When I got back into the hobby 20 months ago after a 6yr break, I told myself to set up something small with simple/easy to keep corals.
I picked up an Aquaforest Ocean guard 275, which is 48 gallons 24x22x22. Once coral stocking started, I couldn't stop! What was suppose to be a simple softie/LPS tank quickly turn into a full blown mixed reef with rapidly decreasing rock/grow out space.
The regret that a lot of reefers feel about not going bigger came sooner than expected. It didn't help that the current tank sits where a 4ft tank would fit perfectly. So the hunt was on....
I recently found a rimless 100gal that was the perfect dimension 48x24x20 with a 35' tall steel stand. Along with being the right size and dimensions, it had an external overflow which was a must.
So what's making it over budget? Well the tank and stand was pretty cheap, but it needed work. Bringing it back home, I realized I didn't like the overflow and have since commissioned Modular marine to custom make an overflow. The steel stand needed to be stripped and painted as the powder coating was starting to fail and rust. The plastic sheet and wood between the stand was and tank were unusable as well as all the panels and plumbing.
Tank before and after cleaning plus removing painted back.
I picked up an Aquaforest Ocean guard 275, which is 48 gallons 24x22x22. Once coral stocking started, I couldn't stop! What was suppose to be a simple softie/LPS tank quickly turn into a full blown mixed reef with rapidly decreasing rock/grow out space.
The regret that a lot of reefers feel about not going bigger came sooner than expected. It didn't help that the current tank sits where a 4ft tank would fit perfectly. So the hunt was on....
I recently found a rimless 100gal that was the perfect dimension 48x24x20 with a 35' tall steel stand. Along with being the right size and dimensions, it had an external overflow which was a must.
So what's making it over budget? Well the tank and stand was pretty cheap, but it needed work. Bringing it back home, I realized I didn't like the overflow and have since commissioned Modular marine to custom make an overflow. The steel stand needed to be stripped and painted as the powder coating was starting to fail and rust. The plastic sheet and wood between the stand was and tank were unusable as well as all the panels and plumbing.
Tank before and after cleaning plus removing painted back.
