jasonrusso
2500 Club Member
I've always wanted a saltwater aquarium (mainly a pufferfish) since I was doing chiclid tanks when I was a kid. When I bought my house in 2012 one of the first things I did was buy a 75 gallon aquarium set-up. It was drilled and came with a sump, so as far as I knew that's how they all were. I got it set up and cycled and went to the LFS. I found my porcupine puffer staring at me through the glass with his little smile and he was begging for me to take him home.
You probably already see my mistake (lack of research) and within 6 months I was looking for a bigger tank. I made the usual rookie mistakes and lost some fish but Sean was always a trooper. Soon after, I found a used acrylic set-up for a steal so I picked it up. It took some TLC, but I had it up and running within a month.
Here we are 3+ years later and now I am going to upgrade to hopefully Sean's forever home (or my forever home via divorce). I was working with a LFS (shout out to Yorgos at Love the Reef in Wilmington, MA) who found a customer's used glass 225 set-up. Well, that deal fell through, so Yorgos and I agreed on a brand new Aqueon 210 (I guess they use the actual internal volume, the tank is 72x24x30) and stand for a good price. I'll have to build a canopy, but I can get it up and running without that.
I now have my Porcupine Puffer, Harlequin Tusk, Foxface, Yellow Eye Kole Tang, Dwarf Golden Moray Eel, and Coinbearing Angler. All are healthy and I look forward to seeing them stretch out in their new home.
Here is my current 150
The plan is to put it on the other wall (which is a structurally better location). I also wanted to tile the floor so I figured that this was the time to do it. I tiled as much as I could and I will finish it after the old tank is gone.
I brought the new tank and stand home this weekend. The thing is a beast. Aqueon lists the shipping weight at 335 pounds. Me and two buddies got it inside without harm. I painted the back glass black and put it in its new home.
I am planning on swapping over all the sand and rock in the old tank, I had a bin full of rock in the attic that I have in a heated bin right now. I bought 30 pounds more dry rock and 40 pounds of sand. Now, I need to make 75 gallons of new water that is heated and ready to go. I also need to store the 150 gallons (and livestock) in the tank while I swap over the rock/sand. I opted to go with rubbermaid bins (the method I used last time). A word of advice, don't buy the 54 gallon bins. They are too long and they don't have the structural integrity to hold water. The sides bowed out and began to crack. I returned them (10 year warranty) and bought 10 HDX 27 gallon bins which actually cost less. They are much stronger. These are the 54 gallons I returned.
I already bought a new 72" Current IC Orbit light, but I am planning on re-using all my old equipment from the 150. I oversized everything on the 150.
And advice/suggestions on the move?
You probably already see my mistake (lack of research) and within 6 months I was looking for a bigger tank. I made the usual rookie mistakes and lost some fish but Sean was always a trooper. Soon after, I found a used acrylic set-up for a steal so I picked it up. It took some TLC, but I had it up and running within a month.
Here we are 3+ years later and now I am going to upgrade to hopefully Sean's forever home (or my forever home via divorce). I was working with a LFS (shout out to Yorgos at Love the Reef in Wilmington, MA) who found a customer's used glass 225 set-up. Well, that deal fell through, so Yorgos and I agreed on a brand new Aqueon 210 (I guess they use the actual internal volume, the tank is 72x24x30) and stand for a good price. I'll have to build a canopy, but I can get it up and running without that.
I now have my Porcupine Puffer, Harlequin Tusk, Foxface, Yellow Eye Kole Tang, Dwarf Golden Moray Eel, and Coinbearing Angler. All are healthy and I look forward to seeing them stretch out in their new home.
Here is my current 150
The plan is to put it on the other wall (which is a structurally better location). I also wanted to tile the floor so I figured that this was the time to do it. I tiled as much as I could and I will finish it after the old tank is gone.
I brought the new tank and stand home this weekend. The thing is a beast. Aqueon lists the shipping weight at 335 pounds. Me and two buddies got it inside without harm. I painted the back glass black and put it in its new home.
I am planning on swapping over all the sand and rock in the old tank, I had a bin full of rock in the attic that I have in a heated bin right now. I bought 30 pounds more dry rock and 40 pounds of sand. Now, I need to make 75 gallons of new water that is heated and ready to go. I also need to store the 150 gallons (and livestock) in the tank while I swap over the rock/sand. I opted to go with rubbermaid bins (the method I used last time). A word of advice, don't buy the 54 gallon bins. They are too long and they don't have the structural integrity to hold water. The sides bowed out and began to crack. I returned them (10 year warranty) and bought 10 HDX 27 gallon bins which actually cost less. They are much stronger. These are the 54 gallons I returned.
I already bought a new 72" Current IC Orbit light, but I am planning on re-using all my old equipment from the 150. I oversized everything on the 150.
And advice/suggestions on the move?
