Jasonanatal's 120 gallon "Advanced Complexity" Reef Aquarium

[Jasonanatal]

The Beginning: Jasonanatal's 120 gallon "Advanced Complexity" Reef Aquarium.

After many talks with my wife and convincing my landlord that it would not rain in his apartment I finally received the okay and pulled the trigger on a larger aquarium. A standard 120 All Glass aquarium. I know many people must be asking themselves why I didn't purchase a reef ready aquarium. I have a very simple answer. I live on the second floor of an old four family aparment building in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx. When purchasing this aquarium I was concerned with one thing, having the largest aquarium with the maximum amount of water capacity that could be supported by the floor and not cause hazardous conditions in my home. After contacting numerous custom aquarium companies I decided that 120 gallon was a nice middle ground. So here starts another Reef Aquarium project. I hope everyone enjoys.

I started this build by breaking down and selling components of my 28 gallon JBJ Nano Cube HQI Reef Aquarium that I did not consider suitable for my new 120 gallon reef aquarium. Then I removed the shelves, anchors and other mounting equipment and began patching up the wall and repainting in preperation for the new aquarium



Photograph - Friday, November 07, 2008 - My old 28 gallon JBJ Nano Cube HQI Reef Aquarium being broken down.


Now I had no clue what I was thinking when I figured that I could get this 120 glass aquarium up 1 flight of stairs all by myself but thankfully my landlord gave me a hand. It with the help of the wall I managed to slide this monster onto the metal stand that was purchased for it.



Photograph - Friday, November 07, 2008 - My wife standing by the 120 gallon aquarium for a size comparison.


Photograph - Friday, November 07, 2008 - My 120 gallon aquarium finally filled with RO/DI water after 3 days.

[CarmieJo]

Jason,

What an exciting project!

[Jace]

verry nice looks fun.

[rayme07]

Cool cant wait for more.

[Jasonanatal]

Jason,

What an exciting project!

Carmiejo, that it definitely is. I can't wait to purchase all the little goodies for the aquarium.

[Jasonanatal]

verry nice looks fun.

Jace, thank you. I'm sure it will be.

[Jasonanatal]

Cool cant wait for more.

Raymen07, thank you. Good to have you following this thread.

[PhotoJohn]

very nice. I guess your landlord is okay with a 120g tank on the second floor then?

[Jasonanatal]

very nice. I guess your landlord is okay with a 120g tank on the second floor then?

Photojohn, yes I think he approves of it since he helped me get it upstairs. On the other hand he could just be hoping that it floods his apartment to have a reason to say I have to leave.

[boyesreef]

are you sure the floor is going to hold up over 1000 pounds of water? not to mention the weight of the stand, tank, and other equipment. when i asked my landlord about a fish tank, she gave me an exact weight a could not surpass. i have a 1500 pound weight limit on my floors, and im sitting at about 1000 now. 55 gallon display with a 55 gallon sump.

[Jasonanatal]

are you sure the floor is going to hold up over 1000 pounds of water? not to mention the weight of the stand, tank, and other equipment. when i asked my landlord about a fish tank, she gave me an exact weight a could not surpass. i have a 1500 pound weight limit on my floors, and im sitting at about 1000 now. 55 gallon display with a 55 gallon sump.

Boyesreef, I'm pretty sure it's going to hold. I had a 150 gallon Oceanic aquarium in my living room before which was literally double the weight of the All Glass. That aquarium didn't show anye issue with the floor being unstable.

[boyesreef]

cool, just wanted to make sure! i had a buddy who lived in a trailer bought a 200 gallon with a 100 gallon sump, and the sucker fell through the floor up to th etank support beams on the stand. but that was almost a ton and a half of water.

[Jasonanatal]

Subtrate: Carib Sea Ocean Direct Live Sand "Aquascaping"

I have had much success in the past with Deep Sand Beds so if it ain't broke don't fix it! I decided to line the bottom of the aquarium with 160 lbs of Carib Sea Ocean Direct Live Sand. This would give me an average of a 3 inch sandbed within the aquarium.



Photograph - Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 40 lbs. bag of Carib Sea Direct Ocean Live Sand.


Photograph - Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - My 120 gallon All Glass Aquarium with 160 lbs of Crain Sea Direct Ocean Live Sand making a 3 inch substrate.

[rroselavy]

Great to see the upgrade Jason. Very exciting, but I have two words for you: MORE SAND!!!

Seriously, from what I have read, 3" is the minimum DSB depth, and that's with Oolitic sand. An average of 3" would probably end up with half your bed being well under 3". After a year, the sand compacts and dissolves and becomes even less. Then you are in the dangerous middleground where the SB can become a nutrient trap.

I put 120# of Oolitic in my 55G, and I probably should have put in 160#. After one year, my bed now is between 3"<>5" in depth. I am slowly adding another 40# to make up for the shallow spots...

---

What kind of lighting are you going with Jason?

[rayme07]

Jason you tank looks amazing.

[Jasonanatal]

Jason you tank looks amazing.

Rayme07, thank you for tagging along Rayme. It's good to have you tagging along.

[V]

jay, how you been brother? Hows the little one?

Mate, big, small, now your creeping back up in size again.., new you couldn't retain the bug for long!

