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.

Moving forward

It's time to roll.

I went by two local fish stores yesterday looking at tanks. My final plan is to purchase a reef-ready tank, cut out the overflow, and use the existing holes to feed a closed-loop filtration system. Between the two stores, I've been offered two different tanks for the exact same price:

Option 1: Aqueon 120g, two standard overflows offset from the ends of the tank with clear silicone

Option 2: Marineland 120g, one corner overflow, black silicone

Same exact price. The Marineland is a higher quality tank but my two concerns are whether one overflow would be adequate(or rather, in the closed loop scenario, one point of intake for the filter loop) and my other concern is that I've never had a tank with black silicone. I don't have anything really against black silicone except that I never really considered.

Relatively, this decision is pretty straightforward.

My second decision isn't quite as easy. I have to pick a stand/canopy combo. I am firm on construction being out of maple.  Essentially, I'm considering 4 different furniture grade stands produced by a local cabinetmaker. It's two styles, but they each come in two different heights. The first style is "standard" and the second style is "deluxe". The two heights are 30" and 36". Price range starts at Standard 30" and ends at Deluxe 36", with about a 35% increase in price.

I have always had 30" stands, but a 36" stand puts the tank at perfect viewing height if standing. 30" is good for standing and sitting. So that you can see what I'm talking about, here is a picture:

The style on the left is a maple 36" Deluxe. The stand on the right is an oak 30" Standard. Again, I'm firm on maple and neither of those is the stain I'm considering, but this picture is a good comparison of styles.

I've put some feelers out there on the various forums to get some outside opinions, so hopefully between that and a good nights sleep the decision(s) will be easy.

I am definitely set on a 4 ft 120g tank. I got a good deal, actually a GREAT deal on a 6 ft tank, but once I got it home, it's just too darned big. Too much of a headache.

I'm gonna sell it off and order 120g.

Full Circle...I think

Well, I've decided on a 120g again...I think. A 6' tank would be overbearing in the room I have picked out to put the tank in. We have two possible rooms for this tank: a downstairs office/entry way, or the unfinished downstairs den. If it were going in the unfinished den, the 6' tank would work, but the den would also have to be finished. Finshing the den is at least 2 years away.People say get the biggest tank you think you could want, or at least the biggest tank you have room for. Well, if I had room, I'd want a 180g tank, but I don't have room, so 4' 120g is the choice for me...I think.

The decision I'm dealing with now is either a standard or reef-ready tank. I'm planning a closed loop filtration system for this tank, where the intake for the filtration would be at the bottom of the tank. I had originally planned on purchasing a standard tank, and then drilling holes in the back glass, but now I'm considering getting a reef ready tank and removing the overflows. I think I'm going with the reef ready. The advantages are:

• Saves me from having to buy a $40+ diamond drill bit
• Removes the risk of cracking the glass and having to replace, thus increasing the cost
• If and when I resell this tank, it'll be easier to sell a reef-ready tank than a custom-drilled standard tank

The RR version is $120 more, but the savings from the drill bit plus the risk of cracking the glass is worth the money. And again, it'll hold more value if it's a RR tank. It's sound financial decision.

I'll still have to do a little work to it. I'll most likely remove the overflows, and then do some funking plumbing to get good intakes in the position I want, but most of that plumbing will be hidden by substrate. I'll discuss all that later.

46g Planted: Killed Before Its Time

As I mentioned earlier, a few months after I started improving the 45g I was lucky enough to acquire a 46g bow front tank. My wife's coworker was moving across the country, and was not able to take this tank with him. For over a year this tank was the bastard child. It received all the left overs that the 45g didn't want. It got the Rena XP3 instead of the Eheim 2128. It got left over, used bulbs. All the while it was doing all the work, growing the pinches of plants I picked up here and there, waiting until I had enough to scape the 45g. This tank really did not fill the love.

And then I was ready. The "leftovers" from the 45g eventually included a 2x96w Coralife PC fixture, another Eheim 2128, 4" of Flourite Original,  and a 50 ft piece of tubing running from the co2 tank on the 45g. I placed a quick order from manzanita.com, built a custom intake and spray bar, and assembled an inline co2 reactor. Then, the scape. I spent two days tearing this tank apart. I remove the fish and the monstrous amounts of plants. Everything down to the substrate and began my work. And in April of 2009, this was the finished product:

Unfortunately, this tank never reached maturity. It would have been amazing. When my wife and I found out we were moving, this was the first sacrifice. At that time, I had four tanks setup and knew that I wanted to downsize to just two(a brand new ADA 60-P and the 120g which is the subject of this blog) so hard choices had to be made. I sold this tank off, and it left me just as it came, a bastard.

The real tragedy was that these, of all plants, were the ones I kept during the move. And unfortunately none survived. All those Anubias, A TON of Bobitis(not pictured), crypts....all so wonderful, and they all perished. I was truly upset.

Back to the drawing board

Suddenly I'm just not so sure on a 120g tank. I feel like it's not as big as I want. About a year ago I started thinking about a large tank, but since my wife and I were in an apartment, it was really just thoughts. However, I thought I had firmly decided on a 120g, but now I'm reconsidering.

I really have a blank slate. I have plenty of filters sitting around, plenty of equipment. I have a 6x54w T5HO TEK fixture that I was planning to use, which would be perfect for a 120, but I can always open it up and spread those lights out over a bigger tank. Or, I'm open to buying additional lighting. Point is, there are just too many options.

I opened up the decision for additional debate because I just don't want to pay new full price for a tank, so I'm cruising craigslist. A 120g, 4'x2'x2' tank is hard to come by at a good deal. I'm absolutely set on the 2'x2' part, but the length is what I'm debating on. 4', 6', or 8'. Decisions, decisions! I've found a good 8', 240g tank and now I'm trying to decide if that's just simply too big.

If I find a 180g, 6'x2'x2' I'll snap it up in a heartbeat....and change the name of the blog.

Got a little crazy

Yesterday I went to the Atlanta Area Aquarium Association Fall Auction (that's a lot of A's), and I went a little crazy, but there were some outright steals that I couldn't pass up. Until last night I didn't even have any tanks set up(not counting the 55g rubbermaid tub holding my fish since the move) and I still came home with 5 or 6 bags of fish.

The fish I brought home are all juvies, so I couldn't just dump them into the rubbermade...hence I just *had* to purchase a few tanks while at the auction, all below the $1/gallon benchmark.

I'm excited about all the fish. If I had to pick two highlights, they would be the 2 pairs of Apistogramma cacatuoides 'Triple Red' and the 2 pairs of Dario rubra. The Dario rubra are a real highlight because they have just been imported into the hobby. I also picked up 4 F0 Parotocinclus eppelyi, 2 Scarlet Badis, and 5 or 6 Apistogramma borelli 'Opal'.

Once they've had a chance to eat, grow, and display their colors I'll post pictures.