Eric's Eshopps Mariner M180

synapticfire · Mar 2, 2026

Eshopps Mariner M180 - delivered Sept 2025

My first reef tank is only around two and a half years old. I got my RedSea Nana Peninsula for Christmas a few years ago, and it has been quite a ride.
It's thriving now, but I think I traversed at least three of the nine circles of reefing hell to get here.
From multiple different species of dinoflagellates, to scrubbing green hair algae off my rocks with a toothbrush daily... from Aiptasia outbreaks to the mysterious rapid tissue necrosis, I've learned lots of hard lessons.
But I'm ready for something bigger. Better. Things my wee tank could never give me.
I want tangs. I want large round plating montiporas. I want giant clams. And fish galore.

So we begin. And this tank sat. In a crate. In my garage. For five months.

synapticfire · Mar 2, 2026

Here is the list:

Eshopps Mariner M180
2 Coral Grow (57 inch) - AquaIllumination
1 Coral Glow (57 inch) - AquaIllumination
Octo Varios 8 Return pump
2 Gyre XF350 Cloud Edition - Pump Only (5280 GPH) - Maxspect
Hydros WE v2
Hydros X4
Hydros Minnow
Hydros XP8
BRS 6 Stage Deluxe Plus 150 GPD Water Saver RO/DI System
Octo Elite 150INT Protein Skimmer
Innovative Marine Helio 700W (might need a secondary, we'll see)

2 Boxes Ecoscape Rock
3 40lbs bags of Ocean Direct sand
20lbs Tampa Bay Saltwater base rock
40lbs Tamps Bay Saltwater live sand

synapticfire · Mar 2, 2026

Lots of planning goes into a tank of this size.
Like:
- How the hell am I going to get this crate down my steep driveway? ( Rick is the best delivery driver ever, story for another day )
- How the hell am I going to get this heavy piece of glass into my house and down to my basement?
- Can my floor hold 3-4k lbs?
- How much money can I keep spending on this before my wife divorces me?
- Water changes.... 10 percent of a crap ton of water, weekly, equals... a crap ton of water.
- Power... there's an outlet on that wall, but I'm guessing pumps and lights and feeders and gyres are going to need a dedicated circuit.

But it all starts with the space to put it. After some negotiation, my kids gave me half of their play room, and the transformation began... decided on a wall, painted it a nice shade of grey, and replaced some carpet with something more solid and saltwater resistant.

synapticfire · Mar 2, 2026

@revhtree already has a great video of the cabinet assembly, here are a few details that I found that I didn't see elsewhere....
One, here's what the feet look like, it has eight of them, and they are adjustable. But it is a pain getting them all bearing an equal proportion of the weight. especially those back two.

The other thing to note is this screw that is on one of the center braces. It is obviously to allow the top brace to rest firmly on the side brace, but I saw no mention of it in the instructions. Make sure it it very solidly contacting the top brace. I suspect the top will sag over time if you don't.

A few more tips from assembly:
- It comes with some little sticky plastic circles to cover the fastener holes. I would not consider these optional. The fasteners are sure to rust if you don't cover them.
- The doors are a pain to adjust so they close properly. Once of mine is just not flat, I'll learn to live with it.
- The back feet are hard to get to. Level the base before you start building the cabinet.
- My Cabinet is waayy too close to the wall. I know. It is where I want it. I'll regret it someday. Whatever.

synapticfire · Mar 2, 2026

Here's the almost finished cabinet, and a back side view for those of you that obsess about things before buying them.
Also, the shipping container makes a nice wall for the controllers. (@BlueBuddha might recognize some of his old Hydros controllers here. Fun fact, his user name is coincidentally my WiFi password at home.)
You can also see my new dedicated 20amp circuit with isolated GFCI outlets (so if one trips the other doesn't).

synapticfire · Mar 2, 2026

Let's skip ahead to the fun part shall we...

I hired a local moving company whose owner used to service tanks. I was expecting like 5 dudes to come. Nope.
Owner was a skinny guy about my age (not young) and he had two young, really strong looking dudes with him.

I already had two furniture dollies and 4 suction cups (good ones) that I had intended to use when I was naive enough to think I'd have some friends help me move it.
So the moving team used my stuff, rolled it on into the house on the dollies, up on its end into the elevator (yes, I have an elevator in my house), down into the the basement, and... took a pause because this thing is freaking heavy.

I don't want anyone to get the idea that two big dudes could normally lift this thing. We were all a little nervous.

