120 Gallon Tank - Purchased! Now What?

[emmajaneholly]

Okay, so let me start out by saying that I have the worst possible timing known to man. We are buying a house on Friday, and I had to go out and buy a reef aquarium today because I just couldn't wait any longer. I'm justifying the purchase because my birthday is next Sunday .


Anyway, I'm committed now - but all I have is the tank (so literally, I JUST bought the aquarium). I decided to go with a factory glass Aqueon 120 gallon (48x24x24) drilled aquarium because it as easy and on sale. It's still sitting in the back of my car (since I'm MOVING!) and I have no idea what the size of the holes are yet and what bulkheads I'll need.


Now, I'm completely overwhelmed! My significant other is really handy (whereas I am NOT, I don't think I even knew what a bulkhead was until I started doing research), and has agreed to help me with this stuff, but he's also really busy (Mostly since we're MOVING!). I am trying not to break the bank all at once and purchase things in phases - but I'm also really anxious to get started. My local shop is happy to help me out a lot, too, but I would like some input from you guys before I dive in head first.


We are going to build a stand and an LED fixture, I think. I don't know how big the sump will be able to be since we have not built the stand yet - but I can speculate given the size of the tank. Here are the things I could use some input on:


1. Lighting. I'd like to go with some powerful LEDs and I think we will build our own. I know reefledlights.com is a popular source, but I'm not sure what DIY kit I should go with for a 24" deep tank. I'd like to have powerful lighting so I have the option of getting lots of different corals as I learn what the heck I'm doing down the line and not need to upgrade my lighting. What are your thoughts on that? Size of heatsink? Number of LEDs? Spread? Optics?


2. Plumbing. THIS is where I'm feeling really overwhelmed. The tank is drilled in the bottom and the overflows are on the back. I have been watching Bulk Reef Supply's videos, which are great, but I think I need a little more guidance as far as WHAT I need to purchase in order to have fail-safe plumbing and filtration.


3. Protein skimmer. I'm not sure what the optimum GPH is for a 120 gallon reef tank, and what brands are good. Favorites? Also, what would be the ideal sump size, or is that all dependent on size availability? I'm considering buying a new sump, but that might not be super economical...


4. Wavemakers. Same issue - not sure how much water movement I need for a reef tank with diversity and different corals. I just know I want to vary the current so I don't ambush the inhabitants all the time at the same flow rate, correct?


Are YOU overwhelmed now? I'm sure I have lots of other questions but I will save them for later. Thanks in advance for helping me screw my head back on straight!


Emma

 

[tat2z_21]

]Okay, so let me start out by saying that I have the worst possible timing known to man. We are buying a house on Friday, and I had to go out and buy a reef aquarium today because I just couldn't wait any longer. I'm justifying the purchase because my birthday is next Sunday .

Welcome to the site. I am sure that you will find the people on here to be full of useful information, and ready to answer questions. One thing that i Have learned in this hobby is that there are many ways to get the same outcome, and if you rush any of them then it will always lead to disaster. So take your time and do things right the first time

Anyway, I'm committed now - but all I have is the tank (so literally, I JUST bought the aquarium). I decided to go with a factory glass Aqueon 120 gallon (48x24x24) drilled aquarium because it as easy and on sale. It's still sitting in the back of my car (since I'm MOVING!) and I have no idea what the size of the holes are yet and what bulkheads I'll need.


Now, I'm completely overwhelmed! My significant other is really handy (whereas I am NOT, I don't think I even knew what a bulkhead was until I started doing research), and has agreed to help me with this stuff, but he's also really busy (Mostly since we're MOVING!). I am trying not to break the bank all at once and purchase things in phases - but I'm also really anxious to get started. My local shop is happy to help me out a lot, too, but I would like some input from you guys before I dive in head first.


We are going to build a stand and an LED fixture, I think. I don't know how big the sump will be able to be since we have not built the stand yet - but I can speculate given the size of the tank. Here are the things I could use some input on:


1. Lighting. I'd like to go with some powerful LEDs and I think we will build our own. I know reefledlights.com is a popular source, but I'm not sure what DIY kit I should go with for a 24" deep tank. I'd like to have powerful lighting so I have the option of getting lots of different corals as I learn what the heck I'm doing down the line and not need to upgrade my lighting. What are your thoughts on that? Size of heatsink? Number of LEDs? Spread? Optics?

LED's are huge right now. And again I will tell you that there are several different ways of doing this and a little bit of research on what you are wanting. Alot of people have suggestions, (me being one of them) but there are a ton of good articles on this site that will help you out with information regarding what you want for your tank.

2. Plumbing. THIS is where I'm feeling really overwhelmed. The tank is drilled in the bottom and the overflows are on the back. I have been watching Bulk Reef Supply's videos, which are great, but I think I need a little more guidance as far as WHAT I need to purchase in order to have fail-safe plumbing and filtration.

I am still lost on this one. I have been doing this for almost 8 years and have had to redo my plumbing about 3 times. Not sure if it is just my inability to learn or if I just suck at it. Either way do as I did and ask lots of questions.

