the one with answers

I am still working on filling out my 220 with coral and I am already dreaming of an 8 foot tank. It never ends does it

 

[RJT]

Congrats on new build.

Sounds like its a win-win with the Berlin sump. Only thing that would be better would be a 75g that you put baffles in yourself.

 

[carey]

I'm not going to mess with baffles, lol. I am at the point of buying most of my stuff rather than try to stumble through a diy type deal. lol

Just getting peoples opinions, it helps alot. I hate building a setup and then not taking some minor point into consideration and then regret it. Since this will be the biggest tank that I will have (most likely) I don't want any do-overs. lol What i put in there is gonna stay in there.

I'm trying to put all the experience I have with all my setups into this build so it's perfect or as close to perfect as can be. lol

 

[RJT]

I understand that. It is easier to buy everything that already done. Do you already have a source for the 180? If not, you may want to wait on the sump because someone may want to sell their entire setup.

 

[Billbug68]

Following.

 

[carey]

Yep, I intend to keep watching craigslist for an awesome deal. You never know.....

But I'd still like to cherry pick the equipment I am gonna use, if I find a 180 or 210 setup I will just use the other parts in my different setups and keep the tank for this one. lol

I've been pricing tanks and that is probably going to be the last item I buy. This build isn't gonna be as quick as my usual ones. lol Partly cause I dont' have all the $$ I need right now and cause I want to make sure I get the best possible option for each piece of equipment.

 

[Mebbid]

Following

 

[carey]

Hehe you people following, feel free to post your opinions. I always take peoples thoughts into account while doing a build, I like to make you guys a part of the build!

So, I'm thinking the bigger sump will be the way to go. Its probably six inches longer and 6 inches back to front bigger. It will take up a huge chunk of undercabinet space, I still want to have at least a 10g reservoir for the ATO as well as have enough room for reactors and my controller. Silly controller has 3 power bars so it takes up a good amount of space under there. lol But this stand is alot taller than my current one so hopefully it will be easy to work in.

 

[RJT]

I think all of us love craigslist.

Since this is an upgrade are you just transferring sand, rocks, power heads and livestock?

Do you have any livestock in mind once the transfer is over?

 

[carey]

I want to combine my current 125g with my 90g and put it all in this tank.

So I will have 4 powerheads, 2 1400's and 2 750's. I am going to go with a regular sandbed I think this time around so new sand. It's also alot less work to just get new sand, I've cleaned sand before and its a pain! lol
The liverock is questionable though. I have aipastias on the 125g rock that I'd rather not deal with. The 90g has perfect rock so that will go into this tank. I was figuring on ordering maybe 100lbs of dry pukani rock and along with the 100 lbs from the 90g and maybe 50lbs or 75 lbs from the 125g that has coral on it that should be about 275lbs total.

Still not 100% on the 90g going into thios tank though. The fish in that tank are aggressive and are not considered reef safe. (the wrasses)

Stocking for the 125g is: Blue hippo, yellow tang, tomini tang, lawnmower blenny, purple dottyback and a large pink spotted goby.
Stocking in the 90g is: Blue eyed bristletooth tang, squirrel fish, coral hogfish, red coris wrasse, sixline wrasse, blue headed wrasse, lunar wrasse, flame hawk and a very larger engineer goby. lol
I'm still deciding what else i want to add. I really want some more anthias and maybe a small school of chromis. As far as tangs, I would like to add one more but that is up in the air as to which one. Unless I dont add the 90g to this tank then I can add a good amount of new fish. This is a work in progress. lol

 

[RJT]

Wow, those are some very aggressive fish in the 90. I wouldn't add them to the 180 because-like you said it will limit what you can do with the tank.

You may want to keep the rock in the 90. Buy all new rock and take only rocks from 125 with corals and no aptasia. Then dry out the live rock in the 125, unless u can get a buyer for it, and sell the rock. I am not sure if you get more with dry rock or live aptasia rock.

