The 90 Gallon GongShow

[GongShow]

well finally after months of research and attempted buys on canreef i found my way on to a 90 gallon system. And after a few more hours of trail and error and is it plugged in mistakes I present to you The 90 Gallon GongShow. Now all i need to do is put in the salt and live sand (which the previous owner was nice enough to give me) and buy some live rock and wait for the mayhem to commence

90 Gallons All-Glass-Aquarium with overflow drain mounted to outside of tank in conjunction with Glass-Holes.com overflow box inside the tank.
- Currents USA 48" Outer Orbit, 2x250 watt 10K HQI, 4x54 watt Geissman T5 Actinic+ (resting on the previous owners custom made open canopy)
- Eshopps psk-150 protein skimmer
- 20 gallon 3 chamber custom sump with refugium
- QuiteOne 3000 return
- 2x Hydor Koralia 2s, 1x Koralia 1.
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz170/GongShow/IMGP3479.jpg?t=1250992912
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz170/GongShow/IMGP3480.jpg?t=1250992952

[kien]

Very nice! Hehe That under tank setup looks nicer than what the previous owner had under there! So neat and organized :-)

Looking forward to seeing what you end up putting in there, keep us posted!

P.S. Your return chamber could use a bit more water ;-)

[Myka]

Reminds me of...my tank! :) 90s are a nice shape.

if I were you I wouldn't use that old sandbed, I'd toss it and start fresh. Keep a few cups of it if you want (if it has been in a running tank this whole time). An old sandbed dies really quickly in a bucket, and you're introducing a bunch of dead crap into your new tank. Some people manage to get away with it, but I wouldn't risk it.

[GongShow]

oh the sand kien gave me wasn't even used i got about 45 pounds of sand for pretty much buying from a nice guy

[Myka]

Ah, that's good then! :)

[GongShow]

Salt goes in today

[GongShow]

After i finished getting my salt in (specific gravity is 1.024) i entered the fun stuff putting stuff in the tank :biggrin: keep in mind since im on a budget and i dont really think i'll be adding corals for awhile because i want a really stable system i have only about 50 pounds in here
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz170/GongShow/IMGP3493.jpg?t=1251220949
I even found a few stragglers who decided to come for a ride from my local fish store
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz170/GongShow/IMGP3484.jpg?t=1251219645 and
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz170/GongShow/IMGP3485.jpg?t=1251219684

P.S. I need help on the picture taking I have a pentax 100 if anyone knows the ins and outs to give me good photos pm me please

[kien]

Looking great! Just one note.. I noticed that you put the ballasts pretty close to the sump. I would highly recommend either covering the ballasts (with something breathable yet water resistant), or at a minimum placing a sheet of acrylic in between the sump and the electrical section. My concern would be whenever you remove the skimmer cup, there is a bit of jostling to get the cup off and if the cup was completely full, or you were in a hurry, or just happened to bump something you might accidentally tip the skimmer cup and poor water into the electrical section and possibly all over the ballasts! Even water splashing down from the skimmer cup as you removed it could splash water onto the ballasts, as they appear pretty close. Not good!

Another option would be to mount the ballasts a little further away. I believe they have screw holes on them so that you can screw them to something (if not you can get metal fasteners to mount them). You could screw them to the top of the cabinet/stand, or the far right side wall of the cabinet/stand, or screw them to the outside back/ or side of the cabinet/stand. The added advantage of screwing them or placing them outside the stand is they will keep cooler. It does get pretty hot and humid under the stand.

Anyway, just a suggestion.. better safe than sorry? :-)

[GongShow]

yeah I'll try and get on that kein. Well i added a few chromis to test out the waters and they are looking mighty healthy. So here is my fish wish list i dont really know what order i should but them in so that input would be helpful.
Achilles tang
blue or yellow tang
blue flasher Wrasse
pinstripe wrasse
Foxface Lo or One spot Fxface
Longnose Hawkfish
yellow Watchman Goby
Flame Angelfish
Emperor Angelfish
Copperband Butterflyfish
Mandarin
maybe dwarf lionfish
two percula clownfish

[xtreme]

I don't wanna sound like the TP here but make sure you know what you are getting into with the achilles. Hard to keep, need a large, well established tank and a ton of flow among other things and they're not cheap.

