I thought I would document the craziness of the next few months for posterity. Maybe someone will find it useful when they do a new build under similar circumstances.
The specifications for the new tank are finished. The dimensions are the same as the old tank except it will be two inches wider. That will make it 84 x 44 x 30. There is plenty of room on the stand so I thought why not? It will give me a little more room to aquascape in front of the overflows.
There will be a center brace to fix the stress issues I'm now having which after all is the reason for this whole adventure. I could have kept the center overflow design and braced the tank on the top differently. However I want to change and improve the aquascape with some open space in
the center. I also don't want this tank to be a clone of the last one .So there will be two overflows , 6 x 8 inches located in the middle part of the tank and 18 inches away from the sides. That will leave me 48 inches of unobstructed space in the center.
With the tank specs settled and sent to the manufacturer, the next step was to set up the frag/storage tank. This will allow me to start the dipping regimen and storage of all the acros leading up to the installation of the new tank. With the help of Greg from UnderwaterWorld I got a great
deal on a Laguna molded pond in the perfect size I was looking for. It's 61 x 31 x 18. I got it last Saturday, built the stand on Sunday and it's now ready to be tied into the system.
I will have three Sol Blues to light this with. As I remove the corals, I can take some of the Vegas off the display for further lighting if I need it. I decided to put some sand in there too. It's pretty deep for a frag tank and some aragonite sand will help the pH. Eight years ago I made a mistake
with the choice of sand in the display tank. I bought play sand that was supposed to be a calcium carbonate sand. I trusted the label and used it. Later it flunked the vinegar test and is probably one of the reasons I have pH issues. One of the good things about putting up a new tank is
having the chance to fix the errors you made with the last.
In the next few weeks I am going to plumb the frag tank in, get some sand and hang the lights. Unfortunately the algae turf scrubber will have to come down and probably won't go back up until everything is completed. I will post new photos when this phase of the project is completed.
The specifications for the new tank are finished. The dimensions are the same as the old tank except it will be two inches wider. That will make it 84 x 44 x 30. There is plenty of room on the stand so I thought why not? It will give me a little more room to aquascape in front of the overflows.
There will be a center brace to fix the stress issues I'm now having which after all is the reason for this whole adventure. I could have kept the center overflow design and braced the tank on the top differently. However I want to change and improve the aquascape with some open space in
the center. I also don't want this tank to be a clone of the last one .So there will be two overflows , 6 x 8 inches located in the middle part of the tank and 18 inches away from the sides. That will leave me 48 inches of unobstructed space in the center.
With the tank specs settled and sent to the manufacturer, the next step was to set up the frag/storage tank. This will allow me to start the dipping regimen and storage of all the acros leading up to the installation of the new tank. With the help of Greg from UnderwaterWorld I got a great
deal on a Laguna molded pond in the perfect size I was looking for. It's 61 x 31 x 18. I got it last Saturday, built the stand on Sunday and it's now ready to be tied into the system.
I will have three Sol Blues to light this with. As I remove the corals, I can take some of the Vegas off the display for further lighting if I need it. I decided to put some sand in there too. It's pretty deep for a frag tank and some aragonite sand will help the pH. Eight years ago I made a mistake
with the choice of sand in the display tank. I bought play sand that was supposed to be a calcium carbonate sand. I trusted the label and used it. Later it flunked the vinegar test and is probably one of the reasons I have pH issues. One of the good things about putting up a new tank is
having the chance to fix the errors you made with the last.
In the next few weeks I am going to plumb the frag tank in, get some sand and hang the lights. Unfortunately the algae turf scrubber will have to come down and probably won't go back up until everything is completed. I will post new photos when this phase of the project is completed.