New 125g AGA Setup. Any other advices will help

[bmkj02]

Well I bought this 125 AGA about 5 months ago from a kid selling it on craigslist for $150 with stand.SOLD!!!! He didnt know what he had. I have a 55g that I have had for a few years now but about 6-7 months ago a friend of mine gave me his Zebra Eels and now the thing is about 4ft long so thats the reason for the bigger tank. Im doing everything myself and am trying to keep the cost way down so that another reason its been 5 months and it still not ready. Here is the starting tank

 

[bmkj02]

First thing I did was flip it over and drill the back for the sump lines. Thanks to Glass-Holes.com this was such an ease. I drilled 2 1-1/2 holes. For the pressure line back I went over and didnt drill. I could of drilled it but being lucky the first time drilling I didnt want to take a chance and also if the power went out I didnt want the water to flow back in from there

 

[bmkj02]

Here is something I do see much (or really at all). Cause of my eel I wanted to make a tunnel for it. I used some of my left over 1 1/2 pvc and made this and used some crate for the floor. Looks like a plenum but isnt. Mostly did it to keep my live rock for sinking or falling over as I have a few Convict Gobies and they love making underground tunnels and messing everything up. And also forcing me to make a deep sand bed.
Then one day I saw on this website someone running underground pressure lines coming from the sand and shooting up at an angle aiming at the rocks and coral for more of a flow. Sounded real good and I made that as well. You can see the line running around the inside of the tank and coming up at the back and over. Overflow box was made by me with some scrap I had. Could of been a lot better but it will work.

 

[bmkj02]

This is were I am at now. All piping has been painted black to blend in with Fusion Krylon paint. The two smaller tanks will be my sump and refugium. The one on the left is a 20g which will be my sump and the one on the right is a 29g which will be my refugium. Im also making a plenum inside the refugium. I could of done the plenum in the main tank as most of it is there but if something happens it would be easier to shut that tank down then the main tank. Also I could of reverse the tanks and made the 29g the sump but its too tall. They are the same length but when it comes to the maintenance it will be a pain with a tall tank as there wont be enough room underneath. I already have the sand filled in on the main tank with Aragonite Live Sand by Caribsea. Its about 6 inchs. Found the live sand for 50cent a pound from a wholesaler running out of business. 285pounds

 

[mie]

Dang, nice find, good job on the drilling (very risky) how about some more pics.

 

[grue]

WOOT

Great job sofar!
Grue

 

[bmkj02]

Thanks. Just finished the refugium and about 90% completed with the sump. I already have the skimmer from my 55g that I am going to transfer over with my UV light. My next project is the light $$$$$$$. I will build a canopy for it but am looking into doing a DIY Metal Halide system. Going the cheap way as this has to be the most expensive part of the whole system. Seen the ballast on line and also the sockets. Dont know really the brands or wattage or if I should even go that route. I have been working on it for 5 months now so you can probably see that the money is the problem

but I rather go slow and do it right then fast and mess it all up. Any advice on the light anyone and please keep in mind the cost

 

[bmkj02]

Well, here is the finish plumbing with the sump and refugium. Not next project is the canopy. Still trying to figure out my design and what kind of lighting to use

 

[grubsnaek]

like the pipe work

 

[ilovemytank]

What exactly is the connection you are using where the PVC pipe connecting the PVC through the glass. I got a bulk head on line but it has a 1" hole and the male threading is just over 1.25" and is equal size or much smaller than all the PVC at Home Depot. I also don't think the one inch hole will move the quantity of water I need to move between my refugium and sump. Please Help. Thanks.

 

[bmkj02]

I used 3/4 PVC to connect the 2 bottom tanks. Didnt want to go any bigger as I didnt want the refugium to flow to quick even though I have a valve connecting the intake. 3/4 PVC going into 3/4 bulkhead. The PVC connected inside the bulkhead and not the outside threads. Cut a hole into the glass 1 1/2" to fit the bulkhead.

 

[bmkj02]

Got the water in to start cycling it. What a pain in the a$$ to tune the valves to get the flow correct between the tank, sump and refugium. Will try this weekend to make my own LR from some LS and cement and the canopy. Still trying to find some cheap ballast to do the metal halide system. Will post more pic as I progress

 

[grubsnaek]

look on E bay for the ballast. i got a ballast that powers (x3) 175w halides for my 125DT for pritty cheap. maybe something to consider.....

 

[bmkj02]

Started working on the canopy over the weekend. Started with my 55g freshwater tank as an idea on what to do before doing the 125g. Got as far as framing it out only. Had to do grocery for my son and I and that killed my trip to home depot for some more wood. Here is a picture of the one for my 55g and 125g. Will get more wood next weekend.

 

[subielover]

What a cool project, looks like it is coming along great.

 

[bmkj02]

Ran into a glitch. I guess I ran the pipping on the refugium too high cause the baffles were also too high. Baffles started flexing and coming apart. Back to the drawing board. Drilled the hole on the lower part of the 29 gallon and also on the sump and decided to connect them from the bottom so I could make the baffles shorter. Not a problem till after I was completed and slide the 29g on the floor and the pipe sticking out of it hit the stand. OUCH!!

Went online and found someone selling a 29g for $20 so I tried it again. Now back to the canopy.

 

[bmkj02]

Finally got time to doing the canopy. Here are some updated pic. Not completed yet as I want to add the details to match the stand. Finish putting some Thompson water sealer on the inside. Have to wait a week to paint the inside white. I bought 2 Glo ballast that operates 2 -54watts T5HO each. Never heard of them but the LFS was selling them for $30 each on clearance. If anyone knows of them let me know. Im also going to make my own reflectors so if anyone also knows any tricks to that please let me know too.

 

[grubsnaek]

looking good...not sure on the ballast sorry....

 

[bmkj02]

Got my American DJ power strip the other day. Its really what they say. Really good system. $30 bucks cant go wrong. Recommend to everyone. Now back to the lighting.

 

[bmkj02]

I cant believe how much work it is to have a nice tank and still try to keep it in a budget. If I had the money it would of been done a long time ago but at least it keeps the tank cycling before I throw any live stock in there. Here are some updates on the DIY lights. I have 2 Glo ballast on the left of the canopy that operate a total of 4 T5HO 54w lights. That will be for the Actinic lights only. Next to that is a 250w power supply that I took out of a dead computer. So far that operates 2 120mm fans 78cfm each. One blows in air and the other is for the exhaust to keep air circulating. Without it, it was keeping a lot of moisture in there and my floor was getting wet from the water dripping from the canopy. Later on I will get some moonlights and plug it into the power supply. In the middle are the MH 400w Advance ballast in a enclosure. After all that this canopy is very heavy now. Next step is getting some MH bulbs and fixture and see how it looks.