125 Gal In Wall Build

[dlyon101]

I'm new to this site and kind of new to the hobby. I've had fish only tanks before, but finally have decided to make the step up to a full reef tank. It is going to be in the wall with cabinets. I've got the adjoining closet for RO/DI, water storage, and a drain for water changes. It should be pretty cool, but I'm just getting started. My brother and I built the stand and I just put on a first coat of paint last night on the back and sides of the tank. I've ordered a ton of stuff and it should be in soon!

[fsn77]

Cool, please keep us posted!

[petluvr]

This should be interesting can't wait for updates.

[WeedCali]

Wow very nice project!

[oscardelahoya]

My wife wants one of these as well so it'll be interesting to watch progress and get possible ideas! Good luck

[james123]

should be really cool...what kind of equipment are you going to be using?

[dlyon101]

T5 HO 12 x36" light fixture
Trigger Systems Ruby Elite sump
Reef Octopus 180 External skimmer
Mag 18 return pump
2 Vortec MP40's
150 lbs Live rock plus 50 lbs Pukani live rock
120 lbs Arogonite sand

[Cheech]

awesome! Can't wait to see how it turns out

[superlynx]

Best of luck, looks like a bit of work.

[dlyon101]

Here are some more pictures. I got the RO/DI system set up in the closet adjacent to my tank space. Also ran the plumbing for the drain etc. I'll have fresh water and salt water storage space as well as a drain for water changes. This isn't much, but at least it is a little progress. Hopefully the tank is going in this weekend. I'm waiting on the distributor to get in my 150 lbs Fiji live rock and 50 lbs Pukani live rock. I'll post more soon!

[dlyon101]

Sorry those pics are sideways. I thought I rotated them before uploading.

[mroth_3]

Should be a neat set up. Might want to consider going gfci on the outlets behind the tank, though.

[rockhoe14er]

wow this is going to look great.

[dlyon101]

You can't see it but that outlet is on a GFCI circuit. It's attached to a GFCI outlet to the left.

[dlyon101]

We moved the tank and stand into place last night and levelled it. It fit perfectly. The rest of the equipment is going to be installed this weekend.

[Cheech]

looks great!

[dlyon101]

Hello everyone...I need help. My LFS is having trouble getting live rock in from their supplier. I'm not sure what is going on. So, I am looking at buying online. I know I'll spend a little more, but I don't want to wait any longer. I was looking at www.aquacon.com (http://www.aquacon.com) and www.liveaquaria.com (http://www.liveaquaria.com) Does anyone have any experience with either of these or can you recommend another source. I'm buying 200 pounds of Premium Live Fiji rock. The price seems to be right around $4 per pound online (which is the same as my LFS was charging me).

[dlyon101]

Also, here are some more pics from the progress I made this weekend. We installed the light, sump, skimmer, etc. Also started the plumbing etc. It still looks kind of messy underneath, but the manifold helps clean it up a little and help control flow etc. It should work well when finished. Also the manifold has 2 extra ports so I can add a phosphate reactor and maybe calc reactor eventually. Hung the light from the ceiling above so I could control the height and make adjustments if necessary down the road.

[Cheech]

Looks amazing. Well thoguht out and clean!

Congrats

[james123]

looks good! cant wait to see it with rock, sand, and water!!

[Inglorious]

Great looking build!

[dlyon101]

We finished setting the tank up this weekend. We stacked 160 lbs of cured live rock, then filled the tank. It's nice to see it up and running finally. The cabinet fronts will go in this week. I'll try and take pictures of the sump and some of the equipment tonight if anyone is interested to see that.

[Cheech]

Great work on the rock structure!

[mes1234]

Looks fantastic. Did you happen to put the live rock in before the sand? Usually best to put the rock in, then the sand around it so it cannot collapse.

[james123]

awesome!!! take a picture with the light on when you get a chance.

[Jody]

looks great M8 , keep posting pics

[dlyon101]

Yes, actually we did put the rock in first then the sand. Someone told me it would make the rock more stable. One problem I've found with that is when the refugium light is on I can see some light coming up where there is no sand under the rocks. I'm going to try to move a little sand up under that area of the rocks. I wish I'd have thought to paint the bottom of the tank when I painted the back and sides.

[dlyon101]

The cabinet front is going in later this week. I'll post more pics then. I'll lower the light to it's proper position and take a few pics with the light on. Because of the closed in space I'll have, I opted not for metal halides. I hope the T5 6 bulb fixture (actually 12 bulbs that are 36") does Ok. I know I won't be doing a bunch of SPS anytime soon.

[dlyon101]

Here a few pictures from the progress over the weekend. The tank is basically finished now. I'll be waiting a while for it to cycle before I start adding livestock. I bit the bullet on this one and actually had nice cabinetry made and installed. I did all of the painting though. I think it turned out pretty well.

I tried to take one picture with the light on, but it didn't turn out too well using my iPhone. You kind of get the idea though.

[dlyon101]

I know it will be a few weeks at least until I'm ready, but I'd love any suggestions for stuff to add and in what order. I'm thinking a small cleanup crew first, but after that I'm not sure.

[SafaditM3]

Looks great can't wait to see it stocked

[BettaFishMommy]

wow, does that white paneling ever make the tank say 'hey! i'm a focal point!'.

nice work :)

[oscardelahoya]

Looks amazing! Never fails to amaze me the level of quality of projects on this forum. Great job can't wait to see it stocked.

[Belltrain]

Very Nice!

[greech]

Incredible job! Yes, small CUC would be my first additions. Better to start small and add as needed IMO.

Congrats again on a job well done!

[audifeesh]

Best stocking suggestion I ever got is to think of what you want your tank to look like in the end. Write down EVERYTHING whether you know it can go together or not. Just any and everything you think my be cool.

From there you can break it down by importance to you, sensitivity, aggression, etc. Then you can look at it and see if anything conflicts (sensitive corals and things that eat them etc)

Then once you have that final list of things you want that all work together you can simply start knocking things off and checking/adjusting as you go.

I know that sounds like common sense, but it simplifies the process SO much if you take that first step to just get it all down on paper so that you can really look at it, and other people whose opinions you value can look t it as well and offer suggestions.

Maybe it's just because I'm a visual person lol. :p

[the wizard]

Best stocking suggestion I ever got is to think of what you want your tank to look like in the end. Write down EVERYTHING whether you know it can go together or not. Just any and everything you think my be cool.

From there you can break it down by importance to you, sensitivity, aggression, etc. Then you can look at it and see if anything conflicts (sensitive corals and things that eat them etc)

Then once you have that final list of things you want that all work together you can simply start knocking things off and checking/adjusting as you go.

I know that sounds like common sense, but it simplifies the process SO much if you take that first step to just get it all down on paper so that you can really look at it, and other people whose opinions you value can look t it as well and offer suggestions.

Maybe it's just because I'm a visual person lol. :p

:thumbsup: Never thought about it that way but makes sense.

[dlyon101]

Good idea on the stocking question. I'll start a list now. That'll at least give me something to do while I'm waiting for the tank to cycle. (and I'll have and excuse to do some "window shopping" for livestock).

Thanks for the help!

[audifeesh]

No problem :) that's EXACTLY why/how I did it hahaha. It kept me busy for a few days and then I spent the next couple weeks browsing for what I came up with

[wrek]

Putting rock in before sand can in some cases create very small pressure points on the tempered glass underneath. I always put down an inch of sand then the rock. Then the rest of the sand.

[Dangerdoll]

beautiful work!