130 Inches of Pleasure (500 Gallon display)

Easttuth

New member
First off, thank you for clicking on my thread. I appreciate the interest and I hope to not let you down. Let's go!


About 6 months ago I was able to order my dream tank. I've been in the hobby for 15 years now. I ran FOWLR tanks for the first 12 or so and just recently started trying my hand at reefs. My first tank was a 220g Marineland and I've never really owned small tanks outside of quarantines, sumps, or side projects. I've always been in awe of big reefs and I prefer longer tanks so the 130" design was a natural choice.

I readily admit I'm still very new to reef tanks and more than willing to take advice. I've spent the last 6 months visiting anyone that would allow me and asking as many questions as I can to anyone I respect. I've read darn near every thread on the large reef forum and I think I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with my tank. Your input is welcome and will absolutely be considered.

Tank:

130 X 30 X 30
Glass
Closed Loop
Built in Florida

Stand:

Metal with 2 of the legs in the front removable. I did this originally for possible sump issues as I wouldn't have room on the ends to get the sump out but I talked myself (and my wife) into a fish room so they aren't really needed anymore.

Sand:

Fiji Pink

Rock:

Tampa Dry rock

Lightning:

2- ATI Sunpower 60" 6x80 with LED strips

Skimmer-

Bubble King 300 Deluxe External


Sump:

72 X 23 X19 Acrylic

Pumps:

2- Hammerhead Golds
8- 1" Sea
 
Delivery day was exciting! I would highly suggest anyone moving a tank this size to use the lift we used. It goes over thresholds extremely easy and steers well.










 
I went to a rock wholesaler that typically seeds liverock in the ocean to buy dry rock. They always have a ton of dry rock on hand and sell it cheap. One thing I learned during the last 6 months of question asking was to make sure you knew what was going in your tank. I can't tell you how many people I spoke with that had disastrous outcomes due to not quarantining, using existing live rock, or not dipping their corals.

The problem is my daily driver is a Prius and I use it for EVERYTHING possible. 50mpg is so much better than my box trucks or pickup. So I picked up 800lbs of live rock in my Prius.......




 
Looks like you still had room for another couple hundred pounds. I am sure the suspension on that Prius probably wasn't rated for that much.

As Jesse Pinkman would have said, "now, that's some cookin' B****!"

Did you pick up any of their slabs? I know of at least one of these places that cuts nice flat shelf rocks, might add some additional character.

Can't wait to hear all the rest of the details.
 
Very nice!

Similar to our tank (120x29x31").

I'd love the extra foot!

Also did Breaking Bad in our backyard on our Marco Rock haha...

Can't wait to see more!
 
You sir, are crazy. Prius full of rocks proves it! Selfie is additional proof!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Good luck with the build. Beautiful tank.

Subscribed...
 
Very nice!

Similar to our tank (120x29x31").

I'd love the extra foot!

Also did Breaking Bad in our backyard on our Marco Rock haha...

Can't wait to see more!


Your thread is one of the threads I've read many times due to the similarities in dimensions. Thanks for tagging along.
 
Did you pick up any of their slabs? I know of at least one of these places that cuts nice flat shelf rocks, might add some additional character.


This particular place didn't have any flat rock but I will likely be using some in the rock work. A LFS has some nice flat Haitian rock I've thought about using. I'm still not sold on mixing the different rock types, but once it grows in I'm not sure how much that really matters.

Thanks for reading my thread!
 
Back
Top