Latest FTS (10th Jan 2021):
Part 1 - Background:
In November 2019 I started planning out a new tank build, having had three previous tanks, and with them, various levels of success and failure, I wanted to build something which addressed some of the issues I had in the past.
I live in London, England, and it just so happens that the best custom tank company is based in South London, so it was a no-brainer.
Living in London has the challenge of space is a premium, in the past I've had 5 and 6 foot tanks, but alas, this wouldn't have been possible.
After much head scratching, I landed on an idea to have my tank situated at the end of our breakfast bar in the kitchen, but that I wanted it to match the perfect dimensions, so that it looked like it was part of the kitchen. This location had the added benefit of having a bathroom nearby, so that RO/DI and salt mixing / equipment cleaning would be easily achieved, essentially this bathroom has become my tank room (at least in my opinion, my other half seems to disagree).
The tank was built and installed mid by December 2019.
My detailed build thread is on a local UK reef forum, UltimateReef, and over the course of a little over the last twelve months, as you can imagine, I've had highs and lows. Right now we're on a high and I can see progress day on day, which is great news, it's all about stability now.
As with so many tanks nowadays, my lows were many many months of battling dinos, and on occasions cyano. Thankfully, these are now both resolved, and it was ultimately the natural methods would cured it. Algae reactor running heavily, increased nutrients, lots of phyto, manual cleaning each day and a little help from UV (ok, so not totally natural but close enough).
Tank dimensions are 800mm x 500mm x 500mm.
100mm of the length is taken up by a hidden back compartment, hiding pipes etc, so the tank is really 700mm long, but it's all one piece of glass. Display tank volume is around 150L, sump is around 70L
I'll be using old pictures throughout, until we reach present day, as there were multiple revisions as things progressed.
Part 1 - Background:
In November 2019 I started planning out a new tank build, having had three previous tanks, and with them, various levels of success and failure, I wanted to build something which addressed some of the issues I had in the past.
I live in London, England, and it just so happens that the best custom tank company is based in South London, so it was a no-brainer.
Living in London has the challenge of space is a premium, in the past I've had 5 and 6 foot tanks, but alas, this wouldn't have been possible.
After much head scratching, I landed on an idea to have my tank situated at the end of our breakfast bar in the kitchen, but that I wanted it to match the perfect dimensions, so that it looked like it was part of the kitchen. This location had the added benefit of having a bathroom nearby, so that RO/DI and salt mixing / equipment cleaning would be easily achieved, essentially this bathroom has become my tank room (at least in my opinion, my other half seems to disagree).
The tank was built and installed mid by December 2019.
My detailed build thread is on a local UK reef forum, UltimateReef, and over the course of a little over the last twelve months, as you can imagine, I've had highs and lows. Right now we're on a high and I can see progress day on day, which is great news, it's all about stability now.
As with so many tanks nowadays, my lows were many many months of battling dinos, and on occasions cyano. Thankfully, these are now both resolved, and it was ultimately the natural methods would cured it. Algae reactor running heavily, increased nutrients, lots of phyto, manual cleaning each day and a little help from UV (ok, so not totally natural but close enough).
Tank dimensions are 800mm x 500mm x 500mm.
100mm of the length is taken up by a hidden back compartment, hiding pipes etc, so the tank is really 700mm long, but it's all one piece of glass. Display tank volume is around 150L, sump is around 70L
I'll be using old pictures throughout, until we reach present day, as there were multiple revisions as things progressed.
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