Need Advice on 90 Gallon set-up.

[coryaquarium101]

Hi everyone,
I have had a 37 gallon salt tank for about 1 1/2 years. I came upon a guy selling a nice set-up and decided to take the plunge and buy it all. Heres the list.

$500 for.

1. 90 Gal. Oceanic drilled tank with overflow.
2. Model 4 even flow MegaFlow Sump (made by all glass aquariums), I have all the plumbing stuff, and bio-balls. I checked fosters and they sell this new for $440.
3. Rio 2100 return pump.
4. Nice wood cherry color stand and canopy. He didn't use the canopy and I won't either because of the heat the light will make.

$400 for.

48" Hammilton Technology light, dual fans with 2- 175W 1400K Halides that are only 3 months old , and 2-48" VHO super actinic bulbs. and of course the big heavy ballast thing.

I have a heater, and a koralia 3 pump, I will need to get another one, probably a bigger one.

Here are some questions.

1. Set up near the kitchen/living room, kind of worried about putting it there becuase of the cooking smells and foot traffic. Option 2 is in the bedroom, but there is carpet in the bedroom and won't be as nice looking in there.

2. I'm kinda worried about the weight, so I might check with an engineer? Also I heard of people putting foam under the stand, is that a good thing?

3. What is the best skimmer that is around the $300 range?

4. Is it better to go with a background or paint the back blue or black?

Any more suggestions will be great, as I want to do this right.

Thanks.
Cory.

[eb8919]

Just some suggestions that i have knowledge with...

Originally posted by coryaquarium101
Hi everyone,
I have had a 37 gallon salt tank for about 1 1/2 years. I came upon a guy selling a nice set-up and decided to take the plunge and buy it all. Heres the list.

$500 for.

1. 90 Gal. Oceanic drilled tank with overflow.
2. Model 4 even flow MegaFlow Sump (made by all glass aquariums), I have all the plumbing stuff, and bio-balls. I checked fosters and they sell this new for $440.
***Are you set on bioballs? They can cause many problems in the future and cause high nitrates down the road...a refugium would be much more effective and much more beneficial. Most people switch over eventually..and it's a lot easier to start with a refugium then hafta transfer in the future.
3. Rio 2100 return pump.
4. Nice wood cherry color stand and canopy. He didn't use the canopy and I won't either because of the heat the light will make.

$400 for.

48" Hammilton Technology light, dual fans with 2- 175W 1400K Halides that are only 3 months old , and 2-48" VHO super actinic bulbs. and of course the big heavy ballast thing.

I have a heater, and a koralia 3 pump, I will need to get another one, probably a bigger one.
***ya probably more flow depending what you want to keep.

Here are some questions.

1. Set up near the kitchen/living room, kind of worried about putting it there becuase of the cooking smells and foot traffic. Option 2 is in the bedroom, but there is carpet in the bedroom and won't be as nice looking in there.
***Out in the open should be fine...cooking smells aren't as much of a concern compared to chemicals...cleaners, fragrance sprays etc.
2. I'm kinda worried about the weight, so I might check with an engineer? Also I heard of people putting foam under the stand, is that a good thing?
***Foam IS a bad thing because theres the possibility of the tank sinking in to the foam making the tank unlevel and creating a lot of pressure on one side of the tank=broken tank---> water everywhere & reef destroyed.

3. What is the best skimmer that is around the $300 range? ***Personally have been a big fan of the MSX brand. Widely agreed upon as the best "bang for the buck". I have a 90 gallon tank and run an MSX 200 which is right in your price range(279.99). Order them off www.marinesolutionsinc.com. Comes with several mods...if you want to look further into it you can go find the MSX owners Thread in the equipment forum or the website.

4. Is it better to go with a background or paint the back blue or black?
***Personally always been a big fan of the black painted backs. Most people in my area agree and go with that...find some different varieties on reefcentral and google and decide what you like most. I have went black, blue and nothing at all..and by far like the black. You can use spray paint, latex paint etc.

Any more suggestions will be great, as I want to do this right.
***Biggest suggestion is the refugium...best decision i have ever made and have ever made for friends/family with aquariums. I'm sure most people on here would agree.
Thanks.
Cory.

