jph's first reef tank (90g)

[jph]

well, i guess this is me saying "i'm in"

this will be the first tank that i have (done freshwater many many years ago together with my father)

i'm still in the process of buying all the hardware.

got a stand more or less built, a canopy that's about 60% done.

40lbs of fiji live rock that's curing...

so, as i have no previous experience, i'm sure that i'll make many newbie mistakes (i try to read alot and research before i do something though) so, if you see me going wrong, just grab my attenntion and correct me

what are my plans ?

a little bit of everything i guess.
~4->5" DSB
base rock, seeded with liverock
a few fish
a few inverts
a few soft corals
a few LPs
a few SPS
maybe in the long run an anemone and/or a clam

equipment list (current guesstimate, this may still change in the future)

seaclear 90g acrylic tank (48Lx18Wx24H) - got it
ebay sump 29g - got it
AquaC EV-180 Skimmer - got it
pumps : poseidom PS1 (skimmer), PS2 (CLS#1), PS3 (sump return), PS4 (CLS#2) - got em
Oceans motions S-Squirt compact - got it
Oceans motions OM Squirt - got it
40lbs fiji live rock - got it
120lbs of reef bones base rock - got it
Fly Guy rock lift! - got it
~200lbs of caribsea substrate (seaflor special grade & aragamax select) - got it
two phosban reactors - got 'em
a whole bunch of pvc plumbing parts - got 'em, most likely need to buy more
a few magdrive pumps for curing LR and mixing water - got 'em
some random other things that i can't think of right now

lights;
two iwasaki 250W 6500K single ended MH bulbs
four Geisemann 54W T5's (two actinics, one 11K, one blue)
icecap ballasts: two 430 (T5's), two 250 (MH's)
6 fans for canopy (can't remember the brand right now)

still need : chiller


J.

[dobejazz]

Welcome to the build off !

[jph]

i guess it's time for a first picture in this thread.

i *think* that i have gathered all (or at least most) of the materials that i'll need to finish this tank.

this weekend i'm doing a few waterchanged on the LR i'm curing, and i thought this was a good time to make a picture of the war zone

so, this is basically what my office looks like right now.
needless to day, my wife hates this room with a passion

and she isn't too happy aboutthe smell in the garage either.

not visible in this picture, half finished canopy in the garage, about 200lbs of caribsea sand in the garage, and ~100lbs of reefbones stinking up the garage




J.

[hannam11]

Good luck.

[abigtroutt]

JPH that room looks clean to me?? I have no idea what your wife is talking about.....To me it appears like you have a system and could find something if you needed it!

[jph]

Originally Posted by abigtroutt

JPH that room looks clean to me?? I have no idea what your wife is talking about.....To me it appears like you have a system and could find something if you needed it!

haha
that is my line; i know exactly where everything is, don't even think about "cleaning" it up, i won't be able to find anything anymore.


J.

[jph]

had some time to do a little bit of work today.

drilled 4 holes in the back of the tank, and installed four 3/4" sched. 80 bulkheads.

this will be the outlets for CLS #1
which will have two spraybars under the liverock
and two 3/4" 45 degree elbows popping out of the sand in the front corners

went to Osh to pick up some true union ball valves, but they didn't have any, guess i'll have to order those online.


J.

[jph]

i've been too busy with other things, this tank build hasn't been moving as fast as i wanted.

on te bright side, the live rock is curing/cooking nicely

i did get started on it again last weekend.

drilled two additional holes in the back for 1" bulkheads (inlets for CLS)

started drilling holes in the back for overflow, the left one is done.
i usaed two drill sized, 1/4" and 1/2" small hole on the bottom, big hole on top, slightly overlapping. spaced 1" apart.

still need to do the same on the other side of te tank, and glue the overflow boxes on. then it's time to get it on the stand, and start the plumbing.


J.

[Wiskey]

Glad to hear your moving along again,.. Do you have any pics?

Whiskey

[jph]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

Glad to hear your moving along again,.. Do you have any pics?

see that picture a few posts back ?
it still looks like that, but the tank if flipped with the back facing up

i'll snap some pics when i get the overflow tanks on. hopefully next weekend (fingers crossed)


J.

[Wiskey]

Originally Posted by jph

see that picture a few posts back ?
it still looks like that, but the tank if flipped with the back facing up

i'll snap some pics when i get the overflow tanks on. hopefully next weekend (fingers crossed)


J.

I hear you. Good luck with the overflow tanks!

Whiskey

[jph]

i have to make up for the lack of updates i have (not) been giving.

so this weekend i found some free time, when the baby was sleeping, and managed to drill the overflow holes in the other side of the tank.

with any luck, next weekend i'll have the overflow boxes drilled for a bulkhead, glued on, and the tank on the stand. ready to start working on the plumbing.


J.

[jph]

and some pictures of the progress made last weekend.






J.

[crvz]

Looks great. How's the rock doing?

[jph]

Originally Posted by crvz

Looks great. How's the rock doing?

rock's doing great. little fanworms seem to be growing on some pieces.
it's still shedding some detritus, but i have to admit, i haven't been keeping up on my water changes. every 2 to 4 weeks i'll do a 100% waterchange, and swish them around a bit.


which reminds me, i should do that again


J.