G&D's Foray Into a 90G Tank (Take One)

[gregzz4]

Welcome Deborah and George. You are in for a huge change in thinking.
Last fall I decided to rid myself of 180g of combined freshwater headaches and I am almost ready to put water in my new SW tank ( I am taking a lot longer than most to gear up ). I felt SW would be more rewarding for the work I was performing.

So, good on ya'
What a unique looking tank/stand. Very nice. I haven't seen the white trim before.
I know not enough about SW yet, but will put my 2 cents in right now ....
And I mean it, so, if you don't mind some advice from a rookie ....

Get out of MH lights as I feel they are leaving the market and will cost you money in the long-run.
T5s are a huge improvement over T8s/PCs and rival MHs.
LEDs are up to you. They are relatively new so research lots as there are sooooo many options.
T5s will get you by for now, to save you initial start-up costs, and if you buy the right fixture, you may even keep it.
I have a Powermodule 8 x 54 watt T5 on a 75g and it will be all I need ... ever. I'd like to see where a 10 bulb makes a difference.
So, for you, you'll need lots of light. But you don't need to buy it all right now.
Find yourself a fixture that can change and grow with your tank.
Something that gives you the ability to control more than the standard "2 on" "6 on" crap out there.
I fell in love with Hamilton Lighting. Then I found my fixture on here ( Canreef ) and modified it. I bought all the wiring needed and now it's fully controllable ( well, I can control all 4 pairs. )

Rock is your choice. I opted for the cheap dry rock route for the majority of my stock, and it will probably take a year for it to mature.
If you buy mostly base rock like me, count on about a year before you can fully stock your tank safely.
If you get a mix of 50/50 you stand a better chance of stocking your tank much sooner after startup. This is where so many tanks thrive or fail. If you don't have enough live rock to support your critters, you will suffer failures that may make you want to leave the hobby. Make your choice RIGHT NOW.
Do you want to;

1- Fully stock your tank right now, and see all the fish in it you envisioned
Or do you want to;

2 - take your time and watch it mature as you add your critters, both fish and corals

If your choice is 2, you are on the right track.
Nothing good ever happens fast in a SW Tank

You obviously have a friend here that will help you, but I want you to hear it from another.

Take your time, add things slowly, ie;
Not like FW. One fish every 2-4 weeks is all your tank can handle, and that's if your rock is stable.
And if you can be more patient, 2-4 weeks between fish is too soon.
Use a Quarantine Tank if you have one left over and wait 4-8 weeks before adding the new fish to your Display Tank.

Big change, isn't it?

It'll be worth it ... just be patient.

Oh, lastly, you can glean a whole lot of good info from our resident Writer here

Hope you read all that
Happy Reefing

[gregzz4]

Part II
Stop worrying about pH like we did with our FW tanks
And re-learn about Alk, it's relationship with Ca and so on.
I learned so much from here;

This is the link to all Mindy's writings
Myka's taking up bandwidth

But I specifically learned what I needed from here;
Myka's Guide .....

[gregzz4]

I hope I didn't frustrate you in any way.
This is a wonderful hobby.

This community is invaluable.
Get started and everyone will help you if you need it

DO IT

[Magma]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Nothing good ever happens fast in a SW Tank

Thats a lie!!


Tank crashes happen fast everytime

[gridley]

We want to thank all those with helpful suggestions on our project. We would appreciate it if you keep them coming.

Deborah and I were able to make a bit of progress on the tank project over the weekend. We moved the old freshwater tank (servicing only goldfish at present - they are our "pond fish") out of the family room and into the living room to make space for the reef tank. We then moved the stand into the family room and got that set up - it looks good - but I'll get back to that later. . .

We also took the tank into the shop to have a hole drilled for an emergency overflow. We appreciated the suggestion to install a second overflow. As soon as the suggestion was made, we were very uncomfortable with no emergency overflow. This afternoon we picked up the tank - it all looks very good.

Back to the stand. . . Though the stand looks great, I have been increasingly uncomfortable with the manufactured stand that we have. We took the time to refinish it and to build an internal frame to make it stronger, but the sides, top and doors are MDF. Even though they are finshed very well I am worried about what their condition will be in several years. So . . . Deborah and I made the decision this afternoon to scrap the stand (we might acutally use it for a TV stand in the basement!) and build one from scratch. Woodworking is my first hobby and in particular, making furniture. My schedule will not allow me to do much on it this coming weekend, but hopefully by the first weekend in May, I will be able to get a lot of it done. If anyone has suggestions for the construction of stands, please pass them on.

Until that is done, we will just enjoy the tank as it is.
My son took a picture and posted on Facebook that I had run out of money and had to settle for a borrowed stuffy from my younger son. Thanks kid!

Any comments and suggestions are welcome.

[reefgirl189]

You know it's really too soon to be adding a fish. you haven't even got your initial ammonia spike yet. At least he'll be easy on the wallet!

Thanks for the last pic. BF and I had a good laugh over here!

[gridley]

Yes I realized that we were taking a bit of a chance but we were eager to make the tank look good. As I've been watching him tonight he seems to be a bit lifeless - should I be concerned?

[subman]

Originally Posted by gridley

Yes I realized that we were taking a bit of a chance but we were eager to make the tank look good. As I've been watching him tonight he seems to be a bit lifeless - should I be concerned?

Nah That's normal for the super false Perc. They are completely lifeless but beautiful and live forever!

[gridley]

Not much has happened since our last post a few weeks ago. I haven't had much time to work on the new tank stand, but it is slowly coming. I really hope that by next weekend we will be able to finish and paint the stand. What we have done is to spend time talking to people, and learning more. Thanks especiually to Dave and Scott for your suggestions and input.

We have decided on using LED lighting - still not sure which one. We will use Marco rock and seed it with live rock - trying to think through how much of each to get. We have not decided which skimmer we will buy, but we will go with a mid priced one.

In the meantime our lone fish is looking quite content and appears to be doing well (see above picture).

George

[Pan]

Originally Posted by Magma

Thats a lie!!


Tank crashes happen fast everytime

Hence the "good" part of the statement