Northern's 90G

N

NorthernReefer

Reefing newb
Hi there everyone. First off i must say that being new to the hobbie it has been great reading through all of the posts and soaking in as much information as possible. For me its always been about taking the time and doing it right the first time. I know that only so many mistakes and (disasters) can be avoided, but i'm sure with this hobby there will be no shortage of issues that will find there way into my setup. I am new to Saltwater aquariums but have spent the past 6 weeks reading and researching as much as possible.

My girlfriend and I, purchased a used setup off of Craigslist approx 2 weeks ago.
We were able to get:
- 90 Gallon tank
- Solid Pine Stand
- 404 Fluvall Canister Filter
- Hang on Prizm Skimmer
- 3 power heads
- Power Compact Lighting system (4 x 21" bulbs, 2 10,000K and 2 Actinics)
- 90 lbs of Live Rock
- 3 inch coverage of crushed coral
- Heater

and all test kits, nets, replacement filter pieces, garbage cans for mixing water, salt, 5x 5 gallon jugs for transporting water and a ton of other small things.

The family that we purchased the set up from only had 1 naso Tang and a bunch of snails living in the tank. They had lost their passion for the hobby and had neglected the set up for quite some time. We already had a 35G tank with lights that we were planning on using as a possible sump / refugium that is currently being used as the home for the naso and snails.

Long story short, in transporting the 90G tank, stand and the majority of our supplies my buddies truck broke down and all of our equipment is stranded approx 80 miles from our house. The Naso is doing just fine in his temp home and we were planning to take our time with setting up the new tank anyways. I figured that we will definitely run into problems where we will need experts opinions and documenting our whole build on here might be both fun and beneficial. I like to ask as many questions as possible and after getting different answers from different LFS i have turned mostly to researching online.

Hopefully if all goes well we should have our tank and equipment this upcoming weekend.

One thing that we were sure that we would need to upgrade was our lighting system. This past weekend we picked up a ballast and 36" hood that contains 2x250W Metal Halides as well as 2 fluorescent actinic bulbs.

Now to the questions:
1) I have about 80lbs of Live rock sitting in a garbage container with a bit of saltwater in my garage waiting for my 90G tank to get here. Will i need to do anythig special to get this rock ready to introduce back into the system?

2) My Naso is in the 35G with the canister filter, heater, powerhead and a bit of liverock, unfortunately the skimmer is in the broken down truck. It's been 9 days in this new setup, all my test kits are in the truck as well. Will he be ok in here for another 7 days? Should i do a water change?

3) From what i have read, sump is the system to go with for reef tanks, (especially with the new lights and the heat that will come off them --> evaporation) Should i use my 35G for this setup? What are some of the things to consider when planning this out?

4) Our tank also has an undergravel filter systerm built into it (easily removable) should i drop this setup as it may trap nitrates in my substrate?

5) What substrate should i go with? crushed coral? argonite? live sand? how deep?

I guess this should be it for my questions at this point. I will get the camera out in the next day or two to take pictures of our naso temp home. I have some questions about some small tares on his fins that i will save for once i have pics. If it helps we plan on having 8-12 fish, a couple tangs, pair of clowns, some damsels, maybe a coral angel, full cleaning crew, soft corals. Any help, pointers or advice that can be shared with us throughout our build would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
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1) I wouldn't do anything with the rock - you could put it in a big trash barrel with a heater & powerhead to help cycle it faster, tho. Then the tank would be ready for the naso in a couple of weeks as opposed to a month or so.

2) Can't hurt to do a water change. With the canister filter, the water should stay clean enough for him. The skimmer is more important with larger bioloads to keep corals (that normally live in a relatively low nutrient environment) healthy. With just one fish it'll be fine. My skimmer broke for a while and I was without one for a month in my reef tank and everything was fine.

3) The sump is a bonus, so really any size will help. That being said, a 35g is pretty good fora 90gal tank. When planning it, really look at what you want in it. I'd add a refugium - that way you can grow some macroalgae & copepods that will help your water quality significantly and help feed your fish. I don't have a sump, but I have a hang-on-back refugium and it solved all my display tank algae problems.

Drop the undergravel filter. It's outdated and between your canister, LR, and skimmer (even the canister really isn't needed after your tank has stabilized and the live rock have grown enough microbes to self-sustain)

I wouldn't go with crushed coral (not as good for snails and stuff to burrow into) or live sand (overpriced and not really 'live'). Just get regular soft sand (not sure what to call it). The depth is subject to argument...I personally have about 4" of sand on the bottom, and it seems to work pretty well. Sand is a good natural filter, like rock, but also can trap toxins and whatnot.

8-12 fish is kind of a lot, but it all really depends on the size of the fish. Tangs are messy and create a lot of waste - personally, i'd only have one in a tank that size. (if one at all) Try not tot add more than one fish every month or so, you want the live rock to have time to "adjust" and compensate for the increased bioload. In my 75, I have a foxface rabbitfish, a damsel, a tomato clown, a emerald dragonet, and a pajama cardinalfish - and that bioload seems manageable. Plus, if you add all the fish quickly, you might decide you want something else and now you're backed into a corner.


