Rich's 125 Reef

[rdnelson99]

A couple months back I took a 125 gallon tank, stand and canopy in payment for some electrical work I did for a local reef club member. I would love to move my TV over the fireplace and set this up where the entertainment center currently sits. However, momma has other ideas. LOL I tried to sell it with little interest so I decided to do some upgrades as if I were going to set it up and maybe gain more interested (and a higher price). If, while I am doing all that, momma decides she just can't live without it, it won't break my heart.

The first two pictures are from it's prior home and the third is after I got it home, scraped all the Coraline off the tank walls and scraped the old black paint off the back. The biggest issue with this tank was that it was not drilled and has some scratches.

 

[rdnelson99]

Last week, I drilled it for a "Bean Animal" style overflow, built an overflow box, plumbed it and painted the back of the tank.

 

[rdnelson99]

Yesterday I decided to dress the stand and canopy up a bit by adding some trim. I also started to paint it a stark gloss white to match the fireplace surround in my family room. Just in case Momma wants to set it up after all. I haven't finished the painting yet so I don't have pics of that yet.

 

[FTMMWS]

Nice pick up..hope your wife decides she likes it enough to keep...

 

[rdnelson99]

Me too!!!! LOL Thanks,

 

[gvillenative]

Lookin like a sweet setup..have the same color paint on the back of my 65 and have been happy with it.
Good luck
Kyle

 

[carey]

Looks very nice! Let us all know how it turns out!

 

[rdnelson99]

Ran a test of my Bean Animal Overflow and the Overflow Box I built. Works like a champ and is dead quiet. The noise you hear in the video is the vibration from the pump in the bucket and a little bubble noise from the bucket. Two disclaimers. First, my driveway is not level so the water does not flow correctly into the overflow box. That would be corrected if the tank were level. Second, the spare pump I am using does not provide as much flow as I would want o the display tank permanently.

Bean Animal Overflow Test - YouTube

 

[rdnelson99]

Saturday after spending several hours finishing up the paint I told my wife I needed someone to help me set the tank on the stand and the canopy on the tank so I could get some good pictures to post in a for sale thread. Her response, "You not going to paint it first?". LOL She said she thought that was primer.

But, today I had some encouraging progress. She asked "If you set that up where the entertainment center is can you add shelves where the TV sat inside the entertainment center? We could put that in the dining room sorta like a china cabinet."

So now, the planning begins. First up, move the receptacle, AV and Satellite cable over the fireplace in preparation to receive the TV. Next, figure out where I am going to put the satellite receiver and surround sound system. Next, run a couple of new electrical circuits over to where the 125 will sit. Good thing I have web trusses between 1st and 2nd floor. May need to cut out a bit of sheet rock but I know from a past project that drywall mud is a perfect color match for the ceilings once dry.

 

[rdnelson99]

Making some progress. Yesterday I picked up some paint and a paint gun from HD. I have wanted a paint gun to go with my compressor so since I have to paint the stand and canopy again I decided to bite the bullet. Should be shooting them tomorrow and Sunday. Last night I went to help a fellow reefer hook up his RO/DI and came home with the mother load. He is in the middle of changing tanks and had a major problem with the temp holding tanks. Everything was going quick so he gave me what was still alive of his corals. I told him I would give them back when his new tank settled in but he told me to keep them. There is some nice stuff.

I also picked up a Quiet One 6000 return pump. This is rated at 1650 GPH so it should be perfect for my return and also to feed future reactors. It is in great shape. Paid $70 for it. This weekend i will be picking up my new skimmer. It is a Reef Octopus [FONT=&quot]OCT-DNWB150 that I am getting for $150.
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[FTMMWS]

Nice friend,thanks for the update..Keep us posted

 

[rdnelson99]

I had a very productive day today. Started by spraying a coat of the new paint on the stand and canopy. Neither one of us like it. LOL So, while I was out and about today I picked up a different color that I think will work much better. This stuff looked like what my daughters used to leave in their diapers when they were not feeling well.

After that, ran in to town and got some new tires on my wife’s SUV and then out to Dallas to pick up my skimmer (1-1/2 drive). This is a fellow reef club member. Wow, his 150 is gorgeous. If mine ends up half that nice I will be thrilled. I also picked up a Hydro Korla 3 & a 5 while I was there. Skimmer was $150 and each PH was $25. Can’t beat that with a stick.

While I was getting the tires on I saw a post where a member was giving away a 45 long for free. That is perfect for my sump. So, from Dallas I headed to Suwanee (another 1-1/2 drive). Now I don’t need to tear down my current tank in order to use it as the sump for this one. From there is was a hour drive home.


So, now I have a good chunk of the equipment rounded up. I fully expected it would be weeks before I had this much of it together.

 

[rdnelson99]

Made some good progress today. Started by doing some sanding (by had because my orbital sander decided to give up on me) and then started painting the new color. While on the second coat I cam up a bit short so I quickly thinned some more paint. Unfortunately, I got it a bit too thin and ended up with a couple of runs. I will let it dry completely then sand them out and spray one more coat. Here are a couple of teases for you.

 

[jjamontan]

Looking great

 

[Edro]

Nice day in the Atl to paint. Im on the southside!

 

[rdnelson99]

Looking great

Thank jjamontan. I appreciate it.

 

[rdnelson99]

Nice day in the Atl to paint. Im on the southside!

Yup. I should have worn a hat I think. LOL Got a bit of a sunburn on the noggin. Sucks getting old and losing all your hair. hehehehehe

 

[jjamontan]

I want a 125 or 180 I placed a bid for a 125 today let's hope I win. Although if I win it will be a slow build I will need to get a bigger skimmer, more rock new sand the stand bigger power heads lighting etc. But little by little I will get out of the 55 I have. Wish me luck.

 

[rdnelson99]

I want a 125 or 180 I placed a bid for a 125 today let's hope I win. Although if I win it will be a slow build I will need to get a bigger skimmer, more rock new sand the stand bigger power heads lighting etc. But little by little I will get out of the 55 I have. Wish me luck.

Pretty much the same as me. LOL. The difference was I got the tank, stand and canopy as payment for a few hours electrical work. . The skimmer I got is like $300 new but I paid 150. The pump new would be like $150 and I got it for $70.

 

[jjamontan]

The guy sold it to someone else. One will come up at some point. I'm sure the wife is glad she knows that I will spend money much faster than I agree with her on.