Custom 150g tank- First tank v2.0

Oregon Grown Reef

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Come one, come all.

I'll start off with a little history lesson. (get ready for a long read)

In 2012, I started dating this lass that had grown up with freshwater fish tanks. Since I thought that was cool and I wanted to show her that I was interested, I got a 10 gallon tank and threw some fish in. I did ZERO research on how to keep tanks. I used her for all of the info I needed. It turns out that freshwater really is more forgiving. I remember doing water changes without matching the temp at all. It was a free-for-all back then. I didn't have a single fish death. She gave me a 20 gallon tank for my birthday. Not long after that, I moved out and got rid of all of my fish. I didn't touch fish tanks for MANY years after that.

Fast forward to 2017. This lass and I decided we'd get married in August. Funny enough, we decided to use our wedding cash for a 29 gallon tank. We went with freshwater since we were familiar (enough) with it. Her father decided that because we were interested, he'd get us a 50 acrylic tank for Christmas that year. We had gone into our LFS a few times and seen the saltwater fish, but didn't have the tank prior to Christmas to want to keep saltwater.

This...is probably where my wife would tell you it all went downhill. We set up the 50 gallon tank as a saltwater tank. I was green, and I mean greener than your worst hair algae. I used conditioned tap water and a dual t5 fixture for the first 7 months. I was enamored with the colors of the fish. It's all I was interested in at that point. It wasn't until I bought my first coral that I got "bit" by the bug. I immediately bought 2 AI Prime HD because I read somewhere that I "needed" better lights. It was several more months before I got an RODI system. I went crazy at this point and started buying coral like mad. I thought my tank was the best there ever was.

THEN there was R2R. My eyes were opened at this point. It wasn't until I got here that I realized my LFS was only thinking about the bottom line. It took me a couple of years of reading and lurking to get to where I am now as far as knowledge. I still learn something new all the time. I'd include every detail about fish/coral loss, but I don't want to write too much. In fact, I'm already bored of reading what I'm writing...sooooo...

Here we are; thousands of hours of research, 3 current tanks, and too many monies to count later. I'm finally replacing my 50 gallon acrylic tank. I didn't know what a sump was when I first got it. Everything is still hang on back. My profile pic was the tank at it's best. I'm tired of looking at the heaters and HOB equipment. I see a layer of skimmate build up on top, and I want it gone. I want MORE ROOM.

In comes @Joe Glass Cages. He and I have been talking this past week. He just took my deposit today for a 150 gallon custom, low iron tank. It's your typical bean-animal overflow with 1" drains/returns, but it's MY typical tank. 48"x30"x24" of pure bliss. I have only heard good things about this company. Joe has been awesome to work with. I can't wait to build my stand/sump and get the tank in. I love woodworking, so building the stand might be my favorite part. The world is my oyster (whatever that means). It'll be some time before I get the tank, but I'm counting down the days. Look forward to many pictures to come.

Here are some pics (old and new) of all of my current tanks.
20191005_095256.jpg
20191008_163906.jpg
20191008_163859.jpg
20200517_134528.jpg
20200113_190146.jpg
20200804_114233.jpg
20201224_114851.jpg
20210220_094645.jpg




This was actually my very first coral. This is a (semi) recent pic. Started from just 2 heads. Fragged off 8 heads about a year ago. Now there's probably 40-50.


20210220_094455.jpg
20210220_094455.jpg
 

Joe Glass Cages

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Come one, come all.

I'll start off with a little history lesson. (get ready for a long read)

In 2012, I started dating this lass that had grown up with freshwater fish tanks. Since I thought that was cool and I wanted to show her that I was interested, I got a 10 gallon tank and threw some fish in. I did ZERO research on how to keep tanks. I used her for all of the info I needed. It turns out that freshwater really is more forgiving. I remember doing water changes without matching the temp at all. It was a free-for-all back then. I didn't have a single fish death. She gave me a 20 gallon tank for my birthday. Not long after that, I moved out and got rid of all of my fish. I didn't touch fish tanks for MANY years after that.

Fast forward to 2017. This lass and I decided we'd get married in August. Funny enough, we decided to use our wedding cash for a 29 gallon tank. We went with freshwater since we were familiar (enough) with it. Her father decided that because we were interested, he'd get us a 50 acrylic tank for Christmas that year. We had gone into our LFS a few times and seen the saltwater fish, but didn't have the tank prior to Christmas to want to keep saltwater.

