Bidny's "Coral Prism" 300-gallon Rimless Build

[bidny]

In mid May, the very generous Tom Honeycutt at Tank It Easy in Chicago put me in touch with a great moving crew at Aaron's Reliable Movers. These guys were fantastic. Before they even touched the tank, they spent a couple of hours planning the move and building the necessary ramps, etc. It paid off.

It was one of the most stressful days of my life, but in the end, we were able to get the tank in its final resting place. I was so worked up that day that I didn't really feel right until after a good night's sleep.

Huge shout out to Ron, Cyrus, Jacob, Rene, Malcolm, and Rudy for their professionalism, strength, and intelligence in approaching this problem.

These guys had moved a lot of tanks in their days, but they said that this move may have been their most difficult ever.

Two years after placing my first order for the tank, it was finally in place.

 

[bidny]

Level! Always nice when a plan starts coming together.

 

[bidny]

Since I had been pre-curing my rock, I couldn't go the traditional rock -> sand -> water route. I just wouldn't have enough water on hand to get the rock submerged in reasonable time. So I opted to go water -> rock -> sand.

Filling the tank was a bit scary. Even though the stand was very hefty, it was still an unconventional design. There were no supports across the floor. There were no center supports. The stand itself and the legs on the ends were designed to extend well past the end of the tank.

I decided to use a dial indicator at the bottom center of the tank to measure the deflection as I added water. By the time the tank was full, I was still measuring less than half the deflection I considered acceptable. I left the dial indicator in place for a few days just to see if the stand would continue to settle, before I was comfortable with the results. Water!

 

[McPuff]

Just added water and already have a Tunze care magnet in the tank. :0)

I assume it was to remove the bubble on the glass? Either way, I like it.

Super awesome deflector measurement tool!

 

[bidny]

Bidny's "Coral Prism" 300-gallon Rimless Build

Bidny's "Coral Prism" 300-gallon Rimless Build

Just added water and already have a Tunze care magnet in the tank. :0)



I assume it was to remove the bubble on the glass? Either way, I like it.



Super awesome deflector measurement tool!

Yep, got to knock off those pesky bubbles somehow

 

[bidny]

Then came aquascaping. I knew what I wanted to do going in, so I just had to execute my vision.

The rock is a mix of old rock from my 90 gallon (mostly Fiji and Tampa Bay Saltwater) and CaribSea LifeRock.

 

[moondoggy4]

The tank looks great, I love the aqua scaping. I am thinking about getting a larger tank something in the 84 x 30 x24 and after helping a friend move a slighty smaller tank, with 13 great guys who came to help I was thinking about going with acrylic I swore that stuff off 13 years ago.

Did you consider Acrylic? I guess the I know the answer. Was there a reason?

 

[bidny]

The tank looks great, I love the aqua scaping. I am thinking about getting a larger tank something in the 84 x 30 x24 and after helping a friend move a slighty smaller tank, with 13 great guys who came to help I was thinking about going with acrylic I swore that stuff off 13 years ago.

Did you consider Acrylic? I guess the I know the answer. Was there a reason?

Thanks! I only briefly considered acrylic. Of course, acrylic is clearer, lighter, better insulated, and stronger than glass. But it's always a matter when (not if) acrylic is going to become scratched. That was not something I wanted from the tank. I wanted to be able to have substrate and to clean the glass without too much fear of scratching.

Acrylic can also yellow/discolor over time, and I didn't want to take that risk.

Additionally, glass tends to bow less at long distances (although it's more likely to break than bow), so glass was a better option for my rimless tank.

But, perhaps most important was the fact that I simply like the look and feel of glass tanks more. There's something to be said about a 3/4" thick piece of glass that acrylic fails to replicate for me.

 

[McPuff]

Thanks! I only briefly considered acrylic. Of course, acrylic is clearer, lighter, better insulated, and stronger than glass. But it's always a matter when (not if) acrylic is going to become scratched. That was not something I wanted from the tank. I wanted to be able to have substrate and to clean the glass without too much fear of scratching.

Acrylic can also yellow/discolor over time, and I didn't want to take that risk.

Additionally, glass tends to bow less at long distances (although it's more likely to break than bow), so glass was a better option for my rimless tank.

But, perhaps most important was the fact that I simply like the look and feel of glass tanks more. There's something to be said about a 3/4" thick piece of glass that acrylic fails to replicate for me.

These are really good points. For me, it's the scratch factor. I had a 180 acrylic a while back and it was great... but it seemed that it would scratch just from looking at it. You have to be EXTRA careful to keep the glass clean because once coralline algae starts to grow, it's BIG trouble. Because one seldom moves a tank, the weight savings is not really that important to me. The clarity is certainly a bonus, but starphire glass is close. Nothing beats a top-down view regardless. My opinion is that glass is better for a saltwater tank, particularly a reef. Acrylic works well for freshwater, especially if you're not doing a toothy predator tank. The light is generally lower, and you don't get coralline algae growing on the panes.

My current tank is a 300DD glass. The next tank would [obviously] be bigger and the only way to do this is to build in place. So it has to be plywood and I'd probably use a pane or two from my current tank, as it'll never leave the basement in one piece.

 

[bidny]

Well, it's been a long time folks. Last post was in 2019!

Don't have a lot of time to discuss details at the moment, but I wanted to share at least at least a few more pictures. These were all from 2021. The tank came down in 2022 due to a health issue I suffered. No plans to resurrect, unfortunately, but it was definitely fun while it lasted.

 

[mtnbike101]

Wow! Beautifully done. Very sorry to hear about the health issues; best of luck moving forward!

 

[JohnL]

I'm also sorry about your health issues Steven. I wish you better days.