Pictures of my new 90 gallon overflow setup!

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senos

90 Gal Marine
Nov 18, 2005
52
0
0
Toronto, Canada
Hey Guys... ok so ive been documenting this new hobby of mine ever since I started a few months ago. After a few months of putting together all the things I needed (tank, stand, filter, skimmer, powerheads, heater, rock, sand, lights, canopy, RO+DI water filter, test kit, instruments and tools) I finally added the first Damsels in yesterday. Here are 4 pictures of the progress since I first bought the tank. I will have more pictures soon, and everytime i make more progress on the tank I will post them in this thread. Tomorrow I will take pictures of my sump filtration unit and how I plumbed it. If you see anything odd or improper, please let me know! Im still a beginner! I hope this thread will be enjoyable to everyone!

All-Glass 90 gallon overflow megaflow tank. Black pine All-Glass stand and canopy.




Painted the back of the tank black, it came out perfect!




Added 35 lbs of live rock so far (Mostly from Fiji Islands) and 2 bags of live sand




Added 5 Green Chromis Damsels. Also filled up the rest of the tank with RO+DI water. Sump filter is now running (pics of it are further down this thread).

 
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Oliver

Oliver
Jan 17, 2005
424
0
0
Perth, Western Australia
looking good :). I suggest that you position your powerheads at the top corners. They will do all the work they need to from there. It is quite unattractive to have powerheads in the middle of the tank. try it and see if it works, I have mine 1 at the front corner and one at the back on opposite sides, it works fine.

good luck
 

senos

90 Gal Marine
Nov 18, 2005
52
0
0
Toronto, Canada
Thanks! :)

I will move the powerheads to the top of the tank tomorrow. However i will probably need to put the attachment on them that redirects the water on an angle, down towards the center of the tank right?
 

DansMarineTank

This ship is England!
Dec 13, 2004
352
0
0
41
Ipswich (UK)
Hi There,

Nice looking tank, can I ask did you cycle the tank? ie wait for the ammonia, nitrate to rise and then fall to 0? Sorry to ask this but no real time was given?

Welcome to AC
 

mogurnda

vaguely present
Apr 29, 2003
5,383
0
0
DC
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I can't wait to see the sump. I have the same tank, stand and canopy, and it was a major pain to find something useful that fit in that stand.

It will be fun to watch it develop. What kinds of fish and inverts are you planning on keeping?
 

senos

90 Gal Marine
Nov 18, 2005
52
0
0
Toronto, Canada
More Pictures!

Hey guys, ok so here are some better pictures taken during the day today. Its better to see with daylight coming in through the living room. Also to answer some of your questions, yes I did cycle the tank to a degree using the live rock. When i bought it, there was alot of die-off when I added it back in and I noticed the ammonia spiked, then dropped to 0 when the nitrites spiked, then dropped to zero and then i was left with a few nitrates. Thats when I added the Damsels. Im sure it will have another little cycle but the Damsels are tough little guys, they should be okay.

I plan on keeping the following fish... adding them in the following order...

- 5 green chromis (already added)
- 2 oscellaris clownfish
- 1 blue tang
- 3 bangai cardinals
- 1 scooter blenny
- 1 flame angelfish
- 1 saddled toby
- 1 treadfin butterfly fish

I studied many species of fish to make sure these ones go well together. I also made sure they swim in different areas and heights of the tank. I also measured the average full-grown lengths of each fish to make sure I don’t overstock the tank. This should be a good mix. (any suggestions?) Once all these fish are in, I plan to invest in some better lighting to start adding a few corals and critters like fire shrimp and crabs. Ok time for the pictures!

Here is the sump, using a Magdrive 9.5 as the return pump




Close-up of the sump. Notice the Jager heater sticking out the top.




The Green Chromis are out playing... Still need to relocate the powerheads




With built-in overflow I can push the tank right up against the wall!

 

senos

90 Gal Marine
Nov 18, 2005
52
0
0
Toronto, Canada
lighting

Thanks.. I just figured out the lighting tonight. I just bought an industrial 48" fluorescent light fixture at the hardware store for $20, and two bulbs from the local fish store for $40. A daylight T12 bulb, and an actinic T12 bulb. and it fits perfectly in my canopy. Cant beat that lighting for just $60!! :thm: When i get corals and inverts I will obviously upgrade. I will post some pictures soon of the new lighting, once the sun goes down tonight.
 

Oliver

Oliver
Jan 17, 2005
424
0
0
Perth, Western Australia
its funny how the newbies have no idea when it comes to fish! i remember when i started, I wanted 15 fish in my tank. Thos fish you want are way too many for that tank. Without a wroking refugium, I don't think that more than 7 or 8 will be appropriate. This depends on the size aswell. The nitrates will be so high after 2 weeks that it will be bad for the fish. A good way to maintain the tank is to change about 10-20 % every 2 weeks. This isn't alot of work and it is good for the tank. So basically you could start adding fish untill your nitrate is greater than 15 ppm after two weeks, then it wouldn't be clever to go any further. Start with easy fish, blue tangs can be a pain! It will get white spot when you put it in the tank and it can be hard to control for someone who is just starting out.

I know that 8 fish sounds a little, but you have to keep in mind that saltwater and fresh water are very different. The reasons I have so many fish in my tank is that I have a working refugium, with a good ammount of macro algae that eats all the nitrate when it is created. I have 0 nitrates after 3 weeks, and I haven't tested after that, I change the water just for the replenishing of trace elements.

I suggest that you add some easy fish now, untill you have about 7 or 8, then WAIT. don't rush, and only add about 2 or 3 fish every 2 weeks, otherwise the bio load will be too big and the ammonia will spike. If you find that after 2 weeks or however long you want to wait untill you change water, that the nitrate is SAFE, you can offcourse add more fish.

good luck
 
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