# 120 Gal. Reef Tank Build, Equipment and Livestock Plans



## FishTeen (Feb 6, 2011)

Here we go. My venture into the Reef world. I have been a reef enthusiast for my entire aquarium carrer, and I can finally build one of my own. I have a feeling this thread wil be big as It will very relevant to a lot of you reefers out there. 

First off, the Guts of the system: The Tank and Equipment










Second, i'm building a RO/DI reservoir that will be placed in the backyard in a small DIY shed. The RO/DI unit is made by SpectraPure.










Now the livestock. *old dude *Remember this is not a list of what I will buy, it's a list of my options of livestock to purchase and what appeal to me*. I would never put so many fish in one tank. 

Livestock List: 

Juvenile Angelfish - 
Emperor 
Koran
Blue

Angelfish -
Flame

Blennys- 
Bi-Color
Canary Fang
Midas
Tailspot

Cardinal Fish - 
Banggai
Pajama

Clowns- 
Pair of Ocellaris, Percula or Seabae

Groupers- 
Marine Betta
Blue Hamlet
Coral Hind

Damsels- 
Blue Chromis
Blue Green Chromis 
Goldbelly

Gobies- 
Neon
Citrus Clown
Yellow Shrimp
(With tiger pistol shrimp partner)

Hawkfish- 
Falcos
Longnose

Tangs (Will not buy any tangs over 7")- 
Purple
Chevron - Might buy this as my 'Prize Fish'
Sailfin
Blue/ Hippo
Yellow 
Cole
Naso
Sohal 
Clown

Boxfish- 
Longhorn Cowfish

I will post a coral, annename, and invertebrate list later. 


*c/p*
Feedback, comments and questions are very much welcomed!


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

Wow! great build! Make sure those power units wont get wet, I'm sure you thought of that tho. lol. 
If that reservoir is outside, you may be looking at a heater that is going to be over-worked in the colder months. So be sure to maybe use two or have a spare for a backup just in case it fails. 
A few smaller power heads may be more benificial than one larger one depending on how you have your rock positioned. Make sure your coral have a good flow over them and you have a good oxygen exchange at the surface of the tank. 

Blue green chromis are awesome. I have a few in my 20 gallon and they never stop movin until the lights go out. With the proper lighting, their colors really pop and shimmer. 

Cardinals like to be in pairs, so keep that in mind when purchasing them. 
Some of those angels are not entirely reef safe, so be sure to get the ones that wont pick at your coral. 

Blennys are awesome. Have you thought about a blue spot jawfish? beautiful!

Those groupers are also beautiful. 

I think boxfish can potentially hurt you so do some extra research there.

And last but not least, be sure to know that corals can be toxic to you. So wear proper equipment and take some precautions. Know what you're putting in your tank and how to handle them. 

Good luck and i hope to see a beautiful aquarium up and running!


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## Kaiden32 (Sep 4, 2010)

sweet! looking forward to seeing pics of the tank once you get stuff.


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## verdifer (Sep 8, 2010)

Angelfish aren't the easiest to keep the Koran is prob the easiest but it still isn't easy they need good water and since you are going reef tank you may need to look into as they can nip away at corals as they get to be adults.

Blennys can nip at corals also so if you got one you would need to keep an eye on it.

Cardinal Fish are a good choice and seem to be better at fighting of disease than other fish, and you may get lucky and they may breed in your tank, if you have a few they will set themselves up into a pecking order on who is the boss and so on, since they pair up if you get a few keep an eye and make sure they don't start some in-fighting since the 1 of the paired set may not like the idea of a competitor in the tank but again this is not guaranteed to happen.

Clown fish you can never go wrong with, Reef safe and is the tank has good quality water and they feel safe they may very well breed if you can get 2 to pair up, tank bred Clownfish are widely availible and fair better in a tank than wild caught and they have less chance of having/bringing a disease into your tank.


Groupers are a bit dodgy you would need to really read up on the 1 you plan to buy before you get it some will eat smaller fish and your Clean up Crew.

Damsels are territorial I would avoid them not the fish's fault but they are small fish with big balls so to speak, lots of folks get these to break a tank in then return them to the LFS for store credit.

Gobies are always a good fish to get they eat all the rubbish that falls to the bottom of the tank and keep the sand turned over at the same time.

Theres a few hawkfish check what you buy as some won't go well with bottom dwelling fish like Gobies or Shrimp if you plan to keep them.


