Central Minnesota’s New Wave Aquaria rolled out a fun and sexy frag display system at the Twin Cities Marine Aquarium Society (TCMAS) Frag Swap last weekend. While many coral slingers are looking for mobility with their setups, New Wave Aquaria took a different stance going for looks and function. The owner, Jennifer Latterell, picked up the tank from an auction that needed a lot of TLC but held a lot of potential. With the rough gem in hand, she turned it over to her employee Chad Vossen who put the finishing touches on the system to make this jewel of a setup.
The semi-circular tank is around 4.5 ft. long holding around 50 gal. of water with an integrated overflow, wet/dry filter and return pump that all came with the system. Vossen chose wisely not to include the cutting-edge Seaclone skimmer that came with the original system. The system flow is handled via the return pump only.
“The aquarium was actually purchased by being at the right place at the right time. Went to pick up auction winnings for a client, saw the aquarium and inquired about it. It had not been picked up and owner asked me to make an offer–I got it for a steal but it needed much work,” said Latterell. “I saw the potential and Chad took it to the next level. We spent too many hours and too much money on the restoration but it is now a masterpiece used to display New Wave Aquaria’s prized frags.”
The tank and stand are separate pieces with the bottom made from thick acrylic. Vossen added the blue holiday lights to add a visual punch and give your feet an actinic looking blast of blue. The lighting is pretty flexible with the team originally looking to use a Solaris LED fixture but technical issues with the light made them opt for a 250W Radium metal halide setup for the show.
The custom acrylic frag racks were made in house from black and translucent blue acrylic and are stepped at various heights radiating upward out from the center. Among the five layers in the tank, Vossen also integrated a “ricordia pit” into the floor of the first rack. The system could hold up to approximately 300 frags total.
Based in Plymouth, Minn., New Wave Aquaria, Inc. has been in business for 13 years and the company states it was built on a strong foundation of knowledge, passion and reliability. They specialize in the design, installation and maintenance of fresh and saltwater aquariums for businesses and private homes and recently expanded accommodate new endeavors including clownfish breeding and coral propagation.
A big thanks to Chad for sending over the great photos and compiling this information. All images courtesy of Chad Vossen and New Wave Aquaria.
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