I had the opportunity to obtain a briefly used 180 Gallon Reef Ready tank with built stand from a friend. I will be putting together a series of this build. First of all, if you are looking to obtain a tank of this size, please be sure to have enough muscle help- the tank weights 330b dry. I actually had to go on craigslist to find a couple big boys from a moving company to help me move this, especially to bring it down the stairs! The tank is measured 6′ X 2′ X 2′ so you should also make sure whatever room you want to put it into will either be a straight shot or have enough room for turning, not to mention taking doors out, etc.
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| Painting back of tank, to preserve paint, I used masking tape to mask out the overflow sections |
I purchased a 75 gallon tank to use as sump ( you can see in the photo below). So the estimated total water volume would be around 230 gallon. The first thing I had to do is to paint the back of the tank. Although painting is unnecessary, I find it less distracting to have the back of tank be in a darker, solid color than seeing the wall and the wires hanging behind. After the tank is painted, I left it on the spot to dry for 3 days.
In the meanwhile, I also install the bulkhead for the overflow onto the tank while it’s on its side. Because drying to install the bulk head upside down when the tank is already on the stand will be a much tougher job.
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| See the 75 Gallon sits perfectly under the 180 Gallon stand. |