I am in the process of upgrading (finally) to a 125g glass tank with dual corner overflows. Pics of the build are on the DIY page.
My plans for this tank are going to be very similar to my current 55. The tank will run with a sump and a single return pump, however, the skimmer will be a beast! Also, I finally get to "kick" the overflow box to the curb! I have hated that thing since I first had to install it. It is a bad design as the chambers are square--this means of course that bubbles will be trapped, and this of course means that the box will lose siphon. Enter a Tom's Aqualifter pump--four of them to be exact. I have worn them out and pieced them back together, but they still fail. After the last one died, I decided to just forgo the pump and just make sure to check the siphon level every few days.
One of the things about this new tank that I am really excited about are the dual corner overflows. I wanted the corner overflows to maximize space in the tank. I do not know why some manufacturers put their overflows in the back middle. To me this creates a huge waste of tank space. For the stand and canopy, I made each one larger than I ever needed. I need/want space! I have fought to get into and under my tank since I first set it up. Well, this time that is not going to be an issue. My stand is large enough for a 47g sump (17x40x15) and a 15g ATO container. Both doors open wide to allow me to get way in if need be. |
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This is the tank under the Royal Blue and UV only LEDs.
This is the tank just under the UV's. I will get better pics ASAP, but you get the point!
This is the tank under all of the LEDs; Cool White, Royal Blue and UV.
This was the tank under 20K MH before changing to the LEDs.
Details of my 55 gallon mixed reef:
THE TANK: I currently have a 55 gallon all glass tank. When I bought the tank, it was not drilled so I use an overflow box from Reef Octopus. I had been using custom DIY retro T5HO and metal Halide lighting but switched to a RapidLED DIY kit and a DIY acrylic sump. The LEDs are a combo of UV, Royal Blue and Cool White. The tank uses a DIY ATO system as well. I have approximately 50#'s of live rock and 40#'s of live sand. I use a no-name in sump skimmer that works great and a Danner Mag 7 as the return pump. Circulation is provided by two Hydor Koralia 1050 controlled by a Hydor Smart Wave controler and a Jebao MP-25, which is a Chinese knock off of the Ecotech MP series of pumps. Surprisingly this pump has done much better than expected. It has three direct speeds, three wave speeds, and a variable pattern. Each of the seven settings can be adjusted for volume and pulse length. The pump also has a feed feature which turns the pump off for 10 minutes and it also comes with a light sensor and at night when the lights are out the pump output drops significantly. For less than the third of the price of an Ecotech, it was a great investment.
LIVESTOCK: Currently may tank has a scissor-tail dartfish, a royal gramma , two true percula clowns, two pajama cardinals, a coal beauty and a bi-color blenny for fish. A rose bubble tip anemone, a long spine urchin, blue legged hermits, red Cortes hermits, nassarius snails, dwarf cerith snails, turbo snails, trochus snails, asterinia stars and God knows what else.
CORALS: I currently have soft corals, LPS and SPS corals in my tank. These include, Zoanthids--Eagle Eyes, Armor of God, Fire Ice and a host of others that I don't know the name, metallic green mushrooms, two Palythoas,and a neon green Sinularia. LPS corals include; an orange Scolymia, grape frogspawn, metallic green hammer, purple w/green tip frogspawn, and a yellow torch, a pink Lobophyllia, a reverse Christmas Tree Favia, a green Acanthastrea, a pink Acanthastrea, an orange and blue Acanthastrea and a purple Goniopora. SPS corals include the following; purple Montipora capricornis, a pink Monti cap, a Mystic Sunset Monti cap, a green with purple polyp M.cap, a GARF purple Bonsai Acropora, a tricolor Acropora valida, a pink A. valida, another Acropora that is green but I don't know the species, an orange Montipora digitata, a pink M. digitata, a tricolor M. digitata, an ORA Bird of Paradise birds nest-Seriatopora Guttatus, a green birds nest-Seriatopora hystrix a Pocillopora damicornis, Cyphastrea ocellina--Meteor Shower, a Strawberry Shortcake Millipora, an unidentified Millipora, a beautiful green Psammocora and another orange Psammocora.
LIVESTOCK: Currently may tank has a scissor-tail dartfish, a royal gramma , two true percula clowns, two pajama cardinals, a coal beauty and a bi-color blenny for fish. A rose bubble tip anemone, a long spine urchin, blue legged hermits, red Cortes hermits, nassarius snails, dwarf cerith snails, turbo snails, trochus snails, asterinia stars and God knows what else.
CORALS: I currently have soft corals, LPS and SPS corals in my tank. These include, Zoanthids--Eagle Eyes, Armor of God, Fire Ice and a host of others that I don't know the name, metallic green mushrooms, two Palythoas,and a neon green Sinularia. LPS corals include; an orange Scolymia, grape frogspawn, metallic green hammer, purple w/green tip frogspawn, and a yellow torch, a pink Lobophyllia, a reverse Christmas Tree Favia, a green Acanthastrea, a pink Acanthastrea, an orange and blue Acanthastrea and a purple Goniopora. SPS corals include the following; purple Montipora capricornis, a pink Monti cap, a Mystic Sunset Monti cap, a green with purple polyp M.cap, a GARF purple Bonsai Acropora, a tricolor Acropora valida, a pink A. valida, another Acropora that is green but I don't know the species, an orange Montipora digitata, a pink M. digitata, a tricolor M. digitata, an ORA Bird of Paradise birds nest-Seriatopora Guttatus, a green birds nest-Seriatopora hystrix a Pocillopora damicornis, Cyphastrea ocellina--Meteor Shower, a Strawberry Shortcake Millipora, an unidentified Millipora, a beautiful green Psammocora and another orange Psammocora.