Bear's 90 gallon reef build

wuuzzzuuppp · Mar 21, 2014

Here's the exact light I have. It's a no namer and I'd hate to recommend it and it be a piecer for you, but I've had it over a year now and it seems to do the job fine. My rose bubble tip has split twice so I have 3 now and I also have a pink tipped anemone and Red montipora that is doing well under it too. I just changed the bulbs out to some ATI brand and I like the coloring a lot better. I went from a 10k to a 14k so it's a little blue instead of the yellowish.

48" 324W T5 HO Aquarium Light Hood 6x54 Fluorescent Actinic Lamp LCD Timer Reef | eBay

Bear · Mar 21, 2014

That looks good, like the built in timer, I will use my Christmas light timers for the DUY lights I am going to build.

Bear · Mar 22, 2014

Ok, I made this crude drawing on paint of a sump I think I am going to build this week. This only has direction of flow on it. Please give me suggestions of what to put or add to this and where to put it if this design will work. I like it because it keeps the plumbing simple for now. Thanks in advance.

vlangel · Mar 22, 2014

I don't know but is there a chance you will get micro-bubbles with the tank draining into both sides next to the return pump, especially when the left side doesn't really have baffled partition? I guess it depends how fast the water is coming down the drain.

Bear · Mar 22, 2014

I can always add baffles, this is the kind of advice I need, thanks and keep it coming.

vlangel · Mar 22, 2014

Did I miss how many gallons your sump is? When I had my 90g, ( I had that exact stand) I used a 15gH for the sump. At the time I liked the idea of having storage space beside the sump for food, dosing supplies and such but a tall sump tank was a pain to work in. I had very little room between the sump lights and the bottom of the DT. The small footprint made it hard to build the baffles too. Your diagram gives the appearance that you have chosen a bigger footprint, rectangular sump tank. A good move IMO.

Bear · Mar 22, 2014

Yes I am putting a minimum of a standard rectangular 55 below it, possibly a 75 if my wife don't take it for herself. I will not be using the stand I got with the tank but rather a matching stand to my 180 gallon I welded together out of steel. All the food and supplies will be kept under my 180 because of the enormous amount of extra space, one side for fresh and one side for salt. I am only committed to the sump size as of right now, design is still subject to change, I am still looking for advice due to my inexperience with saltwater.

vlangel · Mar 22, 2014

Sorry Bear, I read through your thread more carefully. I focused in on the motorcycle you rescued from the pasture and missed some important tank details. LOL Do you have a plan for WCs? With the volume of water that you need to change you need a manageable way of doing that. I did my WCs by hand with a 5g bucket and that got harder when I began caring for my mother in law, hence the reason I downsized.

wuuzzzuuppp · Mar 22, 2014

Sump looks good like angel said you might get some bubbles so adding the baffles will help with that. Where do you plan to put your skimmer?

wuuzzzuuppp · Mar 22, 2014

Another thought for your return pump.... Some people build a manifold and use a larger than they need pump so they can run reactors for phosban, carbon and other things. Might be something you want to look into and see if it's something you want. Here's a picture I found of one online to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

vlangel · Mar 23, 2014

I agree about utilizing a manifold. When I had my 90g my son built me one and its a great way to control the flow through the return lines. My returns had a chiller and UV in line and both had flow regulations. I just ran the 3rd line back into the sump. A manifold give you control of how high you want to run the DT and how high you run the sump too.

Bear · Mar 23, 2014

Thank you both. I will be able to figure out the WC's, but I know nothing about this reactor you speak of, I still have alot of reading to do. I will put the protein skimmer on the opposite side of the fuge. i have not decided on what skimmer I will be using do to the PRICE of protein skimmers. I will add more baffles to the fuge side. The sump has room for growth from the drawing, it's 4 feet long and 21" tall, so 2 pumps will be very easy to fit. I must apologize for my newbie-ness to this saltwater and forum usage, It took me a couple of minutes to figure out what WC's meant. I cutting and glueing the overflow boxes today and will be cutting all the steel to length for the new tanks so I can start welding them tomorrow morning. Do you have some plumbing diagrams for the sump with placement of the reactor, skimmer, pump, ect? What was the purpuse of a chiller on your tank? Speaking of chiller, my buddy (guy I got this tank from) and I were talking last night about chillers. We both have an interest in cold water reefs. I think they look amazing, but there really seems to be no information out there on them. Anyway, I just want a reef tank. Thanks for all the advice and keep it coming. I will post some more pics today as I finish the box and them sealed to the tank.

ethridge78 · Mar 23, 2014

Looks good man keep the updates coming.

vlangel · Mar 23, 2014

Its OK Bear, I had a tough time learning all the acronyms too. There is actually a thread on this forum that goes through most of them. I have a chiller because my house does not have AC, my husband and I like to have our windows open in the summer. Trouble is here in Pennsylvania our summers can get up in the 90s for a week at a time so that is why I have a chiller. My husband likes to tell people that the fish have air conditioning but we don't.

Bear · Mar 23, 2014

My wife and I live in Base housing, so we don't pay for electricity. We keep the house around 61 degrees in the summer and 66 through the winter. Those days are coming to an end soon with all the changes going on.

Bear · Mar 23, 2014

I got some more progress on the tank. I got both overflow boxes built, I just need to cut the overflow slots and silicone on to the tank. I had to remove all the silicone I used to install the bulkheads with, I made a phone call to the manufacture to double check and learned that it contains petroleum distillates, which are not safe for aquarium use. I am about to drive to the home improvement store to get the correct stuff. Anyways, here are the overflows. I post more after I get them slotted and sealed.

Once again, thanks for the advice and keep it coming.

-Bear

Bear · Mar 23, 2014

Alright, got the right stuff now and also picked some water weld. Here are the layout lines and cuts before cleaning.

Here they are cleaned up and siliconed into the tank corners.

Now I have some questions about the rock. This is what use to be live rock, it has has been out of water for a year according to my buddy. Would this be good to use in the tank? If so I was going to arrange it nicely and glue it all together with the water weld. I have read that dead rock can be brought back too life. What do I need to do for this too happen and is it good for a reef tank?

vlangel · Mar 23, 2014

Yes, it can be brought back to life. TPetty84 has a thread Cycling Dry live rock progress with photos is one I am familiar with but I think there are others. There is more than one way to do that.

wuuzzzuuppp · Mar 23, 2014

Bear said:
Thank you both. I will be able to figure out the WC's, but I know nothing about this reactor you speak of, I still have alot of reading to do. I will put the protein skimmer on the opposite side of the fuge. i have not decided on what skimmer I will be using do to the PRICE of protein skimmers.

Here is an inexpensive reactor. You will want to control your phosphates or your algae will get out of hand and its bad for your corals to have high amounts. Also it's good to run carbon at times. You can get it done with putting a mesh filter media bag in a high flow area, but a reactor is way more efficient because it slowly tumbles the media and water hits all side of it.

Two Little Fishies GFO Phosban Reactor

Skimmers are very expensive. I found a nice one on craigs list for $80. You might start looking there. Just research it to make sure its a good one and big enough.

wuuzzzuuppp · Mar 23, 2014

Nice job on the overflows! Looks good!

On the live rock. Just make sure it hasnt been in a tank that was treated with copper based medication. Remember you need 1lb per gallon so make sure you have enough before you aquascape it and then find out you need more. It's easier to do it when you have it all there and when the water is out of the tank. I started with mostly dry live rock from bulk reef supply and added a few pieces of live live rock (lol) to get things going faster. It's an option, but not necessary.

Do you already have the sand you plan to use?