Help setting up a 120 gallon fish tank

[bpaul_jpaul]

Hello,

I have an all glass 120-gallon reef ready tank. Each side has a corner overflow.
I have three pumps that are mag drives. 2100 , 1800 and 1200 are the sizes.
I have double PFO 250 Watt MH ballast
One 250-watt ice cap MH ballast.
One double 96-watt PC ballast.
I have one extra larger Berlin protein skimmer.
One huge calcium reactor. I think it is a Korallin C-4002
Four 1200 maxi jet pumps.
One 40 gallon sump
I like to set this up as a close loop but also use the sump.
Currently have a 65 gallon set up that I am going to move to 120 gallon.
220 pounds of live rock and a 4” DSB.
A hand full of corals that are SPS, Softies and a huge bubble tip with one fish. Clown fish

I need help setting this up. Any ideas on the best way to go about this? I like to try and get it right the first time..

Thanks

[Reefland]

It sounds like from the list you posted you have just about everything you need to get going. You mentioned the lighting ballast but never said anything about the bulbs or remainder of the lighting system. DO you have the bulbs and pendent/reflectors?

If you perform a search on the board for closed loop, you will see some great discussions. A user of this board mrok12 has a very nice closed system on his tank.

Another thing I see missing is a good RO/DI unit. This is the first step is quality water for your tank. Do you currently have one?

These are just some thoughts from your post. If you have any specific questions, let me know.

Good luck,
Scott Z.

[bpaul_jpaul]

Hi Reefland,

Yes i have a 60 gpd RO/DI unit by kent. Works great for me. This to me is the best piece of equipment.

Also i use right now 2 250 watt Iwaski bulbs 6700K. I think this is the way to go from what i read..
For the PC i use a 10K and and a Antic-03.

What about the sea swirls. I am not sure on what to do about them. What size should i get?
With the three pumps i have what is a good way to hook them up.

"mrok12 has a very nice closed system on his tank"
I see he posted a picture but it looks like the picture is gone on this site?

[Reefland]

Nice to hear you already have a good RO/DI unit. There are many good ones on the market and Kent is no exception from what I read.

Do you already have this tank set up or is it a work in progress?

The lighting you have is fine; just FYI, the Iwasaki's are 6500k. Some people do find them a bit unpleasing to the eye and supplement them heavily with actinic. If you find them a bit on the yellow side, you'll want to consider replacing the 10k PC with another actinic and maybe even adding more bulbs. I am assuming you have 2 PC's?

I would use the MAG 2400 as your sump return and place the 1800 on a closed loop. The concept is pretty simple no matter how you go about it. mrok placed his pump on the rim of the tank and used a strainer on the intake, submerging it in the tank and then plumbed the output to three (I think) separate returns across the back of the tank. It appeared to be very effective. If you do this, between your closed loop and the 2 returns from the sump, a sea swirl may not be necessary.

Scott Z.

[bpaul_jpaul]

Hello,

Yes your right 6500K. I find them yellow to but i like it. The actinic does offeset the color. I will use two actinics on the front of the hood. I have a third ballast by ice cap that is for the 250 watt iwasaki.
I am thinking of setting this up also.

I like the close loop idea and was just reading this from Atlantis aquatic.
http://atlantisaquatic.com/180_loop.html.
But he put his on the bottom and i don't like that idea. Seems it would be hard to clean the screens?

But i am still not sure on the size i need?

Oh to your question this is a tank in progress. I have a 65 gallon that is doing awesome that has been set up for three years and moved twice and no problems.. But i use four max jet 1200 power heads to move the water.


By the way thanks. I find these boards help full..
Hey another question. Shoulds i put something behind the live rock to move the water there? I found on the 65 is was a must..

[Reefland]

Good deal on the lights. The Iwasaki's are proven to provide good coloration and growth for corals.

There are obviously a few different options for a closed loop and Atlantis has decided on that one. I will PM mork for you and see if he will give you some insight on his loop.

Providing current throughout the tank is a good practice, inlcuding behind the rock work. You might find that a MAG 24 and a MAG 18 may provide enough to do this without any power heads. It all depends on how you direct the current from each of these pumps.

Scott Z.

[Poseidon]

Sounds like its going to be awesome tank, can you post some pictures? Is this going to be built into a wall or freestanding? That makes a huge difference on lighting options since all the cords are hidden by the wall.

Anyway some pics in progress would be cool.

Mike

[slojmn]

I have a 120g AGA reefready tank and have a lot of stuff on my website under the hardware section. I can't remember if I have any pictures of my closed loop setup up on my site though...hmmm. I need to do that if I have not. I set it up with the intake pipes down about 12" into the water including the intake screens. This way I can clean the screens easily, which I need to do about once a week due to some macro growth in the tank. I have an ampmaster 3000 sitting on the floor beside my tank and plummed it all behind my tank and in over the back wall. Since the 120g AGA has no real lip to speak of mounting the pump(it is a beast as well) had to be done either in the cabinet area or on the floor beside the tank. My cabinet area is packed with the sump/refugium, pumps, protein skimmer and calcium reactor setup so the floor it was. It works great. I only have 2 ouotlets into the tank from the closed loop and decided not to make the outlets smaller diameter than the pipe diameter as I did not want the velocity of the closed loop return to turn my tank into a sand storm. It worked out well but I am considering the addition of a sea swirl or two in the future. It is always something isn't it? .