AZINDY's 150 gallon long term build

[AZINDY]

Well my wife and I set up a nano tank last year and its fully stock and doing well. We decided to build a small tank first and move up from there. Now its time for me to start building the tank I have wanted since I was a little kid.

I had planned on buying a tank and building another stand similar to the one I built for the nano tank. I have been watching CL for a few months waiting for a good deal to pop up. Well last week I found a great deal (I think, LOL) on a 150 gallon tank and stand. Whiskey (thanks again for helping me make sure this was a good tank) and I went to look at a 150 gallon tank that a guy was willing to sell me for $180. The stand it was sitting on was nice it just needed refinished and the guy said he would sell me the tank and stand for $260 so I took it. The tank is 4ft long, 2ft deep, and 2.5ft tall, it still needs cleaned and I plan to refinish the stand and make a canopy for it. Over the next year or so I will be building the sump and gathering the rest of the equipment we need to keep our tank up and running smoothly. I'm taking my time building this tank, since we already have the small tank the big one will be set up the way I want without compromise.

Well here are a few pics of my new tank:

[crvz]

Looks like a great project. What's the stocking plan? That usually drives the majority of hardware decisions, so it'd be nice to know what you've got in mind.

[AZINDY]

I am not to sure about what kind of fish I'll put in the tank yet. I mainly wanted a larger tank to hold more coral, cause the coral is the main reason I wanted a SW tank.

I plan to have mainly softies, LPS, rics, mushrooms, and zoo's in this tank.

I figured I would use two 250MHs to light the tank, and try to make the sump as large as possible while leaving enough room in the stand to maintain everything. I am still researching what size return pump I will need, and which protein skimmer I would like to run. I am also think about making supports to keep the live rock suspended about 3-6 inches above the sand bed.

[aquawolf]

Best of luck with your new project. It looks like it is going to be a lot of fun for the two of you to do together.

[AZINDY]

Thanks!!

Its kinda funny hearing you say that since building and maintaining our SW tank has became our "family thing" to do. Our son loves "helping" with the tanks, and its about the only thing that keeps him focused for a decent amount of time. So on the weekend we all go to the LFS and what not to get things for the tanks.

[Loverotties]

Good luck with the reef!

[aquawolf]

It did not start out that way for our family, but eventually my wife got into it and now it is a family affair for us as well. I think it makes the entire hobby experience more enjoyable when the ones you love share the enthusiasm. I actually bought my wife a "Reefer Chick" t-shirt and she loves it.

[AZINDY]

Your right it has made the hobby more enjoyable with the whole family involved, plus it made it easier to talk the wife into spending money on it too!!!

[Doug1]

looks Good, i like the stand, it goes well with the floors, how easy is it going to be to get a decent sump in there?
If you can build a matching canopy to house the lights it will look sweet

[AZINDY]

The doors on the front of the stand open fairly wide, plus the back of the stand is open. So I think I can fit a decent sized sump inside the stand, but only time and some measuring will tell. LOL

I would like to try and build the canopy to match the stand. But I am trying to think of a few different designs also, just incase I can not figure out a way to match the curved corners on the stand.

[AZINDY]

Well I have been cleaning the glass on the tank for the last few weeks (as time permits) and its starting to look better. And today I picked up a tank (fairly cheap) to make into a sump. The sump tank is 36in by 17in by 18in, and it fits inside the stand with ease and room to spare.

[Fielding12]

Beautiful stand. Our 20 yr old son (with help from a very patient adult neighbor-friend) is building a stand for our 150 gallon tank. He used blonde wood which he'll stain medium brown. Our tank, like yours, has the black column.

I've got my fingers crossed that the stand will hold the 150 gallon tank when full.