Here's a pic of the tank on its final place. I built a base out of 4x4s 2 rows high to bring the tank up 7 inches from the ground. The tank is 24 inches tall and with the stand being 36", I hate that when I stand in front of it I was looking at the very top, so I wanted to make sure I added some height.
Another issue I had was that the sump is HUMONGOUS, that's not the bad part, I love how big it is, but there wasn't a whole lot of clearance between the top of sump and the bottom of the tank. So I "Dropped" the sump 5 inches into the box, which increases the clearance and I have easy access to the skimmer and other items in the sump.
Tank dimensions are 8 x 4 x 2 and yes, it will be sitting outside. I'm hoping that my previous 1 1/2HP chiller is enough to keep this monster cool down in our hot summer days. I always knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to get a bigger tank, so most of the equipment that I bought it was much larger than for my 220g.
But never did I plan for a tank of this size, so we'll see.
I read that acrylic is supposed to help insulate the temperature inside the tank 20% better than glass. I guess we'll see... In the meantime, I think I might buy a few more of those insulation sheets and them to the sump and back of the tank to see if it helps.
Here's a picture of where I moved the 220g temporarily. Love being able to see the fishes from the kitchen window. Wife already said it cannot stay there
so I'll be selling that 220g pretty soon. I'm planning on moving the livestock this weekend.
Previous owner had 4x4 travertine at the bottom of the tank. I really like the look so I'm planning on keeping it for now, see how it works for me. My 220g was originally set up as a bare bottom, but it was quite unstable and with a lot of swings. Once I decided to add sand earlier this year I noticed a huge change for the better. Everything started opening and looking just plain better.
I don't want to sell or throw away the 200# of sand I just bought a couple of months ago, so I'm planning to put it on the sump. As I mentioned before, the sump is Huge! 8' x 20" deep x 21" tall. I have plenty of space in there for a refugium, skimmer, 4 7" socks, pump return and even 2 more "areas" that I still haven't decided what to put in there, coral propagation / frag tank, who knows, for now I'll be able to keep the sand in the system but out of the main display.
