Tony
Staff member
Hello everyone. I will be the first to say, the build thread on the 90 gallon tank went way better on here than I thought it would. That thread (LINKED HERE) went from Sept 28th 2012, and is still going because it will not be taken down for a while. However, it will be coming down, at least temporarily while I build a new stand and possibly a new canopy. The stand is junk and I have hated it since day one lol. But it was the "right price" back then.
Almost exactly 10 years later at the end of 2022, and we purchased our new tank. It says it's a 142 gallon tank, however I don't believe that. So I'm calling it my 150 build. It is 72.5x18.5x25. We were going to go with a tank that was 24" front to back instead of 18.5, however we didn't want it sticking out too far from the wall. So we decided to stick with the 18.5" front to back. To compare, the 90 is 48x18x24.
On this build, we didn't want to go "All Out", but rather go with the best without going overboard. When looking at parts, I ask myself on every one of them, "will this last 10 years?". If the answer is no, then I look somewhere else. And if the answer is yes, I usually pulled the trigger on it. So for about 6 months, this is what has been taking up my "free funds".
When I purchased the tank, it did come with the stand and a canopy that I thought I was going to love, however overlooked one major aspect.... Height.... This is a low profile canopy and in the store, it looked taller than it was, and I should have measured. So because of the canopy, my light choices were limited.
The lights I ended up going with are the Kessel A360X. I have 3 of them to put on this tank. This light has the widest throw and the highest par while being less than 6" off the surface of the water. I did test these out on the 90 gallon for a few weeks, and the corals LOVED THEM!! So I think this is a great choice. Only down side is they are pretty much pinpoint light source, so the shimmer is intense! I'm thinking about getting some "Fill Lights" to help with that, but on the 90, I got used to it pretty easily.
For a sump, we with with the Trigger Systems 34" Platinum. I was SO TIRED of cleaning filter socks that I was willing to spend the extra money for a fleece roller system. And that is exactly what I did! This sump has everything I need in a sump. A fleece roller, a lid to stop salt creep, a refugium section, a skimmer section and a decent return section. It also has 4 spots for 1/4" tubing for dosing and auto top off and it has a built in probe holder already there.
One thing that I wanted to do is pretty much "Start Over" on this tank. So with that in mind, this will be a "NEW" build. New tank, new sump, new electronics and New Rock & Sand. I went with Dry Rock, not wet and I went with Dry Sand, not live sand. I will use my 90 to help seed it, but it will be NEW and uniform looking. The 90 is just a mess of "what I could find" and I have not been happy with it for years. This new 150 build though, will have way more negative space for coral growth, fish swimming areas and a way to clean the sand during a water change. I went with 80lbs of dry rock and 80lbs of dry sand. And get this, I got free shipping on it lol.
So that brings me to the tank controller. As I'm sure you all know, on the 90 I have used the OG Neptune Apex controller and it has been AMAZING! So for the new build, I went with the A3 Apex Pro by Neptune Systems. This is the newest Apex and I can't wait to dive into programming it and getting everything setup. This was one of the "no compromise" purchases that I didn't care what he price was, I wanted the top of the line. And I have it.
For a return pump, I went with the Neptune COR 20 return pump. This is directly compatible with the A3 Apex Pro and should feed this tank nicely!
For a skimmer, I'm trying a cheaper skimmer, but I'm not quite liking it much right now. It is the Aquamaxx DFC-180. It's pretty much the cheapest skimmer you can get that is still DC powered. Does it work, yea it works, but it's finicky. It keeps overskimming when it is set super dry, and I have no idea why. I have turned down the air, pump, flow, and nothing helps. I may just have to bite the bullet and get a Nyos skimmer, but man, they are not cheap. But the theme of this build is "will it last 10 years", and I honestly don't think the Aquamaxx will. The Nyos... Absolutely. It's pretty much the best of the best from what I have read.
Powerheads, the small pumps on the sides of the tank on the inside, took me a very long time to decide on. I really do like the Jebao powerheads and I can control them with the Apex, however they are $80+ each, I would need 4 of them, and I have had 5, and every one of them die at the one year mark, like they have a timer built into them. So I'm done with Jebao for this reason unless they change.
I looked at everything from the Neptune WAV, which is their powerheads, however, they are saying the same thing, they die after one year. But man it would be nice to not have to have another controller. But, $200/ea and only get a year.... Nope, not yet.
