I need some advice!!

Looking good! I think most coral reef tanks are lidless........ a lid just cuts down too much on your light. I guess if you were going to run a FOWLR, one might be ok, but then I'd worry about proper gas exchange.

 

Couple things, if your going reef, you are gonna wanna ditch the lids for sure, one reason like phishcrazee said is gas exchange, another would be heat buildup, another would be you would need to constantly clean them otherwise you would loose alot of light.


That sump is pretty small for 120 gallon, if were me, i would try and go bigger.

I'm a little confused on the stock tank, is that gonna get plumbed in to the main system? Or, are you using it it just to cure your rock, if its just for curing your rock, it wont need light or a lid.
Thats a pretty sweet fish room you got there!

 

Sounds to me like he is compensating for the lack of LR in the tank by adding it to the stock tank. I don't know if this is the correct answer, but you wouldn't have to have light over it unless you were trying to grow coraline algae on it. I don't know how necessary it would be to have the extra LR as long as you have a decent skimmer which it appears you do. It certainly won't hurt, but I just don't know if the benefits will out weigh the cost...if it were me, I would make it a refugium or a grow out tank.

 

Wow you have a very nice looking set up, very neat & precise.

I agree with the others opinions on the lids.

You dont need light at all unless you are going to have algae for nutrition export. The rock & sand will hold tons of pods & bacteria with no light at all.
It would be a good idea to add a 20 or 30 as a refuge, fill it full of algae & light it.

It looks like a pretty good sized room so I assume there should be a heat vent or two. You shouldnt have much of a humidity issue with a 120.

 

The only thing I can think of being a worry about humidity is that you have your computer not six feet away from everything. I wonder what long term exposure to that kind of air would be.

How's the wavemaker idea going?

 

Your setup looks awesome. Only suggestion I have is that you at least get some SPAR varnish on those cabinets. Saltwater can really tear up unprotected wood.

 

Oh and speaking of the cabinets are you going to plumb a faucet in there or just a drain? I really like that work station.

 

I wouldnt do any lids for the reason stated above...as for moisture/humidity...I see a window in the room if that goes to the outside I would put in an exhaust fan to vent humid air outside.
I would put a light over the sand bed if you are thinking of it as a refugium...if not then I would not put a light over it. THe light can be a simple setup from lowes or Home Depot.

Hope that helps.....Good luck

 

Awesome fish room! Ditto on no glass lids. Huge pain! I typically have used eggcrate to keep jumpers at bay but aren't using them currently as my canopy surround is pretty tall in itself.

Very nice fish room! Most of us that don't have one would trade their right arm for that setup. All of my equipment lives in my dungeon under my tank which makes life easier. Just remember that no matter how much you plan, etc., you WILL end up with water where you don't want it from time to time.

I know very little about plumbing really but I know a lot more than I did before we set up my bigger tank. One thing I would suggest is thinking it through to the point of any automation that you can add to your system as well as safeguards in possible failures. You have a pretty blank slate there and plenty of room. How will you do water changes and how can you make that part easier? The easier you can make it, the better off you will be in the long run. My system as it's set up now only requires turning one knob for draining and another for filling.

 

With the stock 20 and what not all hooked up to the tank and sump, I think he's just going to drain the waste water out through one of those with a ball valve.  Then he'll have an ATO from the resevior in the corner.

 

See I HAVE been paying attention.