Pat's 90 gallon reef

[pat8you]

It's been a while since i have had a tank set up because of all the moving around. I am finally settled in enough and have the money to set up a new tank.

I was originally going to put a 33 long in with the rest of this set up and eventually upgrade. The 33 was not drilled and i was not able to find the hole saw bits i needed to do the job. I was also a little worried about drilling it because the glass is still not all that thick on the 33. So long story short i found a 90 gallon on craigslist for 150$ and couldn't hold back the urge to have a bigger tank. First on the list of things to do was reseal the seams on the tank.

The previous owners were not careful when scraping the glass and tore up the silicone pretty bad. They said it still held water and i believed it would have but i will sleep better at night knowing there was fresh nice looking silicone in the tank.

It was actually easier then i thought it would be. A couple new razor blades, a tool to make the seams look nice, and a caulk gun from the hardware store and i was on my way. I used GE silicone 1 to do the resealing.

Going to break this up into a couple posts because the pictures are pretty big. I'm going to get pictures of the stand and sump up tomorrow. I'm hoping to have water in it by the end of the weekend.

 

[Aquarium1]

WoOt! That's awesome. I'll definitely be following along What kind of lighting are you planning on using?

 

[pat8you]

I have a 175W MH and 4X48"X54W T-5s. Going to mount the MH in the middle with two bulbs on each side. All going in a canopy i have half built at the moment. I am pretty sure the the MH is a 14000k if i remember right (got it a while ago) and then the T-5s will be two actinic and two 10000k.

 

[Aquarium1]

Awesome! Can't wait

 

[Jimbo7]

I was going to say those seams look nice, but you used a cheater tool.

Even though I have told you this, I want it in writing that I think the 175 in the middle over that bar is going to look bad.

Are you off work today? If so..I expect much progress today.

 

[pat8you]

I think i will actually offset the 175 to either the left or right side of the tank a little bit. That way i have a high light side and a lower light side. We will see though. If there is to much of a difference in light and it looks funny i guess i will just have to go out and get another MH or something.

 

[pat8you]

Another quick update before bed. Finished putting the hardware on the stand today and took a few pictures.

I built a small tank into the stand using acrylic that will be part of my auto top of system. If i remember right from when i calculated it the volume is in the ball park of 12 gallons. It is a little difficult to really see since it is recessed in the stand and there is a 2x4 frame around it.

I made my own sump as well using a 65 gallon tank and pieces of cut glass from lowes. Caulked them in place and i have my self a sump. Not pretty but functional.

Flow from left to right. The sections are set up to be: tank water input -> remote deep sand bed/ fuge -> skimmer and equipment section -> two dividers for a bubble trap -> return pump section and auto top off

Skimmer is from my brothers old tank. He was down sizing and i was upgrading so we traded skimmers. Needs a good cleaning but it will do the job. ASM G3 if i remember right.

I have all the pieces i need for the plumbing and i will work on that tomorrow. I bought the wrong sized pump so i am hoping to be able to pick up a new one at the LFS but if not i will have to order one online. More to come.

 

[neilanh]

Good progress! Things are looking good, glad you're getting back into it. I got frags when you got water.

 

[melosu58]

I love the stand. Keep up the good work.

 

[harmy4993]

I love this. Another build thread. There are alot going on right now. So cool.

 

[pat8you]

Thanks all. Going to try and get more work on it done later today. I am really hoping to have water in it by the end of the weekend. I've been slowly working on this for a while and i started cycling my rock in a 55 gallon trash can a few months ago so that is ready to go to.

 

[Ziggy953]

Wow buddy! Great job on that stand! I am impressed!!!

The reseal job looks good too!

Guess I have to tag along for your build don't I?

 

[neilanh]

I think you should start yours ziggy and it can be a race

 

[Ziggy953]

I am in Tennessee right now. I am getting the build started when I get back to town. Next week I will start laying out the LEDs and getting that going. Jimbo has given me some pointers, dos and don'ts. I still need a soldering iron and I have to pick up some wire, I can't find the wire I got when I started this project over a year ago. I also have to pick up my tools from Pat since he has had them for a month.

The build is on very very soon!!!

 

[pat8you]

I've been bugging him for months to get his lazy butt moving on his build. I want to see those LEDs burning! I'm done with the tools. Thanks so much for letting me use them. You started your build over a year ago and me and jimbo are still winning... better get going...

 

[JustOneMore20]

I'll be taking notes from your build. I plan on upgrading my reef to a 90g eventually....hopefully in the Spring.

I love that stand! Very nice!

 

[Ziggy953]

I know my build has been ongoing for a year but you also know that when I get going I rock! Watch out!!! Ziggy is on the way!

 

[pat8you]

I'll be taking notes from your build. I plan on upgrading my reef to a 90g eventually....hopefully in the Spring.

I really like the 90 gal. Of the 4 foot tanks i think it has some nice dimensions for a reef. Looking forward to your upgrade.

Ziggy you are a pro i will give you that. It will be sweet to see how your and jimbo's tanks do with the LEDs.

 

[ryshark]

Looking really good. I'm looking forward to the build.... particularly if you will be keeping stony coral which I'm sure you will be. I don't use any sand or refugium in my sump or anywhere, but I have a question. Did you say that the Protein Skimmer is after the refugium section? I would think it would be best to have the Skimmer before the refugium.... unless it is on the opposite side of the return pump.
Well at least more pods would survive that way... I think.
But if the fuge is just for the biodiversity and using the macro algae to help keep nutrients in check, then I think you are good.

 

[pat8you]

I considered putting the skimmer on the other side of the fuge. I am going to have a remote deep sand bed in my sump and so i wanted it before the skimmer because then extra food and nutrients will go towards feeding all the creepy crawlies in there. Kind of no good way to do it. fuge before skimmer gives more food to the life in the DSB but then you risk sucking up a few pods. skimmer before fuge puts more pods into the display but then many of the nutrients/food that i want for the fuge is skimmed out. I don't think it will make to much of a difference either way. The fuge is mainly going to be for nutrient export.

I will be keeping plenty of SPS. I have lots of frags already picked out that i want. I also like zoas a lot. Other then that it will be a mix of what ever catches my eye.

Got more work done but have not had a chance to take pictures for another update. Hopefully tomorrow after work i will get on that.