Nico's 90G Reef - Build thread

[belgian_waffleman]

I guess this is where the deep - end starts....


Last weekend , I removed my 75G planted tank to make room for a 90G reef system.

These are the items I already have:

Mag 7 return pump
300W heater
ASM G3 skimmer, no mods
30 Gallon tank for sump
USDA approved plastic to make baffles
the contents of my 29G
50lbs of LR that's been sitting in a tub of SW for about a month.
Oak stand and canopy Needs some modding...


I have a 90G corner overflow tank on order.

I plan on buying a 6x54W T5 retro kit to build into the canopy. I will add a 3" Ice Cap fan.

I'm also planning to buy a controller with the DC8 to take care of everything.


Waffleman

[belgian_waffleman]

Here is a picture with the dry-fit of the skimmer in the sump:



I had to make sure that I can remove the skimmer once the tank is above it.

After adding the Skimmer, there isn't much room left, so I will only have 2 areas in the sump.
I will put a 3 baffles where the tape is shown.




That's it for today...

Waffleman

[belgian_waffleman]

I forgot to mention, I do appreciate any feedback.

Since nothing is permanent yet, it should be fairly to change things if needed (as long as they are easy on the wallet that is


Waffleman

[oceanparadise1]

nice! it looks like all of use started our builds at teh same time lol

[magdelan]

Originally posted by oceanparadise1
nice! it looks like all of use started our builds at teh same time lol

Do you write the word "teh" on accident or is it really meant to be "the" and you are just typing way fast? I've seen it in many of your posts. Also, "all of use"? Do you mean "all of you"? It's hard to understand some of your posts.

[nate82]

well with 20 posts a day he just has to move quickly to get them all in..

[Dave VG]

Become a pay member and you get spell checker. Make it easer on all of us to read and understand your posts.

[talon4x4]

Maybe he is using teh leet internet lingo!! My son has taught me all about it!!

Nice looking tank. I will be watching closely as I have plans on upgrading to a 90.

[inkmates]

looking good niko, lmk if you need a hand with anything

[Dave VG]

How rude of me i forgot to mention looks good so far niko.

[chrisqueenz]

Great start, what are you planing to use for water movement besides the Mag 7?

[belgian_waffleman]

No progress today, just the phone call that the tank came in I'm too busy playing Metal Gear Solid4

I will be picking the tank up tomorrow.

For water movement in the tank, I'm planning on using a couple of koralias. I already have a K3, I most likely will add a K4.


Nico

[Gary Majchrzak]

please put a time limit on the gaming and get back to working on the aquarium

[tmz]

Reat start . Good luck. Feedback: Consider a pair of smaller heaters instead of one large one. They all have a way of sticking on and cooking your aquarium. It might be ok with the controller,though.

[chrisqueenz]

Originally posted by Gary Majchrzak
please put a time limit on the gaming and get back to working on the aquarium

Lol!!! Thats exactly what my wife tells me, for the exception of the aquarium part!lol

K4's are a good choice, I have only been using them for a couple of weeks but am very happy with it so far.

[716mer]

Congratulations on your new aquarium and good luck with the start up. This is somewhat ironic in that I am also starting up a new aquarium and am also from Lockport.

- Mark

[Steven1015]

May wanna consider a few ice cap fans in that canopy those t5s still get pretty hot.

[belgian_waffleman]

I've put the game controllers away for now and I promise to focus on the build

Today I picked up the tank and a 4' flexible hose

I cut the baffles for the sump and I have 2 of them siliconed in place. It is a bit of a hassle to put the second and the third one in there as you can't reach in between the baffles.

Tomorrow morning I will have to run to HD for plumping supplies to hook up the Mag pump to the return line. Do people use a flexible connection between the pump and the tank?

This is the way I plan to stack it up:
pump outlet, adapter to 1", Union, Ball valve, 1" flexible hose, adapter for the slip coupling. Other than the pump out let I'm planning on gluing the pieces together. For the flexible hose I plan on using hose clamps.


To the remark in regards to the fans for the canopy, I was thinking 2 3"-ers at first instead of a single fan. I guess I better go with my initial thought (2 fans). Unless I hear people say that this would be overkill.

I'm planning on ordering the lights this weekend from Reefgeek, one of the sponsors here. Does anyone know if they have "Reefcentral" discounts?

Sorry, no pics today

Waffleman

[Dave VG]

Go with two fans. If you get the Ice Cap temp controlled fans they will only come on as needed anyway. I think you'll find they run quite a bit when the lights are on especially in the summer.

[belgian_waffleman]

Update:

I will say this first: Pictures will be posted tonight, no need for the Regis picture

The 4th was spent with the family, what a gorgeous day.
The 5th yesterday was even better, but I stayed focused on the tank build.

I painted the back and one side black
started to make RO water
finished the support frame inside the stand
ran a new 15A circuit from the basement up
Brought the tank inside and put it in place
leveled it
went for Ice scream with the family (had to give them some attention)
glued and threaded the plumbing
started filling with RO water

It was 12:30 Am this morning when I finished.
Next item: the canope

Nico

[dan10342]

you building your own canopy? i saw you are going to put t5s in. sounds great! what type of reef is it going to be?

[belgian_waffleman]

As promised, some pictures:

The stand:


Getting the tank ready to be painted :


Tank is in position after 3 coats of black Rustolium paint:


Here is detail of the plumbing:


Waffleman

[belgian_waffleman]

The tank is still filling. The level is about 2" from the overflow.
How long do you let the tank run with RO water before mixing salt?


dan10342, the canopy is existing, an oak kit from Petsmart that matches the tank. This is to meet WAF .
I removed the 2 strip lights that were in there and I will build in 6 t5's
and 2 fans.

The tank will be a "reefgarden", basically a mixed reef.

Waffleman

[dan10342]

ah. should look very nice.

pics of canopy after lights in?

[belgian_waffleman]

finally an update. It's been crazy in the past couple of days (base ball broken appliances, work)

The return is a lot quieter, thanks to the input from URS members .
I straightened out the drain hose so that it has a gradual slope. I also attached an old sock (clean one of course) so that the bubbles are getting trapped. That made a big difference as well. I will have to look for a real filter sock.

Yesterday I rinsed out the Kolorscape sand and put it in the tank. I rinsed it so much that there was no cloudiness in the tank.
I immediately continued with adding 60lbs of live rock to the tank. I had this rock sitting in a tub of salt water without lights for about a month and a half.
It had lost some coralline but the critters were still on it.

This morning there were dozens of feather dusters out

I finally place my order with Reefgeek for the 6x54 SLR T5 Icecap lights (Not overdriven) , and the fans.

This is the bulb combo I picked, with the help from the Reefgeek people. My target Color temperature is 12K to 14K similar to a Reeflux 12K bulb.

Actinic plus
UVL superactinic
Aquasun
Fiji purple
Actinic Plus
Aquablue Special

I forgot to ask if it comes with shades

I better finish the canopy before the lights show up.

This weekend I will post pics of the canopy build.

Waffleman