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

[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

[gridley]

We are finally making some progress! I was able to spend a few hours today on the stand and the construction is finished - pictures coming tomorrow. Tomorrow I will do a final sanding and start the painting. We are also planning on going shopping - it's time to spend some money!

We will get a RO/DI unit and hope that my plumber (brother-in-law) can help me on Sat to get it hooked up. We might also buy some rock. We are going to go with Marco rock. For a 90 G tank, how much Marco rock should we get, and how much live rock?

Thanks

[Pan]

Originally Posted by Magma

Thats a lie!!


Tank crashes happen fast everytime

Hence the "good" part of the statement