Drilling a 120 Gallon Salt Water Aquarium

I recently found this website and was hoping someone on here might see this and be able to help me out. I have recently decided I want a salt water tank as a center piece in my living room. I am aware of the difficult maintenance and setup. Not to worry, I may be just starting out, but I'll have enough research to hopefully pull it off. Tips of course are very welcome. The only current issue I have is figuring out filtration, as this aquarium needs to be visible on all sides and any pumps, tubing, pipes etc. must be hidden. A friend of mine told me I should find a way to get any and all tubes going through the bottom of said aquarium. However finding information on how I could possibly do this has been proven difficult. A stand will be underneath the aquarium, which will provide a space to hide any filter systems. I just don't know how. If anyone has attempted such a crazy thing or can link me to a video or blog that might aid me, that would be very great. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

 

sump filters on youtube and you'll see the whole setup you can make it yourself and save some cash. Most saltwater tanks I have ever seen have the skimmers and the sump all in the bottom. Do you already have the tank you want to make saltwater?

 

I do not have the tank yet. I was going to do a sump (one thing I've not used before), however most videos I've seen have tubing going through the back or sides depending on the tank's position. I have to be sure nothing obstructs the view as there are sitting areas on all sides.

 

You are really jumping in head first on this one. It's always recommended if you aren't really all that experienced as an aquarist, start out with a large fresh water and graduate to a salt. Just so you know the basics solidly. And you can save hundreds maybe thousands of dollars from attempting and not getting it just right. Everything saltwater is expensive to set up even to stock it with fish is far more expensive but as long as you do plenty of research and have the money there are plenty of people up here that can help you!

 

Yes I am jumping straight in aren't I. I have owned a large freshwater before, so I'm not too concerned. I believe I can do it. Especially now that I've found this site. Thank you for responding by the way!

 

I'm not a saltwater guy but I am a DIY guy that works on salt tanks so if you needed any specific help there I could help but as far as stocking and what type of live rock and fans and where to get them and where to place them idk. I got started, added up the price of what my startup for my 90 gal would be and died so I stuck w freshwater. And no problem idk why no one was helping out so I thought I would do what I could to point you in the right direction.

 

And you usually drill a hole in the bottom of your tank for your output for your sump and have a powerhead pushing the water through the skimmer and reactor or what ever other hardware you have but with that size tank you got plenty of room just need a carbide hole saw but make sure you get your sump set up first so you know the best places to drill.

 

Thank you for all the help!

 

Anytime. I have 4 huge tanks a 3000 gallon Koi pond, and a small aquaponics system in my living room that looks good enough to be in my living room, and manage many more large tanks as well for people who don't want or don't have the money to do things the LFS way, and ive only spent less than 100$ more like 40$. I would call myself a DIY professional so if you got DIY questions ask away

 

I know this may sound dumb, but make sure your flooring is reinforced enough as well. Anything larger than a 55" tank really should have some reinforcement other than the stand to really ensure there will be no damages. I know my uncle has a 125 and he had to add in layers underneath his floor just to make sure it wouldn't fall through. I also know nothing about saltwater, but I am here to learn.

I maintained freshwater tanks for around 7-8 years, then stopped for 2 years. I have just recently gotten back into freshwater tanks, and I realized how many mistakes I not only made in the past, but how many I've made now since I've forgotten so much.

The fish world does indeed change quickly as information becomes more available, so make sure you freshen up on absolutely everything you can prior to getting that live rock and those fish!

I'm also good at DIY, built my own stand, painted and distressed it to make it look authentic, and built an extra LED light bar. Tomorrow I will be making a DIY canister filter just to do it. Good luck with your project!

 

You can drill the bottom of the tank and install an overflow box in the center of the tank and plumb your return lines up through there also, then cover the over flow with rock to disguise it.