New Fluval M90, Calgary
 

Hello to anyone checking this out. Im brand new to the forum and brand new to saltwater. I've been reading everything I can about keeping a reef tank and decided to take the plunge. Im new so any advice/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Plan on keeping 5 fish, a shrimp and some sps.

I ended up going with the Fluval M90 as I really liked the look. The tank has been placed in my theater room (hoping the noise wont bother the fish too much) as it keeps a steady temp and has no direct light. I purchased 40lbs dry rock from Wai's, 20 lbs live rock, a bag of live sand, a bag of cut to fit filter pad and 2 Korilia 600 powerheads. I may have gotten too much live rock but im hoping that will be good for the tank.

The tank was filled with Ro water mixed in buckets and filled up last Tuesday. All rock and sand was placed into the tank ahead of the water. I added a 6 pack of Prodibio Start Up as per advice from a LFS. I have been taking readings everyday since and am hoping to see changes soon. I have had 0 amonia and 0 nitrite for the last 3 days and am starting to notice my dry rock is turning a darker shade. I have kept the lights off so far.

The tank came with a fluval power head, Fluval SEA High Performance 80cm LED marine lighting, and a Fluval PS1 skimmer. I replaced the powerhead and am hoping to replace the skimmer with something a little quieter. I am unsure about the light. I really dont like how I cant program the day and night switch on seperate timers. If anyone can recomend another led I'm open to suggestions.

I will attempt to post a few pics if I can figure out how. Please bear in mind that rock placement will be changed.

Here is a list of the fish i'm hoping to put into the tank when my cycle has completed.
- Firefish (purple or exquisite)
- Pair of Clownfish (not sure which kind yet?)
- Royal Gramma Basslet
- Diamond Watch Goby
- Fire or Cleaner Shrimp
- various CUC

Was hoping to put a crab thats not a Hermit in as well but so far have been unable to find any that dont look like a threat. The tank is open so I'm hoping to place some sort of screen over it to keep any jumpers in.

Pretty looking tank!

Some potential upgrades I'd look at in the future (especially if you plan to keep SPS) would be better lights (MH, LEDs, T5, etc. whatever floats your boat) and better water movement (many tout the new Maxspect Gyre; MP40s are proven performers, Jebao are great budget pumps).

What are the dimensions of the tank?

Do consider a QT system (it's heartbreaking to see fish dying or suffering through ich/other diseases). Designer clowns are the best! :)

Looking forward to progress! :biggrin:

Hi Brian

The tank dimensions are 90x40x42 36 gallon. It has a seprate sump in the back with 4 chambers. The tank did come with LED's however I don't belive they will provide adequet lighting for Sps. As im new I think I will start with a softie to get a feel for things.

That dbl pwrhead you linked looks awesome. I'll consider one of those in the future for sure. I seem to be getting great movement with the 2 pwrheads I have but always like to try new tech out.

I am considering a quarantine tank atm. I was thinking of picking up one of the small jbj 12g cubes or a fluval mini setup. I guess you just put in some live rock and saltwater and just let it cycle. How long do you keep a fish in quarantine?

Jesse

Sounds like a good idea. I would say stay away from SPS for a few months since it's a new tank, until everything stabilizes. Softies like xenia and mushrooms are kinda cool.

Yeah maybe stay with the Koralias for now until you feel more flow is necessary.

QT is a great idea. I believe the general idea is just to leave it empty except a bit of large PVC/clay pots for the fish to hide. Seed it with a bag of ceramic media from your main tank then leave it in your QT. Frequent water changes to keep ammonia down (test often or buy a AM badge). The consensus is 4 weeks minimum in QT, with 6 weeks being a good acceptable timeline.

I'm fairly new too, the best advice I can give you is ask questions (which you are doing well!) and do lots of research, and patience is the most important virtue you can have. Happy reefing.

Picked up a 12g jbj nano cube to use as a quarantine tank. Hid it on my wife in my hobby room downstairs. Im sure she will find it at some point, but i'll just tell her I picked it up with the M90...

Ive been testing my tank everyday and am at 0 amonia, 0 Nitrite and Nitrate is at 10ppm for the last 4 days. I am starting to see my white dry rock turn a darker shade with a few prominent darker patches. I feel I may have too much rock in the tank and am thinking of removing a huge piece. (36g tank with 50 plus lbs of rock)

The stco fluval ps1 protien skimmer is so loud its starting to drive me nuts. Have been reading a vew reviews on quieter units and am planning on switching to one sooner then later.

My tank is super small compared to all the ones i'm reading about. I can only immagine maintenance and water changes on such large setups. I feel like setting up a sump room in my basment, but I guarantee ill be single if I try :biggrin:

Too funny, we've got the same tank and same quarantine tank. Emerald crabs should be fine as an addition, I have 2 and never touched any of my corals. Get a Gyre 130 and replace your LED with 2 AI Prime. Replace the skimmer with a Tunze DOC Skimmer 9002. Mine has a small reactor (Innovative Marin).

Those are some sweet products. Im wondering in the hydra 26" would be big enough for the tank vs the singles. Im mostly planning on softies for now. I was hoping someone on here had the same setup and could let me know how they have it setup. Can you tell me how you have your back chamber filtration setup and possibly show off some oics of your tank?


Jesse