I’m usually pretty quiet on reef forums unless I’m trying to solve a problem or lurking to learn. I’ve never really thought of myself as someone who has much to contribute compared to a lot of the more knowledgeable reefers out there.
But I’ve been in the hobby about 25 years now, and this is my first actual build thread. I guess I’m doing it now because, honestly, this might be my last big tank build at this point in life.
My previous tank was an ELOS 160XL. It was a great system and ran for about 12 years before I decided it was time for something new. Old system….
I sold off the livestock to my LFS and got credit toward a new tank—a Planet Pro 215g. The footprint is very similar to my old 210 AGA, 72” x 24” x 28”, which actually fits my space better anyway. New tank.
Really impressed with the tank itself and especially how it was crated and shipped. Everything showed up in great shape.
Big shoutout to my LFS, Frags2Fishes in Wilmington, Delaware, where I ordered the new tank through. I usually do all my own plumbing and setup work, but this time I decided to step back and invest in a professional install—and I’m really glad I did. John, the owner, is awesome at tank setups. Everything was done clean, organized, and with real attention to detail. I honestly couldn’t be happier with how that part of the build went.
While the tank was being built, I kept myself busy with some upgrades around the house. The big one was turning my old garage space into a proper sump room and fish room setup.
It was pretty rough before—old, worn out space—but now it’s fully insulated, rewired, and set up specifically for the system. I also made sure the flooring and layout are designed so water on the floor isn’t going to cause damage, and there’s good airflow around the sump area. I place garage floor decking under the to achieve better flow for spill…aka floods!
I used to just run stock tanks as sumps, but this time I went with a custom sump from Advanced Acrylics. Honestly really impressed with the build quality. It’s solid and way cleaner than anything I was running before.
Most of my gear is carrying over from the old system.
I switched from Apex to Hydros after running Apex for over 20 years. I really like the redundancy setup in Hydros and it just fits how I like to run things. So far I’m happy with the switch.
For return pump, I’m running a Reef Octopus Varios 8. It’s probably a bit overkill for the system, but it’s running well and gives me plenty of headroom.
For flow inside the tank, I’m running 2 × Octopulse 4 units. So far they’re moving a lot of water and seem to be doing exactly what I need for the aquascape.
For filtration, I’m running a Red Sea ReefMat 1200 roller. Honestly I should have had one of these a long time ago—absolutely love it and it’s been a big upgrade in day-to-day maintenance.
For skimming, I’m running a Royal Exclusiv skimmer (200 series). Build quality is exactly what you’d expect—overbuilt, solid, and very consistent performance.
For UV, I’m running an Aqua UV 80 watt unit. Still dialing it in, but it’s a solid piece of equipment and fits well into the system.
I’m still in the early stages here as I’m about to purchase live rock. I’ve always used live rock in my builds. Nothing against modern dry rock or the newer options at all—I just personally prefer it. I like the natural filtration and growth that comes with starting from true live rock.
At this point, I’m zeroing in on deco rock from Gulf Live Rock. I like the look of their pieces and the idea of starting with fully live, established material instead of building everything up from dry rock.
The aquascape may be a dual-island layout with open space in the middle, although there will still be some rock in the center—just not a full structure, keeping it more open and natural for flow and negative space. Still not sure….
Probably going to run a mixed reef again, part of the negotiation with the Mrs. Sticks only boring…lol
My old tank ran 3 × 24” ReefBreeders Photons. They worked really well on that system, but they just don’t really fit this new tank footprint.
Those are going to be sold, and I’m in the process of figuring out new lighting for this build. This is actually the part I’m currently stuck on—going back and forth between a few options and trying to make the right long-term decision before committing. Straton flex, Straton x and meridians are on my list…..just still not sure.
Most equipment is in place and running, and things are slowly coming together. Now it’s just a matter of letting everything stabilize and finishing up the planning before adding rock and starting the real cycle process.
Always a slow groove…
Always a good feeling getting to this point after all the planning and prep. Everything filled up cleanly and so far no surprises or issues.
Now it’s just the start of the next phase—letting things stabilize and starting to dial everything in slowly.
