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

[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

[gregzz4]

Good to hear you're gettin' somewhere
Rock is a personal preference, based on what you want your tank to look like.
1-2lbs/g is the normal recommendation
1lb/g is heavy if you want a light 'scape and have a light bio-load, and some say 2lbs/g is needed for a full-blown reef with lots and lots of SPS etc
You can mix live and base, but the more base you use, the more quarters of the year you will wait for it to fully seed

[gregzz4]

Forgot to add ...
If you'd like to drink the RO water, plumb your system so you can fill your jug before the DI filter as drinking DI is a no-no ...

[gridley]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Forgot to add ...
If you'd like to drink the RO water, plumb your system so you can fill your jug before the DI filter as drinking DI is a no-no ...

Thanks - I appreciate knowing that. We were thinking about using the water for my wifes repitiles - this is good to know.

[gridley]

Another day of progress!

I was able to spend a fair bit of time today on the tank project. The stand will be completed by late tonight with three coats of paint. The frame has a 2x4 frame, 3/4" fir plywood for the top, bottow and sides, and baltic birch 5/8" ply for the doors. The middle panel on the front is help in place with magnets to allow full access to the sump.

We also went shopping and purchased a Vertex Puratek 100 Ro?DI. I hope to be able to get it installed tomorrow, but that will depend on whether my brother in law (plumber) can help with the install.

[subman]

Beautiful looking stand George!

Hooking up the ro/di is a peice of cake. Just a simple piercing saddle valve and some 1/4" hose. The only problem is if your house is new and no copper pipe to pierce, I had to put mine in the basement to t off the hot water tanks copper inlet.