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View Full Version : 90 gallon build..need help please


Ian
04-13-2009, 07:02 PM
Well I said a little while ago that I was starting this build and would put up some pictures so it is time. Tank is 90 gallon I bought used and will have a few small mods done...Herbie overflow and return coming in over the top. Sump is a 33 gallon tank and A Tek 48 inch 8 bulb for lights..I am still deciding on the skimmer but I have some time to decide on that....

I didn't take any of the initial stand build since I used a plan from this site
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/90gallon/366-1.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/90gallon/368-1.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/90gallon/365-1.jpg

Silver stuff in the stand is laminate floor underlay..I puy 3 layers under the stand just to ensure it was level and one layer under the edge of the tank to ensure no pressure points caused me grief....
Today the baffles go into the sump/refugium and I start to do the plumbing


I am looking for suggestions on fish I do want this to be a mixed reef and love the look of Triggers and Tangs which ones would do best in a set-up of this size?

parkinsn
04-13-2009, 07:21 PM
Looks good. Just curious though, where are you going to put your skimmer as the space under the stand seems really tight. Or is it going on the tall side?

Ian
04-13-2009, 09:55 PM
yeah actually have 25 inchs of space from the bottom of the sump to the bottom of the tank above, it is just the way I skinned the front that makes it look tight. the opening in the front is over 16 alone it is deceptive.The end on the left side of the pic opens for easy access to the area of the sump/fuge that the skimmer will sit in.

Ian
04-21-2009, 03:04 AM
Ok started to add water today and leak test.. Should be able to move in the 100 pounds or so of fully cured and ready to go live rock out of the temp tanks and into the nice one soon.
more pics to come
I need some advice on fish now as It will not be long before it is time to start adding......

So far I am interested in
One spot foxface
Blue/regal tang Blue and yellow hippotang
Yellow tang
3-4 chromis
Longfin Fairy Wrasse
mandarin-eventually

Interested in opinions, additions or alternatives if any of these are inappropriate for a mixed reef tank

Myka
04-21-2009, 04:03 AM
I need some advice on fish now as It will not be long before it is time to start adding......

So far I am interested in
One spot foxface
Blue/regal tang Blue and yellow hippotang
Yellow tang
3-4 chromis
Longfin Fairy Wrasse
mandarin-eventually

Interested in opinions, additions or alternatives if any of these are inappropriate for a mixed reef tank

Imo a Hippo gets too big for your tank. I'm getting a 90 this week too, and I will have my Kole tang in it (stays small like Yellow tangs), and I'm considering one of the smaller Foxfaces just because of their algae prowess as I think they are ugly. I may never get one. :lol: The Chromis will get quite aggressive when they get bigger, so you may want to reconsider that choice. The Fairy Wrasse is a great choice I think!! You could get two female Wrasses and a male...? The Mandarin will probably do well provided you let the tank mature for a year or so first. A smaller hawkfish could be a good addition, but they often eat ornamental shrimp and smaller snails/hermits. What about Cardinals? Orchid Dottyback? A jawfish? One of the Dartfish (Firefish)?

Ian
04-26-2009, 01:20 AM
YAY water is in warm and holding at 1.023 SG........starting to get excited

Ian
05-09-2009, 05:55 AM
So need some more advice...I have had about 100-110 pds of live rock in for just over 2 weeks now and have been testing daily... temp is stable at 79, ph at 8.2, amonia was never high (below 1) and fell to 0,10 days ago, and nitrite levels to 0 the next day....nitrate are now down and have been for a week,below 2ppm. I used rock that was purchased from CR members and used live sand as well. Is it possible that the system is cycled or have I missed something..oh and I have a couple very small unidentified hitchhiker snails cruising around as well..
I am anxious to add some life to the tank but don't want to kill any fish out of haste...
What should I add next if it is time?..cuc,

Myka
05-09-2009, 06:11 AM
Sounds good! When both ammonia and nitrite have been 0 for a week straight and nitrate is below 10 ppm you can add a small clean up crew. Maybe half a dozen Astrea or Trochus and half a dozen Cerith or Nassarius? Personally, I'm not a big fan of hermits since they are predatory. If you do want to add some, just add a few. Scarlets seem to be the lesser of the evils.

Ian
05-21-2009, 03:28 AM
Well things seem to be going nicely 75 snails of various kinds added in the last 2 weeks and all tests are good nitrates and nitrites are down, calcium at 440.....nearing time to add some fish....
here are a couple new picksto be checked out
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/90gallon/051-1.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/90gallon/052-1-1.jpg

Ian
05-21-2009, 03:36 AM
I had these come attached to some of the rock that I picked up. They went in 10 days ago and are doing fine

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/90gallon/053.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/90gallon/054.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/90gallon/055.jpg

Ian
05-27-2009, 03:22 AM
Hehe I mentioned that it was time to start putting fish into the new tank and she came home with a tang to get things started......A sailfin tang...it is gorgeous and I will enjoy it untikl it outgrows my tank.....

