My piece of the Reef - the new build continues!

Forest fire digi I just traded for, pics dont do it justice. Colors are awesome!

 

Very nice Mike! It looks very healthy.☺

 

Thanks VInny, I am going to get the other side of the tank cleaned today, once my brother in law gets here - cant lift this beast by myself and then I am going to get some pics of the new tank. I am really surprised how nice the glass is. If was spanked with coraline. Only issue I see is one side has about a foot long dead monti on it. concerned about scraping that off and not scratching it. The sides were NEVER cleaned as it was an in wall tank. using 100% white vinegar and let it soak an hour before I start scraping.

 

Almost done with the cleaning

 

So not the best picture. Still have some cleaning to do, but no scratches. The white on the trim is caulk, but that is all coming off with a razor blade and magic eraser. There are no dings, chips scratches on the front or sides!

 

Before 5 gallons of white vinegar and a shop vac!

 

So tank is just about cleaned up. I am going to paint the back and bottom a deep ocean blue - current tank is black but looking to change it up. I am definitely going to go bare bottom. I have been looking at a lot of stands. Def going to do a custom stand. Going to use oak. There are a few features I am looking to have as far as aesthetics as I really want this to be a piece of furniture. More to come on this.

Little more about the tank, turns out I was wrong about it being 1/2", it is actually 3/4" which is why it was so darn heavy! The location it is going is same as my DT now. There is a beam that runs directly under the length of the tank so its a perfect spot.

The tank has a coast to coast overflow, I am going to pick up 2 - sea swirls for my returns. I had recently picked up 2 more MP40wes NIB (deal to good to walk away from) so that will give me 4 MP40's on the tank. I want low and high flow especially going bare bottom.

Lighting I am going to go LED / T5 Combo. I ordered some 8020 that I am going to make a nice rack system going. More to come on this.

It came with over 300 pounds of beautiful rock, nice shelfs - one is 18" round, all kinds of almost 2' long tonga pieces and some other really nice rock. I am going to start cleaning it up and get the 2 55 gallon drums going to cure it. I want more of a minimalist look to the upgrade. Enough branches and shelfs for the coral. but really want some open spaces to enjoy the fish this time. My 100 is just slammed with rock and coral

 

Oh yeah - also picked up a purple stylo colony today that is the size of a football!

 

Looking good!!Very excited for you. That saw can help you know.☺

 

Thanks Vinny. Unfortunately I did not need the saw for the stylo, I now have 5 mini colonies that had broken off in transportation. However I glued to some ruble rock to let them start growing and encrusting and the mother colony is still a solid 8 x 8