SnoQ
Active Member
I currently have a 180g tank and I’m running out of room, so it’s time for an upgrade. We are in the process of purchasing a new home and should close in the next week. We are going to lease back to the current tenants for 2-1/2 months, so we won’t actually be moving in until June.
The new house has a main floor plan that’s L shaped, with the “foot†of the L being the kitchen, the long end of the “L†being the living room and where the two meet is the dining room. It’s open concept; however, there is a half wall between the living and dining room. I’ve decided to replace the half wall with a peninsula tank.
I love LPS and have a lot of coral that live in the bottom of the tank including plates, brains, scolys, meat coral and others, so ground space is my top priority. I’ve decided to go with an 8’ long tank that’s 3’ wide and 2’ tall. This will double the square footage and water volume I currently have. The tank will have Starphire glass on all viewing sides. My current tank is acrylic and the light weight is nice, especially since it’ll be moved soon, but I don’t like how easily acrylic scratches. A glass tank that size is going to be hard to put in, but I don’t plan on moving again so once it’s in place, it’ll be there to stay.
I’m going to have a structural engineer take a look under the house so I know what needs to be done to reinforce the floor and will have that work done by a contract. I’m guessing my tank will be somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds and the last thing I want is it crashing through the floor. My first project will be to take down the half-wall and lay tile where the tank will sit, extending out about 6†on each side. This way I don’t have to worry about any spilled water making its way under the tank and ruining the floor.
After those projects are done, it’ll be time to order the new tank and stand. I’m going to be buying an A.G.E. tank with stainless steel bracing and a steel stand with a wood skin through my LFS. I’ll get it cycling with live sand and dry rock with a simple filter system and then start buying other components. I’m leaning towards EcoTech Radion Pro LED light fixtures, EcoTech VorTech wireless pumps and a Reef Octopus skimmer. I already have an Apex system that I will probably expand and I’ll go with Titanium heaters.
It’s going to be close to the end of the year before the system is complete and I will hopefully be able to start slowly adding livestock.
I won’t have another update for a while since I won’t be in the house until June, but I’ll be sure to take a lot of pictures as I go.
The new house has a main floor plan that’s L shaped, with the “foot†of the L being the kitchen, the long end of the “L†being the living room and where the two meet is the dining room. It’s open concept; however, there is a half wall between the living and dining room. I’ve decided to replace the half wall with a peninsula tank.
I love LPS and have a lot of coral that live in the bottom of the tank including plates, brains, scolys, meat coral and others, so ground space is my top priority. I’ve decided to go with an 8’ long tank that’s 3’ wide and 2’ tall. This will double the square footage and water volume I currently have. The tank will have Starphire glass on all viewing sides. My current tank is acrylic and the light weight is nice, especially since it’ll be moved soon, but I don’t like how easily acrylic scratches. A glass tank that size is going to be hard to put in, but I don’t plan on moving again so once it’s in place, it’ll be there to stay.
I’m going to have a structural engineer take a look under the house so I know what needs to be done to reinforce the floor and will have that work done by a contract. I’m guessing my tank will be somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds and the last thing I want is it crashing through the floor. My first project will be to take down the half-wall and lay tile where the tank will sit, extending out about 6†on each side. This way I don’t have to worry about any spilled water making its way under the tank and ruining the floor.
After those projects are done, it’ll be time to order the new tank and stand. I’m going to be buying an A.G.E. tank with stainless steel bracing and a steel stand with a wood skin through my LFS. I’ll get it cycling with live sand and dry rock with a simple filter system and then start buying other components. I’m leaning towards EcoTech Radion Pro LED light fixtures, EcoTech VorTech wireless pumps and a Reef Octopus skimmer. I already have an Apex system that I will probably expand and I’ll go with Titanium heaters.
It’s going to be close to the end of the year before the system is complete and I will hopefully be able to start slowly adding livestock.
I won’t have another update for a while since I won’t be in the house until June, but I’ll be sure to take a lot of pictures as I go.
Good luck!
