Dbrewsky's 120 Gallon Build

[dbrewsky]

Hello all,

I just wanted to kick off my new 120 build here on R2R. I plan to keep this thread updated with progress from the build stage through maturation. I recently closed on a house and have been looking forward to this build for some time now. Now that I am finally settling in to the house, I am extremely excited to be acting on my plan for a long-term SPS dominated mixed reef tank.

I would say that none of my previous tanks over the years have really had the opportunity to become established, mature systems due to my various moves and the chaos after college. I have been planning and designing this system in my head and on paper for almost a year now. My goal is to build this system with the intention of supporting my reef for 5, if not 10 years.

To help make this plan a reality I plan focus on stability, ease of maintenance, and the utilization of high quality equipment to support a living reef of diverse and healthy corals, fish, and invertebrates.

I am excited for the journey and the learning experiences- good and bad and hope that my experiences might be a benefit to those who would like to follow along!

 

[Pirate Randy]

Looking forward to following your journey.

 

[renato120]

Following

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Following!

 

[TheWhiteFord]

Following

 

[dbrewsky]

I'm sure that I am quickly becoming my UPS delivery driver's least favorite stop. He was perhaps a little disgruntled after he hauled the 4th, large box to my doorstep the other day. I'm sure he was thinking to himself "why did this idiot order 100lbs of rocks and why is he acting like a 5 year old on Christmas morning?!" He will get use to it before long!

I chose to go with Pukani dry rock and ordered 100lbs worth. I chose this rock not because it's quick to cure by any means, however it has a rather interesting form and more importantly the porosity and structure will potentially enhance the rock's function for bacterial colonization and supporting micro fauna.

I was really impressed at how light some of these rocks were. I was equally impressed by the smell from the Brute trash can after a couple days of soaking in heated ro/di water...... I will do an initial week long soak in ro/di followed by a 100% wc with saltwater and continue to monitor the curing process and administer water changes as necessary.

Finally making some progress!

Sneak peak of what's to come

 

[vder]

Following along

 

[dbrewsky]

There should be a scientific law that any reef plumbing job always requires one more trip to Home Depot, or in my case another UPS tracking number.

BUT SERIOUSLY..... I thought I had covered all my bases when I ordered the plumbing for the tank last week. I drew out the whole plumbing system on paper and listed every single part that would be required.... then I doubled that number and for some sections I purchased fittings for 3 possible configurations of the same section. Yet, here I am, sitting on my hands waiting for new parts for my drain plumbing, since my previously planned configuration will not work after all!!! :mad:

Oh well, I should have my new fittings in on Thursday and hopefully have some progress updates on the tank itself.

 

[dbrewsky]

Had a little bit of free time this morning and was excited to get a start on the plumbing. I was able to fit and glue the herbie drains and the overflow returns lines. I had originally planned to use 2- 3/4" Loc-Line valves with male thread adapter to transition the PVC to the Loc-Line, however the spacing between the overflow box wall and the PVC ended up inhibiting this. I will need to order AGAIN :mad: to get the 3/4" Loc-Line male threaded adapter fittings.



I did find these super sweet intake screens from Premium Aquatics that are 1"dia. X 8" long and have a threaded male end making removal for maintenance very easy. These seem MUCH safer than the typical bulkhead strainers.

I should have the rest of my parts in today, and hopefully will be able to make real progress on the plumbing this weekend!

 

[dbrewsky]

OK... I fell a little behind on my build time line :mad:

I ended up sick as a dog with a nasty stomach bug that was going around the weekend I planned to have the plumbing done followed by my girlfriend getting sick and then life took over for awhile and I simply had too many commitments.

I am glad to say that I have had some time to make progress and plan on devoting all day Friday to work on the build

A sneak peak of the plumbing completed so far, I am awaiting yet another shipment of plumbing parts to finish the plumbing. I was dry fitting some sections and discovered that my plan for part of the return plumbing needed to be modified. Parts are coming in Thursday, in time for my dedicated build day.

Since I haven't had much progress recently on the build, I wanted to introduce my assistant, who has been somewhat patient with me dragging my feet on getting the tank set up. Her excitement over fishy feeding time is right up there with trips to the dog park!

 

[spscrazy3]

Following along! Good luck!

 

[IronVulture]

I feel your pain with the plumbing lol it took me 5 online orders and two trips to the hardware store to finish mine[emoji12]

 

[dbrewsky]

but seriously... i'm pretty sure the Bulk Reef Supply reps cringe when they pull my order picking lists! I probably wont make any friends either when I send them back a box full of fittings that didn't work at all.

I like how they do business so ill keep sending them my money, I don't think they will mind lol

 

[TUSI]

You are doing a great job. Looks great so far. Tracking the progress, keep it up

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Following! Love that size tank.

 

[dbrewsky]

Plumbing.Is.Finally.Done!!!!!!

I will hopefully have pics to show either tonight or tomorrow.... I had to write a post without pictures because i'm soo excited to have completed the long drawn-out process thus far. I am also quite pleased with how the project turned out. I will hopefully start leak testing the return lines and the manifold tonight!! Fingers crossed for no leaks!!!!

I also got tired of crappy cell phone pics, so I dug out my Canon DSLR for some quality pictures of my progress moving forward.

 

[Jackcarp]

Following along. I am building my in-wall 110 right now. Excited to see your progress!

 

[dbrewsky]

Initial water test went well last night, excited to see the Vectra in action. I am systematically testing the system starting with the return plumbing and manifold to ensure any leaks are evident and visible. I had some seeping on the threaded bulkheads and a threaded bard adapter that will require more pipe sealant be applied, but other than that it was a successful test.

 

[Zero Nitrates]

How high do you have the Vectra turned up?

 

[reeferdon]

I'm sure that I am quickly becoming my UPS delivery driver's least favorite stop. He was perhaps a little disgruntled after he hauled the 4th, large box to my doorstep the other day. I'm sure he was thinking to himself "why did this idiot order 100lbs of rocks and why is he acting like a 5 year old on Christmas morning?!" He will get use to it before long!

I chose to go with Pukani dry rock and ordered 100lbs worth. I chose this rock not because it's quick to cure by any means, however it has a rather interesting form and more importantly the porosity and structure will potentially enhance the rock's function for bacterial colonization and supporting micro fauna.

I was really impressed at how light some of these rocks were. I was equally impressed by the smell from the Brute trash can after a couple days of soaking in heated ro/di water...... I will do an initial week long soak in ro/di followed by a 100% wc with saltwater and continue to monitor the curing process and administer water changes as necessary.

Finally making some progress!

Sneak peak of what's to come

SO where did you order rocks from??????