20141126 180 Gallon Reef Ready Tank Build part 5

Now all the livestocks in!

I am spreading all three clams into three corners. Built two mounts of rock work to hide the overflow columns. And the wave maker hides perfectly in the corner.

20141118 180 Gallon Reef Ready Tank Build part 1

I had the opportunity to obtain a briefly used 180 Gallon Reef Ready tank with built stand from a friend. I will be putting together a series of this build. First of all, if you are looking to obtain a tank of this size, please be sure to have enough muscle help- the tank weights 330b dry. I actually had to go on craigslist to find a couple big boys from a moving company to help me move this, especially to bring it down the stairs! The tank is measured 6' X 2' X 2' so you should also make sure whatever room you want to put it into will either be a straight shot or have enough room for turning, not to mention taking doors out, etc.

Painting back of tank, to preserve paint, I used masking tape to mask out the overflow sections

I purchased a 75 gallon tank to use as sump  ( you can see in the photo below). So the estimated total water volume would be around 230 gallon. The first thing I had to do is to paint the back of the tank. Although painting is unnecessary, I find it less distracting to have the back of tank be in a darker, solid color than seeing the wall and the wires hanging behind. After the tank is painted, I left it on the spot to dry for 3 days.
In the meanwhile, I also install the bulkhead for the overflow onto the tank while it's on its side. Because drying to install the bulk head upside down when the tank is already on the stand will be a much tougher job.

See the 75 Gallon sits perfectly under the 180 Gallon stand.

2014-06-18: Tank moving 8

Second of the two tanks I have combined. This is just a standard 20G high all glass aquarium. The top has been removed to make is rimless. The previous owner also enhanced the calking, drilled the back, and inserted an overflow. It also comes with the stand, the net top (to prevent jumpers) and a bent rod for light hanging.

2014-06-08 Tank moving 1

This was a project long time coming- Ever since I did my most recent energy bill and tank wattage analysis, I realized having one larger tanks is a log more energy efficient than having multiple small tanks- even when the small tanks sums up to a smaller water volume.

The opportunity finally came when one of the local aquarium stores: Living Art Aquarium, had a store move. They've been very successful over the last few years and decided to expand store size.

As they move, some of the tanks from their previous location are now up for sell. I was able to obtain this 75Gallon mega flow with half the regular retail price + overflow kit included. I also decided to obtain a 29Gallon to function as a sump. The rest of the project was relatively inexpensive- but tedious as I cut wood and PVC pipes to put together a stand and the plumbing. The entire progress took about 48 hours (including cleaning up the old tanks). I will break down the play by play in the next few post in case anyone is interested in learn more about plumbing, livestock transport, cleaning tip.