Whiskey's 300 Gallon Glass Cages Dream Reef. It only took 22 years!

Wiskey

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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 and this tank is 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 trimless 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 but I'm going to love this thing. This picture is like a stock website photo, 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.
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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:
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Sides:
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Thanks for following along! I'll have more information about the coral move plan coming soon.

Whiskey
 

Hydrored

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It was nice to meet you, I’m glad to see our tank will make it to fellow Reef2reef member who we know will enjoy it and take care of all the coral we have selected over the past year. Im glad my once dream tank will now be your dream to follow through with.
 
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Wiskey

Wiskey

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It was nice to meet you, I’m glad to see our tank will make it to fellow Reef2reef member who we know will enjoy it and take care of all the coral we have selected over the past year. Im glad my once dream tank will now be your dream to follow through with.
It was wonderful meeting you as well! I feel very lucky to get this tank, and if you are ever up in Oklahoma you have to stop by and visit it! Along with coming by for all kinds of frags once your new system is running of course.

Whiskey
 
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Wiskey

Wiskey

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Now it's time to talk about the coral moving plan. This is something I could really use input on, I think we have a good plan, but I'm open to suggestions to help keep coral safe for sure.

There will be a 3-4 hour drive.

Most of the corals are extra large frag, to small colony size, and they are attached to little cups, which peg into the main rock structure. Those cups don't seem to be as small as a frag plug, more like a small branch with a couple pieces glued to it.

Right now the plan is to drain the entire tank into a large 300 gallon stock tank, and put the rock and corals in that tank.
Then we will load and secure the Tank, Stand, and all hardware into the Uhaul with the corals safe in the stock tank.
The next step is to separate the coral from the rock, and secure it for transport.

Part of me wants to try and peg it into Egg Crate in the bottom of a Rubbermaid, but I fear the coral will move around and touch.
Another part of me wants to bag everything, but I'm concerned with how long that might take with the other coral that's already packed in stagnant bags (Before the truck gets moving that is).
I would love to use coolers, but the ones that hold water seem to be over $100 and I know I'll need at least a few of them. If I bagged I could use cheaper ones.
What have you done to move a large amount of corals a short distance like this?

Then the last step is that I plan to use those little warmers to keep the temp up in the bins. I will put them inside a bag for extra saftey.

As far as what happens when I get home, that I think I have a good plan for. I setup this 100 Gallon Stock Tank, and tied it off my existing 135 system in the Fish room. This allows me to condition another 100 gallons of water for the tank move, plus as soon as the corals get home they can go directly into warm stable water. This can be setup in 2 levels to hold everything, plus I have tons of light for it if it turns out that I have a delay in tank setup and need to keep them happy for a while.
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I'd love to hear any tips you might have!
Whiskey
 
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Wiskey

Wiskey

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My first shipment for this project arrived!!! Man fittings for 1 1/2 inch plumbing are a fortune! Hydrored did a fantastic job with the current tank's plumbing being all grey and blue. I need to extend the plumbing so that the sump will be in my Filtration room. I can actually do this by disconnecting the unions and putting a section of pipe between them so I have the blue pipe in this pile, and the Unions, but I just couldn't pay the price for the BRS Grey fittings. Parts of it might need to be Blue and White, I haven't decided. I need 6 45 degree fittings just for starters, and I can't pay $12 each for them. That hurts, they are $2 for the white ones at Lowes.

Other things! Salt! Need lots of that, I have 4, 160 gallon boxes total. Better to have more than you need. I currently use a 400W Finnex titanium heater and a 300W Backup on my Apex. I hear that the Apex power bar can wear out relays if you put heaters on them, so I got the dual temp probe, dual relay, wifi connected InkBird controller, and I have a 600W Titanium heater on it. I will keep the 400W Finnex, and the 300W on the Apex. The goal is that the Apex one never turns on. Hopefully with the thicker glass, and the Acrylic sump with lids this tank actually retains heat a little better than my current one. We will see. Also! A couple extra 1 1/2 bulkheads. The plumbing design on the tank is really good so we can take most of it apart without cutting, but bulkhead leaks happen, and it's good to have spares.
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Whiskey
 
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Wiskey

Wiskey

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In other news, the temporary setup progress continues. Hydrored came up with a fantastic idea, that is coming and getting the bulk, if not all the coral early. This way I get to transport the coral in a heated car, which is going to be much easier to ensure they are safe and happy. We are going to try and take advantage of the holidays and do that in the next few days if the weather cooperates, so I'm progressing on the Stock Tank. These are backup LED lights I have, I bought them with a tank setup and upgraded, but they are perfect for this. They may not have the best color, but they put out a huge amount of power, and the center 3-4 feet of this stock tank has 350 PAR at the center of the water, around 150 at the outside wings lowest down spot. I put some LR in there from my frag tank, and of course it's covered in leather. Anyone want some leather? Next step is making racks. That temporary light bar is bolted to the stock tank BTW, it won't slip off.
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Whiskey
 

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I think by getting the corals first and out of the way is an excellent plan. That way you won’t be stressed out about the corals and can take your time on the tank move.
Wiskey, this is Vince by the way.
 

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Everything’s coming together, good job on the build! I’d say save the money on pvc and take the savings to spend on coral.
I have noticed though that the thicker the plastic the better heat retention it has. I’ve found myself running acrylic and sch 80 PVC holds in heat like crazy. My 400g system is heated by a 50w heater, tank stable 77.1deg. As long as you have lids in the sump, you’d be surprised by the retention.
The only thing to watch out for is if your dosing kalk. You’ll find out quickly that you want to evaporate, but your heat will fall dramatically. Unfortunately, nothings perfect.
 
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