[VacavilleFC3S]

yeah i'd ditch the bioballs, maybe the sump all together.

definately wouldn't put one in the kitchen, too much grease and chemicals, also the heat would be a major problem when using the oven, i think it would equal many headaches and possibly you crying.

for a skimmer i have the exact tank as you and i use a aquac remora with an mj1200.

[coryaquarium101]

Thanks for the advice eb8919. I can leave the bio balls out no poblem. My question is how do i set up a refugium?

cory.

[coryaquarium101]

why would i ditch the sump? It adds more water and places to put equipment such as a heater, skimmer, and other stuff.

[eb8919]

I'm not to sure on the best way to set up a refugium in your sump as I have never seen a MegaFlow Sump running so i have no physical or visual understanding of the chambers and flow through out. A basic sump generally contains a few different chambers. The first being for the protein skimmer...second refugium..third return. Now there are many different ways to set up a sump and i'm not saying that is the right or best way but that is the most common i've seen. A refugium is basically a chamber to culture macro algae (generally chaeto) which acts as a huge nutrient transport reducing nitrates, phosphates etc. It also allows a peaceful place for small invertebrate to breed (amphipods, copepods etc.). I highly recommend you skim through this thread...it'll cover everything you need to know:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1

[coryaquarium101]

Does anyone think I got a good deal on the set up?

[eb8919]

Lol sorry to be the only one chiming in...but i think you got a good deal...500 for the tank..sump..return pump and a nice stand. That could be upwards to 1000+ new. I'm not sure what the hamilton lights are new but I'm assuming you got atleast half price.

[coryaquarium101]

I think I got a good deal too, I looked up the lights and they make them a little different now with the actinics being different, but with the dual fans and 175W bulbs and ballast those are upgrades, so it would be around 8 or 9 hundred without shipping I think.

cory.

[stingythingy45]

Here are some questions.

1. Set up near the kitchen/living room, kind of worried about putting it there because of the cooking smells and foot traffic. Option 2 is in the bedroom, but there is carpet in the bedroom and won't be as nice looking in there.

Cooking smells foot traffic are not going to bother the tank.


2. I'm kinda worried about the weight, so I might check with an engineer? Also I heard of people putting foam under the stand, is that a good thing?

Most floors in new construction can handle a 90 gallon no problem.
I just shimmed under mine.But if the floor is uneven you might consider putting a sheet a pressure treated 1/2-3/4 cut to fit under the stand.

3. What is the best skimmer that is around the $300 range?

I'm a big fan of my ASM G-2,but this is just personal preference.
I'd look into something that has a good reputation and used to save $$$.

4. Is it better to go with a background or paint the back blue or black?

I have black,but to be quite frank,if you dose calcium,Mg and Alk it will be covered in purple coralline in no time.

You can check out my gallery for some ideas.

[Korrine]

I just started painting my backgrounds black. i really like that better. It makes everything else in the tank "pop" and stand out a bit more.

[coryaquarium101]

I love when I get mixed comments on not to put near the kitchen becuase of heat from the oven/cooking smells, and another says its not a problem. Still pondering on where to put it. Thanks everyone for the feedback.

[Korrine]

Well you can't be to careful can you? There's a chance it could be bad, esp if you run a skimmer. Have it by the kitchen and have something burn and the smoke gets sucked up and put into the tank water easier, quicker. Or worse yet, the kitchen is being cleaned and the cleaning sprays float through the air and get sucked up.

We put a lot of $$ of livestock in our tanks so, like I said, we can't be to careful.

[coryaquarium101]

Oh ok Korrine, I am from ND originally, thats cool you are from SD.

cory.

[stingythingy45]

Originally posted by coryaquarium101
I love when I get mixed comments on not to put near the kitchen becuase of heat from the oven/cooking smells, and another says its not a problem. Still pondering on where to put it. Thanks everyone for the feedback.

You're seriously worried about cooking smells and a SW tank?

Why?

[Korrine]

Originally posted by coryaquarium101
Oh ok Korrine, I am from ND originally, thats cool you are from SD.

cory.

lol I'm ready to move. Not originally from here. Stuck here b/c of my hubby