I always love your headings

" Natral Simplicity" Tell me bud, how that going to tie in theme wise?

[Jasonanatal]

jay, how you been brother? Hows the little one?

Mate, big, small, now your creeping back up in size again.., new you couldn't retain the bug for long!

I always love your headings

" Natral Simplicity" Tell me bud, how that going to tie in theme wise?

Brother V, its good to hear from you again. The little frag is growing into a full sized colony. I had to ease my spending on equipment this month since I buying him so many toys for Christmas (their stacked almost as high as the Christmas Tree). But I honestly couldn't stay away from the big aquarium and my goal to house a beautiful Achilles Tang. As for the headline it started out as a simple design but is slowly snowballing into something grander as always. How are things down under?

[Jasonanatal]

Equipment: EcoTech Marine Vortech Battery Backup (Insurance for Your Reef)

I wanted to be able to protect my investment on this aquarium setup since it will be with me for quite some time. One of my major concerns is being able to supply power to my aquarium in the event of a power outtage. Being that I'm from New York City the Summer months make me worry. So I turned to the folks at EcoTech Marine and Icecap Inc. to be the trusted guards of my aquarium. I purchased the EcoTech Marine Vortech Battery Backup System which can power a single EcoTech Marine Vortech Pump for up to 36 hours and can accomodate 2 seperate pumps. This system can switch from the main power to backup battery instantly. According to the nice folks at Icecap Inc. since the launch of the EcoTech Marine Vortech Battery Backup System they have not had one request to replace the battery for its end of life. Also if a replacement was necessary it would cost around the range of $75.00 to $85.00. so far I'm please with the system and I'm sure I can go to sleep better now to.






Photograph - Tuesday, December 03, 2008 - EcoTech Marine Backup Battery System mounted underneath my 120 gallon aquarium.

[rroselavy]

Equipment: EcoTech Marine Vortech Battery Backup (Insurance for Your Reef)

Jason-

I have the Battery Backup for my MP40W. I thought it was rated at 30 hours of power (at slowest speed) for a single MP40W, and 15 hours for two MP40W's. I'll have to go back and check.

FWIW, we just had a 17 hour black out here a few weeks ago, and my battery backup only lasted 6.5 hours before it gave up the ghost! I had to lug several heavy UPS from work and add a air bubbler to compensate. I have already contacted Icecap, and I need to perform another test before sending it in for service. The good news is that it has a two year warranty, which is outstanding.

[rroselavy]

So I went to check, and in typical Ecotech fashion, they have a newer rating of 36 hours at the top of their Battery Backup product page, while listing it as 30 hours down below... Reminds me of the min MP40W flow rate confusion...

Battery Backup

Perhaps the 36 hours is the new rating based on the new Gen 2 min speed of the MP40W?

[Jasonanatal]

So I went to check, and in typical Ecotech fashion, they have a newer rating of 36 hours at the top of their Battery Backup product page, while listing it as 30 hours down below... Reminds me of the min MP40W flow rate confusion...

Battery Backup

Perhaps the 36 hours is the new rating based on the new Gen 2 min speed of the MP40W?

Rroselavy, that would make sense. I have to review the manual again because someone mentioned that you should let the Vortech Pump run of the backup battery each month to ensure that the battery is not overcharged. But that practice sounds like common sense.

[spanko]

Good stuff, always like to follow a build thread so here I am tagging along!!!

[Jasonanatal]

Do It Myself (Wife Helping) Project: Reinforcing a Iron Stand

I recently purchase Guitar Hero Would Tour for my wife and it rocks, we rock, the little frag rocks and the aquarium rocks! Wait the aquarium rocks!?! Holy S#!t!! I then sat in front of my aquarium noticing that it rocked from Left to Right very slightly while a single EcoTech Vortech Pump in Wave Mode and then front to back when my wife started jumping while rocking to Ozzie's Crazy Train in Guitar Hero World Tour. Not the type of thing you want to see when their currently over 1,000 lbs. resting on it. Now I don't care if my landlord gets wet since he charges me too much rent already but I was concerned that my little boy, wife and little Yorkie Puppy. And so a plan is born!


Photograph - Tuesday, November 03, 2008 - 120 gallon Iron Aquarium Stand.


I figured that this iron stand is constructed using L shaped iron beams yet the structure have some flaws. Their are no cross beams to resist flexing and rocking of the stand and all the weight is distributed to 4 L shaped feet. So my idea is to take advantage of the L shaped Iron Beams as guides so that I can use 2x4's to add a sturdy structure around the iron. Think if it as a metal skeleton surrounded by wood. Then I can use the wood to secure sides and even doors to create a better stand. So off to Home Depot I go.



Photograph - Tuesday, November 03, 2008 -Ryobi 10 inch Blade Saw (sorry I didn't have room in my apartment for the Dewalt).


Photograph - Tuesday, November 03, 2008 - 2x4's from Home Depot.



Photograph - Tuesday, November 03, 2008 - Me cutting the wood with the new lazer guided Ryobi Circular Saw.

To Be Continued...

[Jasonanatal]

Good stuff, always like to follow a build thread so
here I am tagging along!!!

Spanko, good to have you along for the ride.