90 Gallon Reef/Fish Build Diary

[pmac85]

Hey everyone, I'm a new member on here, I just started putting together a reef/fish tank. Nothing much so far, but it's coming along fairly nicely.
It's a 4 foot 90 Gallon, with a 20 gallon sump. So far all I've got is the plumbing, etc. Hooked up, and 40 lbs of live sand/ 30 lbs of live rock. I'm working on getting 50-60 lbs more rock to put in, but funds are somewhat tight right now due to the other start up costs of getting a reef system going.
Here's some pics of the tank, and sump:
It's my first attempt at a DIY sump, but it seems to be working quite well so far, we'll see what happens once I've got some livestock in there

(Don't mind the tape, it was more for an assurance, I didn't like the look of a couple of the seals)

I just finished cycling the tank, but I'm going to hold off on putting any live stock in there until I get the rest of the rock I want (Don't wanna crush anybody when I'm putting it in there, plus I'd rather the tank ran for a bit with the new rock in there before I introduce any critters)
Anyyyways.. Just thought I'd let you guys see my progress incase anyone's interested. I'm still working on my stock list, but I'll keep you guys updated once I get it all sorted out.
EDIT: Btw, the brown you can see on the rocks and sand is the end result of a huge diatom bloom I'm just getting over

 

[mie]

Looking good, You need a background.

 

[pmac85]

Originally Posted by mie
http:///forum/post/3191495
Looking good, You need a background.
I thought about getting a background for it, but I plan on having most of the back covered in corals/live rock. So if I do opt for a background, it'll likely just be a plain blue or black BG. I didn't wanna get anything that would take away from what's in the tank.

 

[btldreef]

You're off to a great start.
A comment about the back ground, do one in black, it makes the tank look cleaner, deeper and it will make the colors of your coral pop more, even if you barely see any of it. I have a blue background (tank came that way) and I absolutely hate it. It makes everything BLUE! REALLY BLUE!

I have issues with lighting because of how blue it is.

 

[mie]

Originally Posted by BTLDreef
http:///forum/post/3191524
You're off to a great start.
A comment about the back ground, do one in black, it makes the tank look cleaner, deeper and it will make the colors of your coral pop more, even if you barely see any of it. I have a blue background (tank came that way) and I absolutely hate it. It makes everything BLUE! REALLY BLUE!

I have issues with lighting because of how blue it is.
I should have clarified, a blue or black one, (I prefer black). The ones with pics look lame.

 

[meowzer]

I agree with the solid black background...and I also agree with your thoughts on putting the rest of the LR in before getting fish.....
You may want to go ahead and get a few snails though....they will help with your diatoms, and if you get cured rock they should be fine when you add it....

 

[nycbob]

nice start! more rocks!

 

[pmac85]

The place that I get all my reef equipment/live rock/etc only has 2 different types of live rock, and I don't think it's cured live rock (I'm assuming? I'm new to this, so I don't fully understand the whole concept). Since I don't have any livestock yet, I've just been putting the rock straight into my tank. I didn't seem to get much die off, and I didn't get an ammonia spike (My ammonia levels have been at 0 since day one.) I'm just assuming it's uncured rock, because it's kept in a giant fish tank, and I was under the impression that cured rock had to be kept in the open and just sprayed down to keep it moist.
But for this reason, I'd rather wait to get all my rock in place before even getting my CUC

 

[gill again68]

Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3191610
I agree with the solid black background...and I also agree with your thoughts on putting the rest of the LR in before getting fish.....
You may want to go ahead and get a few snails though....they will help with your diatoms, and if you get cured rock they should be fine when you add it....
I agree, black is the way to go!! meowzer can be very convincing

I also have a 90 going. Take it slow and enjoy every minute of it.

 

[pmac85]

Hi everyone, sorry for the lack of updates. I've been super busy with work and what-not lately. Anyways, I've got a picture of my tank setup that I just took today (sorry for the crappy cell phone picture quality, I'll try and get some better ones later).
I've added another 52 lbs of fiji rock. And I now have a Volitan Lionfish, Foxface, and a Blue tang. As well as some blue-legged hermits, a sand sifting starfish and a big brittle star that I named Krakken haha. (He's a little camera shy)
As for lights, I've only got a couple 250w T5's, I'm hoping I'll be able to fit some sort of MH unit on there somehow once I save up some more cash, so I can get some corals, etc.
Let me know what you think, and remember. It's a work in progress! lol

 

[meowzer]

You still need a background LOL
Much better with more rock....you could even put more in

 

[pmac85]

Haha, yeah... still haven't got around to getting a background lol. I originally thought about getting more rock. But after putting this stuff in it seemed pretty crowded already. I want to leave room for my lion to grow. Plus I got anxious and didn't wait for the new rock to fully cure so I'll likely be dealing with treating some ammonia/nitrite spikes shortly. Luckily I've only got a few hardy fish in there to worry about, or I wouldn't have put so much rock in so fast.

 

[ryancw01]

Looks good. I like the amount of rock you have in there right now. You don't need a ton of rock if you have a powerful skimmer. What kind of skimmer do you have or are you getting one?

 

[pmac85]

Yeah I've got The Prizm Pro Deluxe, it's rated for 300 gallons, so it should be enough. It seems to be working pretty good, although it takes a bit of messing around to fine tune it so you don't over/under skim

 

[gill again68]

You will probably need to keep a good check on your params if you dont plan on more rock. May not be enough to take care of the bioload. If price is an issue and I know how that can be then look into the marco rocks. They will seed over time. Your tank is looking great and the fish are very nice.
I agree with everyone on that back ground. It took me forever to convince meowzer to go with a black back ground. JK!

 

[pmac85]

Hi all, I know it's been a while, but I've got a little update for you. Nothing huge, just a little more livestock. Also, I've recently lost my Foxface, it got something that looked like popeye, or some other sort of eye trauma, and died shortly after... I've also replaced my skimmer (which was giving me a lot of problems) with the Marineland 300, which seems MUCH better! And a heck of a lot easier to use.

 

[pmac85]

It's been a while, so I've got an update just incase anyone's interested. I lost my Foxface a little while back, but I've got some coral and an Anemone in there now, it's finally starting to look like something!
(Although I do want more rock, and I still haven't got around to getting a background haha)
P.S. My Blue tang is just camera shy, he's hiding behind the highest rock with the gorgonian on it

 

[meowzer]

WOW...The lion sure has grown....got some nice colorful things in there too
hate to say it, but those gorgs don't look too good....

 

[pmac85]

They normally have all or most of their polyps out, but I moved them earlier today and they were just starting to come back out when I took the picture

 

[pmac85]

I'm thinking of getting another 30lbs or so of live rock, and building up the center section of the tank (Maybe kind of like a wall of it, almost to the top). I don't really want to put anymore on the right, because behind the rock with the cup on it, is a nice big area that my lionfish likes to sit in behind the rocks sometimes, so I didn't wanna cover up the opening to it.
Also, I might be getting a Copperband butterfly to help take care of some aiptasia. (I know there's a risk of them nipping at polyps after the aiptasia gets wiped out, but I'll try to wean it onto frozen food)
I haven't had much luck with any of the store bought aiptasia remedies, they seem to work as far as killing off the one I apply it to, but shortly after I'm left with a pile of thick green algae where it used to be, and it's not very long before there are smaller anemones coming out of the algae where I killed the aiptasia in the first place.
Anyone have any ideas on what might make a nice addition to this tank, as far as livestock, or design ideas?