Building a 120

[Fish Brain]

I have a Tale thread but want to use this as a brain storming thread to collect my thoughts.

I have a 40B I will use for the sump and I will need to get glass cut for baffles. I should have about 25 gallons in the sump.

I just so happen to have a RO XS-160 on my 65 now. Gee this wasn't planned was it.

Not sure what to do about heaters. I have one JBJ 300W TruTemp in my 65 now. Should I just get another 300 or get a larger heater? They say 500W for up to 160 gallons. Two 300's would give me 600, and each 300 can handle up to 100 gallons if one should fail.

Real problem comes by way of Kalk reactor or Ca reactor? That is the question!

 

[GluttonousSolarWrasse]

Heya Brian!

I use a 40b for my sump, as it was the largest tank I could fit under my stand. I recently installed 3 dosing pumps to dose 2 part and vodka. It seems to work well so far!

 

[TanksNStuff]

Brian, since I recently acquired a 120 tank, I'm having similar questions swimming around in my head.

My MB NAC-7 cone skimmer is rated at 130-185 gallons so it should be good enough for me I would think. Besides, I have a bio pellet reactor, GFO reactor, and a huge ball of chaeto that should keep me good on nutrients.

I think I'm going to keep my 30g sump since I like the setup and I think it will be adequate. Besides, that's one less thing to worry about switching over when I make the transfer.

I was thinking about getting another heater for redundancy instead of upgrading to a larger one. The problem with that though is I'm running out of controllable outlets on my Reef Angel and I already have the last 2 allocated to my 2 new dosing pumps. My current heater actually has it's own remote temp probe and controller that I could remove from my RA controller if needed. I may just get another one just like it and have one or both of them run independently.

As I said, I have 2 new dosing pumps that I'll be adding. No Ca / Kalk reactors here.

Since I plan on building a new stand (the one I got with the tank is too low) I plan on making it fit all my needs. I'm even considering adding a closed off area to house all my electrical / controller equipment so it's out of the sump area and away from moisture. Going to run real electrical conduits (not that plastic split stuff that you stuff the wires in to hide it) and keep it all neat and tidy under there.

Anyway, sorry to barge in on your think tank thread... but maybe if we put our heads together we can come up with ideas that help each other?

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

IMO just get another 300w heater and add it your existing one. I picked a pair of 300w heaters off Aquabid for $10 each. I use a Medusa controller to controll my heaters and fans for cooling thoogh because I don't trust the T stats on heaters.


I would start by adding Kalk to the ATO container. I think stirrers are a waste of money and more trouble than their worth. You're just dissolving powder in water, it doesn't really need to be so expensive and complicated.

When you can no longer keep up with the Ca demands via kalk then add the Ca reactor.

just my 2 cents

 

[Fish Brain]

I really like the two 300W heaters. Double your pleasure, double your fun. Since the tank will be in the basement, it will be better to have another if one fails. Especially during the winter. Both will still be on my ReefKeeper to prevent a heater that might get stuck on.

I will give the automated two part dosing a try. I'm doing the kalk in the top off water now and do not like how inconsistent it is. I do not like having my Alk./Ca being controlled by evaporation.