Sharing my 90 gallon

nanokeeper · 02/17/2010, 10:50 AM

I've always wanted to start a tank thread but have been too lazy. Well, I finally got around to it.

Tank has been running since June 2007. My goal was to have a decent tank with very low energy consumption. I think that I accomplished it. When I had this tank setup in Florida it was very heavy on the technology side of reefkeeping and I never really felt like it was as successful as it should have been. This time I went the opposite way. It has gone through some ups and downs, including almost being broken down (see pics below). I am currently rebuilding it and trying to mimic SunnyX's ( http://www.rimlessreef.com/ ) style of reef keeping. I'm sure you don't blame me. I've been slowing replacing/upgrading my equipment the last few months. I was manually dosing Calc/Alk and to supplement the Kalk reactor until this last week when I sold the kalk reactor and acquired an ACjr and BRS dosing pumps. I'm excited to automate some of the daily tasks. I've also started researching upgrading to a 120 gallon starphire glass tank for more front to back depth. I built the stand extra deep to hide the wiring and plumbing so a 120 should fit with little modification to the stand. I'll try to take some better current pics with a real camera instead of the silly cell phone. Hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to comment or ask questions.

Here are the basic hardware specs:

90 gallon with custom small corner overflow (drain drilled out the back).
Custom solid oak stand/hood built by my Dad and I
250 watt HQI Phoenix pendent on a light mover --->to be replaced by 6x54watt ATI Sunpower in the next few weeks.
2x54 watt UV 454 T5s overdriven to 80 watts each with an Icecap 430 --->to be replaced by 6x54watt ATI Sunpower in the next few weeks.
Ehiem 1260 return pump to 1" Sea Swirl
Tunze 6055 w/ Tunze Single Controller
Tunze 6045 (modded) --> to be replaced by Vortec MP40W or Tunze 6105 in a month
Tunze 6045 (modded and attached to the Sea Swirl creating great random flow)
Tunze 6025 in sump
MSX200 skimmer w/ ATB PPW
Neptune ACjr
BRS dosing pumps for Calc/Alk
250 watt Won Bros titanium heater

Original Tank Pics - 12/10/2008

Old Pic of sump setup. Kalk reactor is gone and is being replaced by some BRS Dosing pumps. Don't mind the Hello Kitty cup. My 1 year old daughter thought I needed that there for the pic.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update 11-2-2009.

Time to change it up. I sold off a lot of corals this year in an attempt to break down the tank. I stay very busy with two jobs and three kids. Well, my wife and kids begged me not to break the tank down so now I have to rebuild. It's very sad to look at the original pic that I posted from back in December 2008 compared to what it looks like now. It looks horrible now. I needed some motivation to bring it back to it's former glory so a friend of mine has convinced me to change it up and go mainly SPS. I've already started tearing out some softies and things that spread like crazy. I'm going to have to sell some stuff that will no longer belong. The tank is really torn apart right now. I just got done scrapping some huge pieces of digitata that had spread along half of the back glass.

I will be redoing the rockwork so a lot of corals are just sitting on the sand. I also plan to incorporate a separate frag tank to get that little frag rack out of the tank.

Here is a current pic.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tank rebuild time.

Got rid of some corals and redid rock structure. Saved space in the upper portions of rock for colorful SPS. Partial removal of fine grained sand that will be replaced with CaribSea Seaflor sand. It's always a work in progress, but I think it looks a lot better than the last pic in November. I'm excited that I will be ordering a 6x54watt ATI Sunpower in the next few weeks which should really help coral color and growth.

Pic taken. 1-10-2010

Updated Pics taken with cell phone. 2/15/2010

Left Side.

Right side redone again to create more caves/bridges.

silentscream · 02/17/2010, 10:57 AM

I like the changes to your tank, but wow, that stand is top notch!

nanokeeper · 02/17/2010, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silentscream

I like the changes to your tank, but wow, that stand is top notch!

Thanks for the compliment. My wife's stipulation for having a tank in the house was the stand had to look furniture quality.

brannock_16 · 02/17/2010, 02:34 PM

I like those caps you have. I hope mine show some nice scrolling growth like yours!

nanokeeper · 02/17/2010, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brannock_16

I like those caps you have. I hope mine show some nice scrolling growth like yours!

Yea they are very nice, but extremely fast growers. The orange one in the middle ended up growing up against the glass and had the same diameter as a large plate. I sold it and all the other caps due to them growing so fast.

nanokeeper · 03/09/2010, 02:31 PM

Weekend Fun.

Yeah!!!!

Un-Boxing

Very Bright

Mounting

Mounted

Top of hood before

Top of hood after. The power strip in the front is there for me to easily turn off all of the powerheads when feeding.

The helper.

Nice!

nanokeeper · 03/18/2010, 07:53 AM

Did a few more little projects on the tank. I'm very happy with way that the corals are responding to the new light and more consistent dosing.

Installed Neptune ACJr and BRS Dosing pumps.

Installed a new sump due to the previous one having a small leak. I only used one baffle this time since my Herbie style drain doesn't create any micro bubbles. I like the cleaner look.

Old one.

New one.

knpjdad · 03/18/2010, 08:04 AM

Very Nice... I think building / rework is half the fun of reefing!

nanokeeper · 03/18/2010, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knpjdad

Very Nice... I think building / rework is half the fun of reefing!

Thanks! I couldn't agree more. It has really re-sparked my interest and I've learned a lot in the process.

knpjdad · 03/18/2010, 12:46 PM

That is why I keep buying bigger and bigger tanks! LOL
Well keep us up to date! Have Fun! And keep those pictures coming!!

nanokeeper · 03/18/2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knpjdad

That is why I keep buying bigger and bigger tanks! LOL
Well keep us up to date! Have Fun! And keep those pictures coming!!

