I would have bought a house with a basement
For me it is next time and this time I am going all in.
Condo living = no fish room, no basement. Everything has to fit under the tank.
130g, 48 x 24 x 27h
Inside cabinet = 46 x 22 and contains
Sump 30 x 14, Skimmer in first compartment
CA Reactor w/ 5 lbs CO2 cannister
2 separate reactors one for gfo the other for carbon
A Scepter 5g can for ATO top off
Main pump
Pump for reactors
Refugium light
Work light
Energybar 8 (2)
and on back
Apex base module
Apex controller
Apex wireless for Radion lights and MP40's
KRICKEY!!!!
Going to try to get a gyre going in the tank, with a lot of variability but generally a circular current so fish can swim into it and around the rock in an endless circle. Perhaps enable me to keep slightly larger fish than the tank length would indicate. Two large pyramidal structures for coral with perimeter unencumbered plus a channel in between.
Goal - mixed tank, mushrooms, lps, lots of gsp, sps particularly table acro on one pyramid of rock, plate coral.
Very up in the air still about fish and inverts. Want to start with livestock that will keep algae in check, keep flatworms in check, keep aipatasia in check, and eventually be able to maintain a small school of anthias, CBB or other show fish, excellent tank (chevron or something) and variety of others
Here's the layout of the cabinet interior. File too large to load.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_fGq32ljxAgdVdPZGk3bTZpbG8/edit?usp=sharing
Any and all thoughts are appreciated, other than I am demented for trying to do this...
I would have bought a house with a basement
This sounds similar to my build except, I am going with a less tall tank. 48 x 24 x 21". It is a pain to work on a tank when you can't easily reach the bottom. I too am going with the two mountain with channel rock layout. My tank now has rock against the back glass and I have grown to really dislike it.
1- Go way bigger than 55, aquascaping is incredibly tough since you have very little depth.