Mota's 125 Tank build thread(custom)

Michael Mota · #1 09/27/2006, 09:13 AM

Welcome to:
Mota's 125 tank build thread (custom)
OK I have decided to actually upgrade to what will be the custom 125 long reef tank. The original thread where I asked for help as to whether I should upgrade or not: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=933800
One reason is I love the length of the tank which makes it look and feel so much larger than the 90 reef I have now. Here is a link to the 90 reef: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...5&pagenumber=1 The second reason is I have many ideas that I would like to implement in this new custom built (By Me) system that I am unable to implement on the 90 reef. The third and final reason is the fish, especially the Tangs will have much more room to swim around with the 6 foot length.
The Plan:
This tank will have a 2" sand bed and most of the rock will be man made along with dry rock. I am going to make (DIY) the calcium and kalkwasser reactor, the chiller, frag tank, sump, refugium, cabinet and hood. Tank will be drilled for a closed loop using a reef dart pump and ocean motions with some of the revolutions nozzles. Return will be returned back through a Sea Swirl for more water movement. Also two Tunze power head maybe added at a later date for more water movement. Still undecided on the lighting system and the power center. Most of the equipment on the 90 reef will be used on this setup.
I would like for people to give constructive criticism when they feel that it maybe helpful to me or others who may be in the process of doing there own tank build. I would like this thread to become and stay as a good reference/source for others who may be able to learn and get some ideas for themselves. Together we can all learn.

But most importantly when the need arrives and believe me it will, you guys and gals can all help me to get this completed cause there will be days that I will need that extra push, lol

Welcome and enjoy the thread
Michael Mota

Michael Mota · #2 09/27/2006, 09:41 AM

I had another thread asking what people thought of my idea as far as circulation in the 125: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=935331
I have come up with this for the drilling of the close loop. Yesterday I ordered the diamond drill bit and my supplies to make the calcium and the kalkwasser reactor.
Keep in mind that this image and any other image is not to scale and is only being used/made to help others understand what it is I am trying to do or accomplish.

Michael Mota · #3 09/27/2006, 10:06 AM

OK here is a pic of what I think the water motion will be like once it is drilled and up and running. The Tunze power heads are as of right now an option that I may add later to the tank if more water motion is needed. Sea Swirl will be my return from the sump. The closed loop will be operating with an ocean motions super squirt or 4-way (not sure which one as of yet) on it and the two returns behind the rocks will have the ocean motions revolutions for more random flow behind the rock work.

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kelly630 · #4 09/27/2006, 01:53 PM

Wow, the pix of your 90g were great. I'm actually in the midst of setting up my 180 right now. I've never had a reef tank before, so I may need some advice!

kelly630 · #5 09/27/2006, 02:05 PM

I was going to try to get away without powerheads, but from the looks of your diagram, I guess I'll need them as well. Is that something I can add in later, or do I need to put them in as the tank is being plumbed (obviously not by me!)?

Michael Mota · #6 09/27/2006, 02:08 PM

Hi Kelly630,
That's what is so great about these forums. Start a thread on your tank build and you just may get more advice and help than you know what to do with it

lol
Thanks for the compliment on the 90 reef which by the way is still up and running with good growth and colors. Of course If you need help ask away and I will give you all the help I can.
One thing I like about power heads is that they can always be added later on to help increase flow. Some people do not like the way they can be an eye sore in the tank, but with some ingenious thinking you can hide them or at least make them less conspicuous.

Update: Went out today and got some silicone and a few other things to repair/fix the over flow on the 125. Pictures will be posted as soon as I get started on that so please bare with me.

Michael Mota · #7 09/27/2006, 08:12 PM

I think I forgot to mention that this 125 gallon tank was bought used for a very good deal. So you can imagine it needs a good cleaning and the glass will have to be polished to remove a few scratches. I really don't mind the work cause I actually enjoy it. Just call me crazy, lol
Today I removed the over flow and actually made it 3" smaller than what it was cause I felt it was just to big for a corner overflow. I got it all cleaned up and it is looking really nice now. There is a hole in the bottom right side of the over flow that was used in the past as a return but I will be covering that hole with some acrylic because I will not need it. In case you are wondering why save this piece instead of replacing, because it is cost effective to save it than to replace the whole thing with a new one. Please call me thrifty!

The over flow will have two 1" returns going to the sump that way, there will be a back up in case one gets clogged for some reason. Here is a picture of the over flow after it was cut and cleaned up:

kelly630 · #8 09/27/2006, 08:31 PM

Hey "thrifty" at least you're "handy," which I am definitely not!!! Are you keeping the tank with one overflow, or will you add a second one to the opposite corner?