I ended up going with pretty much the top of the line, what everyone that is going to stay in the hobby goes with. The EcoTech Marine VorTech MP40mQD. At this time, they cannot be controlled by the Apex, however I'm sure something will come along. I can turn them on and off with the Apex, so that will work for feed timers, and water changes. So I think I will be happy with them.
(Edit: PLOT TWIST!!! I just found a video from 5 months ago where Neptune Systems stated they are coming out with an MXM module, which is basically the Mobius app, which is what I need for the powerheads. This module has no date of release yet, and no price. And you know what, I don't care what it costs, when it is released, I'm getting it!!!)
These powerheads are something that I have wanted since my 55 gallon saltwater tank. There are NO WIRES inside the tank with these. They have a "Wet Side" and a "Dry Side". The dry side is on the outside and is the motor. The wet side goes inside the tank and is kind of like the little pill inside a beaker in science class that spins on top of the plate. That's pretty much how it works anyway. But these things push a lot of water, are a mix between a small jet for long reach and a wide pattern for wide water movement, so perfect for a 6 foot tank. These I think are the most expensive powerheads on the market, however compared to the Jebao and Neptune powerheads, they will pay for themselves after 5 years or so. So another "Buy Once, Cry Once" purchase.
For the plumbing, Again, no compromise. It was a "Buy Once, Cry Once" (or should have been lol) situation, however I did make one little mistake where I had to purchase fittings over again. I am running Schedule 40 Blue Pipe with Schedule 80 Gray Fittings. And IMO, it looks fantastic. I wanted to hard line everything but the return pump (due to vibration) and for that, I used 1" silicone tubing to reduce vibrations to almost nothing.
One thing that this tank does not have is a check valve. If I do decide to run a check valve, I will put one on each of the return lines. I have 2 returns in the tank, one right and one left in the overflow, so I will just put it there after cutting the tube to length and gluing it in place. Simple to do at any time.
For overflow (drain), the tank came with dual drains and at this time, I'm just going to run them stock to see just how loud it is. If it's too loud, then I will do a full siphon with one and let the other take up the slack. I really should do it with 3 pipes, however, I only have 2 to work with.
Tonight, I finished up the plumbing. The hardline tubing was definitely not easy to do and making some of these cuts that have to be Perfect was quite stressful lol. But, it's done! And just needs to be leak checked.
Here is a "First Look" at the sump and under tank plumbing.
Now that the plumbing is done, it's time to start setting up the electronics and filling the tank!
Almost exactly 10 years later at the end of 2022, and we purchased our new tank. It says it's a 142 gallon tank, however I don't believe that. So I'm calling it my 150 build. It is 72.5x18.5x25. We were going to go with a tank that was 24" front to back instead of 18.5, however we didn't want it sticking out too far from the wall. So we decided to stick with the 18.5" front to back. To compare, the 90 is 48x18x24.
On this build, we didn't want to go "All Out", but rather go with the best without going overboard. When looking at parts, I ask myself on every one of them, "will this last 10 years?". If the answer is no, then I look somewhere else. And if the answer is yes, I usually pulled the trigger on it. So for about 6 months, this is what has been taking up my "free funds".
When I purchased the tank, it did come with the stand and a canopy that I thought I was going to love, however overlooked one major aspect.... Height.... This is a low profile canopy and in the store, it looked taller than it was, and I should have measured. So because of the canopy, my light choices were limited.
The lights I ended up going with are the Kessel A360X. I have 3 of them to put on this tank. This light has the widest throw and the highest par while being less than 6" off the surface of the water. I did test these out on the 90 gallon for a few weeks, and the corals LOVED THEM!! So I think this is a great choice. Only down side is they are pretty much pinpoint light source, so the shimmer is intense! I'm thinking about getting some "Fill Lights" to help with that, but on the 90, I got used to it pretty easily.
For a sump, we with with the Trigger Systems 34" Platinum. I was SO TIRED of cleaning filter socks that I was willing to spend the extra money for a fleece roller system. And that is exactly what I did! This sump has everything I need in a sump. A fleece roller, a lid to stop salt creep, a refugium section, a skimmer section and a decent return section. It also has 4 spots for 1/4" tubing for dosing and auto top off and it has a built in probe holder already there.
