90 Gallon First SW Tank

D

Drewhop

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Jun 28, 2008
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So I made a post a few posts down that I had a 55 and a 45 gallon tank. Well....... I am going to sell them cause I got a great deal on a predrilled 90 Gallon Aquarium. Included with it I got a tank/stand two power heads. 15 Lbs of live rock(for the sump). A complete sump set up.
Also got a a very nice two 48" two bulb IceBlast VHO light setup.

Originally I was going to try and speed cycle the tank and try and get it up and running in two weeks. I am not going to rush it.

So here is my next set of questions.
Do I need to cycle with R/O water? I will be buying a R/O unit in the near future I want to get a very nice setup and not in the budget yet.
Can I use tap water the full cycle time will clear up any potential problems.

Is it true that you can use just a handful of live sand to seed a sand bed?
What happens if I lose power will my sump overflow? If so I will buy a battery backup or a generator.

In the trickle thru part of my sump will filter fiber/bio-balls and scrubbies be ok then filter thru the live rock and back up thru the pump?

Sorry for all questions just getting the details before I plunge into all this tomorrow.
 
Ideally you should cycle the tank with RO/DI water, but you should also put as much live rock in the tank from the beginning as you can as well. Your not really cycling the tank unless you have a good amount of live rock in there. So if you have 60-80 lbs and you use tap water, which contains phosphates, the phosphates will just go into your rocks and you will be starting out with problems. I guess if you ran a phosphate reactor it would help but the cost of the reactor and media is about 1/2 what a good RO/DI unit is anyway, and more than just getting 90G from your local grocery stores RO dispenser to use to start the tank.

Yes, it is best to use new dry sand, rinse it really well before putting it in the tank. One method is to use a pillow case, put the sand it that, and run it under the faucet in your tub to rinse it out. It is ok to use tap water to rinse the sand. Then just get a cup or so of sand from some ones tank and stir it into your sand, it will make it live in a few weeks.

For your sump, the bio-balls just toss in the trash. Use the first chamber for a filter sock and other items like a skimmer and phosphate reactor if it will fit. Those will do much better than bio-balls. Second chamber being rock is good.

As for power problems, 4 things,

1. Don't put the water level so high in the sump that a power failure will cause it to flood.

2. Drill tiny little holes on the bottom side of your return line at the tank, as close to the water surface as possible but facing down into the tank. The hole will stop the back siphon in a power outage but sucking in air once the water level drops below the hole. You will still have a few gallons going into your sump, but hopefully not enough to cause a flood.

3. Buy a good UPS and run your return pump and powerheads on the UPS so if there is a power outage you have a couple hours of circulation in your tank before you need to panic.

4. Buy a generator - Home Depot has good little ones for $300-$400 that will work great for an aquarium during long term power outages. This will also allow you to run your heaters which you wouldn't want to do on a UPS because it would drain it to fast.

Hope that helps. :cheers:
 
So I spent about 9 hours today cleaning and setting everything up. That time also included Hauling 120 Gallons of RO water from the local store 15 gallons at a time. Yes it was not fun. I will be buying a RO unit this week. Right now I am watching my tank slowly clear up. I will be tracking down some live rock tomorrow and start with the rock gathering.

How much rock am I going to need to fill up a 90 gallon tank? I plan on doing corals as well.

I have one powerhead currently and it seems to move the water pretty well. How do I tell how many powerheads are the correct amount for proper water circulation?

Will the live rock be the deciding factor in how many powerheads will be needed?

Thanks for all the help
 
Here are a few pics from about 30 seconds ago.

Everything was setup to be functional for now. I will be building magnetic doors around outside of stand so that they can all be removed for easy access. I plan on building a larger sump currently it is a 20 gallon.
I will also be completely rewiring the ballast and light setup. Some of the wiring is a bit chewed up and I will not take the risk. I just turned the lights on for the pic. I will also be buying a digital timer to turn the lights on and off and picking up a moonlight setup so that I can wire them to come on when day lights go off.

Enough rambling here are the pics I will update as I add things.

(my camera sucks)
DSC02232.jpg


DSC02231.jpg


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DSC02229.jpg
 
So I spent about 9 hours today cleaning and setting everything up. That time also included Hauling 120 Gallons of RO water from the local store 15 gallons at a time. Yes it was not fun. I will be buying a RO unit this week. Right now I am watching my tank slowly clear up. I will be tracking down some live rock tomorrow and start with the rock gathering.
Click to expand...
lol talk about dedication!

How much rock am I going to need to fill up a 90 gallon tank? I plan on doing corals as well.
Click to expand...

Some rock is different than others in terms of density, but I'd probably go for about 100-120lbs of rock..

I have one powerhead currently and it seems to move the water pretty well. How do I tell how many powerheads are the correct amount for proper water circulation? Will the live rock be the deciding factor in how many powerheads will be needed?
Click to expand...

The more water circulation the better. once the rock is placed, make sure you don't have any dead areas in the tank... 3-4 powerheads should do the job.



great pics. Seems to be starting off quite well. Will you be getting a skimmer for the tank?

Besides what Ace suggested for the sump, you should also consider chaeto. The stuff is great! sucks up nitrates and phosphates, it grows quickly enough, grows under cheapo lighting, and you'll find a bunch of critters growing in and around it.
 
Good start! Agree with everything Ace and Cheech mentioned. You could also look into something like a Vortech or a Tunze if you donlt want multiple powerheads.
 
Yes I will be picking up a skimmer I just have to wait until wednesday. Its Xmas time so gotta spread the money around.

I have a friend who has a Coralife Super Skimmer for a 220g aquarium that said he would sell it to me for 100 bucks?

I will definately pick up some chaeto. Will it grow with a regular hood and a low power plant bulb and a standard ten gallon hood. I have several laying around and if it grows in low light it will save me a few bucks.

Larger skimmer wont hurt anything right? Is that a good skimmer for the money?

Guess I wont be doing the live rock tonight my LFS is out until wednesday.

Wont have time to drive to another store until Wednesday
 
I don't know about that particular model, however, most people will thell you that if you'll be spending money on anything, the skimmer should be it.

I just searched for the skimmer you mentioned, and it sells for 142.99 new. I'd probably look into something else.

Regular cheapo lighting will be fine for chaeto.

Be sure to check out craigslist for live rock. I know you guys in the US get it for much cheaper than us canadians, however, you might still save quite a bit if you find some off someone who's selling privately.
 
I would avoid that skimmer you mentioned. Look at a Reef Octopus for something inexpensive yet still works well. The Coralife is inexpensive but doesn't work well.

BTW, I spent 7 years making saturday my "go to the store for 20G of RO water". I was stubborn and didn't want to buy an RO/DI unit for some reason.. after getting one I have no idea why I waited so long but it took having problems with the store water (old filters/high silicates causing major problems) that made me finally buy my own unit. Worth every penny.
 
^ spent 2 days of my week going to my lfs (i didnt drive yet, so my dad spent his time or paying someone to take me) going to the lfs to pick up 20 gallon of water.. it is not worth it to do that, what is worth it is buying the RO/DI unit for yourself... makes things way easier and in case of emergencies youll have alot of extra water as well
 
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