Fib's 90 Gallon Maxspect Masterpiece Build Thread.

Fibinotchi

Upstanding Citizen
I have been in this hobby for a while now, but never have taken the knowledge I have learned and applied it to a tank build from the start. In this hobby, most people know that there is a certain way to do things, but think they can cut corners and get away with it. Some of these things I have been guilty of cutting corners on are:
Overstocking
Overfeeding
Lack of proper Quarantine (for rocks, corals, and fish)
Lack of water testing
Lack of dosing
Not doing regular water changes.

After fighting aiptasia for the last year, AND LOSING, and after fighting hair algae, cyano, dinoflagilates(sp), and other bad algae, I decided it's time I take the time, and use some patience to do things right.

About a month ago, I got fed up one night and took all my rocks out of my 90 gallon and jammed them into a 55 gallon I had sitting around. I then transferred all my fish and corals. About a dozen rocks left over, I sat outside and left them to dry. I removed all the sand, and disconnected the sump and left the sump with the skimmer and a pump moving to keep things alive down there for a while. I plan on redesigning the sump system, but it's hard for me to figure out what to do with all those little serpent stars and pods down in there.

I then sat, read, and designed how I would like to build my dream tank. I ordered 2 maxspect g2 160's to replace the old nova extreme 4 bulb t5 I had lighting my 90 gallon. I decided to go bare bottom and ordered some star board and egg crate from an online dealer, along with some acrylic rods for making my rock structures sound and avoid the pitfall of stacking piles of rock on each other, which can be an avalanche waiting to happen, a detritus trap, and cuts down on the water volume of the tank.


This will be a couple months in the making, but I am in no rush this time. If there is some interest in this build, I will continue to update it with each completed task.

So, here is what I have so far. I also threw in some pics of my 10 gallon nano with 150 watt mh and the 55 gallon that's keeping my stuff alive during this build. I'll add more stuff as it comes to mind.
IMG_5087.jpg

IMG_5084.jpg

IMG_5083.jpg

IMG_5086.jpg

IMG_5089.jpg

IMG_5091.jpg

IMG_5097.jpg

IMG_5098.jpg

IMG_5096.jpg

IMG_5095.jpg
 
Thanks, I hadn't intended on buying a new skimmer. The one in the sump picture seems to work pretty good. I am going to be diligent with cleaning up detritus off the star board and collecting detritus with a good filter sock going into the sump which will be cleaned at least once a week. Between that and a good ball of cheato growing in the sump, hopefully the skimmer wont have too much more to remove.
 
Just finished reseaming some of the corners that the magfloat had torn up. I trimmed the corners with a razor blade, used blue masking tape to make straight lines, added the clear silicone and smoothed it out, and removed the tape while the silicone was still uncured.

Also beginning the rock cleaning stage. We will be using advice from this thread.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1969344&goto=nextnewest
We will be using both bleach and acid. I will take some photo's of the process soon as there is something worth documenting.
 
A rubbermade from wal-mart, with 5 gallons of water and 1/4 cup of bleach.
IMG_5101.jpg

Rock that has been sitting out for two weeks and has been scrubbed with a brush.
IMG_5100.jpg

Mixed together and left to soak for 24 hours.
IMG_5102.jpg

At that time, will add rock to a fresh 5 gallons, and 1/4 cup of bleach. Will let soak for another 24 hours, and scrub, rinse, and the rock will be ready for an acid dip.

Not to many comments. Is anyone even interested in this process? Am I in the wrong forum?
 
To get the star board up to the level I want it, I am going to use egg crate as a spacer. Here is a picture of the egg crate.
IMG_5103.jpg

Then I cut, routered, and shaved the star board into two pieces, split down the middle so that I could get them in. Here are the pictures of the star board in.
IMG_5110.jpg

IMG_5108.jpg

I think it turned out real well. There is a small gap in the middle but it shouldn't be a problem, I am going to silicone the starboard into the tank anyways.

Here are the pictures of my two corners that I re-seamed. I think it turned out well.
IMG_5107.jpg

IMG_5106.jpg
 
Thank you, I think, :) will do. Most of my work will be done on the weekends, so it may be the weekend before any good updates. The rock process is going to be the most pain staking part of this build. I should just do all new base rock.
 
Thanks. Not for sure yet. I wanna go light on the rocks compared to what I was but like the rocks to go at least 3/4 of the way up the tank. I'm imagining two peaks with many ledges for coral and holes for fish to swim in and out of, possibly connected at the base. But it will depend on how I'm able to get the rocks to stack up.
 
Drove to Boise Idaho today, my nearest quality lfs and picked up some great rocks at a great price from Aquatic Supply. SHOUT OUT! I'll take pictures of them tomorrow and what else my wife and I have been doing this week.
 
More updates.

Still cleaning and cleaning and cleaning rock. Here are some pics of it, and some of the rocks in the acid mix.
IMG_5130.jpg

IMG_5127.jpg

IMG_5126.jpg

IMG_5124.jpg

IMG_5123.jpg

and a whole other pile of rocks not photographed yet.
 
Cleaning would go better if the weather was warmer, takes for ever for the rocks to dry out with all this rain and clouds.
 
Taping this to get it ready for the caulking was miserable. It was a two person job and my back was in a lot of pain by the time I was done.
Here are pictures of the tape job.
IMG_5113.jpg

IMG_5115.jpg

IMG_5117.jpg

IMG_5118.jpg



And here it is after caulking it in.
IMG_5132.jpg
 
As far as the sump, my wife cleaned it very well and I was trying to use a gen x we had sitting around brand new in a box for a couple years but it isn't going to work because it is gravity feed. So I may go back to the submersible I had.
 
Thanks. It really feels like it's coming along way slow, but I want to be thorough on these rocks. I have thought I had some pretty clean, did the acid dip and it revealed a whole new layer or slimy green algae. It's pretty crazy how much junk can hide in these rocks.
 
Still working on cleaning the rock. The weather hasn't been cooperating. But I couldn't resist bringing it in and stacking it to see how I might lay it out. What do you all think. Let me know if you have any suggestions. I just may use them. Here are the pics. I also ordered a sicce return pump, since the gen x wont work. Anyone that could use a new gen x give me a holler, maybe we can make a deal. I think its about 800 gph. pcx 30 or something. I have had it sitting brand new in a box for over a year. Makes me mad I couldn't use it. Oh well, here are the pics.
IMG_5219.jpg

IMG_5203.jpg

IMG_5212.jpg

IMG_5208.jpg

IMG_5199.jpg
 
Back
Top