stratos21ss March 5, 2008 Share March 5, 2008 Tomorrow I will be taking delivery of a 120g tank/sump/stand that I asked Jeff (NAGA / Pimped Out Aquariums) to build for me. I have been contemplating different tanks and designs for over a year and have done a good deal of research on what I would like to have for what will be used predominantly as an sps tank. The 120g size seemed like a good overall starting tank size and it would fit well into my existing fish room that I have setup for my freshwater discus. I found that I liked the idea of an external overflow because it frees up aquascaping space. Also, if you take the overflow coast to coast it maximizes surface layer skimming which fits well because I also want to try an ULNS (Ultra Low Nutrient System) via one of the Zeo methods. In sketching out the tank I thought it would be cool to go with an acrylic tank and incorporate the tank's side panels into the external coast to coast overflow itself - thus this is the reason I call it a 120SSO - the SSO stands for Stratos Sided Overflow to reflect the way I designed the combined use of the tank's sides for creating the external coast to coast overflow in one straddled piece of acrylic. Here's my first rough sketch of the design: This is an intermediate drawing that I did that includes a return idea which I later changed to a Wavysea instead: and this is my final design that was given to Jeff to build (48x24x24 w/ the overflow 48x6x10): I have not seen it in person or a picture of it for real so I am pretty excited and geared up to start the build.. For the sump I was initially thinking of this design: ...but it didn't make sense to have a fuge with a ULNS and after talking to Jeff a little we came up with this as the final sump design which will custom fit into the tubular steel stand Jeff built for me as well: ..looking forward to updating as things progress with my build. Thanks, _Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak March 6, 2008 Share March 6, 2008 This design looks a whole awful lot like... someone else's tank I just got done helping plumb today. Best of luck, I'm sure it will turn out great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratos21ss March 6, 2008 Author Share March 6, 2008 LOL Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Grenier March 6, 2008 Share March 6, 2008 Very cool design. Jeff(NAGA) recently build one for me which I'm in the process of setting-up. Looking forward to updates on your progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratos21ss March 8, 2008 Author Share March 8, 2008 Got the tank/sump/stand from Jeff (NAGA) today. We are extremely lucky to have a resource available to the club like Jeff - He did incredible work on a not so easy design. Here are some quick pictures of the 120SSO: Two VorTechs will be used for flow It will be a thrill to see the water flowing over that weir for the first time! Stratos Side!! I will use the 1" bulkhead in the foreground to run the return to a Wavysea The two distant 1.5" bulkheads are for the drains which will be valve controlled - to fill up the overflow about 7" so I can use it as a staging area for new frags etc. Sort of wished I had bought an external skimmer because it would have been easy to feed. Maybe next time I will update soon with pics of the sump and stand.. Thanks again Jeff. _Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highland Reefer March 8, 2008 Share March 8, 2008 Sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leishman March 8, 2008 Share March 8, 2008 Nice. Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mosheikh March 8, 2008 Share March 8, 2008 Awesome tank! Can't wait to see it running with water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgets March 8, 2008 Share March 8, 2008 Sweet tank!! I can't wait to see the stand! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratos21ss March 9, 2008 Author Share March 9, 2008 Thanks for nice comments on the tank...Here's the stand NAGA had fabricated for me. I have some finishing work to do on it...It is constructed of 1.5" square tube..I do not know the thickness of the steel. At 48" I think it can get away without trusses. _Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak March 10, 2008 Share March 10, 2008 Boy that stand is in sharp contrast to the gleaming cleanliness of the new tank, I'm sure it will look great with a polish and finish to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAGA March 10, 2008 Share March 10, 2008 Matt, that tank shows well just sitting on the carpet. That was the first time I have built a tank that way (design wise) Very cool design but, it was a challenge to do it. As for the stand well.......................it's steel and it isn't worth to pay me to paint it when all you have to do is put some Rustoleum on it after a little steel wool. Now I just have to get back to making some more tanks...............there are several members waiting for their new tanks. