Butterfly and trigger 150 gallon reef

Boreas_SA

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Thought I'd start build thread to get some advice. Currently I have a 3'x2'x2' tank that has served me well for almost 4 years now. It is becoming a bit overcrowded with 39 fish and counting. The fish seem happy, but we are moving house in a month or so, so it is a golden opportunity to give them some more space since I have to move the tank anyway. The long term plan at the new house is to convert the existing bar area into a big reef in about 3 years (moving house is expensive, so no big tank right away). The interim plan, and subject of this thread, is a 150 gallon tank that will be set up in the interim until the bar area can be converted to a bigger tank.

The tank in question is an old Cleair aquarium (rebranded here as Aquaria), 5'x20'x28' lxwxh. The reason for this particular tank is firstly it is not costing me an arm and a leg (would rather spend money on the eventual big tank), and secondly, it is high enough to fit my current scaping into. The current scaping is all glued together and glued to an acrylic base and background, so hoping to transfer it just like that to the new tank.

So far I've converted the stock single overflow pipe to a Bean Animal, and built an overflow box. Some pics and a video of the current tank and its scaping in the next post, as well as of the new tank. Any suggestions and comments welcome.
 
Current tank when it started in 2019:
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Current tank now:

 
First question, does anyone see any issues if I convert these braces to full euro bracing? I.e. new longer braces running left to right on tank, the front to back braces moved further apart and the middle one taken out?

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Tank is running. Redid the bracing, as well as the overflow box as per original post, so tank runs quietly and is easy to work in. Also repainted the tank with a matt black finish. Been running a month or so now:

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IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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