MrX's 120G Build

[MrX]

sweet, you dont have to share info on the LEDs but what u pay?

The gentleman I purchased them from has given me the ok to share details with everyone, he's going to add some more info to his website and then I'll forward it on.

I purchased two 120W LED fixtures from him: 14K, dimmers, some UV leds, separate switches for blue/white, daisy-chainable. Total cost, shipped $618. He has a two-year warranty on them. He also offers a 200W version and a smaller version, black or white, with or without dimmers.

These look similar to the Chinese eBay leds discussed in other threads. But I prefer to deal with someone in the US that has control over the manufacturing process. He started out small he said, just for friends/club members, but has since sold ~100 units.

When he provides me with the website and more detail I'll start a separate thread.

Here's some pics (these aren't mine, just what he sent me):

120W and 200W:

Top of the 120W:

Hanger:

Hanging wires:

 

[MrX]

Check out mark l's site with toNs of sump ideas.

http://melevsreef.com/

If you can look at some ones set up it always helps get an idea of what to do. Also look at the tab at the top of this site with the old tank of the month's. Some sweet tanks with lots of photos and writeups on how they set them up and how the maintain them.

Thanks Beck. I had seen that site a couple weeks ago and meant to get back to it. Guess now is a good time. Still trying to figure out the whole RODI placement/water change process so I'm not lugging hoses/buckets all over the place. Trying to convince the wife that a couple holes in the wall and then down aren't really that bad.

 

[HuuTa]

a dozen roses and say just cause i care will go along way to get those holes you want

 

[MrX]

a dozen roses and say just cause i care will go along way to get those holes you want

That wouldn't work, she doesn't like roses and she'd know I was full of it. I'm about to enter "do it and ask forgiveness later" more. hehe.

 

[MrX]

Ok... so today had mixed results in regards to my tank:

1) Purchased about 60lbs of dry rock from a local BRS member; actually only a mile or two away. Some nice shelf pieces. Now time to play around with a mock tank.

2) The 40B won't fit in the AGA stand without removing at least one brace, which I'm loathe to do. This stand worries me already, I don't really want to be removing and re-adding structural pieces. Even if I COULD get the brace off and back on I would have only 3-4 inches around the sump to do anything. I'd never be able to add/remove anything from the sump.

Looks like my options are a) get a smaller sump, b) get a bigger stand, or c) plumb things into the basement.

I like option C the best for many reasons:

- Where the plumbing would go is near where some rough-in stuff is in the basement for a shower/bathroom if we ever finished the basement. I imagine with some research/assistance/cash for a plumber it would be relatively easy to hook up a RODI in/out, etc.
- It's the basement, would keep the sump cooler in the summer
- It's the basement, I wouldn't have to hear/see all the "mess" in my office
- There is a window/slider in the basement making getting the dirty water out to the yard/woods easier; no trudging through the house with buckets
- Lots of room for the 40B and whatever else in the basement

The main issues with doing this are:
- wife doesn't want me drilling holes in the floor
- cutting some drywall out and going down through the wall is an option, but there's some I'd have to be very careful to avoid (existing water/electric, ac vents, etc.)
- all the extra plumbing to get from the tank to the basement, 3-4 down, ~10 ft across, then another 5-6 down maybe.
- no electrical outlets in this section of the basement, I'd have to run a new line or extend off the basement light circuit

The office walls have fancy mouldings (boxes) and a chair rail (?) ... I was thinking I could pull the trim from one "box", cut a "door" out of the wall, drill the holes, etc etc. when it came time to put it back I'd just replace/redo the box.

*sigh* Getting my tank running has just been delayed...

 

[MrX]

Oh yeah, speaking of the dry rock. She had it in a tank previously and it's just been sitting in boxes in her garage for a while. I'm going to rinse it all off to get sand/debris off. What else should I do to it to assure that it's really "clean" before I set it up in my tank (whenever the heck that time rolls around).

 

[mnavick]

So much to type...........I'll swing through this week verses typing a novel

 

[MrX]

So much to type...........I'll swing through this week verses typing a novel

That would be awesome Mike! Much appreciated.

My lights won't be here for 2-3 weeks so I have plenty of time to sort out the rest.

 

[MrX]

Wife was at work so I spent some time rinsing the rock I bought today and doing some "counter-scaping"! The towel is approximately the same area as the tank. Ignore all the kids junk in the background.

