Smack's 90gal Build!

Woohoo, I always wanted to start a build thread. Just closed on my new house and my gf actually bought me a new 90gallon tank with built-in overflow and stand.

I'm going to get some pictures tomorrow, so far its just sitting in the downstairs. I filled it up, no leaks, then washed it out and everything looks good so far.

Now the decisions, the wall behind the tank is dark blue, so I'm not sure if I should paint the back black. Any suggestions?

Besides that, I will be ordering a bunch of new equipment for the tank as my current tank is 46gal and only a few things will be re-used. I'll post what I got tonight or tomorrow.

 

Painting will hide the hoses and such, so I would do it. Congrats on the tank and a GF who supports your habit.

 

cool,

good luck. i vote paint it. i regret not painting mine

 

Congrats on the tank.. You have a cool GF. Paint the tank, you will not regret it one bit..

 

Alright I'm back! Here's a pic of the tank and you guys have convinced me to paint the back, def don't want to see the piping. I got a can of rustoleum, not sure if its tank friendly though?


Is this paint good?




w00t!

I'll post some more pictures soon enough. Got my UV today.

 

Beautiful tank and stand!! Good idea to paint the back black, it will hide all the ugly junk. And congratulations on your new house!!!

 

Congrats on the new house and tank, best of luck to you.

 

Thanks! Yeah the house has been some work, but should look nice once finished.

Here's a list of items that I have bought so far:

• Aquaticlife Dual Lamp T5 Ho Marine Light Fixture - 48 In. (Also have a 36inch that I will use)

• 2x Koralia Evolution 750 - 750 Gph (Is this too much flow? I was aiming for about 15x tank size so this is a little more)

• Turbo-Twist 6X UV Sterilizer

• 40 lbs of Base Rock(I already have 40lbs of live rock, so that plus maybe another 10-20lbs of live rock should be good)
  

• 80 lbs of white sand (60lbs live)

• Rena Smart Heater 300watt

I plan on buying a RO/DI filter from the filterguys, probably the Ocean Wave + 5 stage 75gpd ro/di or the step up from that. Any recommendations?
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May 9th - 2010

Alright so I accomplished a few extra things on the tank this weekend.


- I bought some eggcrate lighting to prevent any of the rock from scratching the bottom of the tank.

- Bought some PVC tubes and elbows to make a subterranean network for my blenny and any other creatures to use for hiding. It has 2 openings so far, and I may make a 3rd entrance. It will sit underneath the sand bed besides for openings which will either be straight up or at an angle. I'm etching some ladders on the insides in case any hermits decide to get curious and fall down haha. Has anyone ever done something like this in their tank? It seems like a good idea? Just not sure if there would be any unintended consequences.

- Finally, did some drummel work on the hood so that my new light can fit on top with the legs. It was literally like 1/8th too tight on one leg oddly enough. Its a very tight fit now, but comes down nicely on top.


So now I must purchase my RO/DI. I decided to go with the OCEAN REEF + 1 FIVE STAGE 75 GPD RO/DI from filterguys. Was thinking about the $160 model, but decided that the Ocean Reef would be best for me.

Once I get the filter, I have a 32 gallon barrel which I'll fill, along with the tank after it is washed out and the bank is painted.

More to come ;D

 

Awesome start. Grats. The move in/new house days are always fun.

I think the under sand network could end up badly for the same reason you already hinted at. If something falls in gets stuck and dies under there and you are unaware not many other critters can get in there to eat it and at least help with the decomposition process. Even if you become aware of detritus or a carcass stuck in there it could prove quite difficult to get it out without pulling the rock.