57 Rimless Illuminata Build!

[Meyeronfire!]

After debating on restarting up my 72 bow I found this incredible deal on a 57 rimless tank and couldn't pass it up. Now the bow is up for sale and I will be using most of my equipment that I have collected over the year and a half I have been in the hobby.

Equipment:
-Reef octopus extreme protein skimmer rated for 160 gallons. (I went a little overboard!)
-MP20 and Rios return pump im not sure what the rating for the return is.
-TLF phosban reactor
-Lumatek electronic ballast 400w adjustable with lumen max elite reflector and a reef flux 250w 12000k lamp

In the past week and a half I have been doing quite a bit of work. Soaking and cleaning all my old equipment in vinegar making fresh saltwater and other little things here and there. The majority of the work has been in the last two days. I mounted my MH lamp above the tank and hid all the electrical, and what a pain! Hopefully today I will get my online order and be able to put my black background on, mount the MP, possibly aquascape the tank, add my aragonite sand then some water! I will post pics as I go along.

Heres are some photos of the progress. Input and suggestions welcomed!

 

[Meyeronfire!]

Any ideas on how to aquascape this beast?

 

[chaseg89]

Nice lookin setup... I like how you have suspended your light. Im in the process of setting up my Illuminata as well, my stand is coming along slowly though. Ill be interested in seeing how you do your rockwork. I was wanting to work the aquascape so there was still lots of swimming room for my fish.

 

[Meyeronfire!]

Yes I really want to go minimalist with this tank. I may try to aquascape today since my background will not be here untill tomorrow.

 

[Meyeronfire!]

Rinse sand before putting it in the tank?

 

[Meyeronfire!]

Ok heres what I did all day. Dont be to harsh on my aquascaping skills! Tell me what you think! Suggestions???

 

[jimmyj7090]

Looks great.

You might need to elevate the skimmer to keep it happy. Also be careful about spilling water on that ballast.

 

[Meyeronfire!]

Thank you Jimmy, I will definitely keep an eye out for water and salt creep. Thats the main reason I didnt mount the ballast inside the cabinet I was afraid of water spilling on it.

 

[Michael B]

What a great start & love the aquascaping - tagging along

 

[Meyeronfire!]

Good deal man, hopefully Ill be filling it up with water tomorrow!

 

[LaOtIn]

looks SA-WEET so far, really, but i got a feeling that before too long those empty bottles of boze are gonna be replaced with "on hand" needed fish related materials, ie fish food, turkey baster lol

ah, i remember the drinking days........darn meetings!

 

[Meyeronfire!]

Hahaha! Yes! My 22 year old liver can handle some booze! Sad thing is I threw away about 15 extra bottles I had before I started the project! Thank you for the feedback LaOtIn! And yes stupid meetings....LMAO!

 

[Johnny C]

Everything looks great... the aquascape is awesome, can't wait to see some corals inside.

 

[guitar510]

Love the aquascape!

 

[mavjoy]

The aquascape looks great! Looking forward of seeing more pics.

 

[ziyaadb]

stunning!

 

[Meyeronfire!]

Thank you all! Im just as ready as you guys are to put some corals in this thing! ....ahhhh patience Matt....patience...

 

[Meyeronfire!]

mavjoy, feel free to post a pic of your rimless! I love the rimless tanks!

 

[James404]

Tank is looking good, the aquascaping came out great!

 

[Meyeronfire!]

Thank you James! Look out for pics being posted later im filling it up with saltwater goodness today.