Ian
06-01-2009, 11:20 PM
I need some help/advice. I am using a quiet one 4000 as my return pump and for the most part is has been good, until today that is. The power went out this morning while I was at work and I just got home to find that the pump had not re started. I could hear a bit of a hum from it but the impellor was not turning. This happened once a couple weeks ago as well when I had to shut it down to do some re-arranging. In both instances I had to unplug the pump pull it out of the sump and move the implellor by hand then when I replaced it in the sumpit started to work. I have taken it apart and can find no visible problems so what now? This obviously cannot be left to go on this way, my tank had dropped 5 degrees in the time I was away, if I had been further along in stocking it could have been a very costly problem.
Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?
Or can you suggest a good replacement pump in about the same price range..

Ian
06-03-2009, 03:17 AM
Nobody can help me with this?

Ian
06-26-2009, 03:47 AM
Well I thought a bit of an update was in order. Problem with my pumps continues and I guess will until I get a good replacement. Added a phosban reactor as a precaution and cheato is in place in the refugium.

I have a few additions to the tank. Added a rabbitfish and purple filefish 2 weeks ago. They have settled in nicely the filefish is still quite shy but the rabitfish if my tangs buddy and they are together most the time. Not shy at all as both will eat algae from my hand as it am putting it inplace in the clip.

My wife came home with a coral beauty and angel that I have yet to identify about a week ago. Now I know I am lucky to have a spouse that supports my hobbies but um I guess I need to give her a list since making this a reef tank is going to be complicated. I will likely have a couple fish to move in a while. the good news is all are doing well and eating and all my tests are staying good.

I will have some time for pics soon and will update.

Myka
06-26-2009, 05:25 AM
Regarding the Mag 4, they are known to do that. I'm using a Poseidon PS3 on my 90, and it will restart on it's own. They are expensive though, and add quite a bit of heat to the water.

Eeep! You're definitely going to have to give your wife a list!! The Rabbitfish (depending on specie) will probably outgrow the 90 too.

You need to post pics of the fish!! :)

sharuq1
06-26-2009, 05:25 AM
I have the same problem with my ocean runner and do the same thing as you to get it to work again. Not much help I guess, but perhaps it is a common problem with internal pumps.

I love your black sand, looks really sharp. Where did you find it?

kien
07-07-2009, 09:59 PM
Both my skimmer's pump and my QuietOne 3000 return pumps do this occasionally. I blow at the impellers with a turkey baster to get it started again. Doesn't do much good if you're not home to witness the failure though. For this reason alone I am considering a remote monitoring device/controller. It won't tell me that the pump isn't working, but it can notify you that a power outage occurred so that you know that you should check things out when you get home (or call in someone if you are on vacation!).

K.

I need some help/advice. I am using a quiet one 4000 as my return pump and for the most part is has been good, until today that is. The power went out this morning while I was at work and I just got home to find that the pump had not re started. I could hear a bit of a hum from it but the impellor was not turning. This happened once a couple weeks ago as well when I had to shut it down to do some re-arranging. In both instances I had to unplug the pump pull it out of the sump and move the implellor by hand then when I replaced it in the sumpit started to work. I have taken it apart and can find no visible problems so what now? This obviously cannot be left to go on this way, my tank had dropped 5 degrees in the time I was away, if I had been further along in stocking it could have been a very costly problem.
Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?
Or can you suggest a good replacement pump in about the same price range..

DJ_drew
07-08-2009, 06:29 AM
i had the same problem with my quietone
all u need to do is take out and open the impeller part and remove it, its just a magnet.
clean it and the area where the impeller sits put it back in and turn it on
bingo ur done!

Ian
07-08-2009, 07:00 AM
Thanks I will take it apart tomorrow and try that...happened again last night...damn living in a small town I never realized how often our power flikers...

Picked the sand up at Big al's in calgary. Yeah I am really happy with it so far, it may become salt and pepper as the tank ages but for now it looks good IMO.
Added a vertex skimmer a few weeks ago and as it was my first skimmer ever it tok a bit to catch on to setting it but now it is running really nice and I am very happt with it.. pump seemed to need to break in now it will re start on its own and has quieted down a bunch. The learning curve is so steep in this hobby as you all know..but I'm havving fun and the fish seem healthy!

oilfieldsafety
07-08-2009, 08:55 PM
It is an easy fix for the return pump but you stated the obvious problem, what happens if your gone for an extended time and the power has flickered?

I used a Sedra 9000 and the restart on it is flawless but it is a little louder that i would like, not a big deal but my 90 sits beside the couch in our family room.

mseepman
07-08-2009, 11:15 PM
Funny, I run two Quietone 3000's and neither have ever failed to restart for me. I have had two Sedra 2500's and one Sedra9000 and all three failed within their first few weeks when their impellers swelled and siezed the pumps. I've replaced all the impellers on warranty and all new impellers have failed again within the 1st week or so. I gave up on Sedra's...

Ian
07-12-2009, 04:22 AM
was working on my camera skills....have a long way to go but here are a few pics
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/DSC_0085-1.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/DSC_0085-1.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/DSC_0087.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/DSC_0088.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/murdoch55/DSC_0090.jpg