GoToSleep's 700g Build Thread (& complete remodel)

sweet start to one big ___ build
700g have fun moving that big guy

 

someone on my local craigslist was selling a 1000 gallon tank for like $9500 this is going to be one expensive project for you, you must be a millionaire or something to be able to afford it, i'm jealous

 

theirs a 700 gallon on aqua bid

 

JWIN, the 550 that you've seen pics of is the DT for this set-up. I've been taking pictures for months but wanted to wait before starting the build thread. It has taken 3 months just to get an empty tank in there and it'll be a few more before I have fish. I do think that I've got enough pics though that I should be able to keep this thing moving along (I hope).

 

Great project, can't wait to see this one unfold!!

 

Woohoo so I've had a behind the scenes preview So will the old 120 be the sump or something for this bad boy?

 

Shhhh, I the other guys haven't seen the VIP sneak preview make them wait with the rest of the hoi polloi.

The old tank was an AGA reef drilled 125g with dual overflows in the back corners. It was a very nice tank when it was set up and I considered using it as the sump but decided against it for several reasons:

1. I wasn't excited about having to find a way to seal 4 holes in the bottom of a 125g positioned where I would not have a great view of them and where it would be a PITA to get it out of [STRIKE]if[/STRIKE] when there was a leak.
2. The tank was 12 years old and had been dry for 8 years. I would of course have done a leak test before using it but decided that spending the money on a new tank was a small price to pay for peace of mind (see #1 above).
3. The overflows on AGA reef tanks not only overflow from the top, they have drain holes near the bottom. This means that I would have had fairly stagnant water sitting behind those overflow walls unless I went to the trouble of cutting out the overflows. Again, a PITA.
4. There was a young guy in the local reef club who really wanted to step-up from his 40g. I gave him the full story on the tanks history, andvised a leak test and sold it for $100. No problems for him so far, he's happy with the tank and my wife's happy to have it out of the garage.
5. That 125g was 25" tall and it would have been very difficult for me to work through the sliver of space between the top of the sump and the bottom of the stand.

 

Far from it but when you consider all the money I saved during the 8 years that my 125g wasn't running and the $100 bucks I got for selling the old tank it's a pretty good start.

Don't be jealous, stay in school (you too, JWIN). Besides, I'm still trying to figure out a way to get a Puffer fish into this setup.

 

Keeps the pics coming on the progress. Just make sure you think about ventilation. That was one thing I under engineered.

 

First day of classes tomorrow Having classes 10-10:50, 11-11:50, and 1-1:50 is going to be pure joy after having 4x1.5 hour long classes from 8-3 in highschool And that's my MWF schedule...Tuesdays and Thursdays are significantly longer, but hopefully interesting. Only a class and lab per day on those days.