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KnightMetro · 09/14/2018, 09:05 AM

So the story begins. Well, it actually begins a decade ago but let's not get into that just yet.

After years in the hobby, with wavering dedication, I come upon the beginning of my first real mature reef build. My family just purchased our first home we intend to stay in for a while, so naturally, I am ignoring all the needed projects and jumping right into a built in reef tank.

I spent a lot of time staring at random walls, and gutting the basement, to finally settle on a wall in our kitchen that has no real purpose. It had a granite desk built in which holds no value to us, so out it goes.

The trick is that below this will be the utility and fish tank equipment room. It also sits against a load bearing wall and spans over 5 beams. So, I am confident of the home taking the weight with no issues.

Originally, I was eyeing a SCA 150g starfire on sale for $895. As many suggest, just get the tank you want up front or you will live to regret the foundation of everything else. That being said, I was seduced into buying a 120g off Craigslist right afterwards for $100.

I'm a whore for a good deal. That lasted about 2 days though.I recently moved back to ATL but was on a different side of the city and wanted to check out the LFS on my side of the world. I was a bit spoiled living a couple blocks from Pure Reef up in Alpharetta.

We went from store to store until I walked into one of the largest known in the area called Premier Aquatics. Great selection, great prices....and then they stole $900 bucks from me. What I mean by that is I stumble upon a fully established Red Sea 625XL. I stared at this thing for like 15 minutes and realized the real difference between a 4 foot tank and what that extra foot really gives you. I then spent the next 48 hours convincing my wife why the $100 tank in the back of my SUV wasn't going to cut it.

So, after a few e-mails to Steve over at SCA, I found myself ordering a custom tank.

It is a custom Starfire 5' tank drilled for two return and the Reef Synergy Shadow overflow. The eurbrace has been raised to be flush with the top and the overflow will mount almost flush to create a waterline of only about 1.7" below the top of the tank. I went ahead and added some depth as well because why not. They didn't even charge for the extra depth. If anyone is interested in the price, message me. Going custom was very minimal.

I'll stop here, because it's lunch time and I'm fat.

More to come.

09/14/2018, 09:05 AM	#1
KnightMetro Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 132	5' of questionable decisions. So the story begins. Well, it actually begins a decade ago but let's not get into that just yet. After years in the hobby, with wavering dedication, I come upon the beginning of my first real mature reef build. My family just purchased our first home we intend to stay in for a while, so naturally, I am ignoring all the needed projects and jumping right into a built in reef tank. I spent a lot of time staring at random walls, and gutting the basement, to finally settle on a wall in our kitchen that has no real purpose. It had a granite desk built in which holds no value to us, so out it goes. The trick is that below this will be the utility and fish tank equipment room. It also sits against a load bearing wall and spans over 5 beams. So, I am confident of the home taking the weight with no issues. Originally, I was eyeing a SCA 150g starfire on sale for $895. As many suggest, just get the tank you want up front or you will live to regret the foundation of everything else. That being said, I was seduced into buying a 120g off Craigslist right afterwards for $100. I'm a whore for a good deal. That lasted about 2 days though.I recently moved back to ATL but was on a different side of the city and wanted to check out the LFS on my side of the world. I was a bit spoiled living a couple blocks from Pure Reef up in Alpharetta. We went from store to store until I walked into one of the largest known in the area called Premier Aquatics. Great selection, great prices....and then they stole $900 bucks from me. What I mean by that is I stumble upon a fully established Red Sea 625XL. I stared at this thing for like 15 minutes and realized the real difference between a 4 foot tank and what that extra foot really gives you. I then spent the next 48 hours convincing my wife why the $100 tank in the back of my SUV wasn't going to cut it. So, after a few e-mails to Steve over at SCA, I found myself ordering a custom tank. It is a custom Starfire 5' tank drilled for two return and the Reef Synergy Shadow overflow. The eurbrace has been raised to be flush with the top and the overflow will mount almost flush to create a waterline of only about 1.7" below the top of the tank. I went ahead and added some depth as well because why not. They didn't even charge for the extra depth. If anyone is interested in the price, message me. Going custom was very minimal. I'll stop here, because it's lunch time and I'm fat. More to come.