brian cummings
New member
I took these pictures with my phone...and apparently EXIF data in the phone pics can cause them to be displayed incorrectly...I haven't figured out a fix yet, so sorry that things are rotated...
It's been a difficult decision to make, but I've left the saltwater hobby. I drained this tank months ago, and have waffled about setting it up again, but I truly don't have the time and space to dedicate to it.
This is a rare (supposedly only a dozen of these shipped to the US from Italy) luxury/modern Italian aquarium that was founded to be a competitor to Elos. A Lamborghini vs Ferrari if you will.
The Unico 56 (sometimes "Oribital" is part of the name too) is a 100L (26 gallon) rimless aquarium.
The diamond beveled ultra high clarity glass is thick for its size at 8 ish mm/ 5/16" ( I've had other "nice" aquariums that were larger but had thinner glass). Tank is 22"W x 17.5"D x17"T (at the front, the back glass is actually taller at 18", so the sides "step down" as part of the design. Tank is drilled. The tank does have some scratches, I wish it didn't but it does. I find it impossible to get good photos, so you'd have to see yourself.
The stand is slightly wider and deeper than the rank that sits on it, and is roughly 34.25" tall. It's made up of 1" and 1 5/8 mdf panels that are lacquered white. 5/8" beveled glass trim flanks the front of the stand, and the stand door is a foil backed glass pivot door. Inside of the stand is tight, so I had a custom sump made by Dominic DeLareto (the acrylic fabricator that has made some of the local store displays, as well as many custom tanks and sumps). The sump is 18x14x10, has three chambers, and ecoxotic led strip for a refugium. A sicce syncra pump is included. The stand does not breakdown/was not flatpacked. It was dowel jointed together in Italy and shipped here in a large crate.
The lighting system for the Vitrea features a graceful, three branched, cast aluminum arm which holds the LEDs (white, blue, green, red) within a thick, cut out chunk of beveled glass. Vitrea's touch screen controller is attached up top too. It allows settings for photo period, moon cycles, sunrise/sunset, light intensity, and and preset programs for either fresh or saltwater. The lighting is not going to compete with Ecotec Radion or such, but I grew plenty of easier SPS under it just fine.
This tank was only available in the USA for a short time. I encourage you to do a little googling about it-- it was eagerly anticipated by some of the reef news outlets. The build quality is in some ways over the top, with the glass work (not just the tank but on the stand and lighting), the cabinet construction and finish, the light arm, etc-- all that adds up. I am asking $600 for it, which I know is a lot for a 26 gallon, but this is a really cool, very unique, very nice 26 gallon; and only a handful are here in the USA. The design may also give it higher spousal acceptance factor!
Located near the Biltmore in northcentral phoenix.