Michael Mota · #9 09/27/2006, 08:37 PM

I am going to keep it with just one over flow in the left rear corner. This thing is really big compared to most stock over flows that come with a tank and thats after I trimmed it down some. It should be able to handle about 600 gallons per hour with no problems at all.

Oh Kelly630 I also forgot to mention that the best thing I like about power heads is that they use allot less electricity than a external pump but then again you have to deal with them being in the tank. JMHO

kelly630 · #10 09/27/2006, 08:42 PM

Michael, question for you...I'm supposed to be getting a "Blueline 40x" pump for mine. Do you think if I switch to two powerheads (it was recommended that I get one, an SEIO 2600), then I could get away with a smaller pump?

Btw..my tank is coming with the two overflows, but they are only the standard ones, unlike yours...

Michael Mota · #11 09/27/2006, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly630
Michael, question for you...I'm supposed to be getting a "Blueline 40x" pump for mine. Do you think if I switch to two powerheads (it was recommended that I get one, an SEIO 2600), then I could get away with a smaller pump?

Btw..my tank is coming with the two overflows, but they are only the standard ones, unlike yours...

PM sent.

Michael Mota · #12 09/28/2006, 08:53 PM

I have been thinking that this cabinet/stand for the tank will be more of a wall unit type. I have designed the specs on the bottom section of the stand. This section will be larger than the tank to help spread the weight to more rafters in the floor. Also there will be one cabinet on each side of the tank for equipment, this will sit on top of the bottom section also.
Still not sure as to what type of wood but I think it maybe pine with some type of stain. Below is a pic of the bottom section for the cabinets/stand which is really a rough draft for now. It gives you an idea of what I am about to do.

Michael Mota · #13 09/29/2006, 07:16 PM

Well It has happened, got my first order in to day for some parts to make the calcium reactor and they messed up the order. Sent me most of the right stuff except for a few items being totally wrong. Will have to wait till Monday to call the company and let them know. Who knew ordering and receiving items could be so stressful

Michael Mota · #14 10/04/2006, 01:27 PM

Alright!! The good news is today I was able to drill the holes in the rear glass panel of the tank for the closed loop. Here are a few pics of what was done and the stuff/equipment I used to accomplish this. I decided to use just one hole for the pump return instead of two like I had originally planned.
Here is the equipment: vegetable oil as a cutting oil ( do not know why I use it, its just what I always have used to drill holes), 1/2" drill, 45mm (1 3/4") diamond drill bit, tape measure, marker, weather stripping to hold oil in the drilling area and paper towels for clean up:

The next pic you can see the drill cutting a hole into the glass panel ( the drill was actually spinning at the time):

Here is the first hole completed, nice if I say so myself:

And lastly the back of the tank with all the holes drilled into the tank:

Michael Mota · #15 10/04/2006, 01:37 PM

And now the bad news!
When I had finished the drilling of the tank holes I was cleaning up the tank and I noticed one of the corners of the tank is not well attached. I mean I can move the side piece of glass quite easily, it seems the seal is compromised. Well I have decided to take the tank apart completely and re-silicone all edges. I have decided this cause I would rather not loose sleep over whether the corner of the tank will let go some day. I also considered that the amount of work involved to do this will be worth it because of the piece of mind I will get and the tank cost was very small.
This will also make the glass so much easier to polish.

Michael Mota · #16 10/04/2006, 09:21 PM

Tank has been torn apart and it is now in pieces, yippee! I think tomorrow I will start to clean all the glass sections getting them ready to be put back together. Plus I will also polish the front glass panel to remove the few minor scratches on it. I think it was a good move in tearing down the tank cause the corner I was worried about was poorly siliconed together and had it not leaked at first, I believe it would have in due time.

AVALover5498 · #17 10/08/2006, 09:47 PM

Cool!

Michael Mota · #18 10/09/2006, 12:10 PM

Just finished polishing the front pane of glass. I used a buffer with a pad and some Superox 100T Cerium Oxide powder to polish the glass. Man it took quite some time and a lot of elbow grease but it got rid of all the small/light scratches. There is a few heavy scratches that are left but I will turn the glass around so these are on the outside. I do not think they will detract from the tank much or at all but if they are an issue in the future i can work them out since they will be on the outside. Sorry no picks were taken of the glass being polished.
Most of the glass panels are cleaned and free of silicone, just have the bottom and back section to clean/remove silicone and then it will be ready to put together. What I did is I used a razor blade to cut through the old silicone and I used a jack with some wood to also help pry the glass panels apart as I cut the silicone. I marked each one so I know how to put them back together in the same place. Razor blades were used to remove as much silicone as possible and then a 3" wire wheel attached to my drill was used to make quick work of removing the rest of the silicone. This step left a silicone residue on the glass which was then removed by using acetone on paper towel. The acetone also cleans and prepares the glass for the silicone to stick to it. Once every thing is done I will use masking tape on all the seams to help make a nice straight seal on all the corners of the tank and hopefully it will look like professional quality, I hope.
I will take some pics of the tank as it is being put back together and siliconed. Should be done in the next few days.