I love the rock piece on the lower left. Looks like a skull looking at you when you get down at the counter level.

This big shelf piece looks like it was part of a clam

Side view of the "eye cave". Notice the black shelf piece in the middle of the scape. Nice and flat.

 

[RadReefer]

Are you going to epoxy the rocks together?

 

[MrX]

Are you going to epoxy the rocks together?

Yeah, would have to... some of the pieces would get knocked over pretty easily. I took a lot of pics of my messing around, but nothing is really final. I just had fun with it for a bit.

I'll be pulling it out again and trying some other configurations before making a final decision. I want to mark out the overflows and check the heights on things before I lock in. When it's "that time" I'll get some of the epoxy stick things or just some GEL superglue and stick'em all together.

Bringing back days of playing with legos, erector sets, and lincoln logs!

I do need to go toss them in a bucket with 50/50 bleach/water and let them sit for a bit. Make sure they are really dead/clean. I'll do that tomorrow.

 

[niftyjosh]

Eh don't use glue to do the rocks. You'll use a ton and it will be brittle enough to break easily. Stick to the two part epoxy. I like the purple kind that resembles coraline.

 

[RadReefer]

Yeah like Josh said, use epoxy not gel glue. I used water-weld epoxy from home depot, its easy to use and cheap, reef safe too. The bond is crazy strong. It's white but in a few weeks it was covered anyways.

 

[RadReefer]

Don't forget to pre-drill holes in it for frag plugs before you put it in the tank.

 

[MrX]

Don't forget to pre-drill holes in it for frag plugs before you put it in the tank.

Is there a standard size to drill (depth/width)? Any other guidelines?

 

[MrX]

So, I'm trying to figure out where to drill in the wall to run my plumbing to the basement. With dual overflows/returns do I need 4 pipes total or can I get away with tying them together into just two pipes? Also, what size should I be expecting to drill through?

My plan is to:
- determine # of pipes and sizes
- find a spot where it will all fit
- cut a panel out of the wall
- drill the holes down "inside" the wall

Thanks peeps!

 

[MrX]

Started mocking up my sump layout. I have a 40B (36.4x18.1x17). I'm figuring: SKIMMER - RETURN - REFUGIUM

The skimmer section would have a bubble tower with some small rock pieces; it's 12" high and 3" square. I'd put probably an inch or so of eggcrate below it for the teeth. (Is a bubble tower any better than just a sock? Suggestions to incorporate both?)

The bubble-trap baffles are 10" tall. Would it make sense to angle them to the left so the water slides down instead of splashing over?

The refugium baffle is 13" high, top inch or so "teeth".

Haven't decided on whether or not the pump would be internal or external yet. All depends on what I end up doing with the plumbing.

With this layout each section has the following approximate dimensions:

skimmer - 10x18x[10-low bubble|11-high bubble]
return - 12.5x18x[10-low bubble|12-refugium]
refugium - 11.5x18x[12-bottom of teeth|13-top of teeth]

Any suggestions on these sizes? Should I make the skimmer area bigger? I have no clue what skimmer to get. Was looking at the ASM G-2 or G-3 (G-3 isn't much more money and would give me extra "skim" overhead).

 

[MrX]

Wife was at work tonight so I figured it was a good time to cut into the wall.

First I cut an access hole in the wall. Ended up having to make it a little bigger to get my arm and the drill inside.

Final access hole; you can see the frame bottom I have to drill through. Started with a small drill bit just to get through, and then make sure I was in the right spot. Had to be very careful of the AC duct work in the area (directly underneath).

Here's the general area where I figured (certainly hoped so!) I would come out.

Continued in next post... keeps telling me I've uploaded six images/videos when I only have 5...

 

[MrX]

Messy messy holes... but it should work. The drill/bit was too long to get in straight so I had to mess around.

Final result from inside the wall. Need to clean it up a bit. As you can see, the AC duct is right below this. I've got about 7-8" clearance between the top of the duct and where the holes are.

Next up tonight is cutting some eggcrate for the bottom of the tank and doing the final coat of paint on the trim (I sanded it down at lunch time).

 

[MrX]

Oh yeah, also bought 40lbs of rock and 40lbs of sand from Marcosrock today.

Think I've settled on an ASM G-3, but I have to check the prices on the Reef Octopus. Still open to suggestions.