My 90g Reef Adventure....

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robertfah

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jan 5, 2006
Messages
274
Location
Orlando
I got a new 90g a couple of weeks ago and posted some threads about fish, sumps, etc. but I wanted to start a new thread and have it all contained in here. So, with that in mind, here's some pics of when I first set it up:

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I just spent 3 hours rearranging the rock a little so when I get home tonight, I will take some updated photos.

The tank has about a 20-30g sump with a protein skimmer in it and bio balls. I'd love to build my own some day out of a 40-55g to have more room for a uv filter, refugium and whatever else I need. The sump resides in the closet, which the tank is on the other side of the wall. I put 2 pieces of PVC pipe through the wall for the drain and return. It works great and I can barely hear the tank running when I view it from my couch (about 4ft away). I'm having some humidity issues with the closet right now, so I'm open for ideas on how to resolve this.

I will also takes some recent pics of my corals as they've adjusted to the tank now and some have bloomed really nice, while other's I'm affraid aren't going to make it (one of my bird's nest).
 
If you end up losing the birdsnest, find an established reefer near you who has some. 75% of the time they will just break off a chunk for you for free, the stuff grows like mad in established tanks.

Excited to see the new scape!
 
If you end up losing the birdsnest, find an established reefer near you who has some. 75% of the time they will just break off a chunk for you for free, the stuff grows like mad in established tanks.

Excited to see the new scape!
Thanks for the tip! I didn't change much but I moved the rock out of the center and pushed the whole thing back against the glass (as recommended by many). So now each "side" of the fixture appears to have a large rock formation....it looks a lot better.

Here's a fish list of what I was thinking of getting....not necessarily all of these, but just a variety of the fish I like. Comments/suggestions always welcome:

Clown Goby, Citrinis
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OR

Clown Goby, Green
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Royal Gramma Basslet
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Spotted Cardinalfish
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Firefish - 2 or more
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Purple Dottyback
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Green Mandarin
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Six Line Wrasse
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2 clowns (could I do 2 pairs of 2?) - open to all variations of these....true, maroon, etc.
 
I would stick with one pair of clowns. The rest of the fish are all pretty common additions. The only one that sticks out is the green/blue/red mandarin, I would steer far clear for now unless you find one eating frozen.

The dottyback and the basslet will probably not get along as well.
 
I would stick with one pair of clowns. The rest of the fish are all pretty common additions. The only one that sticks out is the green/blue/red mandarin, I would steer far clear for now unless you find one eating frozen.

The dottyback and the basslet will probably not get along as well.


Yeah, I was thinking of adding the mandarin later, once I get my sump setup with a refugium and macro algae to grow copepods.

What size sump would be suitable for my tank? I was thinking of another 55g only because there's lots of room in them but I'm open to suggestions. :confused:
 
get a sump as big as you can,the bigger the better this will give you more water volume which is more forgiving if you get any water parameter problems.
 
Here's some udpated pics of my LR. Not a whole lot changed, but I moved the pieces out of the middle and pushed the whole fixture as far back as I could.

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Here's some close ups of the corals. Sorry for the blurriness on some pics, I was in a rush when I took these.

1.)
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2.) :(
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3.)
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12.)
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13.) Any idea's as to what this is and where it should be placed in the tank (high, med, low...high lighting, low lighting, etc.)
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14.)
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15.)
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16.)
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17.)
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18.)
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19.)
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20.) My new sun coral!
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21.)
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22.) Sponge in the BG.
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23.) Is this hair algae growing on this rock? It sure looks that way to me......
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Is that last picture an actual coral? Do those green strands retract if you poke it? It looks like just turf algae growing on an old skeleton to me.

Looks like you need more flow across the back glass, looks funky.
 
Is that last picture an actual coral? Do those green strands retract if you poke it? It looks like just turf algae growing on an old skeleton to me.

Looks like you need more flow across the back glass, looks funky.

No, the last pic is just a piece of rock with some algae growing on it....I wasn't too sure if it was hair algae or not, so I posted it to see if someone knew.

My PH on the right side keepys falling off so I don't know if I have to get a new one or if they sell new suction cups for those Korilia pumps.

Pic. #9 is a xenia of some sort.....which I put in the middle, on the sand bed (it's attached to a piece of LR). Is that a good palce for it? I had it where the flow was mid-high and it always seemed pale and stressed....now that it's in the middle, it seems to be doing better....I hope.
 
I've been thinking of getting some red/blue legged crabs......are they ok for a reef tank? I've only had them in my FOWLR tank.
 
Thanks Jim....I'm still a little undecided at the moment.

My wife and I bought a pair of mated clowns a couple of nights ago. They are a mature pair of gold stripe maroon clowns. The female is a biggie! They both have beautiful markings and coloration and get along SO well. Right now she's trying to host my field of Zoa's, which is funny to see....LOL I'll snap a few pics when I get a moment.

I also just scored a 55g tank for $20! it's in great shape and I will be using this to design my sump. I've got a few ideas in mind but I will scan them and post them up before deciding anything.
 
Here's a design I used for my last 55g sump (for my 155g tank) and I loved it, but there was 1 issue; I made the skimmer zone too small, so it could only house the skimmer pump (not the UV pump or phosban reactor pump). Plus the waterflow from the skimmer zone to the refugium was too fast, so all the sand and macro algae was spinning in circles.

This is from Melev's Reef:
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If I could find a way to utilize the space better (limited because it's a 55g tall tank), and reduce the flow so that I could actually use the refugium zone, I think this would work.
 
Check out a design that you can split your return to refugium and skimmer compartment separately. That way you can control just how much goes into your refugium. Idaho Tank on this forum just made one that looks great. I think it was one of Marc's designs.
 
Yep, I copied one of his sump designs and love it. The only complaint I have is that I have a large flow going through my bubble trap and I do get micro bubbles to pass through the trap. :(

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Yep, I copied one of his sump designs and love it. The only complaint I have is that I have a large flow going through my bubble trap and I do get micro bubbles to pass through the trap. :(

Is this because the bubble trap is to narrow or to wide?
 
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