 

[Qube]

Hey Carey! Glad to see you back!! Looking at your rock, have you used Pukani before? I'm thinking 100 lbs is going to end up being more than you thought due to how porous and light weight it is. I did my 75 with only 40-45 lbs of Pukani only.

 

[carey]

I actually havent tried the pukani yet, but from every review here on the forum it is said to be excellent. I have their tonga rock in my cube and love it. Maybe I will go light on the dry rock until I see what is what. I didnt realize the pukani went a long way. lol

As far as the 90g and the fish, yeah, I'm not certain if it would be a good fit. Just would be nice to give those guys a big tank to live in, the 90 is my most active tank with fish swimming everywhere all day long. But I also have to admit the 90 is my favorite a far as setup goes, it almost runs itself. lol My b/f is against breaking the 90 down as well since its such an awesome tank. lol

I still have to get some video up of the tanks I have now, been trying to get to that for like 2 weeks.....lol

 

[Sniperhank]

Glad to see the final tank Carey. I've been stuck doing 60 hours a week at work and planning my own wedding...as little as possible. The poor 55 doesn't get the attention it needs. I need to update my own thread...totally following along.

 

[Qube]

I actually havent tried the pukani yet, but from every review here on the forum it is said to be excellent. I have their tonga rock in my cube and love it. Maybe I will go light on the dry rock until I see what is what. I didnt realize the pukani went a long way. lol

As far as the 90g and the fish, yeah, I'm not certain if it would be a good fit. Just would be nice to give those guys a big tank to live in, the 90 is my most active tank with fish swimming everywhere all day long. But I also have to admit the 90 is my favorite a far as setup goes, it almost runs itself. lol My b/f is against breaking the 90 down as well since its such an awesome tank. lol

I still have to get some video up of the tanks I have now, been trying to get to that for like 2 weeks.....lol

I can say I'm a big fan of the Pukani! It certainly helps with my "less is sometimes more" philosophy when it comes to rock scapes. I'd say 100-125 lbs will be more than enough for a 180g. I will say this though, it is a bit more dirty than their Reef Saver rock which is much more dense. That said, my experience with it resulted in cyano stages during the first couple of months of the life of the aquarium. Hope this helps...

 

[Cichlidjon]

Hey Carey Welcome Home! lol. Heres a question, what light setup are you thinking of? How will you access the tank? Okay that's two haha. I ask because I'm curious about your thoughts on tank accessibility! I know you'll come up with something great that I can copy off of! lol

 

[carey]

Hehe, the jury is still out on the lighting. I had thought about using a canopy but the accessibility would have really stunk so I am gonna pass on that. I am thinking using my current 12 bulb fixture for the beginning and then getting 3 tao led panels, adjustable of course. lol I have a tao already that you cant dimm and it burns up coral like no ones business. :-(

I was thinking of getting those black plant hangers and mounting 3 of those behind the tank to hang the led's from.

With me being so short accessibility was a major factor in deciding to go with a 180g vs a 210g, the same with the canopy. Though it would have looked really nice with a canopy I would be on here complaining every day about not being able to work on the tank. lol

I get paid tomorrow so I think i will be buying another piece of this setup!! Deciding between a skimmer and a sump.

 

[Cichlidjon]

I hear you. I heard those Taos are pretty good. I read earlier you were thinking no fuge for this build so I would say get that skimmer! Which ones were you looking at?

 

[carey]

An LFS somewhat locally is moving shops so he is selling everything from the old store. I already got the stand from him and was planning on getting a berlin sump from him as well. He had told me he was taking down the old skimmers and reactors so I was going to see what he had. This guy uses all top notch equipment so I would assume they are good ones. I will be sure to post here when I find out.
Can't wait to have all the room in the world for a skimmer in my sump, I was limited with my current sump to about 14x14 so this should let me get whatever skimmer I want!
If I don't go with his skimmer I will be looking at the Bubble Magus ones most likely.