Hello R2R! After a few posts and a lot of reading I began putting together my build, and this is the thread I’ll use to document it.
I already had a 120 gallon tank that was set up as a saltwater estuary. It was a 60x18x26 tank from one of the big box pet stores. It started as a freshwater tank, and I changed to the estuary after about 4 years. I went with this set up to mimic the environment I live in. It was successful for about 6 years. After a major mishap with that tank, it sat uninhabited (aside from a few hermits from the bay beach down the road)for almost a year.
I recently decided I wanted to try my hands at a reef tank. I’ve always admired them, and I have a couple friends with reef experience to lean on (and R2R of course!). I was originally going to use the tank I had, but I wanted to stop using the diy overflow system I made. Although it ran for years without an issue, I hated relying on an aqualifter to maintain the syphon on it. It was always a failure waiting to happen. I couldn’t drill the tank either since it was tempered glass.
I decided on a new tank, and had it built by Coast to Coast. I’m using my original stand that my father and I built in my garage that’s shows the tank in my family room. I had space unused on the stand, and went a little bigger on the new tank to have more space and fill out the stand. The new tanks measurement is 60x24x25.5. It uses a 18x5x12 scupper box for an overflow. The tank is drilled for 2 1” return lines, and 2 1.5” drains.
I initially asked for an overflow box in the tank, and I’m really happy I listened to the guys at C2C about the scupper. The scupper box frees up tank space, really gives it a nice clean look. The fellas at Coast to Coast really took care of me, and I have nothing but good things to say about them. Probably the best thing I can say about them is I would definitely spend my money with them again!
This is the first time I’ve ever taken the time to document a project before, so sorry if I jump around a bit. Ask me questions, I’m really excited to talk about it!
Dave (the dangerous kind [emoji23])
I already had a 120 gallon tank that was set up as a saltwater estuary. It was a 60x18x26 tank from one of the big box pet stores. It started as a freshwater tank, and I changed to the estuary after about 4 years. I went with this set up to mimic the environment I live in. It was successful for about 6 years. After a major mishap with that tank, it sat uninhabited (aside from a few hermits from the bay beach down the road)for almost a year.
I recently decided I wanted to try my hands at a reef tank. I’ve always admired them, and I have a couple friends with reef experience to lean on (and R2R of course!). I was originally going to use the tank I had, but I wanted to stop using the diy overflow system I made. Although it ran for years without an issue, I hated relying on an aqualifter to maintain the syphon on it. It was always a failure waiting to happen. I couldn’t drill the tank either since it was tempered glass.
I decided on a new tank, and had it built by Coast to Coast. I’m using my original stand that my father and I built in my garage that’s shows the tank in my family room. I had space unused on the stand, and went a little bigger on the new tank to have more space and fill out the stand. The new tanks measurement is 60x24x25.5. It uses a 18x5x12 scupper box for an overflow. The tank is drilled for 2 1” return lines, and 2 1.5” drains.
I initially asked for an overflow box in the tank, and I’m really happy I listened to the guys at C2C about the scupper. The scupper box frees up tank space, really gives it a nice clean look. The fellas at Coast to Coast really took care of me, and I have nothing but good things to say about them. Probably the best thing I can say about them is I would definitely spend my money with them again!
This is the first time I’ve ever taken the time to document a project before, so sorry if I jump around a bit. Ask me questions, I’m really excited to talk about it!
Dave (the dangerous kind [emoji23])