I got a nice surprise :-)

[Jedi1199]

The weekend before last I found a great deal on a 120G bowfront tank complete with stand, sump, skimmer, heater, sand, and LED light fixture.

This morning I went and picked it up, brought it home and got it placed in its new home. Looking at this tank compared to my 55G I keep thinking that it looks WAYYYY bigger... so I went online and found a volume calculator for a bowfront tank, enter my specs and find out its actually 180 Gallon!!!

This thing is an absolute beast! The tank itself measures 72 x 17 (ends) x 24 (center) and 28 high. From the floor to the top of the tank is 61.5" tall.

Now that I have the tank, I can start working on the aquascapeing. I can't wait to get this thing wet!!

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Score!

 

[Jedi1199]

Score!

Right??!!!

OK, so now I have this huge tank and absolutely NO plan for stocking!!??

I have a ton of space to work with. I need ideas. a couple must have's = 1 HumuHumu trigger, 1 Clown trigger, 2 Black and white Percula or oscilarris clownfish (with supporting anemone). 1 Yellow tail blue tang (Dory), 1 coral banded shrimp, and 1 Mandarin goby.

What else would work with this? I want a tank full of life and movement. Lots of beautiful colors! I would like a flame angelfish if possible.

With all of the experience here I am sure you guys can come up with something that will work!!

 

[Jekyl]

Leak test?

 

[Jedi1199]

Leak test?

It was a running tank till last week. Seller broke it down after I confirmed purchase.

Actually found a couple live snails in the buckets of sand he gave me (I used 1 of them to set up my 55)

 

[Jekyl]

I'd ask around about using that sand. Seen a lot of people with issues from it. Not saying it can't be done, just check into it.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I'd ask around about using that sand. Seen a lot of people with issues from it. Not saying it can't be done, just check into it.

Rinse rinse rinse!

 

[Jedi1199]

I'd ask around about using that sand. Seen a lot of people with issues from it. Not saying it can't be done, just check into it.

Well its already done in the 55. I am at least a few weeks out to getting the new 180 wet. I have already noticed that the sand does displace in what I would consider moderate flow. That alone makes me worry about using it in the 180. The seller had a fish only tank so I doubt he had the kind of flow that a reef will require.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I was just thinking there is no 120 bow. 155 and 180 are more common.
Fill with freshwater and leak test 24-36 hours. Unless the sand was reused within 8 hrs, the bacteria may have gone sour and not worth reuse.

 

[Jedi1199]

I was just thinking there is no 120 bow. 155 and 180 are more common.
Fill with freshwater and leak test 24-36 hours. Unless the sand was reused within 8 hrs, the bacteria may have gone sour and not worth reuse.

Well he listed it as 120.. for the $600 I paid , I am not complaining.

The sand has a bit of a rotten egg smell to it. I won't be using is as is for the large tank without a thorough cleaning. I didn't notice it in the 55 till after I had dumped it into the tank so I decided just fill it and if I need to, do a couple major water changes. Obviously I will be monitoring the water parameters closely. As a side note, the now nearly full 55, has NO off smell to it at all.

 

[Oberst Hajj]

That is a nice score.

 

[Zach B]

Very nice! Following along

 

[Jedi1199]

Update:

The new plumbing parts arrived earlier this week and the last bag of Caribsea live sand arrived today. Tomorrow, I will be getting all of the hardware installed and leak test the system. The dry rock I need wont be here for a couple more weeks so I won't be able to even start the aquascape for a while (ugghhhh).

On a positive note, spent a couple hours this afternoon visiting a LFS that specializes in corals. Owner was super friendly and knowledgeable. He seemed more interested in guiding me in the direction I want to go, than selling me anything that caught my eye. Will definitely be giving him more of my business as I get things moving along.

 

[Jedi1199]

So it's been a while since I had anything to report on this tank. I am happy to say that the tank is wet and about to get its first new inhabitants.

My original intention for this tank was for it to be a large reef, but I decided to take this one in a different direction. I am going to go FOWLR on this one. I think with 2 reefs already (55g and 32g) that a 3rd would be both redundant, and simply too much work for me to properly care for.

Since I made the decision to go FOWLR, my plan has been to have at least a couple triggerfish. I took a trip to the store this morning and low and behold, a BEAUTIFUL Picasso trigger!! He's a little larger than I would have preferred, but I couldn't pass him up.

His tankmates as of now are going to be a Domino Damsel, Talbot's Damsel, and a 6 line Wrasse. I also picked up a gorgeous Firefish Goby that will be going into the 55g reef (I had a diamond goby in there a few weeks ago but he jumped out and died on me unfortunately)