Jestersix

My 90 gallon tank: video update! (with narration this time!)

goldielocke76

goldielocke76

Supporting Member
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I figured I should start a tank journal thread, so I quit asking on the welcome thread. I have tons of questions and I am hoping I get tons of answers =D

Background: 60 gallon FOWLR tank with a Green spotted puffer and some tank mates. Looking to upgrade because it's not plumbed for a sump or tank, and that's a bit more than I can do on my own. Also, cost of several holes drilled would be the same as buying a tank off of CL.

Found a brand new, 90 gallon reef ready tank and stand from a nice couple in Antioch. I lucked out because my coworker lives about 2 minutes away from these people so I didn't have to make the drive. =)

Stand will be here next Thursday. Also, thinking of making my own live rock to cut down on some costs. I would like to, I need about 40-50 more pounds of LR, so we will see how that goes. Think 150 lbs of LR for a 90 gallon tank is sufficient? I was told 1.5-2 lbs per gallon, I wonder if you guys have a different opinion on that. Going to need more LR and get a better substrate.

Also, any ideas of where to get a sump/refugium? I could potentially buy a new one, but I would like to save that as a last resort if possible.
 
Not_Now_John said:
Check out one of our sponsers.

http://www.marcorocks.com/
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Awesome thanks! Just so I have an idea of what the sump refugium should look like, something like:

http://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-34502-ProFlex-Model-65-110-Gallon/dp/B003I5SH36/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1333167756&sr=1-1

is what I would need right? Just want to get an idea of what it looks like, and how it works. =)


And that website is awesome!I think I would rather do that then make my own....LOL
 
Not_Now_John said:
What are the internal dimentions of your stand?
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Will have that information for you next Thursday. I was looking at the 4th model, rated for 120-210 gallons, but I will have to wait to see what the sizes are.


Thank you so much for all of your responses. =) And thank you for your patience. It's very much appreciated ^.^


Current tank pics are up: http://denzil.smugmug.com/Pets/Puffers/19065431_rPsSCp#!i=1772476913&k=mmhgjvk
 
Instead of spending a couple hundred dollars on a commercial sump, you might consider building your own. If your 90g is the standard size (48 x 18 x 25), I am thinking you could potentially fit a 40br tank in the stand. Get a few pieces of acrylic cut to size at TAP Plastics and silicone them in place as baffles. Take what I say with a grain of salt, though, since I am currently running sumpless (but I don't run bare-bottom). :D
 
lattehiatus said:
Instead of spending a couple hundred dollars on a commercial sump, you might consider building your own. If your 90g is the standard size (48 x 18 x 25), I am thinking you could potentially fit a 40br tank in the stand. Get a few pieces of acrylic cut to size at TAP Plastics and silicone them in place as baffles. Take what I say with a grain of salt, though, since I am currently running sumpless (but I don't run bare-bottom). :D
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Great idea, thank you!

Just had a thought: I have a double pak skimmer by CPR, and it's rated for up to 100 gallons. Does this mean that I will need to get another one because of the additional water from the sump? (I am assuming so, but I wanted to hear everyone's thoughts on the matter).

And in the sump, will the water be high enough for my HOB skimmer?

Also, is egg crating (used for lights) good to use on the bottom of the LR? Or should there be anything on the bottom of the tank at all?

Thank you!!
 
Hi Goldie,

Since you will be employing a sump, you might consider upgrading your skimmer. Typically, you want to get a skimmer that's rated a third to twice the volume of your system. Reef Octopuss is a popular brand and is considered best bang for your buck. You can also find them for sale on the for sale forum here and Reef Central.

You can use eggcrate or PVC to build a plateform for your rockscape or simply place sand around the live rock. That way you won't create any deadspots under the rock. I might have some leftover rock from my build if you are interested.
 
I suggest using a 20 long for your sump. You can use your hob skimmer or get a different one, and have room for a return pump, and maybe a small refugium area.
 
gimmito said:
Hi Goldie,

Since you will be employing a sump, you might consider upgrading your skimmer. Typically, you want to get a skimmer that's rated a third to twice the volume of your system. Reef Octopuss is a popular brand and is considered best bang for your buck. You can also find them for sale on the for sale forum here and Reef Central.

You can use eggcrate or PVC to build a plateform for your rockscape or simply place sand around the live rock. That way you won't create any deadspots under the rock. I might have some leftover rock from my build if you are interested.
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I am very interested if you have left overs and don't mind, it would be nice to meet someone else that is an enthusiast as well. So far, I have only met one person, and the people at the LFS, everyone else just listens because they don't want to hurt my feelings LOL. My coworkers are sure tired of hearing about my new tank xD

=) I got thru about 90 pages on your thread, and found it to be a great read. Lots of laughs too =)

Damn, that skimmer is new too = / less than 3 months old. Might have to start looking at the sale forums, or get an additional in sump skimmer to work with my hob.

My boyfriend temporarily lifted my budget, LoL, and I found a slightly used sump from a friend, a ProFlex Sump Model 4. It had similar dimensions to a 40 gallon breeder, so I picked that up as well as a small light fixture for the top of it. Won't be picking the sump up until the end of next week, but that's ok, because that is when the stand for the tank is coming too.....
 
You are very brave to go through my build thread ! Lot's of info there on the hobby and everything else under the sun.

Shoot me a pm when you would like to checkout the rock.
 
gimmito said:
You are very brave to go through my build thread ! Lot's of info there on the hobby and everything else under the sun.

