Tony Vargas 300-Gallon Build

[Tony Vargas]

When I first moved to Florida my initial intention was to assemble a 500-gallon reef system for our new house, that’s right go larger than the previous tank. So, during the construction phase of my new custom 500-gallon tank I installed a 90-gallon system temporarily to house some of the live stock I bought with me from New York.


The new 500 was built of Diamante glass for HD like clarity and measured 96â€Lx36â€Wx37â€H. Shortly after its delivery I knew I did not want this beast because of its size. Toying around with the 90 I realized that the height of the 90 was comfortable for me at 25½ inches and anything higher than 27 inches would make life difficult. I also had to take into consideration that I would not have access from the rear of the tank. I knew that my arms would not reach the bottom of the tank at a height of 37 inches. Also it would make it very inconvenient when placing and moving rock and corals. If I wanted to place something diagonal toward the back I was going to have major issues accomplishing that task.


This was my first mistake – I knew that I would have to get rid of the tank. It took me several years to realize what tank would meet my needs best.

I knew right here it was to tall.

To the right regular glass.

 

[Beach Bum]

This is going to be a good build will be following here

 

[Aquaph8]

Hi Tony, really happy to see your build thread here. Im along for the ride and looking forward to lots of updates.

 

[Mike&Terry]

WOW, Tony, That is a MONSTER tank, LOL.

It's great to see you start a build thread here and we're looking forward to following your updates!

-M & T.

 

[Scoly]

This should be good, tagging along

 

[nivram]

Where's the pics of the new tank?

 

[Tony Vargas]

Where's the pics of the new tank?

Hang in there I will get to it soon. :bigsmile:

 

[Mrfresh]

I agree my 300 is only 24 inces tall and I'm 6feet tall
But 30 inches deep. I love the depth

 

[Tony Vargas]

A few years passed and I came to discover at a MACNA an awesome series of tanks built by Marineland. They had put together a Deep Dimension (DD) series of tanks and the one that interest me most was the 300-gallon DD. A couple of things that intrigued me from the start were the dimensions and the fact that they are made of Starphire Glass. With a depth of 36 inches, aquascaping possibilities were endless and at 27 inches of height it made it very easy to work with. A Marineland 300-gallon DD tank measures 72”Lx36”Wx27”H framed on the top and bottom with black plastic moldings, a plus for the Spouse Factor. Same as photo minus stand and canopy.

 

[Beach Bum]

Like the chose there

 

[glamisracers]

following love the dimensions... what did you do with the 500? for sale?

 

[Tony Vargas]

following love the dimensions... what did you do with the 500? for sale?

I sold the 500, bare in mind, the tank was brand new never used.

 

[ritter6788]

Subscribed! Can't wait to see this come together.

 

[reefish123]

Sweet Tony! Please keep us updated with you build... Glad to see you here. ...:yo:

 

[Brad Syphus]

I like it. I like it alot.

 

[3Twinklets]

Can't wait to see this come together!

 

[AsphaltPays]

Following Along

Sent Via the R2R Forum APP

 

[Tony Vargas]

I ordered the tank from Riley’s Reef in Jupiter, Florida and paid them a visit once they had the tank at the store. After a thorough inspection of the tank I had discovered that the bottom molding was warped from sitting in the blistering heat for too long. They offered to replace the molding, and I said I would think about it. But, by the next day I had decided against it for a few reasons. How long would it take to get the replacement molding, what if something goes wrong during the repair and what if the tank was compromised during the repair but it wasn’t till the system was operational for a few months before something went wrong. Not worth the risk, better off with a new replacement.

Always inspect!!!

 

[Shadow1]

Great choice for a tank you will not regret it except it may wind up being too small. Our 300DD just hit its one year anniversary and has bee a real workable size. Way too many fish and SPS dominate. do you hae an idea of what you will stock it with yet?

 

[Tony Vargas]

Great choice for a tank you will not regret it except it may wind up being too small. Our 300DD just hit its one year anniversary and has bee a real workable size. Way too many fish and SPS dominate. do you hae an idea of what you will stock it with yet?

Yes, stocking it will be similar to yours, but I am leaving a lot of open space.