This...is probably where my wife would tell you it all went downhill. We set up the 50 gallon tank as a saltwater tank. I was green, and I mean greener than your worst hair algae. I used conditioned tap water and a dual t5 fixture for the first 7 months. I was enamored with the colors of the fish. It's all I was interested in at that point. It wasn't until I bought my first coral that I got "bit" by the bug. I immediately bought 2 AI Prime HD because I read somewhere that I "needed" better lights. It was several more months before I got an RODI system. I went crazy at this point and started buying coral like mad. I thought my tank was the best there ever was.

THEN there was R2R. My eyes were opened at this point. It wasn't until I got here that I realized my LFS was only thinking about the bottom line. It took me a couple of years of reading and lurking to get to where I am now as far as knowledge. I still learn something new all the time. I'd include every detail about fish/coral loss, but I don't want to write too much. In fact, I'm already bored of reading what I'm writing...sooooo...

Here we are; thousands of hours of research, 3 current tanks, and too many monies to count later. I'm finally replacing my 50 gallon acrylic tank. I didn't know what a sump was when I first got it. Everything is still hang on back. My profile pic was the tank at it's best. I'm tired of looking at the heaters and HOB equipment. I see a layer of skimmate build up on top, and I want it gone. I want MORE ROOM.

In comes @Joe Glass Cages. He and I have been talking this past week. He just took my deposit today for a 150 gallon custom, low iron tank. It's your typical bean-animal overflow with 1" drains/returns, but it's MY typical tank. 48"x30"x24" of pure bliss. I have only heard good things about this company. Joe has been awesome to work with. I can't wait to build my stand/sump and get the tank in. I love woodworking, so building the stand might be my favorite part. The world is my oyster (whatever that means). It'll be some time before I get the tank, but I'm counting down the days. Look forward to many pictures to come.

Here are some pics (old and new) of all of my current tanks.
20191005_095256.jpg
20191008_163906.jpg
20191008_163859.jpg
20200517_134528.jpg
20200113_190146.jpg
20200804_114233.jpg
20201224_114851.jpg
20210220_094645.jpg




This was actually my very first coral. This is a (semi) recent pic. Started from just 2 heads. Fragged off 8 heads about a year ago. Now there's probably 40-50.


20210220_094455.jpg
20210220_094455.jpg
Thanks so much for the mention @oregongrownreef. we are honored that you are allowing us to be a part of your journey! Thank you.
 
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Oregon Grown Reef

Oregon Grown Reef

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Not much of an update, but I contacted Framing Tech today to have them help me design/build the stand. I've heard good things about them. I plan on having cabinets on both sides of the tank that will be framed with aluminum. One will be for dosing/ATO and the other will be for the Apex/controller board. It'll all be wrapped in furniture grade plywood, which I will do myself. Since the cabinets will be attached and made of aluminum, I'm also having them beef them up a bit so I can use them as seats/stools for me to be able to reach the inside from the sides. They'll be 26"-28" tall, while the stand will be 36" tall. I'm hoping I can get away with only 1 brace in the front so I can have easier access to the sump.

Here's my VERY rough draft.
20210311_074210.jpg
 
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Oregon Grown Reef

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Equipment update!

I purchased all of my return pumps and power heads, as well as piping, ball valves, and gate valve.

I'm going with red pvc and white fittings to fit in with the theme.

Just got my hands on 4 Mp40's today. 3 used, 1 new and mobius ready. I'll have to get the chip upgrades for the other 3.

For the return pumps, I'm using 2 Reef Octopus Varios 6, each on their own dedicated return line. I went this way so I could be sure to always have one pump running in case of failure. There will be a manifold for a to be determine piece of equipment on one of the return lines, so I'll only need to increase flow on one of the pumps.

Super looking forward to things getting here. It isn't real until equipment starts showing up.
 
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Oregon Grown Reef

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BEBA6AE4-261B-4594-9F90-1797E322468D.jpeg

Are you considering a UV sterilizer? I never had one before, but here’s one mounted behind my Glass Cages 150-gallon tank. I’m extremely pleased with how clean it’s keeping my water.

