So I’m finally getting a build thread pulled together for my new tank. This has been a work in process for the past year but I have been taking some pics along the way and I figured I would post this one up to document he trials and tribulations of the build.
First off - some background info.
The tank is a 72x24x24 180gal tank from SCA Aquariums. Steve and his team over there are great to work with and they build great tanks for the price. They are the main reason I’m at this point right now… my wife is a vendor for some furniture they sell and they sent her a little 25gal AIO a while back out of appreciation for her helping them out so much. I have had tanks before but I was in the military and couldn’t afford/keep up with a reef tank so it was always freshwater. Now life has changed a bit so I jumped head first into the reef tanks.
That initial 25gal AIO developed into a 135gal system I took over from someone that couldn’t keep up with it anymore and now to the 180. With that original AIO, I made some mistakes but thankfully it was in a small tank and relatively easy to resolve. I was a little naive in the beginning and honestly didn’t do as much research as I should have but I caught on pretty quick. I made the mistake of too many clowns in one tank, tangs in a small tank, not quarantining, nutrient issues, rushing through the build, jumpers, etc…. each of those a learning experience and it’s made me a better reef keeper overall.
The main reason for the upgrade was to make sure the fish had enough space to swim and be happy. We had a nice long wall in the living room that my wife wanted to have built-in cabinets installed but I managed to talk her into letting me go bigger and take up that space. Little did I know how much extra work it would entail to keep her happy. She still wanted the wall unit but now I had to incorporate the tank into it.
Here’s the humble beginnings:
This was the starter tank and has now transitioned into my hospital tank.
From there, it became the 135gal but the Durso drain, limited sump space, and odd size made me want to move away from it.
First off - some background info.
The tank is a 72x24x24 180gal tank from SCA Aquariums. Steve and his team over there are great to work with and they build great tanks for the price. They are the main reason I’m at this point right now… my wife is a vendor for some furniture they sell and they sent her a little 25gal AIO a while back out of appreciation for her helping them out so much. I have had tanks before but I was in the military and couldn’t afford/keep up with a reef tank so it was always freshwater. Now life has changed a bit so I jumped head first into the reef tanks.
That initial 25gal AIO developed into a 135gal system I took over from someone that couldn’t keep up with it anymore and now to the 180. With that original AIO, I made some mistakes but thankfully it was in a small tank and relatively easy to resolve. I was a little naive in the beginning and honestly didn’t do as much research as I should have but I caught on pretty quick. I made the mistake of too many clowns in one tank, tangs in a small tank, not quarantining, nutrient issues, rushing through the build, jumpers, etc…. each of those a learning experience and it’s made me a better reef keeper overall.
The main reason for the upgrade was to make sure the fish had enough space to swim and be happy. We had a nice long wall in the living room that my wife wanted to have built-in cabinets installed but I managed to talk her into letting me go bigger and take up that space. Little did I know how much extra work it would entail to keep her happy. She still wanted the wall unit but now I had to incorporate the tank into it.
Here’s the humble beginnings:
This was the starter tank and has now transitioned into my hospital tank.
From there, it became the 135gal but the Durso drain, limited sump space, and odd size made me want to move away from it.