125 gallon reef tank build

Well guys, I figured since Im new here and my tank is only 3 months old, that I might as well post the tank build.  Sort of a then to now if you will.  Ill try and keep it up to date also as I get new corals and fish.  Im taking this from another forum, so sorry if its chopped up abit.
ok, tonight went to the LFS, well, kinda of local, about 40 miles away and picked up some more stuff.  Excuse the mess on the counter.  I just pushed the stuff to the side so I could open my light

 

OK, today I bent up some new 1/4 inch thick tank braces and got started on painting the stand. My goal is to have the stand painted before I go to bed tonight so its ready for wed. I also want to fill the tank with water tomorrow night, and take a measurement of the width, then take a measurement of the width after 24 hours and make sure the bracing is good to go. If 1/4 inch braces arent enough, im not sure what is. Here is the picture.

 

Here is a few pictures of the light on the tank. There is some darker area at the end of the tank, but it isnt bad really.

 

well, so everyone here knows. The braces I made worked great. Its about an inch from the over flow and the thing hasnt even budged a hair. So onto moving it inside I go. Should have it inside here tonight and hopefully plumbed and with water in her. Stay tuned.

 

There is pictures with the LED's on, then the T5's only, then the MH only, then the MH and T5's. Then just some misc. pictures. Dont mind the wire mess. I just plugged stuff in quick. It will all be tied up and whatnot.

 

ok, here are a few pictures. It is plumbed and ready to rock. I got my uv steralizer today and need to go get some tubing ti hook it up, then finish setting up my protein skimmer after I get the rest of the water. I think im getting another 70 gallons tonight, and if all goes right might even have the thing up and running. Depending on time of course. Well, here is a few pictures, and I havnt had time to tie the wire up yet, so please excuse the nest of wires.

water going in


160 lbs of live sand in


End view


added a powerstrip for water changes, etc.


and under the stand

 

here are a few pictures. Its abit cloudy right now but hoping that goes away here relativelly soon. Also, ive got a bad gurgling in the sump im trying to get rid of. I think the holes I drilled are causing it to gurgle air really bad. If I unplug one pump, its fine, but as soon as I plug one back in, its all over and starts gurgling like crazy. Anyhow, here are a few pictures. im goign to add abit more water so there is 8 or 9 inches of water in the sump. It only raises about an inch right now when I cut the power, so we should be good to go.

 

Alright guys, had the water polisher on there almost 24 hours now and she is cleaning it up like no other! Almost clear now!! Will run it for another couple days and it will be golden. Here are some more recent pictures of the tank.

Here it is with the moon lights on:


With the T5's on:


My storage to keep the kitchen nice for the wife:


Then finally the sump:


More of the sump:


Oh yeah, Reef Crystals:


Full shot of under the tank:


UV Sterilizer:

 

here is the rock Couldnt be any happier. John at [url=http://www.reefcleaners.org]ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae - Home[/url] picked me out some of the best rock I could have ever asked for! Anyone needs rock on the cheap, and doesnt mind the little bit of extra time it takes for base rock to grow algae, he is the way to go!!!
***This is 112 pounds of base rock***

 

here is a couple pictures of them with the cones/screens over them.

 

Got my 14 gallon fuge drilled, and it is growing like a weed! My algae is taking off like crazy. My corals are also doing wonderful. Ive also got some coraline growing!! Here are a few updated pictures.

 

ok, few new pictures here of the tank. Nothing too much to update on

 

OK, got a few new additions today! A school of 7 small blue/green chromis and a Coral Beauty:

 

And last but not least, a small video of the tank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x4udHFaRGY

 

super skimmer is already sold. There is currently no skimmer in there. I didnt get the cash for the skimmer from you yet, so... Ill get it figured out.