3. Protein skimmer. I'm not sure what the optimum GPH is for a 120 gallon reef tank, and what brands are good. Favorites? Also, what would be the ideal sump size, or is that all dependent on size availability? I'm considering buying a new sump, but that might not be super economical...

Skimmy is the person to talk to about this. He is the site expert that everyone goes to. When it comes to equipment you never want to go with what is cheapest. With that being said you can find good deals on used good eqiupment, but you never want to skimp on the filtration portion of your system.

4. Wavemakers. Same issue - not sure how much water movement I need for a reef tank with diversity and different corals. I just know I want to vary the current so I don't ambush the inhabitants all the time at the same flow rate, correct?

Tunze in my opinion are the best. The control and power with these are insane. And really quiet. But again there are a lot of pumps out there and it really comes down to what you want to put into your system.

Are YOU overwhelmed now? I'm sure I have lots of other questions but I will save them for later. Thanks in advance for helping me screw my head back on straight!


Emma

 

[Holygral]

Ok let me start out with my soapbox speech, Patents will be you best friend in this venture. Most people who fail in this hobby do so from being in a hurry. It will take years to have a stable mature reef set up. 6-8 weeks for cycling BEFORE you have anything in it beside live rock, stock slow, never more than 1 or 2 fish at a time, and a month or more between. Quarantine all specimens unless you want to deal with ich or other parasites. There is NO reef friendly ick treatments. Just telling you what 80% of the post are on this fourm and others. Decide what you would like to keep, that will determine what kind of lighting you will need. Try not to go cheap on equipment as you will just be replacing it within the year. Decide on you live rock and you can start off cycling that in a rubber maid type container. (it will stink, can be done in the garage) You will need a RODI unit, good water is the heart of your system, a skimmer. Decide on if you want to build your own stand and sump or purchase them. That will also help with decision on type of skimmer and other equipment you need based on if you have a sump or not. It can be overwhelming but not if you take it one step at a time, start with equipment and live rock and go from there. Just remember you are not going to have a big beautiful reef tank fully stocked with fish corals and nems in 2 months, 2 years will be your successful time frame.

 

[NC2WA]

Emma,

Welcome to RF!!!

First, I believe Holygral meant patience, not patents. I totally agree with this statement, if you rush (meaning not waiting until the tank is ready for fish or corals or add too many fish at once, etc..) you will get frustrated and then disappointed, and then not want to continue the hobby..

Second, before you put a drop of water in the tank, I strongly suggest you purchase and read the following book. The book is divided into two parts..Part one talks about tank selection, setup, aquascaping, live rock, fish diseases and treatment, water parameters, water test kits, etc...I would concentrate my reading on this part. Part Two talks about the different fish genus and which ones are good and more important which ones are not so good and to stay away from.

Third, after you have read this book use this time to your advantage..Come up with a list of what you want to have in the tank. use this list to determine what type of skimmer and lights you should have...IMO the skimmer is the "brains" of you tank and you should not go cheap on this piece of equipment. this choice will determine if you are able to sit back and enjoy this hobby OR constantly doing maintenance because you have an algae problem. If you have question about the type of skimmer to have, Skimmy, is the guru on this subject. He will give you an honest (sometimes terse) reply.

when you do get started, you will encounter an brown diatom algae bloom..I will answer this question now..This is common for any new setup and the duration is different from tank to tank, but should be 2-8 wks long..just keep up with the water changes. if you use cured live rock (which the book talks about) instead on non-cured live rock, you duration is shorter.


Amazon.com: The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists (Microcosm/T.F.H. Professional) (9781890087999): Robert M. Fenner, Matthew L. Wittenrich, Scott W. Michael: Books

 

[Holygral]

Lol, auto check is not always yr friend, thanks NC2WA, lol

 

[NC2WA]

no worries...

 

[Holygral]

patents on auto spelling, so don't steal them, I only wished I come up with them, lol

 

[emmajaneholly]

Thanks guys! That books looks awesome - I'll get right on it. And yes - patience will be good for me, I think it's a life lesson I've been learning lately! I HAVE to be patient since I can't afford to drop a bunch of money all at once, really ever. This is such a great resource! Thanks again for the detailed responses and equipment advice, I can't wait to follow-up!

 

[Mike2112]

Welcome to RF Emma. What NC2WA said about the book is 100% right on. I followed his advice about it and I am reading it again...since I am being patient about my FOWLR setup. I sent a PM to skimmy about a skimmer for my 120 gallon system and he gave this response: so for the skimmer it's self, 200-300 and for a 120 mixed reef...
i usually suggest 600lph air injection for every 100g of display tank for skimmer power, so that puts these in the appropriate zone for your 120g;
http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-s...CV-XS-200.html
the SWC 180 cone would be good, but the octopus i lined above has a much better sicce pump
(the sicce psk 1000 on the octopus extreme is superior to the sicce psk2500 pump on the SWC 18o because it doesnt have start up issues like the 2500, and wont start in the wong direction sometimes like the sicce 2500 does).

Hope this helps with the skimmer question.

-Mike