Strikingthematch 280 Gallon Build

Well not much to show just yet but I finally took the plunge and got a BIG tank. (to me at least!) Found a CL deal on a 280 gallon "reef ready" tank.

This is by far the biggest tank I have ever owned at 72x30x30. It was a custom built tank made of acrylic which is great because it only weighs as much as a 75gallon glass tank!

You can see in the pictures the built in overflow and the two 1 3/4in drains.

These are just some starting pictures of it sitting in my fish room. It will be getting moved into the house later to a spot that it just the right size for it. For now though it needs to get cleaned out.

Can't wait to get this project started! Not sure what I will be keeping in there just yet. I know that I need to build another sump for it... haha If you have kept track of my other projects you know I made a 55 gallon sump for a prospective 125 tank (you can see that in the first picture). Seems like that deal may have fell through but not with I can't complain. This just dwarfs all the other tanks. I hope to keep this updated as I prepare all the things for building out this tank into a super nice show tank. Could be a long build as money comes in but when it is finished it will hopefully be what I want!
Hmm now where to find a small tree worth of drift wood! haha

Awesome score! Can't wait to see pics of it with fish in it!

Very Nice !!

It was defiantly a good deal though still expensive but nothing compared to what it would have normally cost.

In any case I will update this as my planning goes along. Right now I plan on building a wall in the room that will house it so I can put all the equipment under the tank and have a platform behind it for easy access. The idea is to keep it manageable and accessible. So between building a wall and reinforcing the stand it is on I have a big project at hand haha. Not to mention I may end up using some plumbing in order to bring water right to a holding tank for it to make water changes less of pain.

Awesome find.

Any ideas what you are going to put in it yet?

Nice find.

wildbeanerz wrote:

Any ideas what you are going to put in it yet?

Nice find.

Been thinking about that myself... the 125 that this is taking the place of was suppose to be for some discus I am getting this weekend. They will be in a 75 gallon for now but after this is all done... not really sure. It would be neat to have a large aquarium setup for them BUT not really sure I want to go that path. One thing is for sure I could put a LOT in there haha.

Here is two updated pictures after an hour long cleaning! haha.

man, thats a really nice tank

I figured it was about time to update this post.

You can see the stand in the first picture... it... left much to be desired... I wouldn't be caught under it with an empty tank let alone 2 tons of water over me.

So I scrapped the old stand and started my own.

The stand is made entirely of 4x4's. The four main posts support the outside perimeter. The outside also made of 4x4 cut on 45's and placed on the main posts. They are then lag bolted together and framing braces are used to add structural support.


I added a center brace for weight distribution. Next was cross members. These add additional weight distribution as well as structural rigidity. Once all these got added the stand was solid. When I say solid I mean not even the smallest amount of movement. The beam and braces all work together and form one solid stand that helps even the load and is something I would sleep soundly under!

I added a plywood top since the bottom of the custom aquarium is flat with not molding. this just helps to equal out stress on the bottom.

When I filled it up there was not one pop or groan and I was very happy!

The cloudiness you see is the sand I added before filling it up. It has since cleared but I am still in the process of finishing the rest of the tank setup. Should be very cool when it is all done!











Holes for the over flow which will be used later.

nice man

Looks good man. It should look very good along with the other 2 tanks you have setup next to it.

Nice tank....

Quote :

Looks good man. It should look very good along with the other 2 tanks you have setup next to it.

3 big tanks Nice.

Are you going to frame it all in and drywall?

I thought about drywall but will likely use some type of wood instead because I want to be able to remove the panels if I need to. I want to use 4ft long panels and make them something easy to pull off because the first thing that happens when you make it permanent is you need to pull it off haha.

Cool man keep the pictures coming :)

I posted the comment in hopes of pics of the other 2 as well.

Looking forward to dropping by again sometime once the big one is up and running.

Your stand-making skills are awesome! (I should prob'ly be able to figure this out by reading your other tank descriptions but ... ) what's in the other two tanks? The middle one looks like it has a mellow, woody decor.

Middle one is the Malawi Cichlid tank.

You can see that build https://usafishbox.forumotion.com/t7149-strikingthematch-cichlid-tank

Made the background and added a ton of slate to it haha. Every other month or so I redo the slate and clean it all out. It is also the time to catch the fry. It takes forever!

Oh, yeah, I know which tank you mean. Didn't recognize it above.
I read that post today and I love the slate work!

Thanks!