The guys were all pumped up like they were lifting competitively. They did a couple short lifts to prep themselves, and went for it, up and on top of the stand, got it balanced, and worked it the rest of the way into place, carefully so they didn't mess up the foam pad attached to the top of the stand. I was impressed.

I wish I had more pictures of this part, but the anxiety was running high.

Here is a rare view of the underside of an M180 tank. (That isn't a chip, it is a piece of the plastic it was wrapped in that was stuck to the bottom)

I can tell you the overflow is clear on the bottom, unfortunately, so that 'fuge light's gonna shine on through.
But It is completely water tight, I had water sitting in my overflow for weeks after testing my plumbing, and not a drop leaked into the tank from it. Seems handy for changing leaky bulkheads in the future.

And a close up. Ha, they didn't expect anyone to be looking at this part, did they.

Also, obligatory kid in the tank pic.

Proud · Mar 17, 2026

synapticfire said:
Let's skip ahead to the fun part shall we...

I hired a local moving company whose owner used to service tanks. I was expecting like 5 dudes to come. Nope.
Owner was a skinny guy about my age (not young) and he had two young, really strong looking dudes with him.

I already had two furniture dollies and 4 suction cups (good ones) that I had intended to use when I was naive enough to think I'd have some friends help me move it.
So the moving team used my stuff, rolled it on into the house on the dollies, up on its end into the elevator (yes, I have an elevator in my house), down into the the basement, and... took a pause because this thing is freaking heavy.

I don't want anyone to get the idea that two big dudes could normally lift this thing. We were all a little nervous.

The guys were all pumped up like they were lifting competitively. They did a couple short lifts to prep themselves, and went for it, up and on top of the stand, got it balanced, and worked it the rest of the way into place, carefully so they didn't mess up the foam pad attached to the top of the stand. I was impressed.

I wish I had more pictures of this part, but the anxiety was running high.

Here is a rare view of the underside of an M180 tank. (That isn't a chip, it is a piece of the plastic it was wrapped in that was stuck to the bottom)

I can tell you the overflow is clear on the bottom, unfortunately, so that 'fuge light's gonna shine on through.
But It is completely water tight, I had water sitting in my overflow for weeks after testing my plumbing, and not a drop leaked into the tank from it. Seems handy for changing leaky bulkheads in the future.

And a close up. Ha, they didn't expect anyone to be looking at this part, did they.

Also, obligatory kid in the tank pic.

look amazing, can't wait to see more

Seansea · Mar 17, 2026

Your crate looks alot better than mine when it showed up. Movers had it all chopped up and a knick in one corner of the tank. I paid movers too. I wasnt messin aroind with this thing.

Heres mine 5 months in.

Proud · Mar 20, 2026

Seansea said:
Your crate looks alot better than mine when it showed up. Movers had it all chopped up and a knick in one corner of the tank. I paid movers too. I wasnt messin aroind with this thing.

Heres mine 5 months in.

Holy god, this tank is beautiful, how do you like it so far and the build quality? Do you have more pictures?

Gumbies R Us · Mar 20, 2026

Following along!

Seansea · Mar 20, 2026

Proud said:
Holy god, this tank is beautiful, how do you like it so far and the build quality? Do you have more pictures?

Ya i like it. Feels built really well. I sleep good at night. Dont care for sump design. Like everything to flow into final chamber for return but its small thing. Dialing in noise valves is a little tedious but not too bad. Overall great tank. Using eshopps 300 skimmer too. Beast of a skimmer

Seansea · Mar 29, 2026

Seansea · Mar 29, 2026

Sorry last video is sideways. Try this one

synapticfire · Mar 30, 2026

I got my lights up and tank cycled. I'm pretty happy with the tank overall. I had a lot more pictures to post, but a little embarrassed to post them now. :-)

That's a really nice tank @Seansea!!

Proud · Apr 12, 2026

synapticfire said:
I got my lights up and tank cycled. I'm pretty happy with the tank overall. I had a lot more pictures to post, but a little embarrassed to post them now. :-)

That's a really nice tank @Seansea!!

This is one of the most beautiful M180 I've seen. You ready to update to their bigger one coming out, lol.

Seansea · Apr 13, 2026

synapticfire said:
I got my lights up and tank cycled. I'm pretty happy with the tank overall. I had a lot more pictures to post, but a little embarrassed to post them now. :-)

That's a really nice tank @Seansea!!

No need to worry about it. All tanks go thru nasty stages at beginning.

And ty for kind words