The "Can't leave well enough alone" Tank Build

[BrianH]

I love my 120 gallon peninsula tank. I spend a lot of time looking at it, working on it, and thinking about it. It is doing better than ever but there are a couple things I would like to change so I am going to break it down and transfer everything to a new tank. I figured I would do a build thread to document my project since I rarely take pictures of my tanks and thought this would be a fun way to be able to see how it changes over time. Here is the tank now...

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f207/rockbrian1/P6190021_zpsbe2r3jlg.jpg[/IMG
[IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f207/rockbrian1/P6190022_zpshf7vt4cm.jpg

 

[BrianH]

Things to change for the new tank:
- Real Estate: With a peninsula tank, the rock work is a strip down the center so the real estate for corals is reduced compared to a standard tank against the wall. I love getting new corals and I am running out of space for new ones, plus some of the older corals are starting to cast shadows on other corals. The tank I bought will double the space for corals.
- Calcium reactor: I do the Randys 2 part plus mag with a magic marine dosing pump but am going through +/- a gallon of each per month and am tired of mixing it so frequently. The dosing pump annoyingly has to be manually turned back on after a power outage. I also am concerned about trace element consumption. My current stand doesn't allow for a calcium reactor.
- Security: I have had mishaps while out of town, ato issues, temp issues. I am adding a tank controller.
-Water Changes: My first floor bathroom always has my Brute trash can in it and the dining room table is always covered with "tank stuff". I want to reclaim these rooms for normal use and stop hauling buckets and sloping water everywhere. I am plumbing this system to the basement where I can have a dedicated sump room.
- Frags: I'm tired of seeing my frag racks in my display tank and they are magnetic and fall down from time to time which annoys me. I am going to have a dedicated frag tank in the sump room.

For the last 6 months I have been doing my homework, talking to people, and collecting all the things I will need and now it is time to begin!

 

[BrianH]

Over the last week I have been working on my new stand. I recently bought a router and have been having fun with it on this project. When done it will be black and have doors but here's where it is as of today.

 

[Tango]

That is a beautiful stand

 

[flyfish]

That is a great looking stand, the pics of the reef are sweet also

 

[Munch]

Well done, who knew you had the skillz

Keep the pics coming!!

 

[BrianH]

Thanks! I googled "awesome aquarium stand" and found pictures that gave me the inspiration for this one. Routers open up a whole new world of possibilities! LOL! My neighbor came by and saw it in the garage and asked "Looks nice but is it gonna fit through the door?" Scared me for a second, but it will.:thumb:

 

[ReeferMatt]

Beautiful stand! I do feel like you get more real estate for coral placement with a peninsula tank, as you are able to put corals on both sides. Really excited to see what you do with this build!

 

[SkyShark]

Wow, awesome man! That stand looks top notch. This looks like it will be a great build. Looking forward to seeing more.

 

[BrianH]

...and a big thanks to neil82 for helping me drink beer and assemble the stand! :very_drunk:

 

[Walter White]

Looks awesome! Excited to see it all finished.

 

[BrianH]

Looks awesome! Excited to see it all finished.

You and me both!

 

[CRW Reef]

Ya man wow wow wow!!!! That stand is killer!!!!! Nice work!

 

[tomtom2245]

Stand looks great and sounds like you have a good plan. Can't wait to see it all finished.

 

[MuralReef]

Looks great so far! Are you just rebuilding or setting up a new tank?

 

[BrianH]

Thanks for all the stand compliments!

Looks great so far! Are you just rebuilding or setting up a new tank?

Yes to both I think? I bought a new 60 x 24 x 25 planet aquariums tank from Aquatic Art to go with the new stand. The plan is to use bags of new live sand for it but transfer over the old live rock and livestock. I am going to turn my old 120 gallon tank (60 x 18 x 24) into the new sump (to replace my old 40 breeder sump). This will add water volume and give me a lot more space for my mechanicals and a larger refugium. I initially will run my frag tank off of this sump but am going to build it's stand with space to eventually run it as its own independent system.

 

[BrianH]

Here is the new tank and pile of collected gear.

 

[BrianH]

I really liked the way the raw wood stand looked however decided to paint it black. I thought the wood was pretty dramatic looking and when its all set up, I want the marine life to be the focus. It is kind of disappointing to the carpenter in me, but I think I made the right long term choice.

 

[Walter White]

Nice!!

 

[amonchak]

Looks great!