Gablami’s 260 gallon Rimless SPS Build

[Gablami]

That perfect level should hold up just fine then! Lets hear a CDA review on the tank.

Yep I’ve got this right underneath it:

In terms of reviewing the tank and stand, there really isn’t that much to complain about. There are a couple tiny, and I mean tiny, chips in the glass right on the edge, probably made by the beveling machine that wouldn’t be noticeable unless you were the owner:

When I spoke with Trent, he said his seams were “flawless.” At the time, I thought it was setting expectations kind of high, you know, under promise over deliver? But turns out the seams are pretty close to flless. Only spot I found was something that I don’t think is consequential: a small spot up at the very top of a seam:

The stand is a beast, very well made, sturdy. Wood wrapped steel frame with 8 leveling feet. I’ll take more photos of it later. Small finishing imperfections like paint drips where it’s not visible, hidden by doors, etc. One error that I’m going to fix is one door is slightly out of alignment. It can’t be adjusted enough with the hinge so I’ll have to drill some new holes:

But that’s about it, and I’m being picky and showing all the flaws. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close. I’m very happy with it and I would definitely recommend CDA for a tank/stand combo. I think CDA is the spot if you want to get a tank/stand combo with customization. I think their expertise at customizing stands as a one stop shop sets them apart from other shops I looked at.

What do you guys think about the build quality relative to what you all have received from CDA vs others?

 

[rds85]

Those are very small things to pick out which is a good thing. Overall I think it looks great!

I honestly have been really happy with both of CDA tanks. I also think cost is a factor as well. I didn't spend that extra couple grand on hinged doors because I will not be under there. I picked the magnetic "economy" panels. I have not order a custom tank from anyone else yet in my life so I can only compare to other tanks I have seen and not owned.

 

[cmaxwell39]

Tank looks great. Glad to hear that it was worth the wait and there are no major issues. Bummer about the one door needing to be re-hung, but that is small stuff as long as everything is square and built well.

Is there water in it yet?;Hilarious

 

[Gablami]

Those are very small things to pick out which is a good thing. Overall I think it looks great!

I honestly have been really happy with both of CDA tanks. I also think cost is a factor as well. I didn't spend that extra couple grand on hinged doors because I will not be under there. I picked the magnetic "economy" panels. I have not order a custom tank from anyone else yet in my life so I can only compare to other tanks I have seen and not owned.

This was my first custom tank too and it was a bit nerve wracking for me. I think I’ll be better the next time around...if there is a next time. I hope this tank lasts me many many years.

Tank looks great. Glad to hear that it was worth the wait and there are no major issues. Bummer about the one door needing to be re-hung, but that is small stuff as long as everything is square and built well.

Is there water in it yet?;Hilarious

It is wet! And it’s got rocks in it. Currently working on the scape. This will take awhile...

 

[Wrangy]

Holy smokes that is a gorgeous glass box and stand! And what an effort that must have been getting it in place I'd say it's pretty flawless too, those tiny little things in a custom built system of that size shipped is unreal

 

[Gablami]

Holy smokes that is a gorgeous glass box and stand! And what an effort that must have been getting it in place I'd say it's pretty flawless too, those tiny little things in a custom built system of that size shipped is unreal

Thanks Wrangy! Totally agree. Pretty much everything I wanted it to be. Working on the rock scape now.

 

[Cesteban721]

Tank got delivered at 9:30am.

Built a ramp to get up onto the deck.

Moving the stand was relatively easy. Leveled it with the 8 adjustable feet. I put moving pads underneath the feet to slide it into the corner on the advice from the tank builder.

The tank was another story. Broke the two dollies that were supposed to be able to handle 1000 pounds each, as we went up the ramp. They got us up to the deck however, and served their purpose.

Fortunately we have a 7ft wide sliding door to go from the deck into the great room, so that was not a hurdle. We tried lifting it straight into the stand, but that was a no go. We built another stand with cinderblocks and pallets, so we could lift it half way up, right next to the tank, and then had a couple guys on the stand help get it up. NOT EASY!

