Aaron's 125g Move/Build - 1st Timer Here!

Lizardgi

Lizardgi

I used to have lizards
Hello Everyone,

After posting for my first time in the "New to Reefing", I've decdied to start a build thread to track the progress of my first reef aquarium!

I've always kept a 55 gallon freshwater tank growing up with my parents. Now that I have my own place and plenty of room, I decided I was going to take the aquarium to my house and convert it to saltwater. Looking for any live rock deals on craigslist, I came across a 125 gallon established reef for sale and after meeting with the owner and seeing the setup, I agreed to buy it for $500. I don't have too many details yet, but I hope to have it home in a few weeks. I'll be doing as much research as I can in this time and plan to only continue with what is established for at least 6 months until I get the full hang of this. I've been reading The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide by Michael S. Paletta which so far has been a great book!

A bit about the setup as far as I know, its a 125 gallon with one clown, live rock, few soft corals, pencil urchin, large brittle star, and plenty of clean up critters. Lights are T5s but seem to be adequate as the soft corals are thriving and spreading like crazy. Filtration is two Filstar xp3 canister filters - no skimmer which I plan to get. Also included in the deal was an RO unit which I will be thrilled to use.

Here are few pictures of the tank in it's current location:

before2.jpg


before1.jpg


I'm planning on placing this in-wall in my basement. It's going to go on the left wall where the pictures currently hang:

IMG_1322.jpg


A view on the opposite side of the wall pre-cleanup:

IMG_1330.jpg


And post-cleanup (okay maybe a bit overkill on the pictures, but I'm just excited to show progress :grin:):

IMG_1332.jpg


I hope to start building out the stand this weekend. I plan to use a combination of exisiting studs and also 4x4s to make a simple stand. I've also got an electrician coming at some point to install a dedicated GFCI circuit. My goal is to be 100% ready to move the tank on October 16th - weather permitting.

Thanks for reading!
 
woo very nice! Keep the pictures coming! $500 is an absolute STEAL!

In-wall setups are so cool, i'm pumped to see more.

Also i like what you are listing under experience.. funny :P
 
Thanks for the encouragement! I couldn't pass this up for $500! When I was debating about it, he offered to throw in the RO unit for free. The seller is moving in a few months and doesn't want to deal with having to move this with the rest of the house.
 
That’s going to be badass in that wall, good location. I am also new to this hobby, and have my 50g mounted in the wall as well, you can have a look though my thread. It might be helpful regarding in wall setups.
https://www.livingreefs.com/saltwater-aquarium-build-t25265.html
 
That is going to look great on that wall! I love your basement. How many bulbs are in those lights? Even if you have to upgrade lights, you still got a great deal on that setup. And it's actually pretty nice that it doesn't come with a lot of livestock, because now you can add what you want.
 
Very similar to my set up.. Do yourself a favor and call a plumber over to drop a line off the coldwater down to a spicket and attach it to the wall...It made my life so much easier. Also don't butt the side of the tank directly next to the studs on the side..it makes it near impossible to clean the front sides. Give yourself an additional 6-8" of depth on the shelf so you can drill holes through it for your return lines (unless you put them on the sides)...I like the additional depth because I can climb onto the shelf and work on the tank..It can be a PITA to work on the tank when you can't reach the bottom.

Have fun, it's gonna be a great setup.
 
Hey everyone! I've finally got the hole in the wall and the stand framed. I should be picking up everything on Saturday evening. I need to order sand asap and would like to go with black sand. Any suggestions? I saw CaribSea Tahitian Moon Reef & Marine Substrate but it doesn't seem to offer the same benefits as the white sand/crushed coral they offer. Does anyone have any experience with black sand? Thanks!

No going back now!

IMG_1357.jpg


Behind the scenes. The aquarium will be up a bit higher than a usual stand, I figure this will give it more of a wow factor and will be easier to view from the front. I plan to build a riser to be able to easily maintain the aquarium from the back.

IMG_1360.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the quick reply! I was planning on DrsFosterSmith. I've been using them ever since they were Petwarehouse and have always been great to deal with. I've read anywhere from 1/4 pound to 1 pound per gallon for sand. I was thinking of going with a flat 100 pounds. How much substrate is everyone else here using?

I also just ordered 50lbs of dry key largo base rock from Marco Rocks. I plan to use this as a base and then add the 50-60lbs of live rock on top that is already established in the aquarium. There's also a few large pieces of lava rock in the aquarium that I will be getting rid of.
 
Lizardgi said:
Hey everyone! I've finally got the hole in the wall and the stand framed. I should be picking up everything on Saturday evening. I need to order sand asap and would like to go with black sand. Any suggestions? I saw CaribSea Tahitian Moon Reef & Marine Substrate but it doesn't seem to offer the same benefits as the white sand/crushed coral they offer. Does anyone have any experience with black sand? Thanks!

I am going sand/substrate less in my new tank. It allows for a cleaner tank and just less of a headache. Sand make look like nice. but it traps a painful amount of nasties in it and requires a lot of attention (that most people ignore) Some of the nicest looking tanks I've seen in years have no substrate...
Click to expand...
 
Adrastos said:
Lizardgi said:
Hey everyone! I've finally got the hole in the wall and the stand framed. I should be picking up everything on Saturday evening. I need to order sand asap and would like to go with black sand. Any suggestions? I saw CaribSea Tahitian Moon Reef & Marine Substrate but it doesn't seem to offer the same benefits as the white sand/crushed coral they offer. Does anyone have any experience with black sand? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I am going sand/substrate less in my new tank. It allows for a cleaner tank and just less of a headache. Sand make look like nice. but it traps a painful amount of nasties in it and requires a lot of attention (that most people ignore) Some of the nicest looking tanks I've seen in years have no substrate...
Click to expand...
 
Watch this video and at 26 seconds you will see what I mean...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIqH-_aAJms]YouTube - Reef tank swap Time lapse[/ame]
 
I think I definitly want to go with a substrate of some kind - maybe less would be better than more? I could always add more at a later date.
 
I used the Black sand in two of my set-ups and it is very striking. Colors pop on the black. Go for it, I say.

You're really coming along with your progress. It's looking very nice.
 
I have a lil of both. I love the black look. It doesnt look horribly dingy when it does get dirty like white substrate. Cant wait to see it set up!
 

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