Thanks knpjdad. I will keep taking the pictures. I've always enjoyed all of the builds here on RC.

02/17/2010, 10:50 AM	#1
nanokeeper Obsessed Reefer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Mooresville, NC Posts: 322	Sharing my 90 gallon I've always wanted to start a tank thread but have been too lazy. Well, I finally got around to it. Tank has been running since June 2007. My goal was to have a decent tank with very low energy consumption. I think that I accomplished it. When I had this tank setup in Florida it was very heavy on the technology side of reefkeeping and I never really felt like it was as successful as it should have been. This time I went the opposite way. It has gone through some ups and downs, including almost being broken down (see pics below). I am currently rebuilding it and trying to mimic SunnyX's ( http://www.rimlessreef.com/ ) style of reef keeping. I'm sure you don't blame me. I've been slowing replacing/upgrading my equipment the last few months. I was manually dosing Calc/Alk and to supplement the Kalk reactor until this last week when I sold the kalk reactor and acquired an ACjr and BRS dosing pumps. I'm excited to automate some of the daily tasks. I've also started researching upgrading to a 120 gallon starphire glass tank for more front to back depth. I built the stand extra deep to hide the wiring and plumbing so a 120 should fit with little modification to the stand. I'll try to take some better current pics with a real camera instead of the silly cell phone. Hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to comment or ask questions. Here are the basic hardware specs: 90 gallon with custom small corner overflow (drain drilled out the back). Custom solid oak stand/hood built by my Dad and I 250 watt HQI Phoenix pendent on a light mover --->to be replaced by 6x54watt ATI Sunpower in the next few weeks. 2x54 watt UV 454 T5s overdriven to 80 watts each with an Icecap 430 --->to be replaced by 6x54watt ATI Sunpower in the next few weeks. Ehiem 1260 return pump to 1" Sea Swirl Tunze 6055 w/ Tunze Single Controller Tunze 6045 (modded) --> to be replaced by Vortec MP40W or Tunze 6105 in a month Tunze 6045 (modded and attached to the Sea Swirl creating great random flow) Tunze 6025 in sump MSX200 skimmer w/ ATB PPW Neptune ACjr BRS dosing pumps for Calc/Alk 250 watt Won Bros titanium heater Original Tank Pics - 12/10/2008 Old Pic of sump setup. Kalk reactor is gone and is being replaced by some BRS Dosing pumps. Don't mind the Hello Kitty cup. My 1 year old daughter thought I needed that there for the pic. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update 11-2-2009. Time to change it up. I sold off a lot of corals this year in an attempt to break down the tank. I stay very busy with two jobs and three kids. Well, my wife and kids begged me not to break the tank down so now I have to rebuild. It's very sad to look at the original pic that I posted from back in December 2008 compared to what it looks like now. It looks horrible now. I needed some motivation to bring it back to it's former glory so a friend of mine has convinced me to change it up and go mainly SPS. I've already started tearing out some softies and things that spread like crazy. I'm going to have to sell some stuff that will no longer belong. The tank is really torn apart right now. I just got done scrapping some huge pieces of digitata that had spread along half of the back glass. I will be redoing the rockwork so a lot of corals are just sitting on the sand. I also plan to incorporate a separate frag tank to get that little frag rack out of the tank. Here is a current pic. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tank rebuild time. Got rid of some corals and redid rock structure. Saved space in the upper portions of rock for colorful SPS. Partial removal of fine grained sand that will be replaced with CaribSea Seaflor sand. It's always a work in progress, but I think it looks a lot better than the last pic in November. I'm excited that I will be ordering a 6x54watt ATI Sunpower in the next few weeks which should really help coral color and growth. Pic taken. 1-10-2010 Updated Pics taken with cell phone. 2/15/2010 Left Side. Right side redone again to create more caves/bridges.

02/17/2010, 10:57 AM	#2
silentscream Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 1,136	I like the changes to your tank, but wow, that stand is top notch! __________________ Justin

03/09/2010, 02:31 PM	#6
nanokeeper Obsessed Reefer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Mooresville, NC Posts: 322	Weekend Fun. Yeah!!!! Un-Boxing Very Bright Mounting Mounted Top of hood before Top of hood after. The power strip in the front is there for me to easily turn off all of the powerheads when feeding. The helper. Nice! Last edited by nanokeeper; 03/09/2010 at 02:37 PM.

03/18/2010, 08:04 AM	#8
knpjdad Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Findlay, OH Posts: 216	Very Nice... I think building / rework is half the fun of reefing! __________________ Living vicariously via reefcentral! Current Tank Info: :( Had to tear down all my tanks due to a move...

03/18/2010, 12:46 PM	#10
knpjdad Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Findlay, OH Posts: 216	That is why I keep buying bigger and bigger tanks! LOL Well keep us up to date! Have Fun! And keep those pictures coming!! __________________ Living vicariously via reefcentral! Current Tank Info: :( Had to tear down all my tanks due to a move...

02/17/2010, 02:34 PM	#4
brannock_16 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 618	I like those caps you have. I hope mine show some nice scrolling growth like yours!

03/18/2010, 07:53 AM	#7
nanokeeper Obsessed Reefer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Mooresville, NC Posts: 322	Did a few more little projects on the tank. I'm very happy with way that the corals are responding to the new light and more consistent dosing. Installed Neptune ACJr and BRS Dosing pumps. Installed a new sump due to the previous one having a small leak. I only used one baffle this time since my Herbie style drain doesn't create any micro bubbles. I like the cleaner look. Old one. New one.