Wynie
New Member
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2026
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- Bloemfontein, South-Africa
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Hi
I recently decided to do a massive upgrade to a 2.4m x 60cm x 60cm marine tank.
I will update this thread as I go along, connecting all the little parts of the build.
Since I don't have a lot to post yet, here's a little background.
I started my marine journey in 2013 with a boyu TL550. I will never forget this little tank, as it taught me so much. Most of the mistakes I made, was made in this little tank.
It taught me about corals, light, upgrades and so much more. I got this little tank, because I loved the colours of marine fish and how they darted in and out of the rock work. I quickly realised the fish was just a small part of what makes marine tank amazing.....
In 2014 the boyu just got too small and I upgraded to a home build 1.5m tank. This allowed my to enter the wonderfull world of tangs.
This was also the first tank I ever owned with a sump (I know the boyu technically had a sump, but you know what I mean)
I never sold the boyu and plumbed it into main sump as a refugium.
In 2016 my beautiful boy was born, and way bought a new house. The expenses stacked up quickly to a point where I just couldnt keep up with all the maintenance cost. I had to sell my tank :(
I knew at some point I will return.....
5 years passed. We had 2 more kids and bought a bigger house, but also my career was moving forward.
In October 2021 I got back into the hobby with this little 50l planted shrimp tank.
At this point I really enjoyed the simplicity of the fresh water planted tank and in December 2021 I upgraded to a 1.2m planted tank. I rescaped this tank so many times and utterly enjoyed every moment of it, but once you've had marine tanks, I don't think anything really come close to it.
In December 2024 we headed to the south coast for holiday. I met up with an old friend and in his garage sat this little lady. Empty, single and ready to mingle.
He obviously wasn't using it. It wasn't in the best condition, but it was holding water!
I brought it back home and was finally back in the marine hobby.
By end of February 2025 I was done with the cycle and slowly started adding some coral and I was completely hooked again.
Come October 2025 and I saw this beautiful octo lux 90 on market place and just couldn't resist. And what an amazing tank it is. Really runs like a dream.
I bought it as a complete setup, so I didn't need to cycle. The move really was without any issues.
Ebony and Ivory! The two tank were running amazingly next to each other. I even added the 80l back to plumb as a refugium....
It was around this point I decided instead of having 3 separate tanks running next to each other, I wanted one big tank.... and of course it was going to be a marine tank.
This is what my octo lux is looking like at the moment. Ill say it again. These are really amazing little tanks. Im going to be sad breaking it down, but it's part of the process.
This will probably become my quarantine tank in the future once everything is moved over.
So now we get to the fun part: The new tank
Initially I wanted to do everything myself. (Buy glass and build my own tank), but realized I just don't have the space, expertise or skill to do it and I couldn't afford to make mistakes and learn as I go. So, I had the tank build according to what I wanted.
2.4m x 60cm x 60cm. 12mm double bottom. 12mm euro braced.
Centre overflow with 4 holes. 2 x 25mm for returns and 2 x 32mm for a herby overflow.
It is currently standing on spot and I did do a water test to make sure everything hold. Will do another water test once the plumbing and sump is installed.
And that is where I'm at, at the moment. Too be continued.....
I recently decided to do a massive upgrade to a 2.4m x 60cm x 60cm marine tank.
I will update this thread as I go along, connecting all the little parts of the build.
Since I don't have a lot to post yet, here's a little background.
I started my marine journey in 2013 with a boyu TL550. I will never forget this little tank, as it taught me so much. Most of the mistakes I made, was made in this little tank.
It taught me about corals, light, upgrades and so much more. I got this little tank, because I loved the colours of marine fish and how they darted in and out of the rock work. I quickly realised the fish was just a small part of what makes marine tank amazing.....
In 2014 the boyu just got too small and I upgraded to a home build 1.5m tank. This allowed my to enter the wonderfull world of tangs.
This was also the first tank I ever owned with a sump (I know the boyu technically had a sump, but you know what I mean)
I never sold the boyu and plumbed it into main sump as a refugium.
In 2016 my beautiful boy was born, and way bought a new house. The expenses stacked up quickly to a point where I just couldnt keep up with all the maintenance cost. I had to sell my tank :(
I knew at some point I will return.....
5 years passed. We had 2 more kids and bought a bigger house, but also my career was moving forward.
In October 2021 I got back into the hobby with this little 50l planted shrimp tank.
At this point I really enjoyed the simplicity of the fresh water planted tank and in December 2021 I upgraded to a 1.2m planted tank. I rescaped this tank so many times and utterly enjoyed every moment of it, but once you've had marine tanks, I don't think anything really come close to it.
In December 2024 we headed to the south coast for holiday. I met up with an old friend and in his garage sat this little lady. Empty, single and ready to mingle.
He obviously wasn't using it. It wasn't in the best condition, but it was holding water!
I brought it back home and was finally back in the marine hobby.
By end of February 2025 I was done with the cycle and slowly started adding some coral and I was completely hooked again.
Come October 2025 and I saw this beautiful octo lux 90 on market place and just couldn't resist. And what an amazing tank it is. Really runs like a dream.
I bought it as a complete setup, so I didn't need to cycle. The move really was without any issues.
Ebony and Ivory! The two tank were running amazingly next to each other. I even added the 80l back to plumb as a refugium....
It was around this point I decided instead of having 3 separate tanks running next to each other, I wanted one big tank.... and of course it was going to be a marine tank.
This is what my octo lux is looking like at the moment. Ill say it again. These are really amazing little tanks. Im going to be sad breaking it down, but it's part of the process.
This will probably become my quarantine tank in the future once everything is moved over.
So now we get to the fun part: The new tank
Initially I wanted to do everything myself. (Buy glass and build my own tank), but realized I just don't have the space, expertise or skill to do it and I couldn't afford to make mistakes and learn as I go. So, I had the tank build according to what I wanted.
2.4m x 60cm x 60cm. 12mm double bottom. 12mm euro braced.
Centre overflow with 4 holes. 2 x 25mm for returns and 2 x 32mm for a herby overflow.
It is currently standing on spot and I did do a water test to make sure everything hold. Will do another water test once the plumbing and sump is installed.
And that is where I'm at, at the moment. Too be continued.....
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