JJ's BIG - 125 gallon Upgrade

jjmoneyman

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It's a standard AGA 125 gal and measures 72"X18"X21", and the dimensions are perfect for the back wall in our living room. I ordered it from my LFS and it took 2 weeks to get it in. It's has dual drains and returns. The tank and stand alone was about $800. The light is a 72" aquaticlife with 3-150W and 4-39W T5 and leds and I got it right here from another member. I put put blue bulbs in the front and white in the back. I picked up a 40 gal breeder for the sump and is a very tight fit (front to back) but so far (without water) seems like a good fit. I'm also going to be placing an ATO underneath as well since I'm going to leave it open topped. Rock work should start tonight so I'll be sure to get photos of that as well. This is my third tank and I feel like this is finally the right size, small enough to be able to manage, and large enough to be able to do what I want with it.
 

jjmoneyman

RS Sponsor
I just snuck home for an extended lunch break and started epoxying some rocks together. When I get home if the epoxy holds I'll be adding some water at the whopping rate of 3 gallons an hour.
 

jpsika08

Well-Known Member
The Epoxy should be dry in 5 minutes, I just Epoxied yesterday my rockwork and this is the time it took to dry, good luck :)
 

jjmoneyman

RS Sponsor
I had to head back to work, just want to make sure it's holding well before I add water, so I'll find out when I get home.
 

jjmoneyman

RS Sponsor
Added a bag of sand, then rock, then more sand and here is what you get. I left space open at the right because the rock from the 55 gal will come into this tank at one time as well.

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Did shelves to light loving corals:
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Added a 50' hose to the RO/DI unit that is under the sink and have it strung to the tank for a whopping 3 gallons an hour.
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We are officially making water:
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jjmoneyman

RS Sponsor
It is actually filling pretty fast, there is almost an inch of water in the bottom lol. I left room all the way around for cleaning and there are a lot of shelves for corals to grow. I really like the rock from reefcleaners.
 

PSU4ME

JoePa lives on!!!
Staff member
PREMIUM
Really nice work! ytou won't be sorry when the coralline starts covering that! Nice job!
 

jjmoneyman

RS Sponsor
Water level this morning:
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After work I added a couple of pumps and a powerhead behind the rock and also started adding some saltwater premixed in a 5 gallon bucket. I'm mixing the saltwater very high in salt to mix with the regular water in the tank. Here's what we have now:
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catran

Well-Known Member
Wow, you should be done filling by tomorrow night. Awesome! Love the tank..can you put me in your will? That's the color blue that I got for my frag tank, nice color! I can't wait until you move your stuff from the 55, that will be beautiful!
 

jjmoneyman

RS Sponsor
Thanks Cat. I was out all day on business so I didn't do any filling but right now it's about 3/4 full. I emptied my skimmer right into the tank today to get a little of the juices going and threw in a lovely deli shrimp. I just hate dumping stinky stuff right into this new tank but I'm anxious to get it going. Water should hit the overflows tomorrow and we can see how the sump and return work out. Still have to hook up the ato and stuff but we getting close to starting a cycle. Right now I have 2 550 gph koralias going and a powerhead behind the rocks and I can tell you that's not near enough flow. Tomorrow when we get the return pumping it will be interesting to see the flow. I would like to end up putting one of these koralias behind the rocks to help with flow in back between the returns so if I get a chance I might play with that. I turned on the hid's tonight and I really dig how the blue black shows against the rocks even with slightly murky water.
 

yankieman

Well-Known Member
Hi jjmoneyman just caught up on your thread looks great love the aqua scaping can you come to illinois and do mine when im ready LOL ,, anyway cant wait to see the end results
 

yankieman

Well-Known Member
:LOL:and dont worry my kitchen sink is plenty secure so just need the aqua scaping ,,,, kitchen sink toooo funny,,,, LOL
 

jjmoneyman

RS Sponsor
Water is about 1" away from the overflows, and the good news is - yes the kitchen sink is still holding up thanks to the bracing.
 
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