Whiskey's 300 Gallon Glass Cages Dream Reef build

I know I've made mention a time or two recently that I was interested in setting up a dream reef, the kind of reef that I've wanted ever since the early 2000's but I've never been able to do for one reason or another. Something in the neighborhood of 300 gallons that I can have for 20 years and really grow SPS out to full showstopping colony size while still having room here and there for the newest frag (if I keep things trimmed well enough that is).

Well! I wasn't in any real rush because my 135 growing along well, but I was pricing various vendors, checking facebook, and going through large build threads around the size I'm looking at searching for ideas, and I came across a fantastic build by Hydrored which was right up my alley. I got to the end of the thread, and he said that he's moving, and this tank size doesn't work well in the new house, so he's building something better for the house and it's for sale. Turns out he's only 3 hours away by car, and I couldn't be happier!!! I'm picking it up in a few weeks, but in the meantime here are the details:

Glass Cages 300 Gallon, 7 foot long, 33 inches wide, and 25 inches tall. It is all starfire glass (even the eurobrace) and it is trimness on the top. The seams are armored, where they put plastic over the silicone so they can't get damaged. It has a shadow box Ghost overflow which doesn't take up excessive in tank space, and it's drilled for 3 1.5" drains, and 2 3/4" returns. The tank really is a gem, it's been kept in immaculate condition, and it is absolutely Dream Reef material.

The Stand is Extruded Aluminum, with all high end stainless hardware, and the aluminum is strong enough that it only needs one center support over the 7 foot span. The stand is also easy to break down and reassemble, like an erector set. Right now the underside is open, but it comes with little button clips to attach wooden panels. At first I was going to make drawers and doors, which I might still do, but the clips are cool enough that I could make shaker style doors and just pop them on and off. I'm undecided for now. I haven't used a stand like this before, but I'm really intrigued, it has allot of benefit, strong, doesn't corrode, doesn't warp, light,... I'll let you know more once I take it apart and put it back together.

And!! I'm lucky enough to have the sump coming along with it!! Honestly I wouldn't have gone this nice if I wasn't getting it used. This picture is from the Manufacturer's website, and mine has a couple different holes, but it's more or less the same. This Sump is 5 foot, by 2 foot, by 16 inches. That should be plenty! For the first time in a very long time I'm actually considering not doing a refugium. My 25 doesn't have one and I've had less trouble keeping Po4 and NO3 in balance in that tank. I have room in this sump if I need it, but I think I'm going to start without and see.


Finally, there is the coral! There are countless amazing pieces in this collection, but that's the thing I'm most nervous about moving. It's only 3 hours, and I've taken individual corals much, much further, but never this much coral at one time. I have a good plan in place, and I've already setup a holding 100G stock tank to get them right in water when they arrive, but we will have more on that later.

For now I want to close off the first post with pictures of my current reef that will be merged into the new tank, this is the 135 cube that I've been running for the last 2 ish years.
Front:


Sides:




Thanks for following along! And I'll have updates on the coral move plan soon!
Whiskey