melev

Friday September 6 2013 at 10:00 a.m., I was ready and waiting by the door for a big truck bearing my 400g replacement reef aquarium. The tank was due to arrive within moments along with 10 guys hired to bring it inside and onto the stand, courtesy of Marineland. I took the front door off the hinges, removed the hardware that pulls the storm door shut, and moved the framed photographs off the wall that the tank would pass beneath.

Frank's Tanks provided me with eight aquarium-moving suction cups, and I bought some 1000 lbs-rated furniture dollies and tie-down straps to aide with getting the tank moved safely inside.

At 10:45 a.m., some of the movers arrived and by 11:00 a.m. a big Penske truck backed into my driveway. The head count was only eight men, but Frank stopped by and with me, we had the full ten needed for this installation.

I explained to the movers how the tank would need to be brought in since I'd already gone through this previously, and they listened attentively. The tank has to be tilted on its side to navigate through the front door and the narrow hallway, which is barely millimeters wider than the tank. Then it has to be tilted back into its normal position and lifted onto the steel stand.

The lift gate is motorized, but they didn't have a pallet jack or forklift to take it off the truck for some unknown reason. The eight guys used all their muscle to pry it away from the wall of the truck. Using a furniture dolly for leverage, they pried the pallet up a couple of inches to slip some moving blankets underneath. This allowed them to slide it onto the metal lift gate.

The entire crate was easily 1300 lbs, if not more. Once lowered closer to the ground, the tank was carefully uncrated with cordless drills. Well over 100 screws were holding it together.

I really appreciated how carefully Marineland packed this tank to make sure it wouldn't get scratched. The 2x4 frame was knocked loose, and all the plywood sheets were utilized to build make-shift ramps to roll the tank from the driveway up the front step, over the threshold and into the house.

I had to repeatedly tell them not to lean, lift or press on the external overflow.

The tank was literally gleaming like a gem in the morning sunlight once unveiled. Starphire on all three sides, it was a sight for sore eyes!

Next, I demonstrated to everyone how the suction cups worked, how to place them and how they could be removed.

Carefully we tilted the tank off the platform and onto waiting to dollies. Foam was placed on the dollies to avoid scratching the back panel of the tank. Everyone was informed that this was a zero-scratch project, and that every care had to be taken to keep it safe. The dollies were strapped to the tank, and then the entire beast was rolled across the plywood sheets and into the house. The guys were really good about making sure it stayed safe at all times.

Once in front of the stand, the tank was tilted back onto its base, and all the suction cups were repositioned for the big lift. It took all 10 of us to get it onto the stand, and then we shifted it into its final position. The guys then took all the trash from the crate and left. Awesome. The entire process took 45 minutes.

The tank is 84" x 36" x 30"; measuring the top plastic trim it is 94.25" long including the external overflow.

I've looked the tank over very closely and I'm delighted by the build quality. Since this is version 2.0, there have been some improvements. The top frame now wraps the entire perimeter of the tank which looks cleaner. The external overflow has four drain holes instead of five, which provides more space for the Durso Standpipes. The Eurobracing is doubled like last time, but now is stair stepped which looks great to the eye. The black trim is siliconed to the eurobracing this time, so any liquid on the top bracing won't wick out and run down the vertical panes of the tank. These are just a few of the changes.

I'll be making an overflow cover with black acrylic that will fit nicely in the frame.

Both of the 36" ends are made with 3/4" glass this time. The external overflow is made with 1/2" glass, abutted against the 3/4" thick front and back pane. This creates a minor offset internally within the overflow, avoiding a shared silicone seam that appeared to be part of the previous tank's problem. The black overflow panel (which hides the external overflow from view) in the tank has a 3/4" vertical gap on both ends and this gap was filled with black silicone. If the acrylic panel absorbs water and swells, the gap prevents it pressing against the front and back panes that would force them apart, which may have been why the last tank leaked.

The teeth are located directly under doubled-glass eurobracing, unlike the last tank. Everything looks so nice and clean, and the silicone work looks good.

The bottom perimeter bracing was glued in after the tank had cured for a week to make sure the silicone in the corners was nice and dry before more glass and silicone was layered on top.

I want to thank Marineland for taking care of my situation after the original tank leaked, and for the upgrade of using three panes of Starphire glass rather than only two as previously built. Sending out a team of movers to bring it inside was a very nice touch, and definitely appreciated. This IS my dream tank, and I can't wait to watch my reef grow within this beautiful aquarium. It is absolutely gorgeous.