Should I get a 180g or 210g reef tank?

Discussion in 'Fish Tank Brands and Kits' started by marlinman, Apr 2, 2009.

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  1. Tom_R

    Tom_R Plankton

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    I have a 180G and it is a great tank. At times I wish i had either the 210 or 220. The 180 is 24" deep which work well with 250w MH and you are still able to reach the bottom of the tank. With either the 210 or 220 you will probably need 400w MH and you can not reach item at the bottom of the tank without a reaching assist.

    Tom R
     
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  3. vegasfish

    vegasfish Feather Star

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    Congrats on getting the tank can't wait to see you start the build!
     
  4. Bogie

    Bogie Snowflake Eel

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    Tom R, I can hardly believe you're a 3 reef member since Sept 2004 and this is your 2nd post?
     
  5. ZachB

    ZachB Giant Squid

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    Wow, no kidding eh.
     
  6. marlinman

    marlinman Zoanthid

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    Whew! I had plenty of help geting the tank up onto the stand, to be exact six guys. I figured I'd just invite everybody I could and hope 4 of them showed up. With six guys it took all of 2 minutes and a tremendous relief came upon me. You know what I mean. I put the return pipes and the overflow pipes into the overflows. I started attaching the rails for the light shelf. I cut away at the canopy openings with a jig saw so the canopy wood is now level to the top of the tank and moved the doors down a bit to compensate on the new center of the opening. Came out awesome. I went to Lowes and got some red oak plywood to lay on the bottom of the inside of the stand. I never trust the factory bottoms as they can shred when wet. The new stand allows me 3" of extra width inside the stand and that is always a good thing. I'll have more pics later but here's the three pieces. I'm going to guess that I have 212 lbs of rock.
     

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  7. marlinman

    marlinman Zoanthid

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    The more I look at the tank the more I like it. I'm waiting on the 8x24 T5 retrofit and replacement bulbs. I've got the shelf built inside the canopy and 2 fans built into the sides of the canopy. Because it's upside down the shelf hardwood beams are laying in the bottom of the canopy. When I turn it over they will lay on the rails I built. Tomorrow I will cut the red oak 1/2" finished plywood for the base of the stand and get some marine varnish to treat it. This baby is gonna look good when I'm done.
     

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    Last edited: Apr 7, 2009
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  9. marlinman

    marlinman Zoanthid

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    Today I cut the eggcrate for the bottom of the tank. I will put the rock on the eggcrate to protect the glass bottom from an avalanche. It also holds the base rock steadier than glass. I also cut 2 pieces of red oak plywood for the bottom of the stand. Tomorrow I'm going to give it a coat of marine varnish to protect it from salt water. I also got an auto top off and a 16 Gal tank so I can have the RO water keep the sump at the same level. Here are 2 pics of the eggcrate.
     

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  10. reefer Bob

    reefer Bob Montipora Digitata

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    Are you planning on a chiller? These tanks run HOT. I installed a cheap fan under my cabinet to help push out the air. I also have my chiller down there. I know you are goin to have a very nice tank. Keep the mirrors, its a florida thing. And I'll guess 245 lb of rock. I dont know how much I have for sure, just enough to look right.
     
  11. marlinman

    marlinman Zoanthid

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    With just T5 lighting on an open backed shelf with 2 fans installed in the canopy and I tend to leave the lid open unless I get company I hope to be OK with heat. I also keep my condo at 70 degrees.

    Today I put on the marine varnish to the finished 1/2" red oak plywood floor boards and smoothed down the surface with coarse and fine steel wool. It came out nice and fit like a glove inserted into the bottom of the stand.

    My son came over on Wednesday Night to put the black background on with Seaview so that looks nice. Of course you can't have a mirror background with fish as they despise their own kind. I've heard horror stories on other websites about fish going crazy trying to kill the fish in the mirror.:eek:

    I also got a 16 Gal tank for my RO top off to my sump. My kitchen unfortunetly is way too small for a RO/DI unit and at Big Al's they have great water for only .30 a gal. I might be inclined to change my views later but we'll see.

    Here are pics of the top off tank, floor boards and background. Just coming along and hoping to get my lights this weekend. My new bulbs showed up already from the reefgeek.com.
     

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    Last edited: Apr 10, 2009
  12. Bogie

    Bogie Snowflake Eel

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    Did you take down the 80's mirror wall yet?