Step 2: Tank

I made my decision. I went with the Marineland 120g with the corner overflow and black silicone. I did this for a few reasons. The first is that the corner overflow is more appealing to me. Once I cutout the overflow, the location of the holes will work very well for the filtration setup I have planned, and if I ever wanted to use a sump the corner overflow is much more appealing than two monstrosities in the middle of the tank.

The hard decision came concerning the black silicone. As I said before, I don't really have anything against, but I just assumed I'd always get clear. Marineland doesn't make a 120g tank with clear silicone, so my option was to either get black silicone that was done well, or get clear silicone that was all globbed on from another manufacturer. Ultimately, the choice was clear.

I purchased the tank, stand/canopy, and glass tops from Creation Reef in Canton, GA. Really great people, and I was happy I was able to do business with them. A while back, I did a tour of the local fish store scene here in Atlanta. I toured nearly every store recommended my members of various forums and clubs. Creation Reef and Aquatics was the cream of the crop. They had the best selection of plants, best equipment, and the most unique selection of livestock.

Before I left for the store, I called ahead to make sure someone would be there to help me load up the tank into my truck. When I got there, they just took over and loaded it up for me....above and beyond as far as I'm concerned considering the size of the tank. As it turned out, a 120g 4' tank was the perfect fit. Any bigger length or width and I couldn't have fit the tank and stand in my truck in one trip. I only had about an inch to spare.

Suprisingly, the stand/canopy and tank were not that heavy. I was able to unload the stand/canopy on my own, but had to wait for backup for the tank. Even then, my wife and I were able to lift the tank on our own.