Starting a new 90 gallon... Few questions...

MiaCoral

MiaCoral

New member
So I have the tank. The goal is to piece it together over the course of the next year

I'd like to buy all new or newish equipment. Now that I own a house funds aren't as easy to come buy and I'd like to do this the correct way.


For flow I was thinking two mp40s, any reason this wont work?


My biggest question is what do I go for lighting? LEDs? My display now has Mh, my frag tank has t5s. Do I go led to have three different tanks with different conditions? Any one have any ideas? What about people using LEDs, what are you take on them?


This is where I need the experts to help, I wanna do this right from the start.


Sorry for all the questions, and thanks in advance!
 
Look into getting a wp25 it's much cheaper and IMO better then an mp...I have one wp40 in my 180 and works great. Having just one is a lot for my tank so I have it dialed back since its way too strong. I have had mine for 4 months and it still working like new it's quiet and keeps everything clean..
 
I have leds from reefbreeders since January of this year and had great growth from lps to sps coral. I noticed with leds I see more polyps from my sps coral and better coloring then I did with my MH..again research the leds from reefbreeders on this site and from what I have read everyone loves them..
 
Love LED's plenty of options for plenty of price ranges. As far as MP40's I could never justify the cost of a vortech pump.
 
I'm doing T5's for my 90 since the cost of LED's is still out of my budget. I picked up a unit from ABC in Fairport for a decent price. I'm doing a similiar build, a slow grow 90. Best of luck.

Dave
 
Ill have to do the research on those. Just really like the mp40s. Never heard of those, but I see the huge difference in price for sure.


Also, as far as sump, I was thinking some where around a 40 gallon breeder or even a 50 breeder.

Skimmer wise I think I want to go something rated for at least 180 gallons, incase I ever upgrade. Is this ok? Or is it bad to over do it with a skimmer?
 
Have fun with the hobby. You can have success using almost any technology or budget. Quality can usually be resold if u are unhappy with the results. You're pretty lucky to have excellent lfs locally. U can see diy , to tank of month quality tanks without much effort. Mp 40 have a solid reputation and outstanding customer service. Resale is rarely an issue.
 
I've had the best growth and coloration of my corals under MH lighting. I used to run t5, and tried an experiment with LED's, and I honestly got good results with my LPS and soft corals, but some of the SPS did not respond well at all. If I were going to keep non-sps exclusively, I'd go LED, but based on my own experience and what I've seen in others' tanks, MH are still the best lights for SPS.

A 40 breeder would work great for a sump! I'd recommend quickly getting to the Petco dollar per gallon sale as it ends this week. 40 dollar 40 breeders are awesome! And getting a larger skimmer is always a good idea :). 180 gallon skimmer on your 90 gallon would be great.

On the powerhead front, mp40's would work great, but are expensive and require repairs more frequently than a $500 powerhead should IMO. I'd recommend looking into the Jebao WP-40's if you get a chance. They are a newcomer, but people have been saying almost uniformly good things about them. I've been using them on my 75 and they have been working wonderfully. At 87.50 shipped, you really can't go wrong. One of the pumps did seize on me early on, but I contacted their customer service department and they got back to me within a day to ship out a replacement pump, no questions asked. Really couldn't ask any more from them.
 
I've been looking up the wp25s but they don't seem to be for sale at a lot of places. They look nice and are much less expensive. I found one with the controller kit for around 80 dollars. Any one have any experience with these? Not really worried to much about price as its going to be about a year build.
 
blanden.adam said:
I've had the best growth and coloration of my corals under MH lighting. I used to run t5, and tried an experiment with LED's, and I honestly got good results with my LPS and soft corals, but some of the SPS did not respond well at all. If I were going to keep non-sps exclusively, I'd go LED, but based on my own experience and what I've seen in others' tanks, MH are still the best lights for SPS.

A 40 breeder would work great for a sump! I'd recommend quickly getting to the Petco dollar per gallon sale as it ends this week. 40 dollar 40 breeders are awesome! And getting a larger skimmer is always a good idea :). 180 gallon skimmer on your 90 gallon would be great.

On the powerhead front, mp40's would work great, but are expensive and require repairs more frequently than a $500 powerhead should IMO. I'd recommend looking into the Jebao WP-40's if you get a chance. They are a newcomer, but people have been saying almost uniformly good things about them. I've been using them on my 75 and they have been working wonderfully. At 87.50 shipped, you really can't go wrong. One of the pumps did seize on me early on, but I contacted their customer service department and they got back to me within a day to ship out a replacement pump, no questions asked. Really couldn't ask any more from them.
Click to expand...

Just seen this, so you would suggest the 40 over the 25? And would two work for a 90?
 
I have 2 40's on the 75 run at the full 24 volts, 1 makes a standing wave, the other is on the random mode. It is a ridiculous amount of flow, which I like, but may not work for everyone or every aquascape. I will say this though, if you get the bigger powerheads and want less flow you can always turn them down with a variable voltage power supply, if you get the smaller ones and want more flow, you are stuck. They are pretty much the same price, so that's not an issue. The only issue that remains then is can you deal with the size of the WP40's relative to the 25's. The WP40's are pretty big.
 
The wp25 are not as big as the wp40 and 1 wp25 is more then enough for your tank and with the new controller for them you can lower the speed on them. I have the wp40 on wave mode and its the best. Also as big as the wp40 is you can't even notice it in my tank. But there's a forum on here that talks all bout it..

Now with LEDs lights I think is cheaper too have since the bulbs on MH are expensive and have to be changed very 6 to 9 months and can be a pain IMO. I have lots of sps with no problems of growth I also have plate coral that look amazing and a huge brain coral but it depends on what you like the most since some people love MH and some love LEDs.. I think you should do a lot of research before jumping into a decision..
 
i just looked them both up, looks like the lowest the 40 can go is about 1800 gph. i guess my question is, do i order two wp40s ( would 2x 1800 gph (the min it goes) be to much in a 90) or do i order one wp25 and one wp40, or two wp25s?

Also, where would you guys place these? At the ends of the tank, or the corner pointing towards the front of the glass?


Sorry if im asking to many questions, just want to do this the right way and everyone here seems to know what they are doing.


Thanks again!
 
I think it's hard to have too much flow provided it's appropriately chaotic and indirect. For mine, I have them placed at the ends of the tank, the one on the standing wave mode pointed slightly down and at the front of the class near the middle, and the random one pointed ever so slightly upward blowing straight across. But that's just what works out for my aquascape, there are lots of different options and I would encourage you to research and experiment for yourself to find out what works for your tank. In some zones you want lower flow, and in others higher, so there's no "one size fits all" answer.
 
I agree with Adam.. I have one wp40 on the right side of my tank where some of my sps corals need a lot of flow.. Now to answer your question I think 2 wp40 is way too much flow for your size tank so IMO I believe 2 wp25 should be fine and more then enough flow..am getting a wp25 for my left side tank so I can add it to my RKL system and have them on timers plus I want that new controller for my wp40..
 
I think ill order two wp25s then. After the research and all your help that's prolly best bat the price point vs the mp40s which I planned on I could always add a third and still be under the cost of one mp40. I like the smallness of the 25s as well.


Well that takes care of my flow.


Guess my next question is sump and pump. Sump I'm gonna get at least a 40 gallon premade sump ( I have no DIY skills to make one).

What is the gph I should be looking for in a return pump?
 
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