Keri's 90 Gallon Thread

[keri2000]

Hi Guys:

So I wanted to keep an "update" thread with my 90 gallon progress.

Scott has my tank and is drilling for the overflow and closed loop system. I will be running ~800 gph Eheim pump for the sump and ~2000 gph Sequence ReeFlo Dart for the closed loop.

I finished sanding and staining the stand. It looks great. I now need to finish the canopy and the doors etc. My rock is still hanging out in my garage with the powerheads so hopefully they will have a home very soon.

I'll post pictures when I can. Very excited!

Keri

[murfman]

Sweet, thanks for keeping us up to date!

[lfduty]

Do you have pic's yet I want to see I may come to the house sat or sunday

[keri2000]

I only have the stand in my garage still. The tank is being drilled so I am afraid there's not much to look at yet.

[aquaman2000]

Making some progress, the first three holes have been drilled.

Hole #1


Hole #1 drilled for 2” bulkhead


More holes


Both the open and closed loops are coming along nicely.

[normanviking]

Your the man Scott. lol

[keri2000]

So since Josh's sand kinda turned/died, I will be starting out with new stuff. This is my chance to get what I want, so I need some opinions here. Have any of you guys done black sand in a large tank? I have seen some in nano's and thought it looked fab, but in the long run will it just look nasty/dirty?

Also I will be starting out with dry sand since it's too expensive to buy all live. I'll toss in a bag of the live stuff, but now I will have a cycle so it looks like it'll be a while until I can put anything into it.

I did some more stripping of the canopy on Saturday. Uuuggh it is a PITA trying to get into the "pretty" crevices. It will be a while before it's done. There is some clear coat on it that the stripper won't go through to the paint so I have to do two coats.

Anyway, not too much new. I hope to have the tank this week some time....

[murfman]

Black sand will probably start looking nasty later on as detritus builds up. If your rock is still live, your cycle should be minimal.

Get your sand and they sell a bio booster to help seed the sand as well as get a cup or so from other hobiests to seed.

[Thurge]

I don't think I have seen black live sand. You jwill probably have to put it in a shallow tupperwear dish and let the critters migrate from there.

[reefkoi]

I've got a couple bags of live sand that are mixed, white and black. I haven't heard of all black live though either, it's just not that popular, but that fish only tank at seascapes is pretty cool looking with it!

[keri2000]

Oh yeah, I forgot that they had that. Still undecided. We'll see as it gets closer.

Will the life not survive in the black sand? Can it not be sustained?

[aquaman2000]

It’s done….. all holes drilled. I put in some temp bulkheads so that Keri can decide what she likes. So it is ready for you Keri

Holes drilled


Just missing 1 2” bulkhead


Second view

[thejrc]

Nice and clean drill job!

Keri, if you need I can scoop a pound or so of live sand out of my little shroom holding tank here. I've got tons!

[keri2000]

I love it!!!!!!! We'll be stopping by tonight!!

I'll keep you guys posted about the sand. Thanks for the offers!

[Thurge]

No no no, its not like that. Its just that Black sand tanks are not very common so they may not make an Agralive black sand. If you do decide to go Black all you will need to do is get a cup or two of sand from an established tank, and place that in a small plastic dish on top of yoru sand. then the little critters that make it live will migrate to the sand you want to keep. You just probably don't want to mix the white and black because it will be obvious, unless you go with the black/white mix. Also keep in mind that Seachem's black sand (Grey Coast) is not Argonite like all the whites and golds etc. It's made of Calcite, same chemical formula as Argonite, just the pieces of the puzzle go together a little differently.

From Seachem
How do calcite and aragonite compare?
While calcite and aragonite share the exact same chemical composition, aragonite has always been favored for marine aquaria because of its higher buffer capacity. However, magnesian calcite, such as our Gray Coast™, has been shown to have a higher buffer capacity than even aragonite, making it an ideal choice for marine aquaria.

[keri2000]

Hey thanks for that explanation! Ultimately I would like the look of my tank to be similar to this with black sand:


or this:

[Deuce67]

Did you know that white sand actually helps reflect light and helps give the tank a brighter look?

[keri2000]

Yeah I know, but I want my corals to be vibrant against a dark background. I just have never seen a large reef tank with the dark look and I don't want to make a mistake that will be a nightmare to fix. I am going to search for large reef tank pictures with dark sand. I haven't decided yet anyway.

[racer69]

It looks as though you are going to be mostly lps then. Nice to see someone else looking to keep lps also. Not that I am entirely lps (I do have a dozen sps), but I really like the movement.

[reefkoi]

If you decide to go with the live black/white sand I have 2 brand new unopened bags of aragalive that I'd make you a heck of a deal on, buy 1 at reg price get the second for free.

[ReefJerk]

Originally posted by keri2000
... I just have never seen a large reef tank with the dark look and I don't want to make a mistake that will be a nightmare to fix. I am going to search for large reef tank pictures with dark sand. I haven't decided yet anyway.

Go to Seascape Aquatics. They have a 180 up front with black sand in it. The green carpet(?) anemone should give you a good representation of a bright coral against a dark background.

[keri2000]

I would love the bags of sand. What size are they?

I like LPS yes because of the movement. I also like the color variations.

I will head to SeaScape sometime soon to check it out.

[roushracer]

Originally posted by ReefJerk
Go to Seascape Aquatics. They have a 180 up front with black sand in it. The green carpet(?) anemone should give you a good representation of a bright coral against a dark background.

They actually use something a lil different and it's more of a gray than black. I think it's something for planted aquariums, Jim will show ya' exactly what it is if ya' ask.

The CaribSea stuff is much darker, a pure black rather than a gray.

Here are some pics of mine with the CaribSea stuff when the sand was new.





Here's one after a few months, as you can see you'll get lil white pieces of live rock that come off and it'll be all over your sand eventually.

[reefkoi]

keri they are 20 lb caribsea indo pacific arag alive. Good through may 2008.
they sell for $22 + $13 extra shipping from marine depot. I'll let you have both bags for only $25 total so I don't have to look at them anymore . I can bring them to tims on saturday if you want.
Let me know.
Chris

[keri2000]

Hi Guys:

Here are some more pictures.





I would still like to buy the sand, but am still not ready to dump it in. PM sent.