180 Half cylinder LPS tank

[ashaf22789]

So a quick background of me:

Ive had a plenty of fish tanks. Ive has several fresh, planted, salt and three reef tanks over the years. I sold off my last reef tank because it was becoming a burden. I quickly realized i missed my 75 and set my sights on a new tank. I out grew my 5 gallon nano in months and felt like my 75 was never big enough. I started thinking about my new build and what i wanted.

My biggest concern was access and ease of working on the tank. I also wanted to dive into LEDs and automation. After several weeks of looking for a used tank i came across this gem. 60'' across and 30'' tall



Of course it didnt look like it does in the picture. When i first came across the tank it was scratched, buffed and the bottom seam was split open. The stands finish was terrible and has the top trim broken up. Ive heard that you can repair acrylic tanks and for $200(with some haggling) i couldn't say no.

I found an aquarium manufacturer who cut the bottom of the tank, shortened it by 2 inches and buffed the tank. When i got it back it looked almost new. I reinforced the stand and painted it gloss black and that's what you see in the pictures.

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Fast forward a few months and here we are.

Equipment:
AI Hyda Lights x2
EcoTech marine mp40(Im getting a seccond one soon)
Reef Octopus 150 skimmer
Little Giant - 2-MDQX-SC - 770 GPH Return pump
Wavepoint Clamp Light 12" 16 Watt 6500K Daylight Refuge light
30 gallon trash can and peristaltic pump for ATO
Eshops sump

Apex unit with:
Breakout box
WXM for my mp40
AWM to control Hydras

Fish:
1 Blue damsel
I had a massive velvet outbreak and lost everything :sad2:

Inverts:
Arrow crab
2x coral banded shrimp
Some kind of conch snail
LARGE horseshoe crab
Misc crabs and snails
6x sand sifting stars
blue lenkia star
Snall Green bubble anemone(best hitchhiker ever!)

LPS
Blue hammer
green hammer
octospawn
Frogspawn
green torch
brown torch
elegance coral
2x gonipora
duncan colony
3 kinds of candy cane
Medium pipe organ

Non LPS
ZOA garden
Largest kenya tree ever
anthelia
Pulsing xenia
Pompon xenia
GSP
Branching GSP
Finger Leather
Daisy Polyps
Small toadstool

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Im mostly doing this to show myself growth and progress over time but any input or questions is always welcomed!

 

[jamroz37]

looks great! i like the tank

 

[Baptizt]

Very Nice build.

 

[dave.m]

Sorry, just a clarification on the tank's height if you don't mind. Are you saying it was higher and is now 30", or that it was originally 30" high but is now shorter?

Thx,

Dave.M

 

[ashaf22789]

Sorry, just a clarification on the tank's height if you don't mind. Are you saying it was higher and is now 30", or that it was originally 30" high but is now shorter?

Thx,

Dave.M

The tank started at 30'' and while i was getting the bottom replaced i had them cut 2'' off the tank making it 28'' now. I dont like working on deep tanks because its such a pain to reach the bottom. I was originally going to go with 24'' but the tank builder convinced me 28'' would be better.

It was a good compromise. I can still reach the bottom without getting my armpit wet and still have plenty of height on the tank.

 

[rpjaws74]

very nice set up

 

[ashaf22789]

Just a quick update.
<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/ashaf22789/Mobile%20Uploads/20140720_174552_zpss40f1n39.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20140720_174552_zpss40f1n39.jpg"/></a>
I have added several new frags to the tank along with some new fish.

The tank is doing well and I have seen some great growth on many of my sps colonies along with good spread of my zoa garden.

As far as plans for the future I'm adding an automated water change system in the next week or two. I'll do a quick write up on it once it's do e and functional.

I have also added several pieces of equipment. Because of a scary 2 hour power outage I added one of the Ecotech battery backup. Skimmer has also been updated with a reef octopus 150. I decided to also add a media reactor to run phosban and carbon. I tied the reactor to run off my main pump instead of adding another.

Few pics
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I should also probably look I to getting a nicer camera than my phone.

 

[Defenseman7]

Questions

Questions

Ashaf,

I have just purchased a half cylinder aquarium and am beginning my adventure. Like you, I have had many systems over the years, but I am encouraged by the unique views offered by this shape.
I searched for half cylinder aquariums here and your post came up. Do you still have this system? Is there any way you could show some pictures of how you configured the stand and sump? Anything is truly appreciated!