A New Reef Is Born! Matthew & Amanda's 3-sided "see-through" 2-room reef

Progress

Hope you all had a happy holidays. Here is our update- as you can see we're making progress...they tell us slow and steady wins the "race" in this hobby...so we feel like we should be in good shape, lol.

Here is our AGA/Aqueon MegaFlow M2 wet/dry filter/sump after unpacking. Happy to report that it arrived safe and sound and passed the fill test with flying colors. Our first impressions are positive- seems to be built better than the Marineland sump was...the reviews from others were really good but the real test will be once we put it to use. Like the three-compartment design and the bubble sponge is a nice touch...we're planing on using the bio-balls during start-up/maturation and then removing them down the line once our system has matured.

 

Our "early" x-mas present! The LFS called with the good news on 12/23 that the tank had finally arrived. They leak tested it for us and delivered it to our home for free as a thank you for our patience with the delay...which was a nice touch since it really wasn't their fault that Perfecto was backordered. So here it is placed in its home. This is taken from our dining room table, the cleared out breakfast nook (which is now storing tools/supplies) is on the right, and our great room is in the background.

 

looking good, will you be using the New Year holidays to get it set up?
holiday times are ideal for working on fish tanks IMO

Steve

 

We also completed the plumbing installation for our Coralife Pure-Flo II RO/DI system (3-stage, 100gpd).

Here is the stand/tank/canopy setup, albeit empty.

 

Looks great! Congrats on the new setup. Karma for you.

 

After washing, here is our substrate added to the tank- its fine grain (1.2-1.7mm) aragonite we had imported from American Samoa. It reminded us of the beaches in Bermuda...it has a similar pink tint to it when the light hits it.

Also, here are some of the supplies we used as plumbing got underway.

 

Finally, some progress pics on the plumbing...this being our very first foray into marine...we'll admit this was a more costly, tricky and time-consuming facet of our project than we anticipated.

We definitely welcome any feedback/guidance/suggestions...and we look forward to bringing the community more updates as our project gets a little more exciting.

Amanda & Matthew

 

Just as an FYI, in the last picture with the overflow and return lines...the area on that side of the tank will be boxed off and hidden from view later on in the project...allowing for clear unobstructed views of the tank from 3 of the 4 sides and between the two rooms.

 

Great design and build. I wish I had a place to set up a tank so it could be viewed like yours. Keep posting pics we love them.

 

Thanks Yamaha! Yes, the half-wall was just there...not doing anything...and the choices were narrowed down to turning in into an countertop/island...knocking it out alltogether...or placing an aquarium there. I think we made a good choice!

And yes, Steve, will certainly be taking advantage of the holiday time off to continue working on the project. It's a great time to work on it because you can just relax and take your time with it.