My 125g Experience

[hooked82]

Well, I finally got the tank up and running so I wanted to give everyone a little more info. Its been about 2 months of setup and I'm glad its done(for now ) Now for some pics.

This is the custom panel that I made. Each outlet has its own switch and the left switch will turn off the first 4 outlets and the right switch will turn the right 3 outlets off.

Here's my 1-1/4" durso's that I made

Valve on the durso's to modify how much air to allow

The equipment closet behind the tank.

And finally a few pictures of the tank running and with the lighting. Only 2 of the halides are running as I need a third 250w Icecap for the other

I will get some better pics of the hood and the lighting system but for now this should do.

 

[ronj]

nice tank David....i too have a 125g...i was wondering if you could get a shot of your light setup...i am about to add some MH's in my canopy..i have 3-VHO's right now.. i am trying to get an idea of how to mount the MH's in between the VHO's

 

[hooked82]

I will get a pic of it when the lights go off a little later. The tank is only 18" front to back so it was difficult putting my VHO's back in with the MH's & reflectors. I mounted one vho on the back of the hood and the 2nd one I havent mounted yet. Trying to figure out how the best way to do it without having it too close the the MH bulbs.

 

[brady816]

looking very good so far keep the pics coming

 

[class clown]

David - nice tank. Nice work my friend! Looks like your going all out - nice work!!!!

That light switch thing is crazy!!!! way better than my 3 stupid overloaded powerstips that could blow any moment. If I ever decide to upgrade, you'lll have to help me build something like that.

so, describe to us what we're seeing in picture #4 - is that a closet behind the tank? cool if yes. And what is all the equipment in there? I see the skimmer, I see the calc reactor, but it looks like a lot of other stuff I don't recognize too.

what are the two long black tubes in the center w/ duct tape?

what's the tall white thing just in front middle of the sump, UV?

details, details, I want details.

 

[hooked82]

Thanks Ben. If you need some help with something like new electrical just let me know.
The equipment is in the closet on the other side of the tank wall.
Equipment thats in the closet:
ETSS 800 Dual Downdraft Skimmer w/ Little Giant 3-MDQX-SC
Skimmate Collection Cup(White thing)
K2R Calcium Reactor
Iwaki MD-100RLT Return Pump
5 lb. CO2 bottle with regulator


The long black tubes are the downdrafts for the skimmer. They have duct tape on them because I had to resort to this to get them to stop leaking. I believe that I have too big of a pump so it builds a lot of pressure and leaks out the tubes.

The tall white thing isnt a U.V., its a collection for the skimmer. Here's a better pic of the skimmer.

 

[Krish]

Very nice and neat work man...Congrats and thanks for sharing

 

[class clown]

Ok yeah, cool. Now i see it. It was the angle of the photo and not knowing enough about downdraft skimmer design which through me off. Neat. very neat.

I'm hoping to get a bigger tank soon and when/if I do, I'll give ya a ring. Electrical is something I'm not happy with my current tank because it feels so overloaded and it looks messy. I tried to compensate by buying nice looking powerstrips and hiding the coords w/ one of those sheath things you can buy at Lowes, but it still doesn't look great and isn't probably half as safe as how you've done it there, plus it looks like a really good way to do it the way you've done it too. do you have some sort of electrical engeneering degree or something or do you just know a lot about electricity?

 

[hooked82]

No, I'm not an electrician hehe. I'm just a jack of all trades, plus it wasnt horribly hard. I'll take a pic of the back side to show you how it's wired up.
I still need to put the GFCI outlets in though.

 

[Slickdonkey]

Nice setup!

 

[hooked82]

Thanks Brian. Oh and I will get that heater back to you very soon. I appreciate you letting me use it.

 

[szidls]

Hey nice job with the lights David. Glad to see your tank coming together.
Just one thing. Are you covering your wiring with electrical boxes? You want to keep the moisture out as much as possible.
Best of luck,
Scott

 

[hooked82]

Thanks, and yeah it will be covered. The panel will be mounted in the equipment room and it will have a 2"x2" standoff on the back that will be sealed. Not sure what I will be doing about the front of it yet. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[hooked82]

nice tank David....i too have a 125g...i was wondering if you could get a shot of your light setup...i am about to add some MH's in my canopy..i have 3-VHO's right now.. i am trying to get an idea of how to mount the MH's in between the VHO's

Here's a couple pics to get an idea on what I did. I still only have the one vho bulb in the back. I will probably just go with the one vho to get the dusk/dawn effect rather than lights out.

The wiring is still a mess as this is the first time I've flipped the top up since its been on the tank. Waiting to fasten down the wiring till I knew exactly how much it opened. Guess I will be doing that tomorrow

Also ron, let me know if you need any other pics I can snap others for you as well if you're needing any ideas.

 

[hooked82]

Here's a few updated pics. First one is my GSP colony. Needs some recuperating but it should look pretty good in time. The second pic is of my first softy addition to the tank, my Kenya Tree frag. The third is of another polyp colony. Not quite the same as the GSP's, they don't have quite the color. And finally a full tank shot. Cords strung everywhere, mjmods using suction cups, lol. Need to get everything fully organized, but whatcha guys think?

 

[Scooterman]

Looking good David, like your switch panel, I need one myself I just installed those outside outlet boxes, it keeps a cover over the outlets in case water would ever splash, guess what, last night I did splash the cover of one, guess it all depends on the location though.
I also like how you have the top open up like that to access the lighting, cool idea! Id your Durso's ever give you noise problems try the Stockman, I think from everything I've tried they were quieter!

 

[Krish]

Everything is looking really good man...Great work!!!

 

[class clown]

I like it David.. for the rockwork, did you try building some cool caves? or making a couple seperate piles? sometimes that looks good that way too.

 

[ronj]

i like that light setup!!! is that foil around the wooden edges???? also, i see you had a good choice in fish!!!!!!!

 

[hooked82]

Yeah, most of the inside was wrapped with reflective tape, except for a few spots it wouldnt stick. Yeah the fish came with the tank but I agree, great fish.

I got a quick question though guys. I got that Kenya Tree frag yesterday and I am a rook when it comes to these things so bear with me. Well it didnt come on any rock and was just the frag, so I put it in the crack of a rock and put it away from the major flow until it was able to attatch itself. Well it somehow came free this morning, dunno if a fish brushed against it or the flow was too much. What is the best way to attach these guys? A little off topic but I'm hopeing somebody can let me know so he has a chance to survive.