Prairie Reef Project 2: 300gallon sps, nem tank build.
PRP 1 was a 75 gallon learner tank. Mistakes were made, maintenance was a pain, weed corals were a pain, but all of those lessons are starting this project with a sump up design focused on ease of maintenance.
PRP 1 was a 75 gallon learner tank. Mistakes were made, maintenance was a pain, weed corals were a pain, but all of those lessons are starting this project with a sump up design focused on ease of maintenance.
The dream...
Posted 01/29/2019 at 10:58 AM by Prairie Reef
Prairie Reef Project 1 was a learner, Frankentank of mismatched second hand parts, plumbing ignorance, and maintenance headaches. In short all the first timer mistakes including letting GSP into my tank and having to use a wet/dry vac and hoses draped all over the house to do water changes. At 75 gallons it was a compromise tank - too large to be simple, too small for a lot of livestock and rock work. It was beautiful, loved it, but I out grew it and in 2014 took it down - rehomed my beloved pets to trusted members of the reef community and sold all the equipment.
For 4 years the itch laid dormant. I started a new business, raised my now 15 and 16 year old boys, and took up cycling.
September 2018 I went to the Henry Dorly Zoo aquarium and got bit by the bug again. The names of all the coral and fish flashed back into my mind. For Christmas I asked for a small nano tank set up... that didn’t happen. A blessing in disguise.
On date night with my wife one evening she asked why I wanted a reef tank and I explained it. I talked about wanting my forever tank. The fish I wanted and why PRP 1 came down. I talked about maybe putting it in the basement for ease of maintenance and a solid floor and she said she didn’t like that idea because no one would see it. I talked about maintenance woe’s and and floor needs and she suggested the fireplace room (slab on grade, shares a wall with the bathroom). I talked about hating hoses and buckets for water changes and she suggested using the bathroom closet for a mix room.
It suddenly was real. For two weeks I’ve been dreaming the design in to reality and grateful to be married to someone that appreciates this hobby and is so supportive.
Here are the sketches for PRP300 a custom 84x30x30 dream tank. I’m taking my time with this, building from the sump up, dedicating two 20amp circuits to it and building it right this time.
For 4 years the itch laid dormant. I started a new business, raised my now 15 and 16 year old boys, and took up cycling.
September 2018 I went to the Henry Dorly Zoo aquarium and got bit by the bug again. The names of all the coral and fish flashed back into my mind. For Christmas I asked for a small nano tank set up... that didn’t happen. A blessing in disguise.
On date night with my wife one evening she asked why I wanted a reef tank and I explained it. I talked about wanting my forever tank. The fish I wanted and why PRP 1 came down. I talked about maybe putting it in the basement for ease of maintenance and a solid floor and she said she didn’t like that idea because no one would see it. I talked about maintenance woe’s and and floor needs and she suggested the fireplace room (slab on grade, shares a wall with the bathroom). I talked about hating hoses and buckets for water changes and she suggested using the bathroom closet for a mix room.
It suddenly was real. For two weeks I’ve been dreaming the design in to reality and grateful to be married to someone that appreciates this hobby and is so supportive.
Here are the sketches for PRP300 a custom 84x30x30 dream tank. I’m taking my time with this, building from the sump up, dedicating two 20amp circuits to it and building it right this time.
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