120 Build

[rajah]

I blame the generous MASC members who have been hooking me up with nice corals lately.... now I need a way bigger tank. Big thanks to SynDen for live rock and Dr. Disilicate, IUFan, and ThomasDoty for some awesome corals lately. Probably 75% of what's in the tank has come from MASC folks. Awesome community.

Photos below are my current 40 breeder which is about 6 months old or so. Only the finest equipment for me - maxi-jet pumps, Amazon black box LED, Petco 40 breeder with the best high iron glass and extra wide black rim. No sump or skimmer or other fancy gadgets I don't know how to use.

But now I'm going big... I have a new 120 gallon aquarium arriving this week - 5 ft by 24 in deep by 20 in tall. I'll try and keep track of the progress on the new tank here. Gonna be some major upgrades for my corals and skunk clown squad. I know the suspense for this new build is unbearable... I feel the same way.

 

[rajah]

First order of business will be to move these two tanks to the other side of the basement to prepare the space for the 120. These tanks will get consolidated into the new one. Then I plan to reinforce the counter top to support the weight of the new tank. Lots to prepare. I wish water and rock was lighter to move.
This is where the current tanks will need to go while the new one is getting set up. Going to pick up a sturdy metal rack to set them up on temporarily.

 

[SynDen]

Upgrades are fun to build. Just go slow and over plan, and it will go fine.
Look forward to seeing the new upgrade

 

[rajah]

Thanks man. So far off to a slow start... had the new tank delivered yesterday and it was not drilled in the correct places... ugh. Didn't find out until I got it down our narrow staircase into the basement. Trying to figure out if I can get a replacement or what the manufacturer is going to do.

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

Thanks man. So far off to a slow start... had the new tank delivered yesterday and it was not drilled in the correct places... ugh. Didn't find out until I got it down our narrow staircase into the basement. Trying to figure out if I can get a replacement or what the manufacturer is going to do.

Ugh! That sucks? Who is the manufacturer?

Go slow. Get some live rock into the tank (once you decide what you are doing) and let it run for a bit. Gotta get that bacterial colony maturing in the tank. The bacteria in a bottle stuff also marginally helps. You may wanna watch “reefbum” on YouTube. He reset his tank and has some great videos of how he successfully did that.


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[rajah]

The tank is from SCA Aquariums in California. I ordered a stock size they have, but drilled in different locations from their standard version - I want the plumbing on the end because of the depth of the space I have. They sent me the stock 120 gallon which is drilled in the back. But he says a new tank drilled correctly is in shipping to me now.... we will see how it plays out. I'm cautiously optimistic it will get sorted.

Definitely will take the upgrade slow and get things dialed in before the transfer. I used some aquacultured live rock in my last tank and really liked it, so may order more to get things going, and move over some rock and sand from the 40 gallon. Also debating a plumbed in frag tank but haven't quite committed to it yet.

 

[rajah]

The plot thickens... I had a new tank arrive today. This one is drilled on the correct side but is the wrong dimensions. Unbelievable. I now have two giant tanks at my house, both over 300 lbs and neither is the tank that I ordered. This time at least I had the sense to open it outside and see if it was the correct tank before trying to move it into the house. If anyone wants a glass aquarium, I can tell you which company to avoid....

 

[SynDen]

Wow that is disappointing. What a pain. Hopefully they at least make it right in the end, but what a mess

 

[TheRealChrisBrown]

What are the dimensions of the new wrong tank?

I ordered my tank and stand from SCA and they were easy to deal with, but I ordered one of their plug and play setups….so I wasn’t making any changes.

Good luck! Keep us posted

 

[rajah]

The new tank is a 150 gallon that is 60" x 24" x 24". The tank I ordered is a 125 gallon that is 60" x 20" high x 24" deep. It's not that different, but I have a space with a very low ceiling and built in countertop, so I wanted the shallower tank to provide clearance for my lighting. I also just like shallow tanks. The first one he sent is the correct dimensions, but drilled on the wrong side. So far no response from SCA after this second tank was wrong... but he's been responsive previously. Not sure what I'm going to do. Might try and make it work with one of these two tanks, or might try and return them both. It unclear to me if he has the tank I ordered or not.

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

SCA makes a nice tank… they are also inexpensive for the quality! What you give up is any kind of customer service. Unfortunately


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[rajah]

Yeah, agreed. Great price and they are nice tanks. It's amazing though how they can ship the wrong tank twice however. That was after significant discussion about the tank specs and an invoice clearly laying out the specs.

With the 150 gallon I would have only 12 inches between the top of the tank and the ceiling (which is low because of HVAC in the basement). My current lights take up 4 inches, so that leaves just 8 inches of space to reach into the tank. I also like the lights mounted high because they are LEDs with poor spread.

With the 125 gallon he sent, I would need to rip out the countertop and framing and replace it with a custom stand that was deeper to accomodate plumbing in the back. But then I have 4 more inches of clearance for lights and the shallower tank I wanted.

Or I just try to return them both and try to get a refund.... that may be no small task. Then find another tank...

 

[jda123]

Lots of them send wrong tanks on purpose hoping that people just accept them, or accept them for a discount. Glass Cages was bad about this a decade ago if you custom ordered anything.

If they don't make it right, call your bank and charge the card back. This will get their attention. If you are going to settle, then get a discount or get your money back. If you have to pay full price, then make sure that it is what you want.

If they did not temper the glass, you can cover the wrong holes and drill holes where you want them if you end up with no responses and a charge back.

 

[rajah]

Good advice. I am leaning towards reversing the charge on my card if I don't hear anything back soon. I'd like to think it was an honest mistake, but I'm starting to think he never had the tank I ordered.

 

[flagg37]

Have they made any mention of having you return what you have? It may not be worth it for them to pay for the shipping to send them back.

 

[rajah]

The seller originally said he was going to arrange a shipper to return the first tank. I asked when it would be picked up and what company, but never got any response from him. I'm guessing I'll end up with both tanks, which are currently on pallets outside blocking my driveway... lol.

 

[jda123]

You can bet that they read your email. Give them a deadline for a solution or else chargeback is happening. ...not just communication, but a solution.

 

[rajah]

I went ahead and initiated the claim with the bank last week. Now waiting to see what the bank decides.

If the seller does not arrange return shipment of both tanks, I am going to patch the holes on the 125 gallon with some 1/4" glass and re-drill it for an overflow on one narrow end and the return on the other narrow end. I'll be happy with that solution. If he wants to ship the tanks back, that is fine with me as well, but I'm eager to get this build moving along...

 

[rajah]

Well here we are now a full two years later and I've finally got this new system up and running. I wasn't able to return the tank because the bank declined the claim... so I went ahead and patched the back glass and re-drilled it peninsula style, with the overflow on one end and return line on the other end.

 

[rajah]