Still a long way to go, but it finally feels like a real tank now.
Well… thanks for reading… lol. Not that I expect people to.
But I’ve been in the hobby about 25 years now, and this is my first actual build thread. I guess I’m doing it now because, honestly, this might be my last big tank build at this point in life.
My previous tank was an ELOS 160XL. It was a great system and ran for about 12 years before I decided it was time for something new. Old system….
I sold off the livestock to my LFS and got credit toward a new tank—a Planet Pro 215g. The footprint is very similar to my old 210 AGA, 72” x 24” x 28”, which actually fits my space better anyway. New tank.
Really impressed with the tank itself and especially how it was crated and shipped. Everything showed up in great shape.
Big shoutout to my LFS, Frags2Fishes in Wilmington, Delaware, where I ordered the new tank through. I usually do all my own plumbing and setup work, but this time I decided to step back and invest in a professional install—and I’m really glad I did. John, the owner, is awesome at tank setups. Everything was done clean, organized, and with real attention to detail. I honestly couldn’t be happier with how that part of the build went.
While the tank was being built, I kept myself busy with some upgrades around the house. The big one was turning my old garage space into a proper sump room and fish room setup.
It was pretty rough before—old, worn out space—but now it’s fully insulated, rewired, and set up specifically for the system. I also made sure the flooring and layout are designed so water on the floor isn’t going to cause damage, and there’s good airflow around the sump area. I place garage floor decking under the to achieve better flow for spill…aka floods!
I used to just run stock tanks as sumps, but this time I went with a custom sump from Advanced Acrylics. Honestly really impressed with the build quality. It’s solid and way cleaner than anything I was running before.
Most of my gear is carrying over from the old system.
I switched from Apex to Hydros after running Apex for over 20 years. I really like the redundancy setup in Hydros and it just fits how I like to run things. So far I’m happy with the switch.
For return pump, I’m running a Reef Octopus Varios 8. It’s probably a bit overkill for the system, but it’s running well and gives me plenty of headroom.
For flow inside the tank, I’m running 2 × Octopulse 4 units. So far they’re moving a lot of water and seem to be doing exactly what I need for the aquascape.
For filtration, I’m running a Red Sea ReefMat 1200 roller. Honestly I should have had one of these a long time ago—absolutely love it and it’s been a big upgrade in day-to-day maintenance.
For skimming, I’m running a Royal Exclusiv skimmer (200 series). Build quality is exactly what you’d expect—overbuilt, solid, and very consistent performance.
For UV, I’m running an Aqua UV 80 watt unit. Still dialing it in, but it’s a solid piece of equipment and fits well into the system.
I’m still in the early stages here as I’m about to purchase live rock. I’ve always used live rock in my builds. Nothing against modern dry rock or the newer options at all—I just personally prefer it. I like the natural filtration and growth that comes with starting from true live rock.
At this point, I’m zeroing in on deco rock from Gulf Live Rock. I like the look of their pieces and the idea of starting with fully live, established material instead of building everything up from dry rock.
The aquascape may be a dual-island layout with open space in the middle, although there will still be some rock in the center—just not a full structure, keeping it more open and natural for flow and negative space. Still not sure….
Probably going to run a mixed reef again, part of the negotiation with the Mrs. Sticks only boring…lol
My old tank ran 3 × 24” ReefBreeders Photons. They worked really well on that system, but they just don’t really fit this new tank footprint.
Those are going to be sold, and I’m in the process of figuring out new lighting for this build. This is actually the part I’m currently stuck on—going back and forth between a few options and trying to make the right long-term decision before committing. Straton flex, Straton x and meridians are on my list…..just still not sure.
Most equipment is in place and running, and things are slowly coming together. Now it’s just a matter of letting everything stabilize and finishing up the planning before adding rock and starting the real cycle process.
Always a slow groove…
Always a good feeling getting to this point after all the planning and prep. Everything filled up cleanly and so far no surprises or issues.
Now it’s just the start of the next phase—letting things stabilize and starting to dial everything in slowly.
Still a long way to go, but it finally feels like a real tank now.
Well… thanks for reading… lol. Not that I expect people to.
