Cottonwood 125 Reef tank build

[Cottonwood]

Here are some pictures from today building the stand with my Grandad and my oldest daughter. Got it all done, the paint is drying. I'll have pics of it together tomorrow. Figured I'd just start this build thread at the very start.

 

[Leslee]

Looks great! Can't wait to see more pics!

 

[ccCapt]

Looks good so far. ;)

 

[Bifferwine]

Yay! Looks sturdy.

 

[Cottonwood]

Thanks! It was a lot of work, but cheaper than buying a stand and we made it very sturdy. My Grandad taught wood shop forever and has his own shop where he has built just about everything wood in our house, so I tried to stay out of his way mostly and lend a hand when I could! haha! I'm bringing it home tomorrow so I'll have pics of it painted with the tank on it then.

 

[Smitty]

That looks really good. Good job to grandpa and your daughter. :mrgreen:

 

[Jmck]

Done a great job! All looking great :D

 

[Wes888]

Wow! Look at all those power tools! Sweet stand!

 

[Cottonwood]

Thanks! My Grandma said I needed to put at least one light coat on the bottom of the inside and on the inside of the doors so when it is opened it looks half way decent. So I said yes ma'am and went and did as I was told. So when I get off work today I'm going to go by and put the doors on and move it to my house finally! So I'll have those pictures tonight.

On a side note, I got my skimmer pretty much all cleaned up, got some dry rock, and am working on a deal with a guy in town that is breaking down his set up. So I just need to order my sand and I can start getting water in the tank.

With my 125gal would it be easier to fill the tank and mix the salt in it since I only have dry rock anyway...or mix the salt seperately? I'm not sure how to really go about this part....

 

[Dakwan]

just mix it in the tank if there is nothing live in there

 

[Wes888]

I'm lazy. I would just mix the salt in the tank. :D

 

[Bifferwine]

Yeah, but do it before you put the rock in. If the rock is in there first, you will get salt settling into the nooks and crannies.

 

[OhNoNemo]

I mixed mine in my tank,much easier,but leave your tank empty like said

 

[Cottonwood]

So leave my power heads on to help mix the salt I'm assuming. What about the skimmer? At what point do I turn the skimmer on? Once the tank is done cycling?

 

[Dakwan]

yeah power heads on and also heater because the specific gravity reading changes depending on temperature.

I've read of some people waiting until the cycle is done to throw the skimmer on and others doing it through out.. It probably doesn't overly matter

 

[Cottonwood]

Here are some pics of the tank all painted up for ya! Cant wait to get it wet! Just have to re-seal the bottom corners, it held water but I noticed that the caulking felt brittle and with a little scratch and pull it was coming off. I'll do that tomorrow hopefully, if I can find the right stuff here in town that is.

Another Side note, I found this on Craigslist locally and I think I'm going to get this set up and transfer the stuff into my tank, plus new salt water and more sand...then get more rock to add to it as well. What do you think? Will I be able to just transfer the stuff over ok without killing the fish and rock and coral? It also turns out I go to the same Church just different times as this guy, he's in High School so I might trade him my xbox (my wife hates it) and $210 for his set up.

(The bearded guy isn't me, its my best friend from High School, he helped me move it over here and get the tank on top...I WISH I could grow a beard!)

 

[Cottonwood]

As you can see I only have some crappy lighting for it, I have another 36" single fluorescent bulb fixture, but its crap too. So would something like 2 of these be ok? Would I be able to do some cool corals? Are moon lights a necessity?

Nova Extreme Pro HO T5 | PetSolutions

 

[Bifferwine]

Moon lights are not a necessity. They are there for your viewing pleasure only. :)

Are you thinking of doing two 36" Nova Extreme Pros end to end, to span the length of your 125? That could work -- you'd have to hang them. Have you considered just getting a 6' light fixture instead?

 

[Cottonwood]

I was thinking 2 36" fixtures...I haven't really seen any 6' fixtures, when I look at lights on websites I haven't ever notice any that long so I thought I would have to go with 2 shorter fixtures. I want to get a light that will allow me to have pretty much anything. So once I'm ready for some tougher corals, I wont have to upgrade lights again.

 

[Bifferwine]

Nova Extreme Pros come in a 6' length.

72 Inch Nova Extreme Pro T5HO 12x39 Watt - Compare Prices

http://www.google.com/products/cata...OGmNpGyNvbWvdUB&sa=button&ved=0CAkQgggwADgA#p