There she blows....New 180 acrylic tank with stand

[Wharf]

So here is my new 180 gallon Clear-for-life Uniquarium I bought for over $1500 off retail at my LFS because the customer who initially had it ordered flaked out I guess (Thank you flaky guy). It has two wet-to-dry filters with overflows on both ends of the tank which flow into prefilter/overflow chambers approximately a 12" x 4" x 23" on each end. Then there is a 4"x4"x23" space after the pre-filter chamber for a heater both sides attached by a 14" length chamber with a drip tray with around a 14x4x20" capacity of bio balls on each side (so ~18.5 liters on each side if my Math is right 1120 cubic inches to Liters). The middle return chamber appears to be around 13 inches with 2 x RIO 2100's (with approximately 1.5 feet of head).

I had the pine stand made and went with the natural pine stain on the stand with some clear coat. I have always gone black with stand, equipment, and background so I wanted to try something different.

So I am thinking fine while sand, assorted size river rock (More large pieces but very conservative in total volume), and some drift wood (which will be tricky to look right because of the the top of the aquarium).

Now lighting is another thing. I really like my finnex Vivd+ 48inch on my 90 gallon Tropheus Kasanga RR colony in my room...but I don't think 2 x 36 will sit right on the tank with the little feet that come with the light fixture >< . So if anyone has any decent suggestions for lighting on a 6 foot acrylic for fish (I do have a 5lb CO2 bottle and really nice regulator setup, but I don't want to scrape algae every day on a planted acrylic tank truly...so I'm not going planted)

Thanks for reading. Here goes the obsession...once again.

 

[tlindsey]

Congrats nice pickup

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Very nice!

One recommendation, if you want the tank to be silent, like if it’s in a living room, then get rid of the RIO pumps and put some Jebao DCP pumps in instead. I set my tank up with RIO 20HF’s (as far as I can tell the 20HF and the 2100 are virtually the same pump) at first but they ended up being so noisy that I could hear them from other rooms in my house. I would do it before you start it up because it will be really hard to get back there after the tank is up and running. If the tank is somewhere where noise is no issue, then keep the RIO’s. They are good pumps. I still use mine to pump water out of my tank for a water change. It can empty my 220 in about 7 minutes.

 

[Wharf]

Very nice!

One recommendation, if you want the tank to be silent, like if it’s in a living room, then get rid of the RIO pumps and put some Jebao DCP pumps in instead. I set my tank up with RIO 20HF’s (as far as I can tell the 20HF and the 2100 are virtually the same pump) at first but they ended up being so noisy that I could hear them from other rooms in my house. I would do it before you start it up because it will be really hard to get back there after the tank is up and running. If the tank is somewhere where noise is no issue, then keep the RIO’s. They are good pumps. I still use mine to pump water out of my tank for a water change. It can empty my 220 in about 7 minutes.

I am a big fan of Sicce Syncra pumps. I know the RIO is around 692gph, the Sicce 3.0 is 568 gph, and the 2.0 is 568gph. I am thinnking I should go with 3.0's. These are really quiet pumps, but a little pricey

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

I am a big fan of Sicce Syncra pumps. I know the RIO is around 692gph, the Sicce 3.0 is 568 gph, and the 2.0 is 568gph. I am thinnking I should go with 3.0's. These are really quiet pumps, but a little pricey

I only recommend the Jebao DCP pumps because I have firsthand experience with them. I can tell you that standing right next to my tank, I can’t hear a single sound (I run a full siphon herbie setup). They also move a lot of water, have very good adjustability, use quite low wattage, and are quite economical. I think the DCP 8000’s run around $100 each. They use a controller so you can turn them down to your desired flow. I run mine at a total of 1600gph, with about 4ft head height and they are set on about 60%. You can turn them down as low as 30% though.

I highly recommend them if they will fit, but I am biased because they are the pumps I use.

 

[knobhill]

Do you want to go community tank or a single wet pet?

 

[Wharf]

Do you want to go community tank or a single wet pet?

I will either do SA or CA cichlid tank with a little variety or an african setup for a Petrochromis colony or a larger hap setup....or a colony of Mpimbwe or Moba C. Gibberosa...

I have owned a few different Tropheus colonies, mbuna tanks, and a Peacock/hap tank so I might do American cichlids instead.

 

[knobhill]

My 2 cents:
Go African cichlids for this tank. The SA cichlids get bigger and the footprint of that tank will make them cramped.

From the aesthetic aspect—I love the stand and blue background. IMO, driftwood doesn’t look good in a blue back tank. Rock structures—which Africans love—look great against a blue background.

The white sand may look washed out in your tank. I recently switched out my white sand in a 125g corner tank with a blue back with black sand. I’d say experiment before you commit to a substrate.

As for lighting, Beamswork makes pretty good led lights for a good price. They have 6’ fixtures that would span the length of your tank.

Also, Fish Tank Travis is spot on with those Jebo dct pumps. They are super quiet and being able to Control the speed is nice. You may have a tough time getting them in your sump. The 125g corner tank I have is a unaquarium and needed a little trim on the top to bring the pump in.

Congrats on your new tank, I’m excited to see your build progress.

 

[Fat Homer]

Thats one clean looking tank!!!

 

[Wharf]

My 2 cents:
Go African cichlids for this tank. The SA cichlids get bigger and the footprint of that tank will make them cramped.

From the aesthetic aspect—I love the stand and blue background. IMO, driftwood doesn’t look good in a blue back tank. Rock structures—which Africans love—look great against a blue background.

The white sand may look washed out in your tank. I recently switched out my white sand in a 125g corner tank with a blue back with black sand. I’d say experiment before you commit to a substrate.

As for lighting, Beamswork makes pretty good led lights for a good price. They have 6’ fixtures that would span the length of your tank.

Also, Fish Tank Travis is spot on with those Jebo dct pumps. They are super quiet and being able to Control the speed is nice. You may have a tough time getting them in your sump. The 125g corner tank I have is a unaquarium and needed a little trim on the top to bring the pump in.

Congrats on your new tank, I’m excited to see your build progress.

OH, with the 4inches off the back of the tank for the wet-to-dry it still has 72"x18.5" foot print. This is too small for like a GT, Severam, chocolate, and silver dollars/pictus. I have had Kessils, and Beamsworks on my various mixed coral reefs I've kept...they are decent lights and a 6' fixture would be nice. I mean I am a little burnt on Africans. I mean I could get another WC Tropheus colony maybe a Murago or another sp. Black, but I wanted a mix of color and fish..and had a Peacock/Hap tank for 6 or so years so pretty bored of those at the moment. Maybe Bulu Point Petros or a colony of Mpimbwe C. Gibberosa...but like I said kind of wanted some variation.