Chaloupa's 10 foot build

[Chaloupa]

I have a 150g 5 foot tank right now that is a nice looking SPS and LPS reef. In that tank I have an Achilles Tang (and other tangs). After seeing Marie's "Doofus" and reading quite a bit on them, I knew that an upgrade to a longer tank would make for better "tang ownership". So after a plea sent out that I wanted a longer tank, I got a PM regarding one for sale, THANK YOU Christy!!

We picked up the tank in Victoria where it was being used as a FW tank with a closed loop and undergravel system. The plan, or should I say the agreed upon plan with my husband was that we would run it fresh at our store, and invest in another tank for our SW pets at a later date . Boohoo for me. Well, needless to say after filling it, cycling it for FW with a truckload of Hagen "Cycle" and getting ready to add fish.....I WIN! My husband decided that maybe we should set it up salt water...I mean WHAT A FREAKIN WASTE OF A 10 FOOT LONG TANK..........so he emptied it! Removed the 6 buckets of JUST WASHED gravel and cleaned it out.

Now on to the project...we did have to have this tank put on a pedestal as the stand that it came with was really short...had we planned it better we would have just replaced the stand and made a new TALL one to accommodate sumps and skimmers...but we didn't and will now just have to deal with it. Also, the closed loop was run very oddly with 4 drains spaced evenly in the centre of the tank and a return in "back" corners. 2 drains are returned by a pump for each return. We couldn't do a box or anything around the drains either as they would REALLY stick out. If I were to do it over again, yep I would have just done a new stand, figured out a way to have the drains done, but I figured I wouldn't push it once my husband saw the light! hee hee.....

So here's the start. We have put it in front of a "treated" set of windows that don't get a blast of sunlight...but we wanted it to be seen from the outside and inside. (Luckily we have a TINY staff member that actually fits between the window and the tank) Our plan is to run 2 Deltec MCE600 skimmers, possibly a calcium reactor that will be plumbed outside the tank, a pellet reactor and .... well that's most likely it ...... We will be putting all the cords along the back into a black hose so they are all hidden and just follow along the black tank trim. We will have a Wavebox from our home tank, a Vortech MP40 and a few other wave makers in the tank.

Our goal is to have a visually pleasing LPS and SPS, easy to maintain AWESOME Tang home! We don't have our lighting figured out yet, as it's 10 freaking feet long with 3 cross braces...but......We would like to incorporate our existing lighting into it....which is a 4 foot Hamilton with 2x400w and supplemental T12...our thoughts were to place that over the centre of the tank, then to have a 3 foot 6 bulb T5 fixture on each end...then it will still be centred looking and have enough light without having to purchase a whack more lighting. I would like a bit of input if possible.

I know, when you look at what could have been achieved and what I am making work you may shake your head........but my husband does NOT share the reefing addiction quite like I do! He changes water...and plumbs the odd tank....that's it.......

Here's a pic...the stand pedestal is not finished yet...it will match the upper half to a certain extent.....and it will look good, it will I say!