Fortunately I had 8 professional suction cups from my local reef club (shout out to BAreefers!). Without those it would have been impossible.

But finally it’s here!

Awesome set up! How long did it take for CDA to crate the tank/stand and ship? Curious as they told me last Weds that they will be crating my system yet I have not received word that it has actually shipped. Thanks in advance.

 

[this is me]

This tank is taking super long to fill!

 

[cmaxwell39]

Thanks Wrangy! Totally agree. Pretty much everything I wanted it to be. Working on the rock scape now.

Can't wait to see what you have planned for the aquascape on this beast.

 

[Gablami]

Awesome set up! How long did it take for CDA to crate the tank/stand and ship? Curious as they told me last Weds that they will be crating my system yet I have not received word that it has actually shipped. Thanks in advance.

They told me mid week that it would ship on Monday. And then it shipped on Tuesday. The crating is not a small thing. I got more plywood now than I know what to do with!

Congrats, you’ll get it soon!

 

[Gablami]

This tank is taking super long to fill!

I ran out of Nyos reef cement and had to use emarco. Emarco is not so good for wet live rock. It takes too long to harden. Nyos hardens super fast. I had a structure collapse. Can’t rush ART, man!! J/k, more like, can’t rush emarco cement. It’ll crumble on you.

 

[Gablami]

For my aquascape I was inspired by this “Lifted Reef” concept that I saw a couple years ago. If my tank can be a fraction of this glorious tank I will be happy!

The Glorious ‘Lifted Reef’ of Evan Luo [Video] | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

We visit a lot of reef aquariums every year and every now and then, we come across hidden treasures like Evan Luo’s Lifted Reef aquascape. This 300 gallon aquarium is installed in-wall as a room…

reefbuilders.com

Combined with the islands of South Pacific...

In the end, it found itself to be something like this. Still have about 6 inches of water to fill.

 

[rds85]

I am jealous you have pukani. I should have kept mine from my previous tank.. best rock by far.
A nice large Mag would go very nicely on the back right structure.

With that being wet live rock. Fish is probably 4 weeks out? What you got on the list?

 

[revhtree]

For my aquascape I was inspired by this “Lifted Reef” concept that I saw a couple years ago. If my tank can be a fraction of this glorious tank I will be happy!

The Glorious ‘Lifted Reef’ of Evan Luo [Video] | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

We visit a lot of reef aquariums every year and every now and then, we come across hidden treasures like Evan Luo’s Lifted Reef aquascape. This 300 gallon aquarium is installed in-wall as a room…

reefbuilders.com

Combined with the islands of South Pacific...

In the end, it found itself to be something like this. Still have about 6 inches of water to fill.

Beautiful aquascape for real!

 

[Gablami]

I am jealous you have pukani. I should have kept mine from my previous tank.. best rock by far.
A nice large Mag would go very nicely on the back right structure.

With that being wet live rock. Fish is probably 4 weeks out? What you got on the list?

Yeah, I'm loving those big pukani pieces. Got lucky there. Gotta thank @RandyC for sourcing that for me.

Yes, I'm thinking mag on the right back structure. No place for it to escape!

Wet live rock, if my fish were ready I would have put them in yesterday! I have no concerns about whether it can support the bioload as I've been feeding it ammonia and pellets for months! I've got 7 lyretails and a sailfin finishing up TTM soon. Will probably put the lyretails in first, and save the sailfin for the introduction with all the other tangs in a couple weeks.

I currently already have:

Yellow tang
Achilles tang
Hippo tang
Melanarus wrasse
Sailfin anthia x2
Flame angel x2
Bellus angel (female)
Mandarin (male)
Copperband butterfly
Percula clownfish x2
Tail spot blenny
Flame hawkfish
Longnose hawkfish

In TTM:
Lyretail anthias x7
Sailfin Tang

Planning to add:
Yellow tang x2 (for 3 total)
Yellow belly Regal Angel
Naoko wrasse, maybe a couple other flashers and fairys

Maybe:
White tail Bristletooth Tang
Mandarin (female), later

 

[rds85]

Yeah, I'm loving those big pukani pieces. Got lucky there. Gotta thank @RandyC for sourcing that for me.

