Building a life….. or a reef…. Or…

Kvinal · Jul 29, 2022

This is a LONG STORY buckle up.
PART ONE:
So this build actually started on Oct 2019….. but let’s rewind.
In 2017 I went through a toxic break up that totally drained me financially and mentally. I tore down, what I thought at the time, was my dream tank.

180gal shown here:

I had sold and upgraded many tanks prior but those where by choice. This tank was built by me after learning so much in the hobby. I was broken. A great couple ended up getting it and they still own this tank today.

During this time in my life I started dating, my now wife, who saw my passion reluctantly fade. She tried to convince me to keep a tank but her power wasn’t strong enough and the time.
The FFM show in 2018 my wife put rafffle tickets in the a waterbox 40.1 and won. We set the tank up together. Around the same time I was gifted a sca 66 system from @ReefWeeds and set that up as well.

I was back with the bug.
Now 2019 comes and @ReefWeeds was selling her home and didn’t want to deal with her Sca 150 so I was to tear down and clean up the tank if I wanted it. I of course obliged. After countless hours and hired help from friend it was in truck at my buddy’s to store in his basement. While sweaty, tired and smelling of rotten shoreline there was a mishap. My friend pulled the tank toward his tailgate and caught edge of tank on the lip of his tailgate. I was devastated but what could I do?

AydenLincoln · Jul 29, 2022

Let me just say I love the his and hers stands!

Jedi1199 · Jul 29, 2022

AydenLincoln said:
Let me just say I love the his and hers stands!

I like that too!!

Kvinal · Jul 30, 2022

Part two:
After the tank was damaged I contacted Steve to owner of Sca to discuss my options. Steve said the tank could potentially be saved with some patching but my soon to be fiancé at the time said “probably not a great idea being we have hard wood floors and a fully finished basement below where the tank will sit. The owner of Sca offered to sell me a brand new tank at a wonderful discount if that’s what direction I chose. So I did exactly that. Ordered a brand new 150.
At this point the new tank on the old stand just didn’t sit well with me but I wasn’t going to stress my new bride to be, or would I?

She agreed the old stand just didn’t look the part of a dream build.
We both decided it best to contact a Connecticut furniture builder, Robert Welcome. Robert, also being a saltwater hobbyist, was dabbling in stand making for some time so it seemed to be the perfect fit.

Yup that’s more like it.
Well the story of the tank gets boring here as it sits at stand still for nearly two years while my wedding and life took the drivers seat.
December 2020 I contacted Lifereef to plan a dream sump to go with the dream tank and stand.

Between 2020 and 2022 I collected as many high end parts as I could. Phillips coral care gen2 lights, mp40 pumps (will help from wonderful friend bob), Vectra L2 (the rd3 speedy came broken and the manufacturer wouldn’t repair it. They told me to glue it together and I refused so bulkreef stepped in and took the return even though it sat unopened for while past the return policy date, hundreds of pounds of rock, and tropic Eden sand.

(Caption: Tv and the ai prime shown where won at FFM 2022 my wife is very lucky person.)

July 18 2022
I dove head first after being hounded by everyone in hobby, and my family, to get it running. My wife was patient while I destroyed the house. I tore down the 66, went and got a planet aquariums aio 20 from Scott Crowe of OSA to transfer everything from the 66 into. This livestock consisted of pair breeding maroon clowns, pair of long nose hawks, blotched anthias, mandrine goby, and 3 Colorado sunburst anemones. My local friend Brandon came to lend a hand at plumbing the new tank as my old rusted self had been out of reefing so long I had clouded brain.