We did a tank install in my father's restaurant quite a few years back.
We set up a tank in his house & let it cycle for a coupla weeks. Introduced a handful of fish to the tank over a few more weeks & let the skimmer break in a bit.
Then on a Sunday night after service we installed the new tank in the restaurant, placed in the rock & set up the skimmer.
Waited a coupla days, had a small cycle & then we put the fish in.
This meant that the tank was only without fish (quite a big deal for some customers it seems!) for a coupla days & had fish in it by the busy period towards the end of the week.
Make sure you only use RO/DI water & if you have the space set up a decent sized fuge. As others have said, algae is a mood killer in a restaurant!
Problems? the waiting staff got tired of people asking where the fish were & it took up more time than we thought to keep looking pristine.
Also, check this place out!
Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, Rangali Island, Maldives.
VFX.
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