Yes, I'm thinking mag on the right back structure. No place for it to escape!

Wet live rock, if my fish were ready I would have put them in yesterday! I have no concerns about whether it can support the bioload as I've been feeding it ammonia and pellets for months! I've got 7 lyretails and a sailfin finishing up TTM soon. Will probably put the lyretails in first, and save the sailfin for the introduction with all the other tangs in a couple weeks.

I currently already have:

Yellow tang
Achilles tang
Hippo tang
Melanarus wrasse
Sailfin anthia x2
Flame angel x2
Bellus angel (female)
Mandarin (male)
Copperband butterfly
Percula clownfish x2
Tail spot blenny
Flame hawkfish
Longnose hawkfish

In TTM:
Lyretail anthias x7
Sailfin Tang

Planning to add:
Yellow tang x2 (for 3 total)
Yellow belly Regal Angel
Naoko wrasse, maybe a couple other flashers and fairys

Maybe:
White tail Bristletooth Tang
Mandarin (female), later

Wait wait wait. Did I miss something? You have yet to post any photos of your QT setup! What does that look like?

Where are you housing all these other fish? I feel like I must have skipped a page or two. It sounds like these fish are ready.. Also lucky have 7months of established rock. You are going to be "ahead" of me already haha.

Do you have a mated pair of flame angels?

I hopefully will be adding an Achillies as well.

 

[Maximus]

Looks fantastic, Gabe! First time I've seen your thread! Would love to check it out someday. Take care and remain safe.

 

[Gablami]

Wait wait wait. Did I miss something? You have yet to post any photos of your QT setup! What does that look like?

Where are you housing all these other fish? I feel like I must have skipped a page or two. It sounds like these fish are ready.. Also lucky have 7months of established rock. You are going to be "ahead" of me already haha.

Do you have a mated pair of flame angels?

I hopefully will be adding an Achillies as well.

Haha, I've still got my Reefer 525 (110g) running. Basically it's become a fish only with some limited hardy corals. So all those fish are in there.

Old photo:

The other fish are going through tank transfer in my outdoor "fish room" in a 20g.

Yeah they're a mated pair of flames. Otherwise, they'd kill each other (so I hear).

Love my achilles. Part of the reason why I'm upgrading is he's about 5.5" and starting to get aggressive. He's the boss of the tank. Super thick. When I see from the front, he reminds me a submarine, like from Hunt for Red October. I love submarine movies (as an aside)...wish they made more of them.

Looks fantastic, Gabe! First time I've seen your thread! Would love to check it out someday. Take care and remain safe.

Any time Sang! Just let me know when you're in the area.

 

[rds85]

Now that makes a ton more sense. Well when do you plan on adding the fish? Are you going to do several batches or one batch? I do not think I have ever seen a mated pair of dwar angels before. That is pretty cool.

If only the achillies knew he is half the reason for a bigger tank. I am sure he will still be the boss in the new bigger tank.

 

[cmaxwell39]

For my aquascape I was inspired by this “Lifted Reef” concept that I saw a couple years ago. If my tank can be a fraction of this glorious tank I will be happy!

The Glorious ‘Lifted Reef’ of Evan Luo [Video] | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

We visit a lot of reef aquariums every year and every now and then, we come across hidden treasures like Evan Luo’s Lifted Reef aquascape. This 300 gallon aquarium is installed in-wall as a room…

reefbuilders.com

Combined with the islands of South Pacific...

In the end, it found itself to be something like this. Still have about 6 inches of water to fill.

Nice scape. I really like the lifted design. It will look amazing with fish swimming through and sticks growing out the top. Are you worried about the height of the scape not leaving much vertical space for your corals to grow??

Either way, can't wait to see this tank fill up with fish and corals.