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratos21ss March 10, 2008 Author Share March 10, 2008 The stand will shine like the tank soon..not to worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrientBlueReef March 10, 2008 Share March 10, 2008 The stand will shine like the tank soon..not to worry. Very clever design, and slick looking tank. I wanted to use zeo on my new tank, but nixed the idea because of the dedicate dosing it takes. If I remember correctly, Ultralith seems to be pretty cost effective. Right now, it isn't for me, but I can't wait to see somebody else use it. The results can be spectacular! Now I just have to get back to making some more tanks...............there are several members waiting for their new tanks. Jeff I can't wait. I feel like a kid on the days leading up to Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratos21ss March 11, 2008 Author Share March 11, 2008 (edited) Very clever design, and slick looking tank. I wanted to use zeo on my new tank, but nixed the idea because of the dedicate dosing it takes. If I remember correctly, Ultralith seems to be pretty cost effective. Right now, it isn't for me, but I can't wait to see somebody else use it. The results can be spectacular! I can't wait. I feel like a kid on the days leading up to Christmas. OrientBlueReef..thanks! Yeah I will give the UltraLith a shot and it is a little less expensive than the others..startup costs are the hard part..after that it is not so bad to maintain, but we'll see. It's a lot safer to use it on startup in a new tank than it is to convert over to it in an established tank..so nows the time to try it for me. Adds more challenge since I never had a reef tank, but I like experimenting. Great to see your excitement for your new tank..best of luck with it! _Matt Edited March 11, 2008 by stratos21ss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrientBlueReef March 11, 2008 Share March 11, 2008 OrientBlueReef..thanks! Yeah I will give the UltraLith a shot and it is a little less expensive than the others..startup costs are the hard part..after that it is not so bad to maintain, but we'll see. It's a lot safer to use it on startup in a new tank than it is to convert over to it in an established tank..so nows the time to try it for me. Adds more challenge since I never had a reef tank, but I like experimenting. Great to see your excitement for your new tank..best of luck with it! _Matt Thanks. I agree, even the start up isn't all that expensive with Ultralith. I just didn't want to be tied down to dosing. Are you going BB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratos21ss March 11, 2008 Author Share March 11, 2008 ..probably go vssb for the look, but I am still debating it..bb still might happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikS March 11, 2008 Share March 11, 2008 Nice tank - gotta say I get a kick everytime I see a "NAGA open top acrylic" tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gastone March 11, 2008 Share March 11, 2008 (edited) Matt, congrats on the beautiful tank. Jeff did an awesome job. I am curious on one thing though. It looks to me that the overflow is at the height of the bottom of the euro bracing. Is the thickness of the bracing enough to overcome the surface tension of the water so the water can get into the overflow w/o issue? Between that and in-tank circulation, how is water going to stay in the tank? Maybe I'm just looking at it the wrong way or maybe I'm missing something. Regardless, nice tank and I look forward to the impending build. Garrett. Edit: went back and looked closer and I can see that the overflow is under the bracing. I should have payed attention the first time. Ignore the rest of the post (expect when I say it s beautiful) Edited March 11, 2008 by gastone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratos21ss March 11, 2008 Author Share March 11, 2008 Garrett - no prob and thanks for the comments.. I did ask Jeff to keep the back wall's top (the weir) as high as possible so that the tank would look filled up from the front..so it is pretty high looking and was intentional. We will not know until I get it running exactly how the volumes will look and react, but it sure will be fun to see. My return pump will be an eheim 1260 so that should give it a nice mid speed flow I hope. In tank circulation will be from two vortechs so again it will be cool to see what wave patterns the tank can handle without getting out of hand - though any overflow will be contained by the wide lip on the front and sides and should dump into the trough if need be.. _Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratos21ss March 17, 2008 Author Share March 17, 2008 Here's an update on the stand...thanks ASCO in Manassas for sandblasting and murdering it out in satin black powder coat..I like it it lot: quick pic with the tank on for kicks: _Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yauger March 17, 2008 Share March 17, 2008 man that looks good... where did you get that stand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratos21ss March 18, 2008 Author Share March 18, 2008 man that looks good... where did you get that stand? Thanks...see above...NAGA had it made for me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnguyen4007 March 18, 2008 Share March 18, 2008 Matt, Awesome looking tank. I can't wait to take a closer look at that this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAGA March 18, 2008 Share March 18, 2008 Very sharp Matt! That will fit in nicely with the rest of your very clean setups in your house. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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