I’m excited to follow your build!
I have considered a UV sterilizer. I could definitely use the manifold for that. I have one running on my smaller tank that had dinos. Literally turned the tank around 180 degrees. My biggest issue is the cost of them. I'm already $5k+ deep and I haven't even gotten the tank. I'm looking at another $1,000+ just for the rest of the lighting and rocks.
 
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Oregon Grown Reef

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Here is my current stocking wishlist:

Lineatus Fairy Wrasse
Earlei Fairy Wrasse
Splendid Pintail Fairy Wrasse
Orangeback Fairy Wrasse
Purple Tang
Snowflake Ocellaris Clownfish
Ocellaris Clownfish
2 Watanabei Angelfish
Chalk Basslet

This is pretty much it. I may wind up adding a Kole tang of sorts. I already have a Yellow Eye in one tank, but it'll very quickly outgrow that tank. I have a Whitetail Bristletooth in another tank, but that's probably where it's going to be for the next several years. Any and all thoughts would be appreciated! Recommendations are welcome too.
 
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Oregon Grown Reef

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Tank is now done being built. It should be sent out some time this next week after it cures and passes final inspection. It's starting to get real now. This is my first well-thought out tank. The design process has been so fun. Super excited.
640620253.jpg
640620243.jpg
 
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The last of the rock is coming in tomorrow. There was a 2 week delay because UPS lost the package. How do you lose a 55lb box of rocks? o_O
@Bulk Reef Supply was super helpful and sent a replacement box. I'm going to build a mock up frame so I can design the scape. I'm going with a hybrid of stacking rocks and an NSA scape. Should take around a week.
 
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Okay, so there's been a huge update. The tank is here, but that's not the big update. I decided that since I won't be buying another tank for at least another 10 years, everything is going to be custom for under the carriage. Jeff at Lifereef will be making all of my equipment. I'm having him make the sump, separate ATO container, separate refugium, calcium reactor, skimmer, and media reactors. Everything will continue with the white and red theme. I will be using an exterior rated white paint for the interior to give everything that clean look.

The biggest downside to this update is that the tank will now be empty until November. All considering, I'm completely fine with that.

Oh...and pics of the tank. The stand is not here yet, but it's next on the list. Thankfully the tank isn't nearly as heavy as I thought. There's a picture for reference to the upgrade in size. The middle tank is being replaced with this one.
20210610_092308.jpg
20210610_092316.jpg
20210610_092323.jpg
20210610_092331.jpg
20210610_092341.jpg
20210610_232138.jpg
20210610_232156.jpg
 

Joe Glass Cages

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Okay, so there's been a huge update. The tank is here, but that's not the big update. I decided that since I won't be buying another tank for at least another 10 years, everything is going to be custom for under the carriage. Jeff at Lifereef will be making all of my equipment. I'm having him make the sump, separate ATO container, separate refugium, calcium reactor, skimmer, and media reactors. Everything will continue with the white and red theme. I will be using an exterior rated white paint for the interior to give everything that clean look.

The biggest downside to this update is that the tank will now be empty until November. All considering, I'm completely fine with that.

Oh...and pics of the tank. The stand is not here yet, but it's next on the list. Thankfully the tank isn't nearly as heavy as I thought. There's a picture for reference to the upgrade in size. The middle tank is being replaced with this one.
20210610_092308.jpg
20210610_092316.jpg
20210610_092323.jpg
20210610_092331.jpg
20210610_092341.jpg
20210610_232138.jpg
20210610_232156.jpg
I am following. just amazing!!!!
 
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Oregon Grown Reef

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Okay so covid finally affected my wife and I financially, but it was middle of last year. The build is still on delay at this point. Glad things slowed down as I've learned so much in the last year of reefing and I probably wouldn't have been open to implementing the changes if I'd spent a ton of money on equipment already. This year...it will be on that stand and it will have water in it...mark my words...
 
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We're at the latter half of the year and still no stand...I'm about to put water in it with it sitting on the ground at this point. Here's a tip, ladies and gents: Don't buy the tank before the stand. You'll start to hate looking at it and it becomes more of a pain than anything.
 

Aquatic acrobat in your aquarium: Have you ever kept an eel?

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