LF Advise on upcoming build

[Dwarfmoray]

Hey RC,

I was looking for some advise as I plan my next tank. I currently have a 40 gal tank but am upgrading to a 90 gal. I have gotten everything used so far from fellow reefers and am still searching for a few more items. Any input, comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I am also wondering about the best way to go about this.
I am thinking that at first I will have both tanks running to give it time to cycle and then slowly adding my corals/livestock as the tank stabilizes.
Here's the list of what I have so far:
90 gal tank w/stand
1 kessil A360WE
1 kessil A160WE
Reef octopus 110 int skimmer
Spectrapure madcap rodi
Return pump

What I still need to get:
Wavemaker (thinking gyre or mp40)
Sump (planning a DIY 30 gal)
Plumbing
BRS dry rock
sand
Heater
Maybe a carbon/gfo reactor

Am I missing anything? Thanks for the help everyone

 

[Swensos]

I'm building my 90 gallon right now, so here's my thoughts:

You're off to a good start. The sooner you can get rocks and water started the better, since it's a bit of a waiting game after that. I just filled my tank partially with water covering the rocks with a heater and powerhead while I worked and accumulated everything else.

Is the 90 gallon drilled for an overflow?

Keep your eyes out for another Kessil. It's hard to light a 90 with Kessils because of the middle brace, but it's probably worth having 3-4 if you want to get into higher-light corals. Plus, it seems like people are often selling these second-hand, which is great.

Also maybe plan on getting a controller and/or auto-top-off sometime in the future, just to add more automation and stability. And a container for the top off water. Adding a half gallon to gallon of water to your tank every day gets tiresome fast.

And maybe do two smaller heaters, so if one gets stuck on, it doesn't have the power to fully cook your tank overnight.

 

[JUNBUG361]

Dimensions of the 90 gallon tank you have?
This is what I did when I upgraded to my reefer 450
Set up the stand, tank, plumbing & sump
Purchase (used)2 hydor circulation pumps, (used old)extra dry rocks, some plastic mesh canvas from Walmart(prevent scratches on bottom glass), extra heaters. Set & ready
When I did water change on my 65 gallon long tank, I dumped the water into the new tank(weekly change 20-30%) & transferred some live rocks also(took 3-4 weeks)just help cycling with new rocks. Also added some new water to the new tank. Light cycle was present & was corrected a week with water change

 

[Dwarfmoray]

Thanks for the reply, damn I just sold the other kessil 160 I had I guess I should've held onto it haha. That's a good idea using the water from weekly changes to help with the initial cycle. I believe the dimensions are 48x18x24 but I'm not 100% sure.
Did you go bare bottom? I'm just wondering how to add sand once the rocks and water are already in the tank

 

[RivieraBayReef]

Bare bottom is the way to go!

 

[Tisbe]

I have done both bare bottom and sand. It is just a personal choice and for me it's sand. Both have positives and negatives, there are lots of threads on the topic. You can do either one first and change later if you do not like it. If you go sand, rinse it in a buck with a garden hose until the water in the bucket is clear. If you do not, you will have to deal with the silt it creates in the tank. Add the sand by using a large cup, scoop sand from the bigger bucket and gently release it near the bottom of the tank. Then spread it around with your hand.

 

[Dwarfmoray]

I think I'm going to go sand and just put it in the tank at the same time as the rocks, it'll be easier for me that way I think.the 2 smaller heaters is a good call too. What are people's thoughts on a carbon reactor? I have a few soft corals and i would like to keep a few easy LPS/SPS is it true that the carbon reactor can help w/ the chemical warfare of the softies?

 

[JUNBUG361]

Thanks for the reply, damn I just sold the other kessil 160 I had I guess I should've held onto it haha. That's a good idea using the water from weekly changes to help with the initial cycle. I believe the dimensions are 48x18x24 but I'm not 100% sure.
Did you go bare bottom? I'm just wondering how to add sand once the rocks and water are already in the tank

I did bare bottom on both tanks. I didn't want sand in my tank it's 50-50 thing. Add dry sand before the rocks

 

[SALTYwaterDOG]

Before you. Go bare keep in mind many creatures you may want Will need sand.

 

[Dwarfmoray]

Update:
Got the gyre x130 wave pump and a next reef media reactor. Also got a uv sterilizer in the deal, are these needed or recommended in a reef tank?

 

[Tisbe]

UV sterilizers are not needed and most tanks do not run them anymore since they are more trouble/cost than benefit . As with most things in the hobby there are positives and negatives to them. There are few situation where they can be valuable if set up correctly and maintained. If you want to use it then read up on their use.

 

[Dwarfmoray]

Thanks for the reply, I probably won't set it up but it was a freebie so I figured I'd see if anyone used them on here with success