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View Full Version : Louie07's 90 Gallon Build Thread


louie07
01/14/2014, 11:39 PM
Well, here we are. Putting together my fourth tank (granted, many of the others were only temporary). My reefing career started out when I purchased a used 40 gallon setup off of craigslist. Quickly, I decided I wanted MORE. So, I put together a 125 gallon. Built the light system, got the tank drilled, the whole shebang. However with school and work, I wasn't able to keep up, so I sold it all off and have had my nano cube ever since. Now that I've moved to the Bay Area for college, I wanted something bigger again. However, this time I decided I would be spending WAY less money, and be building it WAY smarter (Reefing is one of those learn from your mistakes things, isn't it?). Anyways, lets get started.

First off, I needed a tank. Well, this is a funny story, talking about learning from your mistakes. I got a 75 gallon acrylic tank off of craigslist for $75. It was in decent shape, however I decided that I wanted to buff it (it didn't need it, but I figured better to do it with it empty). Very quickly I changed my mind about owning my first acrylic tank, so that one is sitting empty in the back yard half-way through the buffing process.

Next, I searched for another tank. I lucked out, finding a 90 gallon reef ready tank with stand on craigslist for $80. Score! The only thing wrong was a small leak that I sealed up, and it's now good as new. Most of the equipment that I've purchased has been used, along with the live rock. All in all I think I've spent maybe $600-$800 to get to where I am at, and I'd say that's pretty damn good.

Today I started putting it all together- landscaped the tank, put the sand in, began to plumb, etc. The lighting I decided to go with is definitely on the cheap side, however I decided to test out these cheaper lights and see how well they work. I have stunner strips on my nano cube which have done fine, so maybe some higher-powered cheap LEDs will too. It's always fun to experiment :)

Anywho, I'll shut up and post some pics now :bigeyes:

louie07
01/15/2014, 11:09 PM
Got most of the water in today, and started adding some salt. The tank water is still pretty cold, so I'll have to wait for that to warm up. I forgot that I sold my good heaters when I sold my other tank, so I'm ordering a could 300w. I had to run to Petco to grab some universal cut-to-fit filter and they wanted $50 for the same heater I could get for $23 on amazon... It's unbelievable how expensive they are! Planning on getting this thing cycled and starting with some fish. I am going to wait to add some fish until the tank has totally cycled, don't need to kill the little guys. Thinking of green chromes, a small shoal would look nice and I've always loved that fish.

Once that's all established, I'm thinking of getting the DIY reef cleaner pack from Live Aquaria. Anyone have experience ordering that before? It's a great deal... if everything shows up alive!

louie07
01/15/2014, 11:10 PM
Also, is there a certain way I am supposed to "prime" the reef ready overflows on reef ready tanks? I had to add an external overflow box because I have a Mag 12 on the tank and the original overflow was making a TON of noise

NJKayakAngler
01/16/2014, 07:35 AM
A mag 12 is alittle over kill for the overflow I had a 9.5 on mine and it was cut back almost all the way. I would say a mag 7 would be better

louie07
01/17/2014, 10:24 PM
Yeah, it is pretty intense. The only reason why I have it is because it came with a bunch of used equipment that I bought. I only have one additional powerhead in the tank which is nice though. I may eventually switch it out