Piggy's 120 Tank Thread

[Piggy]

Today I went out and got to pick out my birthday present. So I got me a 120gallon tank,stand,and canopy. I'll have to take the canopy back because they gave us the wrong one. So be prepared for all kinds of questions because there is no way I can do it myself. So to start off how do I plumb this thing? It has two corner flows. Also I'm going to make my own sump. Should I go with a 20 or 30 long? I need to start a list of things I need to buy.



This is the stand I picked out.

What it looks like underneath.

Assembly Kit

120 Tank I washed it out.

Tank on Stand

I had to buy my baby a pet.

 

[reeffreak]

Congratulations.....the tank and stand looks beautiful!
The picture of the doggie and fish was classic!

Piggy,I would go with whatever will fit inside the stand.The bigger the better but put into account on how much room is left for any equipment(outlets,cords,etc).

 

[LionFish]

Piggy I think we should say !
Welcome to the big tank club...

I know we stated earlier that 125 would take it, but what the hey,

The new Big tank Club Size Limit is 120 Gallons !

 

[Bifferwine]

Congrats on the new tank! Go with the largest sump you can.

 

[MikMcgyver]

Awesome tank Piggy, I cant wait to see the aquascaping in there. Looks like you got plenty of room for all the gear underneath. Congratulations again...

 

[fishbait]

congrats on the b.t.c. piggy!

 

[Piggy]

I've been busy trying to figure out how to do the sump. Here is a diagram that I came up with. I'm open to any suggestions. This is my first sump so I have no idea what I'm doing. I put it together from what I learned from you guys.

I do know there should be three baffles so where does the third one go? Also I remember that one should be a inch from the bottom. Which one is it? Also I would like a area to put media.Do I have it piped right? I think I'm confusing myself. Help would be appreciated.

 

[Alexander]

Piggy I think we should say !
Welcome to the big tank club...

I know we stated earlier that 125 would take it, but what the hey,

The new Big tank Club Size Limit is 120 Gallons !

Who made you Judge Jury and Executioner on this one!!!!!! compromising those precious 5 gallons! hmm well i will just turn the other way on this one.


btw piggy. a very excellent choice for a present! glad to see you got something really awesome!

 

[Alexander]

oh and usually there is one right where the water goes into the sump. i dont see one there. that could be what you were looking for. not sure i am really bad at diagrams. oh and the dog picture is super funny! I loved it. for some reason my girlfriend didnt so much as chuckle when i showed her. but no worries i was busting up!

 

[reeffreak]

Piggy,one more baffle before the fuge to trap microbubbles will help.Besides that it looks like a sound design.You don't need two ball valves for each return unless you want to control each side.One ball valve above the return pump(before the T-split) would be suffice.

 

[Bifferwine]

There is usually a bubble trap before the return pump. A bubble trap is made with three baffles. The first and third are glued to the bottom of the tank. The one in the middle is raised one inch off the bottom. And the three of them are spaced one inch apart from each other. The bubble trap forces the water underneath the middle baffle, so the air bubbles rise and don't go with the water, so you don't get air bubbles returning back to your tank.

Other than that, looks good to me. Any particular reason why you chose to put two ball valves on the return lines, instead of just one before it branches off into a T?

 

[Alexander]

some say 2 is better than 1 ;) j/k

 

[Piggy]

No reason. I just figured seeing I had two corner flows I had to have two. Also I'm going to add a check valve above the pump.

 

[LionFish]

Who made you Judge Jury and Executioner on this one!!!!!! compromising those precious 5 gallons! hmm well i will just turn the other way on this one.


btw piggy. a very excellent choice for a present! glad to see you got something really awesome!

eew .... sorry! man

 

[yote]

Congratulations Piggy.
Every body else has you covered on your sump design,so When do you expect to go wet?
Cant wait to see it with corals and fish.

 

[Piggy]

I'm not moving as fast as I would like to. But I did get my pvp bought and at least got some of my plumbing started. I can't finish it all until I get the aquarium for the sump. Which I hope to do tomarrow. So here are a few updated pics.

Fitting I plan on using.

Leftt Side

Right Side

Full Shot

Water Flow on Top one on each side

Charlie's Fish update.

What size of pump will I need for my sump? How many wavemakers do I need ? I have a 1 and 2 already.

 

[reeffreak]

Is that sealant use to piece the pvc together?Its not silicone is it?

Are you going internal sump or external?
Mag 12 or 18 for internal.(1200-1800gph)**mags are too noisy ran externally**
Panworld Px100(1270gph) or 200ps(1750gph) for external.

Whatever pump you go with look around 1200-1800gph pumps.Premium Aquatics is my fav. place to get one.

 

[MikMcgyver]

I run 2 Rio HF20's for my returns, But I do have 4 returns in my system. I think they are about 1000 gph @ 4' high...

 

[Bifferwine]

You should use PVC primer and glue for the PVC, not silicone like you have in the picture.

Aim for a return pump that moves around 10x the volume of your tank.

 

[Piggy]

The silicone is for when I put my sump together. My pvc will be put together with pvc primer and glue.