Evolution of a 90 gal Corner Pentagon

[Rocketlily]

Instead of doing a build thread, as the 90 gal tank has already been built, I will be doing a retroactive photo documentary of how this tank came to be.  It will include pictures of the old tanks that lead to this one.  When it gets caught up to date, it will then become a journal of new activity.

Please feel free to comment and leave suggestions at any time.  Unfortunately, I cannot take any of your advice on past tanks as they are no longer with us.  (May they rest in peace)

The saltwater experience began after Christmas of 2007 with a Christmas bonus cheque and a Boxing Day Sale at a LFS.  A short stop and I came out with:
20 gal tank
150 MH Clamp On light
Heater
Korilia Nano Powerhead
Nano Skimmer
25 lbs of live rock

After a couple of months, here's what the tank looked like:


At this point in time I discovered ordering frags online and knew that this 20 gal would be too small.  I then placed an order for the custom corner pentagon tank.  The back sides would have to be 40" to fit in the space available.  It was decided with the LFS to have the front 3 panels made of Starfire glass for better viewing.

Since I new I was getting the new tank, the frag collecting started.

[Rocketlily]

The tank arrived in March.  We had just finished replacing the flooring in the kitchen and dining room, so the dining room floor seemed like the perfect place to store a fish tank while the stand was being built.  Then we realized that once this tank was placed in the living room, there would be no moving it to replace the living room flooring.  At this time we had a lovely brown shag carpet and thought it would be nice to replace it with hardwood.  So as the tank sat on the dining room floor, we shopped for hardwood flooring.

[Rocketlily]

July came around and the stand was built following this thread
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1169964&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

[Rocketlily]

wow, what a beautiful aquarium susan, and the stand is a work of art, well done, love the full tank shot as well,

[Rocketlily]

Thanks Mike, wait until we get to the part where the stand has to be torn apart.

[Rocketlily]

WOW!!!  Now thats a stand!!

I like it!!   

[Rocketlily]

WOW!!!  Now thats a stand!!

I like it!!   

Thank you.

[Rocketlily]

Over the summer, the floor in the living room went very slowly.  Out of all the things we've done in the house, hardwood flooring will be something that is NEVER done again.

Since the 50 gal tank was sumpless and run with a Coralife hang on skimmer, serious long hair algae became quite a problem.  In the fall I wanted to pull out all the zoanthids, as they were not doing well in this tank.  Another forum started a 10 gal nano contest and this would be my chance to transfer the zoanthids and a little blue Damsel.

Here's a picture from February 15th of the 10 gal nano.  The coraline algae from the back glass has since been scraped off and gives it a much cleaner look.


The carpet was out of the corner where the tank was to go so the stand came out of the basement, the light rack built and the tank placed on top.  The old brown carpet came in handy to wrap around the bottom so it could be slid around the room.  The flooring continued and the plumbing began.

[Rocketlily]

The plumbing was a nightmare.  The first set of bulkheads purchased were from a very reputable store but were a very poor quality.  We thought we had them tight but every once in awhile we would hear a popping sound.  The nut on one of the bulkheads would pop off the threads and the bulkhead would now be loose and leak.  This was discovered after fillng it with saltwater.  Another problem we had was the height of the stand.  The first stand built was 30" high and left no room to run any of the plumbing.

The tank was then drained and new bulkheads purchased.  Fortunately because of the design of the stand, the legs were easily taken out and new legs built.  The second stand was built 36" high.  Plumbing was much easier and completed without any leaks.

The tank came drilled with 3 holes in the overflow.  2 holes for return pumps (2 - Quietone 4000's) and 1 hole for the drain.  A durso style drain was put in, and while the overflow itself was extremely quiet, the sound of the rushing water into the sump was unbearable.  The plumbng was once again taken apart and a Herbie style drain was put in.  One hole for the main drain, one hole for the emergency drain, leaving only one hole for the return.  An Eheim 1262 pump was put in, plumbed through one hole in the overflow and then split into the 2 lines, for the lockline.

After a bit a fine tuning, all is well and quiet.  The noisest part of the system is the pump on the skimmer.

Dec 7, 2008 water, rocks and sand finally went in.  The light clipped on the tank is the 150 MH from the 1st 20 gal.

[Rocketlily]

Here's what my tank looks like today:

MH only lighting


With actinics


Centre tank


Left side


Right side

[Rocketlily]

outstanding, what a lovely aquarium,i love the picture with the actinics on, quick question, why the cork hanging from the outlet, sorry if its a daft question, im sure theres a good reason

[Rocketlily]

It's actually a little piece of PCV pipe hanging by fish line over one of the returns.  I wrap the seaweed around it with an elastic, and it's my Tang feeder.  The pipe doesn't bother me as much as a clip stuck to the front glass.  I think the Tang enjoys it more because he aso doesn't have to come to the front glass.

[Rocketlily]

LOVE the pentagon!
It looks like its gives a ton of swimming room.
Do you have any tangs in there?

[Rocketlily]

Currently I have only 3 fish in the tank.  Adding fish is the part that I want to take very slow as this is the part I feel if you make a mistake, you're stuck with it.  Trying to get an unwanted fish out of the tank would be a nightmare.  The Scopas Tang and the Pygmy Angel are really quite funny to watch as the have started swimming together like they're good buddies.  I'm thinking the next fish might be some kind of a wrasse or firefish.

Simon, Pyjama Cardinal


Scobbie, Scopas Tang


2 Tone Tommy, Cherub Pygmy Angel

[Rocketlily]

  Fantastic looking tank!   How long has it been up and running?