I know this was FOREVER ago, but I NEED to know how your guys' setups are going!! I'm about to purchase this tank this weekend and I have to say this thread was the definite precursor to me doing so. Absolutely excited and I can't wait to start later this year.
Please share more :bounce2:
glad to hear you're joining the half circle club! we are few and far between. my 2 cents: the look and aesthetic of the tank is amazing - if you're like me and critical about how the tank is going to look in your living area (as far as matching furniture, not having wires all over the place, etc) than this tank will usually pass those tests.. it is super modern and sleek looking. i have a lot of glass furniture and darker colors and the tank fits in like a real piece of high end furniture.
- some people don't like the magnified look that the circular glass presents - it never really bothered me and infact, i kinda like it. people often comment that the fish look like they're "popping out" of the tank.. almost a 3d look.
- i'm not a professional photographer, but photographing the tank is difficult... reflection of the glass, etc. i wouldn't let this be a deal breaker by any means, and i've managed to capture some great shots - will post some updated ones asap.
- FLOW! this drove me nuts for a long time... with the 76g version there is a center overflow with 1 return. i experimented with a lot of different powerheads before finding something i liked/was creating minimal dead spots... currently using 2 Jebao 25's on "Low" mode... it seems to do the job, so long as your sand isn't too fine (will blow all over the place otherwise) and so long as you don't have giant mountains of live rock blocking large areas of your sandbed. go with minimal rock work if possible - it usually looks nicer and will give your fish more swimming room.
- lighting - i first ran T5's, which nicely fit in the canopy with no need to hang from the ceiling, etc. they gave pretty decent coverage but i think some reefers may be more critical than me about these types of things. i upgraded to LEDs a couple years back - photon 32 model from reefbreeders. again, decent coverage for my expectations and all of my coral responded pretty well. since reefbreeders only make hanging kits (last i checked, no legs/stands) i DIY'd some legs via strong snapping style velcro to 2x4's (lol) to prop the fixture a few inches off the top of the tank... although it looks kind of ridiculous, it does the job and the canopy completely hides the fixture. Note: it's a BAD idea to lay the fixture directly on top of the tank/using the black plastic trim as your brace.. the LEDs started to melt the plastic trim before I came up with the ingenious (heh) idea to velcro the 2x4's/give the light some breathing room.
- mag floats - due to the curve, i would avoid them. use a cheap scrubber brush instead, or CAREFULLY use a single razor blade by hand.
- plumbing/filtration - in the 76g version a standard 20g tank JUST fits inside the stand as a sump if you remove the doors (very easy to remove the doors, just a couple of crews). if you removed the tank from the stand, i believe you could possibly fit something larger - i think markaren in this thread may be using a 40g or something close to that? A 20g should give you just enough room to play with.. i chambered mine off into 3 sections - first for the skimmer, 2nd for a fuge with macro, and third for my return pump. It works perfectly, although having more room would be nice. My ATO tank (5g Kent) sits on top of my sump and all of my cords and wires, including an apex energy bar and power module are mounted in the corners of the inside of the stand. Literally the only piece of equipment you can see on mine is my chiller, which many people don't even use.
there's probably a bunch of other things i'm forgetting but this should at least get you started.
Bottom line: it's a beautiful tank and it's very unique... but it requires a lot of extra effort in comparison to your standard size. I would do it again if I started over (at least if I was sticking to the same gallon range) - the compliments the tank gets is pretty awesome, not to mention having something different than a standard rectangle or bowfront. I'll post updated photos asap - the ones I previously posted in this thread are severely outdated (but really neat to see how far you can come in the reefing world after a couple years!)
best of luck
....I am going to start drilling the rock in a few minutes...gonna open a bottle of wine first, I have been waiting for this part, it is the foundation of the artistic formation for the future inhabitants. corny perhaps , but really , the rocks are what sets the mood.