You tank is big enough for Tangs alough since they have a thin skin mucus they are prone to Ich be careful of mixing them as some don't like another tang in their tank, the yellw tang will even go for a fish that looks like a yellow tang.

Boxfish are amazin looking 1 of the best looking in my opinion, but they can be dangerous if they get stressed or scared they can release a toxen and wipe out you tank, I was looking at a Boxfish a while back but even things like switching the lights on can stress them you are supposed to turn the light up slowly so they don't get a fright if you have children who are going to be in front of the tank and going crazy near it like mine(My kids run about the house crazy) then this can also give them a fright deffo avoid these fish no matter how cute they look.


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

I wouldnt waste my time or money on PC's as the par values are very low, I would go with 6-8 T-5's and make sure they have individual reflectors and you should be able to keep anything you want.


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## FishTeen (Feb 6, 2011)

archer772 said:


> I wouldnt waste my time or money on PC's as the par values are very low, I would go with 6-8 T-5's and make sure they have individual reflectors and you should be able to keep anything you want.


I the only reason I am running PC's is because I got a set for free and another for very cheap. I will eventually upgrade to LED's (I think every reefer will @ some point )


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## FishTeen (Feb 6, 2011)

Kaiden32 said:


> sweet! looking forward to seeing pics of the tank once you get stuff.


Stay tuned. It may take longer than I thought because we just decided we might do an In-wall installation instead of the standard stand and canopy style. I'll take a pic of the in-wall location so you guys can tell me what you think.


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## FishTeen (Feb 6, 2011)

verdifer said:


> Angelfish aren't the easiest to keep the Koran is prob the easiest but it still isn't easy they need good water and since you are going reef tank you may need to look into as they can nip away at corals as they get to be adults.
> 
> Blennys can nip at corals also so if you got one you would need to keep an eye on it.
> 
> ...


My dad had a Long Horn Cowfish for 5 years, with a clown, blenny, yellow tang, a coral beauty and an Annaname without any problems, But I will definitely think about it. 

The juvenile angelfish will be purchased with caution, not only because of their coral-nipping habits but also, they're a heck of a lot of money! 

I honestly only plan on keeping Blue-Green Chromis Damsels, which are appropriate fish for reef communities. All the other damsels are just too violent. 

Now with tangs, they will be THE LAST FISH going into the tank, to minimize territorial behavior. 

Here's what I really plan on buying in terms of Tangs. Everything else was just an idea: 

ALL will be 6" and under.
Naso
Yellow Eye Kole
Purple tang
Clown
Sohal

But you never know, I will jut have to wait.


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

Tangs should really be kept in 6 foot or larger tanks unless you decide on one of the smaller tangs and then I would only try keeping one. The Clown, Sohal and Naso will get far too large for your tank


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## FishTeen (Feb 6, 2011)

archer772 said:


> Tangs should really be kept in 6 foot or larger tanks unless you decide on one of the smaller tangs and then I would only try keeping one. The Clown, Sohal and Naso will get far too large for your tank


Like I said, I only plan on keeping them under 6". Same with the Angelfish. Once they out-grow they're tank I will trade them for other fish or corals.


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## Supersellerg (Jan 5, 2012)

We almost have the same idea and I already got a side dual 1 inch overflow and dual 3/4 inch return, enclosed 120 gallon acrylic and will eventualy plum to my basment but for now will make a sump under the stand! The ballast are always the hardest things to hide!!! I just joined but have been uploading vids on youtube for awhile!!!


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## FishTeen (Feb 6, 2011)

Sorry, project canceled.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

*J/D*


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## FishTeen (Feb 6, 2011)

I have changed this project - completely. The stand will be a custom mahogany stain furniture grade wood, lighting will be 3 EcoTech Marine Radion LED fixtures. The tank's new dimensions are not for sure, but probably 40" x 40" x 24". I will be plumbing the tank to the basement fish room, with a 48" x 24" x 20" sump. Return pump will be a ReeFlo Hammerhead Hybrid. I purchased a Deltec external skimmer, I will be running two media reactors, and I'm planning a Refugium. 

With head height included, Im getting around 3,200 GPH of flow at the tank. Im going to use a wave making device called an Oceans Motions 4 Way. If I can't get the flow patterns i need Im going to add some Tunze power heads. 

Thats the NEW and IMPROVED plan. What do you think?


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

*rotating smile


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