120 Gallon Concept

[freshoffthegrill]

I am in the planning stages for my re-entry into the hobby. I had to break down my 54G corner last summer. I want to upgrade to a 120 Gallon. I view the upcoming build as a blank canvass.

I wanted to incorporate some of the following elements into the system:

-Above tank refugium (not sure if anyone runs one, but I am intrigued by the concept)

-Custom stand with room for support equipment as needed

With my old system I made a ton of mistakes, including the placement of the tank in my house. I am planning to build the system in my basement.

Equipment that I want to use in the system are:

-LEDs
-DC Return pump
-Tank Controller
-Dosing pumps
-DIY Algae scrubber

I plan on starting the build early this summer.

Any advice, comments or input is welcome.

 

[mnat]

First off, 120g is a great sized tank and it looks like you have put your research in.

When you say you are building the system in your basement, are you putting the whole thing downstairs or buildign a fishroom downstairs with the tank upstairs?

The DC pumps are getting stronger, but the biggest knock against them was flow. Considering your multiple return lines and angles, you might want to make sure your head pressure is enough.

If you are going to put in any reactors for media, build them off the manifold, it will make the build easier. You might even be able to do the algae scrubber off of a manifold (I could be wrong on that but something to look up).

Controllers and dosing pumps: Look into the controllers that now have dosing pumps, could make this pretty for you.

I know one guy who had the above tank fuge. He used basically a toilet bowl valve to have the fuge "flush" into the tank which was pretty cool. Made some nice randowm flow for the tank and dumped in some pods and whatnot. Cool design if you have the right space for it.
Good luck and keep asking questions.

 

[freshoffthegrill]

mnat, thanks for the input. I am excited to get this thing going. I hate not having a tank and I have had over six months to plan.

I am building the entire system in the basement, my house does not have room anywhere else.

I ran a Reef keeper lite on my old system. Not sure if I will stick with it or go to another controller.

 

[JRWOHLER]

Nice design. I know at least one person who had a display fuge above his tank. I don't see any problems with your design. Since you have planned everything downstairs you won't have a large height to push the water, in tank pumps will help with water flow.