Miami‘s 260 Gallon Mixed Reef

[Miami Reef]

This was my old tank (300 gallons) built 20 years ago. It was my grandfather’s, but the plumbing and tank structure was poorly made. I wanted to get high-end corals, but I didn‘t want that old tank to bust apart.

We hired a company to get rid of it and build a new one.

Out with the old:

In with the new. The tank was born April, 2022.

February 20th, 2023 update:

On August 20th, 2023, I found out I had AEFW almost the entire time. That explains why the growth and color wasn’t good, and they had a lot of unexplained tissue loss.

I removed all the acropora in the main tank, and doing repeat dips in QT.

 

[Screwgunner]

I can't wait.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Bring it on! Lots of photos. Best wishes!

 

[Miami Reef]

Aquarium Marketing is building it for me.

The wait time is approx 8-10 weeks. I have 4 weeks left until the tank is here!

 

[JumboShrimp]

… the possibilities are endless!

 

[Miami Reef]

… the possibilities are endless!

Exactly!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Are you going Reef, or FOWLR?

 

[Miami Reef]

Aquascape is officially complete! Thank you @Ardeus for inspiring me and teaching me the art of a proper scape.

 

[JGT]

Some specs:

280 gallon (not including sump)

Dimensions (LxWxH) 94”x24”x26”
Made with glass. All sides using 1/2” glass. Bottom made with 3/4” glass.
Front glass low iron.
Background: black vinyl

Just an fyi, not that it’s a big deal but those dimensions are for a 254 gallon aquarium.

 

[Miami Reef]

Just an fyi, not that it’s a big deal but those dimensions are for a 254 gallon aquarium.

Oof. You are correct. I meant to say 96”x24”x26”

 

[Miami Reef]

I just checked the calculator and learned that my tank will be 259 gallons! Excellent!

 

[am3gross]

yes, lots of pics is a must!! I wait time is the worse I will add.

 

[Miami Reef]

yes, lots of pics is a must!! I wait time is the worse I will add.

Yes! I agree! Surprisingly time is going by super fast! He received the tank glass yesterday, so I have about 4 weeks left!

 

[Boosterman]

I will be following your Build Thread! Are you going to give the sand a good wash this time? lol

 

[Miami Reef]

I will be following your Build Thread! Are you going to give the sand a good wash this time? lol

That’s so interesting you bring this up!

So for the sand I decided to use Tropic Eden Reef Flakes (3.5mm).

I used to use special grade 1-2mm but it would always shift blow around and get sucked into the powerhead via a vortex.

For the rinsing process, I got a strainer and used a garden hose, only washing 1-2 cups at a time.


So here’s my method:

And here’s the results (scooping a cup full and adding tap water to it)

I could drink from it!

Ps, I’m using a total of 60lbs. If I need more, I can always add later, but I’m really only using sand for aesthetics. It’s basically a hybrid sand x bare bottom lol.

 

[Miami Reef]

I’m so happy today. I saw my new tank all put together today. I saw the overflow, the euro bracing. The display is 90 percent done. It looked ready!

He told me that it should be ready by +/- 2 weeks.

This is so exciting. I will try to get pictures tomorrow for sure!

So far everything is going to plan!

 

[Miami Reef]

I actually made up my mind and decided I want to go bare bottom! I’m going to see if I can get the bottom of the tank to have a white vinyl background.

Do you know what made me want to do this? I stirred my QT sand bed and a nasty cloud came up. I was dealing with high nutrients and I was doing tons of water changes a week!

I took out all the corals, rocks, pumps etc and got rid of all the sand. My tank was COMPLETELY green and disgusting from all the build up crap in the sand.

Nope! No more sandbed for this guy!

 

[JachPot]

Aquascape is officially complete! Thank you @Ardeus for inspiring me and teaching me the art of a proper scape.

How much rock weight wise do you have here? I'm trying to figure out how that would look in a 210...

 

[Miami Reef]

Oh, and by “high nutrients” I mean…0.12ppm phosphates.

 

[Miami Reef]

How much rock weight wise do you have here? I'm trying to figure out how that would look in a 210...

I can definitely try to weigh it for you once I finish getting everything glued up.

I made my finishing touches to the scape about 2 weeks ago. I’m so proud of this! It looks so balanced, asymmetrical, and natural. I really put my all into researching how to aesthetically aquascape. I think my fish will look so cool swimming between the islands!