90 gal build log

melypr1985

melypr1985

Member
So, some of you might have seen the thread I started a while back about my 55. Now if you remember, the 55 was broken and useless to me. Soooo, I went and got a 90 gal tank, and stand for 100 bucks. Not too shabby!

I filled up the tank to check for leaks and hooked up all my plumbing and such for my refuge. Did some testing to make sure nothing leaked. I had to make a few trips to lowes.
But I finnaly got it working. I've had it filled up and running for a week now just to make sure I liked it the way it was set up and that there wouldn't be any problems with it later.
 
melypr1985

melypr1985

Member
Today I got about 100 lbs of live sand from a friend's tank and about 50gal of water too! I'm doing this because the water is free and the sand was only 20 dolllars. Also to hurry my cycle along. I bought live figi rock, about 22 lbs. Since that cost me $75 you can see why i opted for the used other stuff. I do plan on getting much more rock, but that will take some time before i'm satisfied with the amount. besides i have to replace one of my pc bulbs and find some t5's (do NOT want to do MH). anyways, here are a few pics of it being all cloudy.

 
aquaguy24

aquaguy24

Active Member
good start...can't wait to see it cleard up..welcome to the 90g club...
if there was one....im a 90ger too...
 
melypr1985

melypr1985

Member
After everything cleared up there was this NASTY looking layer on top of my pretty white sand. it almost looks like a thick layer of dust (except its in the water). is this a really bad thing? i would take a pic of it but i keep stirring it up hoping that it will get filtered out. so far... no luck. what should it do? get one of those really fine white nets and skim it out manually? or is it not something i should worry about for now?
 
melypr1985

melypr1985

Member
what kind of light should i put on my fuge? i'm going to get some cheato for it. i already have live sand and some live rock rubble in there. i want to put some cheato, but i dont have the kind of money to spend on a really expensive light. i was under the impression (by looking at other's setups) that i could use a realatively inexpensive power compact bulb in a regular fixture or lamp. like the kind you use to save energy in your home.
what do you guys think?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
I have a $7 clip on light from Walmart with one of those 65Watt energy aver bulbs
I have LS, LR, chaeto, peppermint shrimp, different snails,and a monkey shrimp in my fuge
 
melypr1985

melypr1985

Member
oh cool! i was hoping i wouldn't have to spend much on it! i still have to buy lighting for my tank! ugh! everybody keeps telling me that my pc lights wont work. i dont wanna do metal hallides, so i'm think t5ho. hmmm. the pc is working great on my 10! this hobby is full of contradictions and confusion!
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
PC is good for fish.....T5HO are good for a lot....Metal halide for everything
Some people say the T5HO are also good for everything too.....I have all 3...lol
pc on my 54....T5HO on my 29....MH on my 225....I will tell you that PC WILLNOT support anything much...
 
melypr1985

melypr1985

Member
hmmm. maybe my pc's work on my 10 because most everything is either up high or very tollerant of med light. i always make sure my lighting situation is known before making a purchase. but that's why i'm getting the t5ho's, just to make sure i do things right on the big one.
 
ryancw01

ryancw01

Member
Make sure for the refugium light that you have a certain number of Kelvin's (Color Temperature). From my experience, the higher the K, the better. More white light as you go higher in K.
 
fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
Originally Posted by melypr1985
http:///forum/post/3085035
oh cool! i was hoping i wouldn't have to spend much on it! i still have to buy lighting for my tank! ugh! everybody keeps telling me that my pc lights wont work. i dont wanna do metal hallides, so i'm think t5ho. hmmm. the pc is working great on my 10! this hobby is full of contradictions and confusion!

Finally someone feels the same pain. I run two puple pc bulbs on my 84 and all of my corals do fine and growth. They are really easy corals but still are growing better than anyone has said they would. I am going to spend some more money on a VHO ballest and installe that in my new system when I get some extra cash.
Another thing people on he say is that to keep stonies and all of the other corals you need really good t5 or MH. Well a local reef has AMAZING tanks with stonies, softies, etc.. and all he runs are a few engier bulbs and some antics. Pretty cool. I installed two of them to my new canopy, will test it out and see if I get the same results.
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3085042
PC is good for fish.....T5HO are good for a lot....Metal halide for everything
Some people say the T5HO are also good for everything too.....I have all 3...lol
pc on my 54....T5HO on my 29....MH on my 225....I will tell you that PC WILLNOT support anything much...I disagree with that.
 
melypr1985

melypr1985

Member
well, now i'm looking at building my own t5 system. it shouldn't be too hard b/c my boyfriend is an electrician and can get alot of the parts i need from supply houses in the area for alot cheaper than in stores.
meowzer: i think he dissagrees with what you said about pcs not supporting much. i somewhat agree with your oppinion. i'm probably going to put my pc light from my 10 gal on my refuge and buy or make a new fixture with t5's for the 10. my corals are doing fine and growing some, but i would like to see better color and faster growth from them.
 
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