It's been quite a momentous few weeks for me and my tanks, last week saw the move of my Aquascaper 600 into my office - not sure if people follow my journals but check it out to see that process. Then yesterday I finally went to pick up this beauty! Its an Evolution Aqua Aquascaper 1200, its 300 litres and the set up includes an FX4, Aquael Leddy Slim, Fluval pro 300 heater and a custom made perspex lid. If you are not familiar with the Aquascaper range it was made by a company called Evolution Aqua which is owned by Jeremy Gay who used to be the editor of Practical Fish Keeping. The Aquascaper range was made in association with George Farmer and he had I think the 1500 model for quite a few years until his partnership with Oase started to develop. Its a rimless, braceless tank made with 12mm optiwhite glass and the cabinet is made with aircraft grade aluminium and the doors and panels are in a matt anthracite grey.
The journey was pretty smooth and getting the kit into our cars went really well. Only slight brown trouser moment was going round a motorway slip road that curved and cambered much more than I was expecting and the tank slightly slipped from its cushioned base! I could see it in my rear mirror but it was all ok and we pulled over to adjust it.
The wood in here is from my other Facebook Marketplace haul which I got for just £30! Unbelievable! Its well dried and aged oak from a nearby forest somewhere just east of Hull. I've quickly plonked it in for now but think it looks great already, I have one big bit that is too big to fit without cutting so may do that but might not need it. In the middle of the wood is some of the Frodo Stone I didnt use in my 600 tank and I thought it would be too small or not enough in this tank but with the wood in there I think it might be ok, I might need 2-3 more stones and might call it a day.
One slight problem is the stand does not fit in the alcove due to the skirting being a bit wonky. Its an easy fix though - the side panels are just cosmetic and inside is a metal frame so I can cut a square in the bottom back corner of both panels and it will slide over the skirting and it will leave space at the back for the filter pipes to come up. We've also decided we want to decorate the room the tank is in before I fill it up too which is fine as I have a few things I need to do to the tank and the kit before I get set up - eg the filter needs new sponges and media, need to work out the light and lid needs a little attention as I've been told it will bow a little in the middle over time so want to work out how to brace it or prevent it.
The guy I bought the tank from was really nice too so I broke a bit of a habit and invited him to the forum, I very rarely invite people from real life here so hoping he signs up
Wills
But to be fair, I'm also behind in even updating my own journals... 
But I do catch up after a bit, and love to see how the builds progress! Starting a new one for this is a good idea though. I think people get a bit overwhelmed once a journal has a lot of pages and are less likely to click then. But do still please update the long journals, because it's great to see where you're at once it's built, and look back on the process from beginning to end!
