I Just Ordered Two (2) 150-Gallon Tanks From "Glass Cages" To Double The Fun! (Back-Story And New-Build Journey Here) ...

[F i s h y]

STILL have to kick plumbing the second tank into high-gear, but the first tank is a dream-come-true. I feed heavily, and between a 24” overflow, protein skimmer, and the UV sterilizer, all I’ve been doing so far to this FOWLR is occasionally clean the glass with a Flipper. Oddly, one rock has grown some Cyno and a tiny patch of algae (from before the UV was hooked up), but it’s not appearing anywhere else in the tank. Almost makes me think of keeping it, for the added color (?!) Lol.

Looks great! Glad to see it coming together. How's the quality of the tanks?

 

[JumboShrimp]

I think they did a fine job. Now, understand (as I said on another thread today), I consider myself a hobbyist, and not a 'reef-ofile.' So when I look at a tank's seams, for example, I know to look for the obvious things, like bubbles and gaps, etc. But I read about people on R2R who have paid 'ginormous' money for tanks and still say, 'Wow, I can't believe the silicone here, and look at this edge there!" They must have eyes for something I don't. Is there a strand or bead of extra silicone here or there on my tanks?... maybe. Nothing made by imperfect human hands is perfect, right? But frankly, if my house guests are looking at things like that and not my FISH, the train really went off the tracks somewhere far up the line. So if #1, a tank should arrived undamaged and unscratched, #2, hold water with structural integrity, and #3 have the overall beauty of a custom (not off the rack) tank, then count me in as a satisfied customer. I can't wait to show you all the second tank... Best wishes!

 

[harper]

Nice build.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Finally! Finally! Finally!

After “forever” I got Tank #2 partially set up yesterday; the water is still all stirred up, and the filtration is crude at this point— so consider it a Preview photo. I have my skimmer, UV sterilizer, and sulphur Denitrator to still hook up / bring on line.

As you can see, I did as I did for Tank #1... negative space aquascaping (NSA). I’ll update the photo when progress is made and the tank clears. Thanks for taking a look!

 

[harper]

Congrats on getting her running. Sure takes a lot to get to this point. Nice looking NSA!

 

[F i s h y]

Finally! Finally! Finally!

After “forever” I got Tank #2 partially set up yesterday; the water is still all stirred up, and the filtration is crude at this point— so consider it a Preview photo. I have my skimmer, UV sterilizer, and sulphur Denitrator to still hook up / bring on line.

As you can see, I did as I did for Tank #1... negative space aquascaping (NSA). I’ll update the photo when progress is made and the tank clears. Thanks for taking a look!

Love the angel...

 

[Oberst Hajj]

Glad to see the second one up and running finally. I'm pretty close to getting mine wet as well.

 

[Oberst Hajj]

So what is your current stock list in the two tanks?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Tank #1
————-
Clown Trigger
Emperor Angel
Purple Tang
Blue Eyed Kole Tang
Goldline Rabbitfish
Yellow Headed Wrasse
6 Damsels/Talbots

Tank #2
————-
French Angel
Yellow Tang
2 Blue Throat Triggers (Females)
Goldline Rabbitfish
Blue Headed Wrasse
Banner Fish (H. Singularis)
4 Damsels/Talbots

(I think I’ll be adding a Black Saddleback Clown to each tank; have you ever seen their cool swim pattern?)

 

[Oberst Hajj]

Tank #1
————-
Clown Trigger
Emperor Angel
Purple Tang
Blue Eyed Kole Tang
Goldline Rabbitfish
Yellow Headed Wrasse
6 Damsels/Talbots

Tank #2
————-
French Angel
Yellow Tang
2 Blue Throat Triggers (Females)
Goldline Rabbitfish
Blue Headed Wrasse
Banner Fish (H. Singularis)
4 Damsels/Talbots

(I think I’ll be adding a Black Saddleback Clown to each tank; have you ever seen their cool swim pattern?)

You have two of the fish I want in your 1st tank, the Clown Trigger and an Emperor Angel. I'm just waiting on TSM to get another Emperor to place the order. The Clown Trigger may or may not happen as I already have quite a few large fish and the wife really wants a porcupine puffer.

Do your Chrysiptera talboti swim around together, or do they stay close to their claimed territory?

I've not seen a Black Saddleback Clown swimming before, got a link to a vid?

 

[JumboShrimp]

The best way to describe how the Saddleback swims is an in-line glide (like many “normal” fish), with just a bit of that telltale Clown herky-jerky. I much prefer it over your other types of Clowns, that might just ‘jerk around’ in a 4” territory.

Plus for a bigger tank, the 3-4” Black Saddlebacks can really be seen nicely, and will typically swim the whole tank (especially with no anemone to hold them in place). You NEED one of these in your tank! Lol.

Talbots— it’s hard to say, because a lot has to do with tank size. As you know, a bunch of ‘anything’ jammed in a 20 gallon tank at an LFS can give the illusion of ‘schooling’ together. Lol. But in a 200 like you have, they act like Yellow Tail Damsels... they get near to each other at times, then scatter, then repeat.

 

[Devaji]

IDK I like the clown herky jerk swinging. cool vid tho.

 

[JumboShrimp]

It was almost Midnight, so I forgot... Tank #2 has a small Naso Tang as well.

 

[Weasel1960]

Very cool build. Thanks for the info yo gave in my DIY thread tonight.

 

[Rams]

Love your build and love your French angel.one of my fav angel.Best wishes

 

[Devaji]

been a min. how about an update?

 

[Stang67]

Can I ask what you used for the squishy layer between tank and stand? Also how thick is the stand top for your beauties?

 

[JumboShrimp]

It’s a 1/2” plywood bottom. The shipping came with the necessary styrofoam to set down, but I like the Innovative Marine neoprene-like padding, so I bought that and laid it over the styrofoam.

 

[tgee]

Tanks look great. Are you using 3/4" pvc for drains and returns?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Yes, three (3) 3/4” down-drains, all using valves to control them. The two return lines are 1/2”. It’s a veritable return pump, so it’s all tuned for an equilibrium.