One thing that I wanted to do is pretty much "Start Over" on this tank. So with that in mind, this will be a "NEW" build. New tank, new sump, new electronics and New Rock & Sand. I went with Dry Rock, not wet and I went with Dry Sand, not live sand. I will use my 90 to help seed it, but it will be NEW and uniform looking. The 90 is just a mess of "what I could find" and I have not been happy with it for years. This new 150 build though, will have way more negative space for coral growth, fish swimming areas and a way to clean the sand during a water change. I went with 80lbs of dry rock and 80lbs of dry sand. And get this, I got free shipping on it lol.
So that brings me to the tank controller. As I'm sure you all know, on the 90 I have used the OG Neptune Apex controller and it has been AMAZING! So for the new build, I went with the A3 Apex Pro by Neptune Systems. This is the newest Apex and I can't wait to dive into programming it and getting everything setup. This was one of the "no compromise" purchases that I didn't care what he price was, I wanted the top of the line. And I have it.
For a return pump, I went with the Neptune COR 20 return pump. This is directly compatible with the A3 Apex Pro and should feed this tank nicely!
For a skimmer, I'm trying a cheaper skimmer, but I'm not quite liking it much right now. It is the Aquamaxx DFC-180. It's pretty much the cheapest skimmer you can get that is still DC powered. Does it work, yea it works, but it's finicky. It keeps overskimming when it is set super dry, and I have no idea why. I have turned down the air, pump, flow, and nothing helps. I may just have to bite the bullet and get a Nyos skimmer, but man, they are not cheap. But the theme of this build is "will it last 10 years", and I honestly don't think the Aquamaxx will. The Nyos... Absolutely. It's pretty much the best of the best from what I have read.
Powerheads, the small pumps on the sides of the tank on the inside, took me a very long time to decide on. I really do like the Jebao powerheads and I can control them with the Apex, however they are $80+ each, I would need 4 of them, and I have had 5, and every one of them die at the one year mark, like they have a timer built into them. So I'm done with Jebao for this reason unless they change.
I looked at everything from the Neptune WAV, which is their powerheads, however, they are saying the same thing, they die after one year. But man it would be nice to not have to have another controller. But, $200/ea and only get a year.... Nope, not yet.
I ended up going with pretty much the top of the line, what everyone that is going to stay in the hobby goes with. The EcoTech Marine VorTech MP40mQD. At this time, they cannot be controlled by the Apex, however I'm sure something will come along. I can turn them on and off with the Apex, so that will work for feed timers, and water changes. So I think I will be happy with them.
(Edit: PLOT TWIST!!! I just found a video from 5 months ago where Neptune Systems stated they are coming out with an MXM module, which is basically the Mobius app, which is what I need for the powerheads. This module has no date of release yet, and no price. And you know what, I don't care what it costs, when it is released, I'm getting it!!!)
These powerheads are something that I have wanted since my 55 gallon saltwater tank. There are NO WIRES inside the tank with these. They have a "Wet Side" and a "Dry Side". The dry side is on the outside and is the motor. The wet side goes inside the tank and is kind of like the little pill inside a beaker in science class that spins on top of the plate. That's pretty much how it works anyway. But these things push a lot of water, are a mix between a small jet for long reach and a wide pattern for wide water movement, so perfect for a 6 foot tank. These I think are the most expensive powerheads on the market, however compared to the Jebao and Neptune powerheads, they will pay for themselves after 5 years or so. So another "Buy Once, Cry Once" purchase.
For the plumbing, Again, no compromise. It was a "Buy Once, Cry Once" (or should have been lol) situation, however I did make one little mistake where I had to purchase fittings over again. I am running Schedule 40 Blue Pipe with Schedule 80 Gray Fittings. And IMO, it looks fantastic. I wanted to hard line everything but the return pump (due to vibration) and for that, I used 1" silicone tubing to reduce vibrations to almost nothing.
One thing that this tank does not have is a check valve. If I do decide to run a check valve, I will put one on each of the return lines. I have 2 returns in the tank, one right and one left in the overflow, so I will just put it there after cutting the tube to length and gluing it in place. Simple to do at any time.
For overflow (drain), the tank came with dual drains and at this time, I'm just going to run them stock to see just how loud it is. If it's too loud, then I will do a full siphon with one and let the other take up the slack. I really should do it with 3 pipes, however, I only have 2 to work with.
Tonight, I finished up the plumbing. The hardline tubing was definitely not easy to do and making some of these cuts that have to be Perfect was quite stressful lol. But, it's done! And just needs to be leak checked.
Here is a "First Look" at the sump and under tank plumbing.
Now that the plumbing is done, it's time to start setting up the electronics and filling the tank!
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Thanks for sharing