SaltyStlouis
New member
well folks before i jump right into this build thread i would like to take a min and tell you aliitle about me .. ;
My name is Jason im 28 years old and have been in this hobby for about 2 years now. Im a new member here at Reef Central but ive been lurking the forums for years. The story on how i became a fish head is quite funny really . When me and my girlfriend decided that we would like to take the next step in our relationship we bought a house and moved in together(which since then we have taken another big step and became engaged this year). After just a few months in the new house she wanted a fish. A Betta fish bowl to be exact and i protested the whole idea. Well let me tell you it wasn't long before i was hooked on fish and that Betta bowl that i never really wanted became a full blown freshwater tank and after having gone to some lfs and seeing their reefsetups i knew what our next adventure in aquarium keeping would be..
My first step into the salt water world is our current 58 gallon mixed reef tank that we have had set up for about a year and 3/4. This tank started of as a FOWL but quickly evolved into a full mixed reef with several small fish and a abundance of soft corals. About 6 months into this tank i had caught the upgrade bug and we decided to just get a new ReefReady tank to use on our current stand and canopy as our 58 gallon is set up sumpless. On our trip to the lfs that fateful day we ran across a 90 gallon with stand and canopy that we really fell in love with. After much haggling with the clerk i finally walked up to manager on duty and on a impulse offered him a thousand bucks cash for it and he called his boss who promptly told him to sell us the tank. After just a few months in on buying all new support equipment for this tank we hit a speed bump financially speaking and i had to put the build on the back burner intill we could afford too. well after the last year or so of walking past this thing collecting dust ive finally got the urge and alittle bit of extra cash to slowly get this up and going.
So without further adue lets get to it !!
SaltyStlouis' 90 Gallon Build
The Display - The New tank is a standard ReefReady 90 Gallon All Glass Aquarium (18"w x 48"l x 24"h ). I really like a black background so i painted the back of the thank. The stand and canopy are also made by All Glass they are the Mission style in light oak. The stand and canopy was the main Reason we really liked this tank. The Mission style really fit into the style of our home and will be the main focal point of our living room.
Lighting - The lighting i have picked out for this tank had alot to due with the amount of room i had in the prebuilt canopy . I choose a 6x54 watt T-5 system. Four of the bulbs being run by a high output Ice Cap 660 ballast and my two antinic bulbs being run by a standard output ballast. i have mounted the end caps on a piece of 2x2 to bring them closer to the water. i plan on using a external fan power supply/controller and cooling the light system with 2x92 mm computer fans blowing cool air in and one 120 mm fan on top of the canopy pulling the warm air out. I would also like to add some moon lighting in the future.
Flow - I plan on using internal power heads for water circulation . I plan on 2 Hydor # 3s and 2 Tunze Nano Streams 6045s as i already have some of them. Space was a big concern for this tank and therefore a closed loop setup is outta the deal for me . In the future i would like to invest in 2 Vortechs but we will have to see how it goes with what i have first. There will also be some flow from my return which will be a mag 9 pump.
Filtration - This tank will be setup using the basic Berlin method. The tank will include about 125 pounds of live rock with a deep sand bed. I have a 29 gallon tank that ill be retrofitting into a sump with a refgium section for some macro algae. I got a deal on used Aqua C EV 120 with the external waste collection cylinder that im going to run in the skimmer section of my sump. I will also be using a a media filter to run GFO and carbon as needed.
Calcium Demand - My current tank is mostly soft corals but with this new tank I want to take the next step to a full blown SPS tank. So with that in mind i bought a Calcium reactor from Scott at Aquatic system designs. the model i have is the 6.18.1 which is rated for more than my water volume but as this tank matures i plan on having a huge demand for calcium. I have a Reef Fanatic Co2 Regulator and a milwalke Ph controller to handle the Co2 into the reactor.
Electrical Service - This tank will have double the load my current tank takes up which means double the plugs i have now. Im going to have a uncle take a look at my electrical service panel and see if we can get 2 new lines behind the tank I will also be building a box to hold Two 8 switch American Dj power strips and my Reef Keeper 2 that will hang on the wall next to the tank.
I have some ideas so just stay tuned as i really don't know how its going to turn out as plans always change.
Extras - I have always wanted to try ozone so that is something i have in mind after i get up and going. ATO is also a must on this tank for me so i will be doing a DIY relay float switch combo to tackle this. I have a 7 gallon rubber maid bin that fits in my stand next to the sump perfectly. The location of the tank in the house gives me a close floor drain which will make water changes super easy so stay tuned !!
Time Line- I still have several projects and things to buy before i will fill this thing up. I have always said "if its worth doing its worth doing RIGHT" so i will not cut corners on this build. My plan is water by the end of the year so with that in mind be sure to check in as i will be posting pics of everything and documenting the whole process thru my build thread. And now its time too see some pics.
