Stock tank setup

Got all the stuff from bhoward last night. Over the weekend I bought a few stock tanks from Mills Fleet Farm in Ankeny. Made the stand using the RC Template, skipped the base frame











That took about an hour and a half.


Positioned and set up the stock tank, 60g version (nice footprint, and 14" deep





positioned a 27g stock tank below it





Bored out the drain hole for a 3/4" bulkhead, then drilled for 1" and 1-1/4" drain bulkheads





Added plumbing & livestock and fired it up!





Sun coral colony happy as a clam in the sump


Made a few changes.


Screen around the 1" drain since it goes to a filter sock.


Used an old bioball tower for trapping bubbles/salt spray


Threw a few 24" 2-lamp T5HO fixtures over it until I get a loaner MH fixture


Water was nice an crystal clear this morning. Going to add a bunch of Purigen and a skimmer ASAP.


Much of this will go in my personal tank and some to smouse and boone.


FYI this all came out of a standard 75g, which must have been packed to the friggin gills!!

 

hehe...yeah it's pretty crammed now and I definitely have to banish a bunch of stuff to the sump, LR, etc. I know that I have rocks with zoas and mushrooms that are buried a bit, priority was to get it in the water then get the kids to bed (and myself).

Getting a MH fixture tonight, ballast for 2x250W and 2 spider reflectors w/lamps, hopefully I'll have time to mess with it being beggars night and all. Plus I was in trouble last night for not reading books on time, little one wanted me to read to him and stayed up later than preferred...

 

I couldn't resist the deal...needed somewhere to put it all!

Eventually everything in my tank will go to different homes - I've been holding rock, corals, and livestock in my 120 for years for someone else, but it has allowed me to keep a reef tank and experiment somewhat. I also might be tearing out my 120 and putting in a different tank, the tank is slightly damaged from when I originally set it up so I would like to swap it out, then put what I want into it.

Also some will go to Boone, Smouse, Grove & Platt, and Taki (eventually)

 

Banished a bunch of LR to the sump





Sold this guy (100+ heads) but he had a $ limit so I'm getting a big frag back





This all thinned out the cramped space





Happy clowns (breeding pair)





Much better. Plus the rock covered in Eagle Eye Zoas is not under another rock duh


hammer, frogspawn, pocilipora, birdsnest, duncan, candy cane, mushrooms, kenya tree, random frags...





pocilipora, more hammer, leathers, mushrooms





birdsnest





the big hammer (green & purple), more maroon leather, green porite





cabbage leather (distorted)





watermelon shrooms





Closeup of zoa rock & frags





Of course everything is closed up and P.O.d, and I've been shifting a couple wimpy T5 fixtures around. MH's tomorrow...

 

No more room for any more rock! But once I get my 120 & contents gone and new 75 in place, then I have a nice place for curing rock if I wanted to.

 

I got the tanks and wood on Saturday. Put the stand together Sunday & drilled the tank. Plumbed it all on Tuesday, stocked it Tuesday night. If I put that all together into one day, it would be about 8 solid hours including driving to Ankeny to get the tubs.