I've used
@Living Reef Orlando almost exclusively since I moved down, and yes, they have always been fantastic to deal with. And they were again yesterday. I reached out on FB before opening and they called back as soon as they got to the store. They did have a Waterbox 130 in stock, in black which was my preferred color, and It is currently up and running.
My daughter babysat the leaking tank changing out 5gal buckets while I was gone. I got home with the new tank around 1:30 I think. By 2pm I had the fish into a 20gal Brute. We the proceeded with the long breakdown. I finished around 6:15pm and took an hour to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner lol! At 7:15 some neighborhood buddies braved the social distancing restrictions and came over to help me move the 220 out to the back lanai. That took a bit lol! We finished around 7:45.
We brought the stand in first, and got it just far enough away from the wall that if I suck it in I can squeeze behind the tank. My daughter brags that she can fit sideways, little snot. I was fortunate to have the stand perfectly level, proof in my opinion that there truly is a God. Fam too the dogs for a walk while I fiddled with the plumbing and helped me finish up when they got back. By 10 pm, the tank was on the stand, plumbing finished, and sand(new) in.
We debated leaving the fish in the brute overnight or placing them in last night. The fact that it's pathetically easy to catch groggy fish favored moving them over last night lol! I used the rock in the 32gal Brute to create the rockscape and then used the water to begin the fill. Moved on to the 50gal of freshly mixed water I had mixed the day previous for a water change(yay!) And then borrowed 20gal from the garage refugium.
Now it was time to catch the fish. Anthias can freaking jump, fair warning lol! The clowns practically swan into the net. Potter's angel fish stick to nets(another fair warning), and cleaner shrimp want to clean the net rather than jump off. Used the rest of the 20gal Brute water to fill up the sump and get her started. Gyre XF-250 was already in place as the power head.
For the bad news, I couldn't find 2 of the female anthias once I got all of the rock out. Meaning they defied my attempts to inspect said rock for them as I pulled it. My Apex hasn't connected back to fusion yet. I remember there used to be an app that searched your network for Apex base units and would provide the IP. I haven't looked at my router yet to see if I can identify it either.
I need to find a way to hang my lights, I have 2 AP700 hanging kits on the way. My just use my A360 until they arrive. Will need to order a screen, which I'll do as soon as I finish this post, and clean the old equipment with citric acid, another thing I'll order as soon as I'm done with this post lol!
The tank looks fantastic, and honestly less will be more. The 220 was huge and really swallowed my office. I couldn't reach the bottom, and it seemed I still had another 5k to go before I had the right equipment, fish, and corals. The 130 fits in my office perfectly, looks significantly more stylish, and will be easier to fill. Plus, the 2 AP700's should be plenty of light. Though I have considered the Aquatic Life hybrid fixture. We loved our rimless 60 cube(also sitting on the back lanai due to leaking about 3.5 months ago). This that cube but larger. My daughter mentioned multiple times how much she loved that cube when it was set up in Atlanta full of fish and coral, and she is right. It was the pinnacle of my reef keeping. Corals were all growing, fish were all happy and thriving, and the tank looked perfect with the A360 over it.
Sorry for long post, just relieved to finally get through this. And I have to give kudos to my amazing wife. As I was considering just getting out she reminded me that this is why we keep an emergency savings. This was an emergency. She told me to do what I needed to and she was extremely grateful that I brought home the 130 instead of the 220 LRO had on their floor lol!
Oh, on the 220, I'll have to look closer but I could find any cracks leading me to believe it was the bottom front seam that started leaking. So, if anyone wants to reseal a 220, it's free as long as you pick it up lol!
