100G Acrylic Reef Tank

[Aquastudent]

It's about time I jumped into this hobby for real. I started with a Fluval Evo13.5 which I converted into a 20T. I've mostly been barely growing the few corals I have. I recently combined my two large freshwater tanks into a new 150G. That freed up a 100G acrylic tank that I think would look great as a reef. 

 

The dimensions are 44"×24"x24".

 

I have been slowly accumulating the supplies to make the jump up.

 

Major items procured:

Tank and Stand

Eclipse L Overflow

Titanium Heater and Controller

29G with FijiCube DIY sump baffles 

Bullhead for return from sump

Dry rock (foundation and bulk), super glue, mortar - I'm going to do a negative space aquascape

 

Major Items still to procure :

Lighting - Kessil AP9X

Skimmer

Return Pump

RO/DI System

ATO

 

Current top priority on this list is the skimmer. 

 

My current tasks are buffing out the minor scratches in the acrylic display tank, drilling the holes for the bulkheads, and painting the background black. I plan on placing the overflow on there left 1/3 on the back wall and then putting the 1" bulkhead for there return in the upper right. Current plan is to step down the 1" return to 3/4" and use locline. I installed a 40B sump with the FijiCube baffles on the freshwater 150G and absolutely love it. 

 

First major challenge is the sump. I went with the largest standard size aquarium I could fit in the stand. Unfortunately, I may have gone too large as I don't have much room to work above the sump. Since i don't have a skimmer yet I can't test whether I could remove it for maintenance. There is a width of a 2x4 with of space above the bottom of the opening for some minor maneuvering. 

 

Should I step down the sump to a 20L for the extra headroom? I think it'll be large enough, it's just nicer to have the extra 30% volume.

 

Edited February 2, 2021 by Aquastudent

[tpallas]

Cool! If it were my tank I’d get a shorter sump. That would be very difficult to work in and would limit your equipment choices.


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[Aquastudent]

52 minutes ago, tpallas said:

Cool! If it were my tank I’d get a shorter sump. That would be very difficult to work in and would limit your equipment choices.


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Thanks. That's exactly what I'm afraid of. Plus, if the chores are difficult, I'll be less likely to do it at the necessary points.

 

Maybe I can find something on the sale threads. 

[YHSublime]

on the shorter sump, do it right the first go!

[ReefAddict]

Yep get a 20L from Petco $1 per gallon sale.  

[Aquastudent]

Thanks guys! I'm definitely all for the "do it right the first time" camp... well, now that I'm on the second time. 

 

Glad Petco still has the Dollar per Gallon sale happening. I'll get that ordered and some new baffles.

[Aquastudent]

Made some progress since the last update. Ifinished buffing out the micro-scratches and painted the back panel. I may also paint a border trim to cover up some of the reinforcement.

 

Snowy day means time spent inside working on the tank. I've done 75% of the plumbing. I forgot I got a threaded bulkhead so I need to get another transition piece for the return. I wanted to put in more unions but there wasn't much space for more. I decided to put a large pipe off the back of the overflows instead of a short run to a union. I would want a union before the plumbing in the stand but I didn't see much of a need to replace the run down the tank. 

 

I have the beananimal pieces cut although I may make the primary drain a simple pipe instead of the two elbows. That'll free up more space in the box.

 

Also picked up a protein skimmer and return pump. I decided to go on the cheaper end here. I'm not a fan of having to buy twice so I rarely do this but I've seen some decent reviews for the Jaebo return and Bubble Magus skimmer. 

 

Finished putting together the sump. I really like the FijiCube sump baffle designs. They are easy to put together and function well. I'm not sold on the filter socks. They clog so quickly. I may change it up to use polyfil down the road for mechanical filtration

 

We're nearly at the point where I can check for leaks!

 

My remaining major purchases are an RO/DI system, ATO, and lights. I live in a townhouse and am constrained on space for a mixing station so I'll need to get creative with it.

[Aquastudent]

I've been making steady progress. Today's project was constructing the aquascape. I used MarcoRocks and broke them into smaller pieces. I used a combination of super glue, accelerator, and crushed MarcoRock to construct the core scape. The accelerator ended up being the faster and easier method but the ground MarcoRock looks better by hiding the seams already. Because all the rock is pale white, the dimension doesn't show up well in photos. One challenge is that we built crossbraces into the top of this tank, which limits the size of pre-constructed scapes I can put in there. I didn't want to build it in the tank (even though after things start growing on it, the scape probably wouldn't come out in one piece). I hope my measurements and construction were within the limits!

 

Tomorrow, if I still like the scape, I'll be mortaring it to lock it in. All I'll need is the RO/DI unit to be delivered and we can get cycling!

 

I wanted to put a decent amount of negative space underneath the main scape. Also, I wanted to have a moderate amount of real estate as I'd like to try a variety of corals and learn more broadly about the hobby. I think there will be a wide range of lighting and flow levels with this setup. It's kind of funny... the part that I'm almost most excited about is the base rock up front i want to do a Zoa garden with!

 

I ended up going with a Kessil AP9X because I liked the sleek design, built in capabilities, and coverage. My alternative was two A360 generation Kessils (or the Ecotech 15s) but I opted to not go with the double lights. I haven't dialed in the light yet. Wanted to see it above the tank though. I have completed the plumbing (and leak tested it). We're nearly there!

 

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Aquastudent

[tpallas]

That looks great! I ran into the same issue with the eurobracing, my bigger pieces just barely squeeze in. Have fun mortaring. One thing I found helpful was to use a water spray bottle to moisten the rock prior to application, and then after over the mortar to help it flow into holes and crevices to lock the pieces in my place.

[Aquastudent]

Thanks for the tip Tpallas! The spray bottle worked well!

 

I finished the rocks and got them submerged last week. It was much easier to get them through the opening that i anticipated! Glad there weren't any complications there. After getting salt into the system and letting it stabilize, I added some AragAlive Fiji Pink. I have a couple more bags coming to give better coverage of the bottom.

 

The light has remained off. I'm going to try and get it through the "ugly phase" before turning the light on and adding corals. I added some live bacteria from a bottle and moved my clownfish over. I need to check to see that the cycle is being established because it's such a very small bioload... don't want to transfer any live rock from the old reef because I was having trouble with bubble algae. It's an option if need be. 

 

I hope to get another fish or two into the old tank to get the quarantine going... but it's almost better to put the first few right into the display tank. 

 

Overall, here's my stocking list

Early stocking (< 3 months)

2x Oscellaris clownfish (currently have one)

1x Flame angel

1x Firefish

 

Near future (3-6 months)

1x Tomini Bristletooth, Kole tang, yellow tang, OR purple tang (I love the look of the purple but that may be pushing it a little for this tank. Tomini is the top of the list)

1x malnarus wrasse

1x yellow wrasse

 

Longterm (6+ months)

Mandarin dragonet (need to get a refugium established)

 

I also love the looks of royal grammas. There are also a variety of blennies and gobies that are eye catching!

 

I would welcome your thoughts and ideas. I be searching more of the forums history to look for inspiration. 

 

[Aquastudent]

It's been a bit chaotic the past couple months. I had a water supply line on a toilet on the third floor of my house break during the night... and it caused significant water damage on all three floors.

 

Thankfully, nothing affected the tank other than I'm having the wood floors refinished in the living room. I ended up moving the tank to the basement which gives me some ease of mind. The tank was dry (I moved the clownfish back to the original 20L) over the past couple months although now we're rolling again!

 

Looking forward to getting this kicked into the next gear! The lights are winding down but wanted to give a FTS and a minor update.