More Pics to Come !!
My name is Jason im 28 years old and have been in this hobby for about 2 years now. Im a new member here at Reef Central but ive been lurking the forums for years. The story on how i became a fish head is quite funny really . When me and my girlfriend decided that we would like to take the next step in our relationship we bought a house and moved in together(which since then we have taken another big step and became engaged this year). After just a few months in the new house she wanted a fish. A Betta fish bowl to be exact and i protested the whole idea. Well let me tell you it wasn't long before i was hooked on fish and that Betta bowl that i never really wanted became a full blown freshwater tank and after having gone to some lfs and seeing their reefsetups i knew what our next adventure in aquarium keeping would be..
My first step into the salt water world is our current 58 gallon mixed reef tank that we have had set up for about a year and 3/4. This tank started of as a FOWL but quickly evolved into a full mixed reef with several small fish and a abundance of soft corals. About 6 months into this tank i had caught the upgrade bug and we decided to just get a new ReefReady tank to use on our current stand and canopy as our 58 gallon is set up sumpless. On our trip to the lfs that fateful day we ran across a 90 gallon with stand and canopy that we really fell in love with. After much haggling with the clerk i finally walked up to manager on duty and on a impulse offered him a thousand bucks cash for it and he called his boss who promptly told him to sell us the tank. After just a few months in on buying all new support equipment for this tank we hit a speed bump financially speaking and i had to put the build on the back burner intill we could afford too. well after the last year or so of walking past this thing collecting dust ive finally got the urge and alittle bit of extra cash to slowly get this up and going.
So without further adue lets get to it !!
SaltyStlouis' 90 Gallon Build
The Display - The New tank is a standard ReefReady 90 Gallon All Glass Aquarium (18"w x 48"l x 24"h ). I really like a black background so i painted the back of the thank. The stand and canopy are also made by All Glass they are the Mission style in light oak. The stand and canopy was the main Reason we really liked this tank. The Mission style really fit into the style of our home and will be the main focal point of our living room.
Lighting - The lighting i have picked out for this tank had alot to due with the amount of room i had in the prebuilt canopy . I choose a 6x54 watt T-5 system. Four of the bulbs being run by a high output Ice Cap 660 ballast and my two antinic bulbs being run by a standard output ballast. i have mounted the end caps on a piece of 2x2 to bring them closer to the water. i plan on using a external fan power supply/controller and cooling the light system with 2x92 mm computer fans blowing cool air in and one 120 mm fan on top of the canopy pulling the warm air out. I would also like to add some moon lighting in the future.
Flow - I plan on using internal power heads for water circulation . I plan on 2 Hydor # 3s and 2 Tunze Nano Streams 6045s as i already have some of them. Space was a big concern for this tank and therefore a closed loop setup is outta the deal for me . In the future i would like to invest in 2 Vortechs but we will have to see how it goes with what i have first. There will also be some flow from my return which will be a mag 9 pump.
Filtration - This tank will be setup using the basic Berlin method. The tank will include about 125 pounds of live rock with a deep sand bed. I have a 29 gallon tank that ill be retrofitting into a sump with a refgium section for some macro algae. I got a deal on used Aqua C EV 120 with the external waste collection cylinder that im going to run in the skimmer section of my sump. I will also be using a a media filter to run GFO and carbon as needed.
Calcium Demand - My current tank is mostly soft corals but with this new tank I want to take the next step to a full blown SPS tank. So with that in mind i bought a Calcium reactor from Scott at Aquatic system designs. the model i have is the 6.18.1 which is rated for more than my water volume but as this tank matures i plan on having a huge demand for calcium. I have a Reef Fanatic Co2 Regulator and a milwalke Ph controller to handle the Co2 into the reactor.
Electrical Service - This tank will have double the load my current tank takes up which means double the plugs i have now. Im going to have a uncle take a look at my electrical service panel and see if we can get 2 new lines behind the tank I will also be building a box to hold Two 8 switch American Dj power strips and my Reef Keeper 2 that will hang on the wall next to the tank.
I have some ideas so just stay tuned as i really don't know how its going to turn out as plans always change.
Extras - I have always wanted to try ozone so that is something i have in mind after i get up and going. ATO is also a must on this tank for me so i will be doing a DIY relay float switch combo to tackle this. I have a 7 gallon rubber maid bin that fits in my stand next to the sump perfectly. The location of the tank in the house gives me a close floor drain which will make water changes super easy so stay tuned !!
Time Line- I still have several projects and things to buy before i will fill this thing up. I have always said "if its worth doing its worth doing RIGHT" so i will not cut corners on this build. My plan is water by the end of the year so with that in mind be sure to check in as i will be posting pics of everything and documenting the whole process thru my build thread. And now its time too see some pics.
More Pics to Come !!
