Ziggy953's 150 Build errrr....120 Build

[neilanh]

Wow, they're all green!

 

[Tank2379]

Sweet Frags

 

[Ziggy953]

Well...against my better judgement or maybe it was because of my better judgement I started work on the frag tank about 2 hours or so ago. I've got 200lbs of sand in the tank now and I'm working on clearing it up. I had to get the flow back to the tank because I still have fish in there so my entire system is a giant cloud.

Based on the suggestion of Neilan and Sparky I'm running several HOBs with filter floss to help clear up the tank. As soon as I can see what I'm doing again I'll get the shelf in the frag tank and get the corals back in there...right now they are all in a tote with powerhead and heater...

Not really how I wanted to spend my afternoon but I had all the stuff and it needed to be done.

I would post pics but you can't see anythings so just imagine a large clear box painted white....that will give you an idea of what my system looks like right now...

 

[ryshark]

The guy that I got the tank from was nice enough to let me borrow his suction cups to move the tank. We guestimate that the tank weighs about 250 empty.

I'm out of salt so a trip to BRK (my lfs) is my next step. I also need to visit Lowes. I'm still trying to decide whether or not to drill the tank or just use the 2 1200gph overflows that came with it. The guy I got the tank from said he never had any trouble with the overflows. I just can't decide. Maybe I'll let John at BRK talk me into buying a larger diamond bit.

I'm off to see the wizard!

120lbs of sand.

Are you happy with this sand? Last week I bought this same exact sand for my new 180. I love how it looks through the bag, I just hope it is not too fine. I don't want it blowing all over the place. Also, did you bother to rinse it?

 

[Ziggy953]

That is the sand that I have in the 120 and yes I like it very much! I did rinse that sand off very well but it will still causes a sand storm.

The sand I used in the Frag tank is not what you see in the picture. I used a fine "play" sand and it was rinsed as well. Because what I used in the frag tank was so fine it just created a giant mess. I could have minimized it but I was in a bit of a hurry.

Using the aragonite you won't have as much problems. You still should rinse it though.

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

man this is a long thread but VERY entertaining

 

[roka64]

I rinsed 270Lbs of that stuff and still had a sand storm. It's the nature of sand. I mixed each bag 6 times. Once I got it in the tank with water, I did a few PWCs to remove the excess. I really wouldn't sweat it.

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

man this is a long thread but VERY entertaining

btw that was before the 1st disaster.

 

[Ziggy953]

btw that was before the 1st disaster.

I'm glad you have enjoyed it.

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

man the tanks have been stunningly beautiful

 

[Ziggy953]

Thanks!

The 120 is slowly getting to the point where I'm happy with it and the amount of growth I'm seeing in my corals.

 

[Ziggy953]

Thanks!

 

[Ziggy953]

Well let's see. I did a PWC yesterday and that helped finish up the clearing. I cleaned the skimmer out again. 3rd time since putting the sand in the frag tank. I'll be making more water today for another PWC tomorrow. Oh and I cleaned out my fuge. The macro was so thick in there, it was well past time to do some serious pruning. Other then that nothing much has happened.

I still need to get the frag tank finished up and a TON of new frags cut and mounted. The work I have yet to do is more then what has been done so far.

More to come.

 

[tripseven]

Today I picked up 200lbs of sand and a new piece of egg crate. My intentions are to remove everything and put a nice deep sand bed in the tank and then put a single flat shelf covering the entire tank.

Allen, Im getting ready to buy my sand and I like the sugar sized Aragamax. Im planning on 3-4" sand bed for my 120 but the bag shows this sand is for up to 1" depth. Is that just a suggestion or will there be problems going deeper with this sand?

Thanks

 

[Ziggy953]

Allen, Im getting ready to buy my sand and I like the sugar sized Aragamax. Im planning on 3-4" sand bed for my 120 but the bag shows this sand is for up to 1" depth. Is that just a suggestion or will there be problems going deeper with this sand?

Thanks

That is the sand I used in my tank. I have a depth of 3-5" depending on where in the tank you look. I believe that is more of a suggestion then anything else. It is great sand and you will be happy with it.

 

[tripseven]

That is the sand I used in my tank. I have a depth of 3-5" depending on where in the tank you look. I believe that is more of a suggestion then anything else. It is great sand and you will be happy with it.

Good deal...thanks again!

 

[Ziggy953]

Anytime! Make sure to take lots of pics during your build. Try and document everything you do.

 

[tripseven]

Guaranteed to be lots of pics and docs. Just want to get a little closer equipment wise before starting a build thread. Heck...I havent even gotten my tank/stand in possesion yet. Another week or two...I hope.

This Oceanic RR tank combo is the one Im eyeballing:

 

[Ziggy953]

Very nice! If you are looking at doing a reef tank the canopy there would probably not work out. If you are planning on having MH lighting you are going to need a taller canopy or none at all.

 

[tripseven]

I plan on reef eventually and have some ideas for MH mounting but will wait til I start my build thread for other ideas since its a bit off topic here. I keep changing my mind which way Im going to go with this as I learn more