When I cleaned it up, it looked a little small, so at a last minute panic, I re-checked my dimensions – phew.. its ok. It will fit (I’ve been checking every couple of days.. just to keep making sure).

Today, I took the day off work and waiting for the tank to arrive. Turns up after lunch, and after a quick shuffle around it is all setup. Big thanks to the guys at Wonderfish for coming around and giving me a hand with the setup.

Full frontal shot::

Exposure of the underbelly (empty, except for the glass lids – not sure if i’ll use them). Now I just need to work out what space I have for the sump, plumbing, wiring, etc…

Hood – I opted to go with an extra raised hood. I’m starting off with T5′s and I wanted the extended hood to allow for MH’s if I chose to go down that path. It also helps make the tank a little more cat proof.

Overflow setup – gives me options here for a silent durso/siphon setup.

A view from the top:

Underneath shot – Yes, there is no styrofoam here yet – I’m picking that up on Saturday. From left to right, they are 20,25,25mm pipes.

I know it is really bad to push fish in your tank without cycling it first, and I’m going against everything I’ve read, and have been told – BUT I really HAVE to have some fish in there, so I threw in my clown fish. I hope he survives  I don’t think it counts though.

Still Todo:

1. Styrofoam for the bottom.
2. Paint the back – I’m thinking black at this stage.
3. Go shopping for a skimmer and return pump, heaters, etc so I can work out how to config my sump.
4. Plumbing
5. Electricals (planing to put in about 2 powerboards for stuff – with a safety switch thingy of course) – the house also has a safety switch in the electric box outside – can never be too careful.
6. Some powerheads
7. Hmm.. this list is getting rather big

My wife bought me a really big bean bag (about 500 ltrs – almost as big as the tank) so the ultimate aim is to plonk down on that each night with a beer after work and watch the fish…..

The Adventure finally begins!