Mission Impossible: 90AGA

[Demeter]

*****Update*****

I recently moved and had to break-down the tank, plumbing and all. I NEVER (read NEVER EVER) want to move a tank again. I had to get 200lbs of sand out of the tank, it was STINKY! There was 100lbs of live rock. It took a couple trash cans. Probably won't be going with sand again, starboard bottom is sounding good. I had an in-sump protein skimmer that was clogged with sand, sump hand some accumulation as well. Now everything is clean and waiting to be re-assembled. I plan on putting the tank above the basement in the dinning room. Should I brace the floor from the basement? It's a 90 gallon w/100 LR, stand probably weighs about 100-150lbs.

 

[Demeter]

Well it's been a while since I've updated the progress on the tank. Since my last post I've moved the tank and re-assembled everything except the Calcium Reactor. I've also decided to dedicate some time into reasearching Anemones. I had two Anemones die probably becuase of my lack of knowledge. I've added two more clowns to the tank - now have 4, and a couple other fish. I've been tinkering with the plumbing. Hopefully, this weekend I can add my closed-loop and a sea-swirl. I'll update with more pictures later.

 

[3.99AfterTaxes]

Moving tanks sucks big time!

Careful with carpets in reefs. They are NOTORIOUS fish eaters. That and they kinda.. die all the time.

 

[Demeter]

***Update***

***Update***

It's been a while since I posted an update on my tank. Since moving the tank last year I've been dealing with a laundry list of issues about the tank. I finally broke down a bought a refractometer. IMO, the is probably the BEST purchase I've ever made. I've been using the handheld hydrometer and the reading weren't even close to those with the refractometer. My brown leather was not doing so good for a while and I think the salinity had something to do with hsi condition, it was over 1.030. Anyway, the brown algae bug hit my tank like a storm. It covered everything - the back wall, rock, powerheads, and heaters. I read a post by SeanT about "cooking" LR to remove all the unwanted s%&t. So I gave it a try for two months. Here are some pics.

"Cooked" rock after 2 months...

There are some polyps attached here, so I couldn't "cook" these rocks. I just had to wait it out...

After many, many cleanings, a few water changes and more water changes, a blessing from our parrish priest, it's getting there...

I've made some changes to the plumbing and decided that the algae problem wasn't necessarily contained to the tank. I decided to change everything in the sump and try to keep it clean this time...

Thanks to the many DIY'ers on this board. I've benefited greatly from the detailed plans explained on this board...

I've added a Ozonizer to the tank. The water has been crystal clear for about two weeks. I don't think the algae problem is solved but hopefully I'm winning the battle.

 

[SeanT]

Glad the "cooking" worked out for you. :thumbsup:

Let me ask you somethings...did it kill everything on your liverock?
Are you happy you did it or did you feel it was a complete waste of time?

Sean

 

[Demeter]

I'm happy with the result. The rock was completely covered. I had no idea of how or where to start with the brown algae. Depending on how this turns out - it may become a normal part of annual or semi-annual tank maintenance.

Thanks for the help.

 

[SeanT]

No thanks needed.
I was just checking to see if you were happy with the results or if you thought "cooking" rock does nothing as well.
I will put you in the "I think 'cooking' rock is good." column.

Sean

 

[Trigeek]

Bump for an update. I'm in the 90g club, too.

 

[Demeter]

Update

Update

I've been planning to update my progress for a while. So here are a few pictures and some details.

Probably the most important change to my tank was new T5 lights and canopy. I used to have 2 250W MH lights and was having a lot of trouble controlling the temp of the tank. I had a couple fans in the canopy and was unable to offset the temp increase caused by the MH lights. So I decided to purchase a T5 setup from reefgeek.com. Also, I built another canopy that had doors on the side to (1) give better access to the tank and (2) aid in moving more air thru the canopy.

Here's another from a different angle.

Since I built the canopy, I needed to update the "skin" covering the bottom of the stand. Here's a picture of the stand.

Here's another pic with only one door on the stand.

My equipment has not changed much since the last update. I did add a Vortech to the right side of the tank to replace 2 SEIO powerheads. I like the output of the Vortech and it doesn't take up much space in the tank.

I'm in the process of designing/building a DIY Denitrator. I'll post pictures as soon as I get the design finished.

I just realized that I didn't take any pictures of the tank and fish. I'll post those next time.

 

[Demeter]

Pictures of the stand & tank can be seen on page 1 here, the canopy & stand cover are on page 7.