New 160 gallon cylinder build

[RDHDDRAGON]

I have waited for awhile to start this thread....I know how impatient reefers can get for updates!
Well....You will still have to wait for livestock....But this is a good start.

I bought this new to me 160g acrylic cylinder at our groups last frag show. Bought it for a steal from a local maintenance company that had removed it from a children's hospital after only 1 year of use.

The tank itself is 4ft tall and 32" across with a 8"x 8" center overflow. With the stand and canopy it tops out at almost 8ft tall.

I know lots of people hate cylinder tanks, but i have always wanted one, and to run across one of this size was a once in a lifetime chance!

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

First thing we did was get to buffing. It had definitely seen some bad cleaning routines and was scratched up pretty good. My husband graciously buffed it for me.

Much better! Next, cover up that ugly overflow box.

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

We knew we couldn't stack rocks 4ft high, so decided to build a custom rock wall insert w/shelves. Found a good deal on some shelf rock locally.

First we made egg crate squares big enough to fit around the overflow:

Then drilled and ziptied the shelf rocks to the egg crate structures:

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

Next step was black waterfall pond foam from home depot. Covered up all the egg crate. *** Note: As the foam dries, it will squeeze your squares up tight, we almost didn't get them on. Next i took a pair of needle nose pliers and pulled out random patches so it would resemble rocks instead of black bubbles.

We had to do it in 4 sections because of the weight , and the height of the tank. There was no way we could install it all as one giant piece.
Stack test:

 

[ddrueckh]

That is awesome. How did you get the black foam to have the purple color?

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Oooh this is going to be a cool tank!

 

[melypr1985]

That's pretty cool! What kind of fish and corals are you going to keep in here?

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

Thanks!! They look purple because of the leds on all my other tanks lol, It is going to be softies and seahorses!

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

Instead of using sand to cover the foam, and after tons of research on DIY foam builds, we decided to use crushed up live rock instead.

Husband got some aggression out smashing up the rock lol:

Then we used bondo fiberglass resin to seal the foam, and adhere the smashed live rock:

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

So earlier, remember i said the foam squished the egg crate squares together? Yeah it was tough to get them on the overflow box!

everbody in!

Even after a week sitting outside, they still stunk like resin.... So i put a box fan on for a couple more days to air it out a bit.

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

Finally the first water test to see if they float. I don't know if it was their weight, or how tight they fit, but thankfully the didn't float!

my 8yr old loves to help lol

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

Then comes Diatom city!

And now how about a full on algae bloom??

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

After a week of running the UV Sterilizer, it all cleared up. All my gorgonians were sure loving that algae bloom though!

Here it is today, almost 3 months after buying it. Slowly adding softies and gorgs for my future inhabitants, sea horses! There are damsels living in the sump to keep an active bioload and several snails in the tank too.

Hopefully we will get the seahorses in there in another month or so!

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

We are currently in the process of rehabbing the canopy...It opened from the top and with how tall it is, that only gave us about 4" of room. I screwed the top down, and cut doors out of the front of it.

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

Just need to finish one more door!

 

[melypr1985]

Wow! Seahorses were exactly what I was thinking for a tank like this. Perfect and your doing so much DIY. I'll be tagging along on this one to see the ponies go in. Really great job!

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

Thanks!! I can't wait to see them in there. Due to the curve of the cylinder the magnification of all the contents is amazing, almost double size. They are going to look like giants!

 

[RDHDDRAGON]

I would like if anyone has suggestions on cleaning the inside?? As you can see there is a clean ring about half way down, as long as my arm is lol. I bought an acrylic magfloat but the tank is so thick it can't get off the harder growth. I have tried using paper towels, white tshirts, glass cloths all on a larger magfloat to no avail. They will only take off the fresh growth. Anything on a stick is almost impossible, since i only have about 1ft of clearance from the top to my ceiling. The green dish scrubbies scratch acrylic

Any suggestions??

 

[Salty1962]

Really cool tank. Tunze makes an algae scrapper for acrylic that will work with your thickness. I use them and love them, very strong but won't scratch your tank.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Looking good!