[GongShow]

would my ninety gallon be enough and im still uncertain

[karazy]

would my ninety gallon be enough and im still uncertain

in my opinion, your ninety gallon wouldn't be big enough for an Achilles. i've seen 1000 gallon systems with an Achilles that looked bored.

[GongShow]

dang oh well i guess it'll save me some money in the long run. But two tangs would be fine with maybe a chevron replacing the achilies and anything else on that list look out of place and

[GongShow]

so i just quite a few fish since my last post and some inverts but still no coral and ever since my last fish add my tank has this brownish slime covering assuming slime algae so i was wondering if my strategy of more frequent water changes and less feeding might help the tank get back to normal. and what would help me with the cloudy water
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz170/GongShow/IMGP3732.jpg?t=1255548491
and here are some pics of the inhabitants so far
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz170/GongShow/IMGP3725.jpg?t=1255548449
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz170/GongShow/IMGP3730.jpg?t=1255548521
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz170/GongShow/IMGP3726.jpg?t=1255548595

[scub steve]

the brown slime stuff is diatoms imo and they are there with the start of most new tanks. You can try using carbon to clear up the water. Also i think you might have added a bit too many inhabitants to quick

[GongShow]

so there isnt really much i can do other than wait it out stop adding fish and lowering food

[Abbyreefer]

Best thing I've learnt here is to take it slow. The more fish you add at once/the quicker to try to get it complete the more problems you might have. I know when I started the hardest thing to do was to wait, but it's worth it in the long run.

Enjoy the journey !

[GongShow]

Okay so I decided to turn off the lights in my tank for two days to see if that would help with the algae and i got rid of that and the cloudy water completely but now i have had the lights back on for a couple days and its almost back to where it was before. Does this mean than i need to replace the bulbs in my light fixture or what is there really anything i can do

[Myka]

Hiya GongShow! Do you have any updated pics? The old pics you posted look like it is probably dinoflagellates (bacteria), and not diatoms (alga).

Your stocking choices are rather exuberant. Both of the tangs you chose (Sailfin and Hippo/Blue) will get much too large for your tank. You also have way too many fish that will get big. If you were to keep the fish you have in there now even a 180 would get cramped up!! Those two are very poor choices for a 90 gallon tank, they both get extremely large. The only tangs that should be kept in a 90 gallon tank (imeo) is a Yellow or Kole. Both stay small enough...even then only one tang in that tank!! The Foxface will also outgrow your 90. Your Blue Linckia starfish will also probably die as they don't survive well in captivity.

With the amount of large poo makers you have in there (Foxfaces and Tangs poo A LOT) this is likely the main reason you are suffering with the dinos.

I think if you rehome the two tangs and the Foxface, and let the tank settle down a bit you could be looking forward to a nicer looking tank in the New Year! :)

You could post up a new stock wishlist too if you would like some help choosing suitable fish.

This old list you posted is highly unsuitable:
Achilles tang (get too big, very challenging specie should only be attempted by advanced aquarists with a very large tank)
blue (gets too big)
or yellow tang
blue flasher Wrasse
pinstripe wrasse
Foxface Lo or One spot Fxface (too big)
Longnose Hawkfish
yellow Watchman Goby
Flame Angelfish
Emperor Angelfish (too big)
Copperband Butterflyfish (very challenging specie should only be attempted by advanced aquarist)
Mandarin (you would need more live rock)
maybe dwarf lionfish
two percula clownfish

Even if you took out all the fish I said would get too big for your tank, the remaining fish (not even including the CBB) would indeed fill a 90 to capacity.

Sorry to rain on your parade... :(

[GongShow]

Well i'm sad to tell you that those tangs won't be a problem both of them as well as the flame angel weren't eating and I got a more experienced reefer to diagnose them and unluckly they got a parasite so all that's in my tank right now is the foxface an the clown fish an anemone as well two small pieces of coral as well as about twenty more pounds of rock

[GongShow]

With the list as well I wasn't planning on all those fish just trying to get feedback on which would be acceptable in my tank