Michael Mota · #19 10/11/2006, 07:16 PM

Tank is still waiting to be put back together, just not enough time in the day. Any how for now I was looking around for ideas on a power center to control all the pumps and electrical stuff. I see people are using the DJ switch panels and connecting them to individual plug outlets. My question is why not just hook the pumps right into the switch panels? Is there a reason that people spend so much money on outlets etc. I think I am going to hook the pumps into the Dj Panels directly and then I will make two or three outlets for misc. timers if needed. Any ideas or thoughts would be helpful and if someone has a link to were I can purchase these, that would also help.
Thanks,
Michael

Michael Mota · #20 10/12/2006, 10:57 AM

OK I guess no one has any ideas/recommendations for a power center. Oh well, moving on you can see I have begun to put the tank back together. Man this is not an easy task to do by yourself. If anyone is going to try this please try to get some help especially on a large tank. You are all wondering why then did I do it myself, well my hired hand could not be here and after three days of waiting I decide to try it alone. Came out alright but man those pieces of glass are sure heavy. Got it all together today but was only able to get two pics cause I wanted to get it together before the silicone began to dry. I will get more pics of it in about seven days due to waiting for the silicone to cure. Once cured I will clean it up and remove all the tape and straps holding it all together. Enjoy the pics and now its time to order the bulk heads and a few other things so I can water test the tank.
Here are a few pics of the tank coming together:

pito · #21 10/13/2006, 09:39 AM

I have to do the same to my 125. I noticed that the top left corner seal is bad. I can pretty much pull it apart like you. This is an old tank that I got cheap and has some minor scratches like yours. So, I have a couple questions.
I trashed the top trim as I removed it (know where to get new?).
How do I remove the bottom trim without trashing it?
Where do you get Superox 100T Cerium Oxide powder?

cdentii1 · #22 10/13/2006, 02:11 PM

man you guys are giving me the urge big time to get my 125 up and running. I have lot of projects that I want to get done in order first.... I cant hardly wait.

Michael Mota · #23 10/13/2006, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pito
I have to do the same to my 125. I noticed that the top left corner seal is bad. I can pretty much pull it apart like you. This is an old tank that I got cheap and has some minor scratches like yours. So, I have a couple questions.
I trashed the top trim as I removed it (know where to get new?).
How do I remove the bottom trim without trashing it?
Where do you get Superox 100T Cerium Oxide powder?

OK as far as the trim goes I would say contact an aquarium manufacture and see if they would be willing to sell the trim. If you can get the top trim then maybe it would be worth it to get the bottom trim piece also that way you could just rip it off and not worry about breaking it. Other than that try to find a spot on the trim where it is poorly attached to the tank and try to pull it off slowly working it with a razor blade to help cut as much of the silicone as you can.
Do a google.com search for the cerium powder but be forewarned this stuff only removes very fine scratches and will polish the glass to like new but it will take a lot of elbow grease, believe me. I also found that having a buffer which is made for this type of work will make the task much easier to accomplish rather than using a drill with a small buff pad on it. Also when you do the google.com search you will get a lot of info on how to do it. Just search for glass polishing/scratch removal on glass or aquariums.
Good luck,
Mike

Michael Mota · #24 10/13/2006, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cdentii1
man you guys are giving me the urge big time to get my 125 up and running. I have lot of projects that I want to get done in order first.... I cant hardly wait.

I hear you loud and clear!! Due to work and family commitments this tank build will be slow and steady but since I have my 90 running and doing well I am in no hurry to accomplish this reef. I actually enjoy the part about building the tank and putting it all together. I actually built a lot of my equipment for the 90 reef and for this tank I am going to build almost all of the equipment. So keep watching the thread, enjoy and maybe when your ready to build yours you can use some of these ideas for your own system.
Take care

pito · #25 10/13/2006, 07:33 PM

Well I guess since only my front panal will be viewable, polishing would'nt be worth it. It only has a couple very small scratches. They probably wont be visable with water in the tank.
I decided not to replace the top trim as I want to add a eurobrace and plan to have my hood overlap the top portion of the tank. I cant find a lose spot on the trim at all and I cant even get to any of the silicone. Looks like I need to contact a manufacture. I think the tank is a perfecto but can't find any contact info. You would'nt happen to have it? By the wat what thickness is that glass? Mine is 1/2"