Hope that helps...
Alex
 
Hi and welcome! I'm basically going to re-iterate what Alex said:

Don't use the undergravel filter, they often lead to water quality problems. Also, use sand instead of crushed coral. I would get rid of the substrate the setup came with. Crushed coral also has a tendency to lead to high nitrates.

The new halide lights you got sound like they will be perfect. Good choice!

Before you add the live rock to the tank, pick off any obviously dead things or algae. You can also scrub it with a toothbrush. You will probably see a cycle after you add it to the tank. Keep up with water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite levels down so it will have a minimal impact on your animals.

You may want to think about upgrading skimmers. The Prizm works okay for small tanks (less than 29 gallons), but for a large tank like that, it won't do much good. If you use a sump, an in-sump skimmer will be a good way to go.
 
Thanks for the information guys. Couple more questions for you:

After reading about a number of sump / refugium setups i think that what i will do is use the 35G (long) tank that i have to set up a sump / refugium setup. I have read through a number of your setups and was thinking that having the sump divided into 3 sections, 1 for my skimmer, heater, etc, 1 for the refugium and 1 for the return. I was thinking about putting the return in the middle with the skimmer and refugium on either sides. I will use a valve for the inlet of the refugium to control water flow.

Now assuming that i use the 35G with my 90G tank, what size pump would i need? am i correct in my math by assuming 90 x 10 woudl give me 900 GPH? Accounting for a bit of a buffer would 1100 GPH be good? is submersible the best way to go?

Also i have read a bit about the DIY Algae scrubber, is this something worthwhile incorporating in my sump plans?

Thanks again everyone,
 
ok hello
do you only have 1 drain fror the tank? if so you will only be able to drain around 600gph so if you get a pump that is to big it will empty the sump and overflow the tank..
i like painting the back of the tank either a dark blue or black. it helps to make everything stand out more in the tank.
 
The gph doesn't have to only be done via the pump to the sump. Powerheads should also be used to keep that "turnover".

I wish I had painted my tank black. My 120g upgrade will def have that.
 
Currently my tank has not been drilled at all. So i will be drilling a drain and return lines. I guess that this will give me the opportunity to set it up how i see fit. I do have 3 power heads as well for water circulation. What size pump should i buy for the sump then? i was thinking about drilling one drain and 2 returns, what would you suggest?

What type of paint will be best for painting the back of the tank? I'm assuming it would have to be a latex product to allow for breathing to take place, the higher the sheen, the more light will be reflected into the tank instead of being absorbed? Do people typically use a semi-gloss or a mat finish? Mat will have better adhesion.

Any pointers or ideas on best place to drill the drain and return lines?

thanks,
 
IMO, the best paint to use is spray paint. It will cost you $2 to $5 to do the entire tank, and it's easy. I don't know why the back of the tank would need to breathe, and it all looks shiny because you are painting glass, so matte or glossy doesn't matter.

The way you have described your sump setup is probably the best and easiest way to do it. With the lines, most people put one drain in each back corner (two drains total) one drain in the center of the back, or one drain in one back corner. The return line hole should be drilled next to it.
 
I would love to build an algae scrubber, I think it's a great idea. It's not too far apart from the concept of a refugium as far as being an effective nutrient export. When I do my upgrade w/a sump, it'll probably have a small one. Anyone have any luck with the scrubber?
 
i havent built mine yet, i just recently got my sump/fuge re-arranged how i think i want them, so now i'm looking at maybe building one, the one real drawback to it for me is that my fuge grows algae and calurpa so well,(now that i got the flow up) that i dont know that another place for it to grow is necessary...

I guess in all reality, the more places i can MAKE it grow, the fewer places it will want to grow in the main tank...

all i know is that the little fist sized chunk of LR i put in the fuge, is just about completely covered in green fur, about an inch thick, and its only been in there for, oh, a week a guess now... hehehe
 
I have mine built and I am just waiting for the silicone to cure on my new sump so I can install it. Here is a pic.

scrubber2.jpg
 
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Several people on here have made their own scrubbers using Santa Monica's instructions, and so far, everyone seems to be extremely happy with the results.

I'm going to be building one for my fuge in the next couple months.
 
Hi and welcome to the site! First, I'm going to be mean and point out that the naso won't be happy long-term in a 90gallon. According to this website:

Minimum Tank Length/Size:
A minimum 60 gallon (227 liters) will work temporarily for a juvenile as they are rather slow growers, but an adult will need a minimum 125 gallon (473 liters). Keep in mind that too small of an environment can stunt their growth and they can develop 'behavior problems'.

and, this one says 125gall also. Just something you should be aware of...

On a more helpful note, your idea for a sump design is pretty much what I did in my build thread... there's diagrams and pictures there. You can find it here. Hopefully your silicone job will look better than mine did!!

Good luck.
 
Gosh tanked you're usually not so mean. Humm.... must be all that trouble with hanging that light that has got you all worked up. :lol: :mrgreen:
 

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