Shoot me a pm when you would like to checkout the rock.
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LoL I definitely learned tons. What made me laugh was when the thread was talking about naming fish and the kiss of death ;) hahahaha


what a dumb question, but, how do you PM? I click on your name, and see your profile, but no PM button?
 
goldielock,

I'm new to BAR too (January), so might be wrong here...

I think you have to be a dues paying member to be able to PM. I don't see a link by your name when I click on your name. I do see a link called 'Send this user a Message' below others like gimmito.
 
aqua-nut said:
goldielock,

I'm new to BAR too (January), so might be wrong here...

I think you have to be a dues paying member to be able to PM. I don't see a link by your name when I click on your name. I do see a link called 'Send this user a Message' below others like gimmito.
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Darn, and I don't see anything. Still super new to all this forum stuff, I guess I will have to browse through the forum a little bit more and figure stuff out. Thank you!
 
I think you are right John about being a member for a PM.

Goldielock, you are cracking me up with your enthusiasm. It's pretty awesome, and on this site COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD!! LOL! Welcome, and have fun with the new tank.

I am also fresh on a new tank and have some plumbing parts left over when you start plumbing, I might be able to donate some stuff. Looking forward to watching your progress.
 
Doing a little more research I found this under the "Membership" link:
BAR membership dues are $20 per year. BAR members have access to all boards and features available on our forum (including PM, avatars, access to our Buy/sell/trade forum, and other features) as well the ability to participate in BAR members only events.

Since you are looking for equipment, you might want to pony up the $20 just to get to the buy/sell/trade area. There are also discounts at some LFSs!
 
aqua-nut said:
Doing a little more research I found this under the "Membership" link:
BAR membership dues are $20 per year. BAR members have access to all boards and features available on our forum (including PM, avatars, access to our Buy/sell/trade forum, and other features) as well the ability to participate in BAR members only events.

Since you are looking for equipment, you might want to pony up the $20 just to get to the buy/sell/trade area. There are also discounts at some LFSs!
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Everything makes so much sense now! Now I know why I can't see some of the stuff others were talking about in other threads. Just signed up, so hopefully I will have access to all that cool stuff soon =)

Not sure how to "double" quote but LoL @Kris. I can't help it. I have been desperately wanting to find people who are just as into it as I am, without them trying to sell me stuff (LFS). My bf, friends and coworkers are tired of hearing about it, and my family thinks I am wasting money. But, I have found that my tanks help with my migraines, so why not? They add to the decor, and keep me busy among other things. I hope we do meet ups or something, I would love to meet every one and show off pictures or something. Just longing for good company haha. I seem to have found it hear and am just beside myself.

Aside from that, it's nice to be accepted as a female in this hobby. I get tons of strange looks from some LFSs around town. Trust me, if it's one thing that I do before buying or doing anything, it's research. Again, I get a lot of disbelieving looks there too. I don't buy fish with the mentality "oh if it dies I will get another one." So far, only my betta died from dropsy, and I was heartbroken, as I would be if any other of my fish died.

Thank you for the offer of the plumbing parts. So far, the couple has been very nice and accommodating. I think (well, I hope) that they will give me everything, but my distrust of the internet and dealings on CL is great haha. Always good to be wary when buying or selling over the internet.....
 
Oh your definately wasting money! LOL! However I personally justify it by looking at how much some people will pay for art. This is my art, and when we have a party, you can't peel the guests away from the tanks. They are fascinated, and that is as much of a reward as I could ever ask.

As for fish death...........we do our best, but it is part of the hobby. I stopped naming mine about 10 years ago thinking I was jinxing them. I have one fish with a name..........my now 11 year old gold banded maroon clownfish is "stevie." Everyone else is "that fish." LOL!
 
Kmooresf said:
Oh your definately wasting money! LOL! However I personally justify it by looking at how much some people will pay for art. This is my art, and when we have a party, you can't peel the guests away from the tanks. They are fascinated, and that is as much of a reward as I could ever ask.

As for fish death...........we do our best, but it is part of the hobby. I stopped naming mine about 10 years ago thinking I was jinxing them. I have one fish with a name..........my now 11 year old gold banded maroon clownfish is "stevie." Everyone else is "that fish." LOL!
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Haha! Well, I got tired of naming things after my hermit killed my other hermit and my very first two turbo snails. I was pretty upset, but he'll never know it. My puffers have names, and so does my blenny, just because at one point in time, it was only my puffer and blenny in the tank along with the CUC.

I am so torn. I love my puffer, but I want a set of clowns. LoL, there are other things I want to do too, but not sure if I will be able to. I am really hoping that having a ton of room will prevent aggression as she gets older. So far, so good.

And I am glad that I asked my dumb question-- I would have never realized I had to click the membership link to PM people. Thank you Aqua!

While I am thinking about it, I am sure I will need to get more koralias. I have two 550s in my 60 gallon now, but I am assuming I will need more flow with the bigger tank. Any suggestions?

Also, how do I go about getting copepods, and making sure that they propagate? I would like to get a mandarin for the new tank. I know they need copepods, but I want to see if I can get my LFS to order a tank bred mandarin...
 
I have found that things live longer if you don't name them! I've had more than most. ,) I currently have 15+yr turtles, 20+yr cat, 10+yr bird, 8+fish and corals. I tend not to name things that don't "come" when called. :0
 
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