Buildup of a 90 gallon Reef (picture intensive)

[thrlride]

Thanks Todd!

The 29 is sitting empty at my in-laws house at the moment. I haven't decided its fate yet. I thought about selling the two PC bulbs and ballasts but haven't made the final decision yet.

[thrlride]

More pictures:

[thrlride]

Here's a picture of the float switches I installed:

[Toddrtrex]

Nice pics. thr. However out are starting to make me jealous. My tanks have been up sooo much longer and don't look this good

[thrlride]

Thanks Todd!

From looking at your gallery your tank looks very nice. I wish mine looked more full. I suppose I need to be patient, my 29 was so full my 90 just looks bare to me.

[BallaBooyeaH]

Hi Thril,

I have been following the progress from start. I have changed my plans for my 90 to now be kinda like yours. I was going for a cupboard on the side but this is slowing down plans to much.

I have some questions on your setup which might help me more in my design phase of the stand and canopy.

Do you have a CR? Mine is a CR2 from MyReefCreations and fitting this under the stand will be tight once there is a sump etc under there - I am goin to compensate with a smaller sump.

Where is the water storage for the auto top-up for evaporation? I like you have small kiddies - a 2 year old and a 5 month old, I need to have everything under the stand and locked away as my boy is a terrorist in training and loves water (and throwing everything he finds into it.)

With the Fudge - I was planning on having this above the main tank in the cabinet so the pods etc and pour into the tank and not get munched up by the return pump. I assume with your fudge it is for reducing the nitrates more than feeding the corals and pod eating fish?

Also I have a glass tank which only has 1 hole drilled in the back of the tank. Do you feel the need for me to drill for the emergency overflow blockage essential? I would hate a flood but drilling glass in Ireland is not an easy task in a small costal town.

Also what was the total amount of LR that went into the tank? - LR in Ireland is like buying gold. I need to be as sparing as possible.

Love the hear back from you. Love what you have done with the tank. Hoping to get close to where you are.

Ballabooyeah

[Toddrtrex]

Originally posted by thrlride
Thanks Todd!

From looking at your gallery your tank looks very nice. I wish mine looked more full. I suppose I need to be patient, my 29 was so full my 90 just looks bare to me.

Thanks, Ryan (?). It seems whenever someone else does a new tank it always looks better. At least it give new ideas. (your sump)

[bigben]

looking good, man. you picked up some nice pieces.

[thrlride]

Ballabooyeah, sorry I never replied! I didn't get a notification for some reason....

I do not have a CR right now though I am planning towards one. I will probably get the MRC HOT model. I might start with the 1 chamber one and them upgrade to the second chamber as the need arrives. I do have very limited space with this long sump so a shorter one might be good if you need the space.

Right now I am using a 21 quart trash can behind the stand for the top off. It lasts me 2 days. I am planning on making a larger container myself and using the 2 part epoxy to seal it. If you do a find on plywood tanks, this is my plan.

My fuge was planned to have a refuge for pods and to have a nutrient export. So far I don't see many pods in there buy my macro algae is growing like weeds.

Depending on how you do your plumbing you might only need one hole in your tank. That could be your overflow drain, then you can plumb your return over the top of the tank.

[thrlride]

Originally posted by Toddrtrex
Thanks, Ryan (?). It seems whenever someone else does a new tank it always looks better. At least it give new ideas. (your sump)

Yeah, it's Ryan.

I see other's tanks and am very jealous myself. Mine just seems so bare.

[thrlride]

Thanks bigben! I do like the pieces for sure. I just got back from a week long trip and only had one casualty. It was a tiny frag of a monti cap. Not sure what happened to it but nothing else is gone.

I'm not sure of the total live rock I have but it is at least 90 pounds I believe.

[countertopguy]

Hey Thrlride,

I am starting up a new 90 gal and in the process of building the stand and thinking about the canopy. I have done quite a bit of looking around at canopies and I really like the proportions of yours as well as the way it functions.

Is there anything about your canopy that you would do differently now? What kind of lighting are you using? Any heat issues? Any concerns about the lights being moved when opening the top of the stand? (decreasing the life of the bulb)

(I have looked at your thread a few times and have yet to make it to the end. Sorry if these questions have been asked and answered already)

Thanks

Steve

[Jamesurq]

Originally posted by thrlride
So far I don't see many pods in there

You will...

[thrlride]

Originally posted by Jamesurq
You will...

I've actually got a few pods hiding in my magfloat in between the bristles!

[thrlride]

Originally posted by countertopguy
Hey Thrlride,

I am starting up a new 90 gal and in the process of building the stand and thinking about the canopy. I have done quite a bit of looking around at canopies and I really like the proportions of yours as well as the way it functions.

Is there anything about your canopy that you would do differently now? What kind of lighting are you using? Any heat issues? Any concerns about the lights being moved when opening the top of the stand? (decreasing the life of the bulb)

(I have looked at your thread a few times and have yet to make it to the end. Sorry if these questions have been asked and answered already)

Thanks

Steve

Hello Steve!

There's only one thing I don't like about the canopy...

That is the frame I used. Next time I will just use the oak plywood and not use the wooden frame. It restricts the room in the canopy for lights.

When I made the top door, for the lights, I cut it out to fit the reflectors of the T5's and Metal halides. I have since changed lights to two HQI with reef optix III plus pendants. They are a little bigger so when I open the top I have to move the pendants. That's not a problem since they turn on their hinges, it's just a pain.

Since I have two fans blowing in and the air escaping from the top I don't have any heat issues. If my house is at 72 degrees the tank is at 82.6. If the house is at 69 then the tank is at 81.1. At night with the lights out the tank is around 80.5.

[countertopguy]

Thanks for the hood info....

Another thing... early on you had a closed loop that returned to the top of the tank and went around the perimeter of the tank. ( if I had the energy I would go back and link to the photo) I thought this was a really cool way of plumbing the return. I have never seen that done that way. Was that your idea or is it a fairly common way of returning a CL? Why did you take it down?

I am trying to decide how to run my CL. Drilling or plumbing it your way. Any thoughts? (BTW- I have a 90 AGA megaflow)

Thanks

Steve

[thrlride]

Hey Steve!

I think it might be somewhat common of a way to plumb a closed loop. There's no great mind at work here!

The reason I took it down was because the closed loop pump was extrememly loud. Instead of throwing another pump at it I decided to remove the closed loop and get two SEIO pumps instead.

[thrlride]

More updates

[gregt]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=569250