cmcoker 120g build thread

[cmcoker]

So, I have been meaning to do this. In March, I got a good deal on a used tank on my local club forum :

RR tank.

Planet aquarium tank
48x24x24
Center overflow
Eurobraced
1-1 1/2 drain and 2-3/4 return
PVC bottom
Black silicone
Stand is extra tall 42"
Canopy is 13" tall and opens from front and top
Total height of tank, stand,and canopy is 76"
Includes trigger systems ruby 36" sump.

The guy also threw custom ATO container that fit the stand with sump in place and enough tropic eden sand to have about a 2in sandbed. So I hired the lfs to move the tank, and had it brought home.

 

[cmcoker]

So tank sat there for a couple weeks, finally found the one level spot in the place and convinced the wife to let me put it there. Also, ordered a jebao DCT12000 for my return, eheim jager 300w heater. I had been planning to go bigger, and had purchased a eshopps s200 cone skimmer from a club member as well.
Added some dry rock to allow for it to cycle, had a 55g setup that all the livestock and rock was going to be moved from after letting the 120g cycle and make sure no leaks, etc.

 

[cmcoker]

So, I got everything moved over from the 55g, breakdown of the 55g was the priority so everything just got placed into the 120g while that was taken care of.

 

[cmcoker]

I hurt my back in March, and it progressively got worse. I was slowly able to reaquascape, and by beginning of April it had evolved to this.

 

[cmcoker]

Couple more pics.

 

[cmcoker]

Fish:
Yellow watchman goby with pistol shrimp

McCoskers wrasse

Blackaxil chromis x3 - one of them got its mouth locked open in the process of transferring to the new tank. He could still eat, and researching the intrawebs showed it may resolve on its own, 3 days seemed to be the expected time. I found a post that described how to fix it, involved pushing a certain spot in its mouth to allow it to close, decided I would give it three days then remove to fish to attempt that procedure. Luckily, when I came home for lunch on day 2, it was shut! Yay! Pic where you can make out the mouth stuck open

Lawnmower blenny, not a fan of the camera.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Looking good!

 

[cmcoker]

Thanks!

 

[cmcoker]

Apparently my pistol shrimp got into the superglue when I added a frag last weekend a bit of a blurry but it's on his left claw. He's still eating and acting ok.

 

[cmcoker]

I also got a eshopps s200 snow cone skimmer off my local club forum, dirt cheap. It needs ~9" water level, and my sump divider only held it at like 5"

The trigger systems ruby sump I got is an older model. It does not have the adjustable height wall before the return chamber that the newer models have. So, I found this acrylic clipboard laying around the house..

Grabbed the Dremel, scored it

Snapped it

Sanded the edge down

Put it in place in the sump

And now only the return chamber is seeing the evaporation, while keeping my skimmer in a constant 9“ water level. I plan to glue it place at some point, but for now it is held in place by the water pressure. I didn't want to glue it until the sump had a deep clean.

Sump is a bit of a mess, but back issues have kept me from really getting in there..

At this point I don't know that I will glue it. I did this back in November and it has been working fine. If I ever changed skimmer or something I may want a different height so think I will leave it flexible..

 

[cmcoker]

Some corals shots :

 

[cmcoker]

Been dealing with a GHA outbreak, have increased water changes, added cheato, dosed peroxide in tank and am siphoning the GHA out as it dies.

The changes are helping, when I siphon now the GHA comes off in clumps and does not seem to be spreading further. I'm sure my lack of maintenance through most of 2015 finally caught up with me.

I've been using a length of rodi tubing with a syringe to apply the h2o2 directly on the algae. I put the pump on feed mode, apply, and let it sit for a while. I believe this has really helped the manual removal, along with the other algae remediation steps I have taken.

To siphon the algae out I use a length of vinyl tubing and run it to the sump, have a quick clamp that I use to attach a felt filter sock to the end, so I don't have to worry about how much water I'm sacking up. After the siphoning, I do a water change.

Pulsing xenia is also trying to take over so that is the next battle to begin...

 

[cmcoker]

well, tank is broken down and posted for sale, livestock in a temporary tank while I wait for issues to be resolved with the manufacturer of the new setup... Will start a new build thread once I have a new tank that I can actually use!

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Looking forward to the new build!