90 Gallon Reef Setup... Update April 22, 2009...Oceanic Corals with Pics!

[Rbacchiega]

I've had this tank and pretty much everything sitting in the garage for over a year...and finally decided to re set it up.

90 Gallon Tank with built in overflow
33 Gallon Sump/Fuge system - will have to tinker around with it, need to replace the old skimmer (corallife 125) with something else, thinking Euro Reef and then get the fuge running. about 7lbs of live rock in the sump
Quietone 4000 Return pump
Koralia 1 - To get that tricky part by the overflow
2 Koralia 4s - one blowing accross the back of the live rock and one to blow towards the front of the tank.
130lbs of now cooked live rock
100 lbs (about 3 inches worth) of aragonite sand

I have the return into the tank split into a kind of E shaped pattern with various directions of flow and am pretty surprised at how well the water moves through the tank. Very nice currents going on in there I think. To aid the cycle I bought another 5lbs of live rock and added it directly to the display tank, hoping this will help with the cycle, but we'll have to see.

Plan on making it a softie/mushroom/lps tank, so I'm thinking I only really need some VHO t5s...right?

Which would bring me to my first question...where can I find a lighting unit like the ones in this thread http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=47143?

Also, right now my salinity is readin 1.023 and the tank is a steady 76*F...is this okay? I've had my fair share of freshwater experience, tried saltwater for a bit but due to personal reasons had to get out of it before I could even do anything with the tank (literally, had a tank full of rock...stunning) but I want this to be amazing...it's taken the place of the other half's tv...so it better be good LOL

Thanks in advance.

[Trigger Man]

The lights in that thread were bought in the States if I remember right (you can google the brand and the shop that sells them will come up, in the thread it also mentions the shop if I'm right). They are great lights but will cost you a little more. How long is your tank (I am assuming 4 foot)? A decent alternative is going with the Tek lighting system, it produces good light, is priced well and will suffice with what you listed as wanting to put in the tank. Salinity is good but can be raised to 1.025 and a lot of people including myself keep our tanks around 79 F. Remember to be patient in the process and cycle the tank properly to avoid issues later on.

[Rbacchiega]

Thanks Trigger

I'll raise it up to 79* gradually, and see how that goes. I thought that 1.025 would be a little too high in salinity for airation? Or am I wrong on that aspect?

The tank is 48" long, 24" tall and 18" back to front.

I've taken a look at the Tek lights, and I think I'm sold LOL

I'm prepaired to wait as long as necessary for this tank to come together. I've had some poor experiences from hurrying my Discus setup once...so I'm ready to wait.

[Trigger Man]

I have had my salinity at a tonne of different levels throughout the years. When I was running fowlr tanks I kept the tanks around 1.018, and then when I started to just have softies and zoas I ran it at 1.023. I did find that a lot of the places that I purchase my coral from (lfs and fellow reefers) had it at around 1.025, so in order to possibley have less shock my corals (as well as new fish) I decided to gradually raise it to the higher level. As long as you have decent waterflow you will be alright, if you are worried you can point one of your ph in a upward angle in order to agitate the water surface a little
more.
If you have any other questions post and you will find may friendly reefers more then willing to find you answers.
Good luck and enjoy!

[Rbacchiega]

Had a little bit of an issue with the bulkheads leaking, but figured that out and have everything back up and running...

Ended up just going back to the old output nozzle..the black connector thingers...I still think I'll get enough circulation through there and have a few extra koralia's kicking around if need be.

In doing some more cleaning I found two 48" Hagen 2 Bulb T5 Units, but will replace the bulbs with ones similar to those found in the thread that I quoted earlier...and I'll mount those on the tank when the time comes...no need for lights quite yet from what I read, so there's no rush there.

Thanks again for all your help!

[Rbacchiega]

....so need the Hagen Glo's for another tank...I forgot that I originally bought those for the 8 foot gar/ray tank....duh.

And cruising around here found an amazing link to Bulk Reef Supply..so I'll be putting in an order in the new year for a 6 Bulb 48" Tek Light T5 Fixture with suspension and brackets just incase. I've decided to go with 3 Pure Actinics and 3 Aqua Blue+ bulbs (info can be found on Bulk Reef Supply Website) I figure that will be damn near enough to allow me to grow whatever I'd like in there...

As soon as I find my USB cable I guess I better start posting pictures...

[Trigger Man]

Getting a KZ fiji purple bulb may also be an idea, it brings out certain colors that the others you listed don't.

[Rbacchiega]

I'm starting to wonder (mainly as I look at the prices of these units) if I could use a 4 bulb unit instead. By looking at your signature, Trigger, it appears that you are using a 4 bulb unit and growing corals well. Is there anyway you could show me a FTS so I can get an idea as to how well the light is getting down into the tank and what your corals are looking like?

The way I figure is the less money a quality, suffiecient lighting unit is going to cost me, the more I can eventually spend on corals and the likes...

[Trigger Man]

I'm working on borrowing a good camera to take some pics, right now I've got a older digital so it takes bad tank shots. My tank is also a 5 footer and a little wider, so the lights don't go end to end (lights are 48") but I've got no dark spots. The 4 bulb lighting unit will fill light throughout your tank, and will allow you to grow sps if you wanted. You may be able to get a good price on bulbs on boxing day or that week (as well if you buy bulbs locally you won't have to worry about broken bulbs from shipping). Also most shops here are pretty good at matching prices of other places if you ask (good to have just incase something goes wrong with the product). You can even put a posting on here seeing if anyone has a similar lighting system for sale (with christmas coming some people may get new lights as presents).

[Rbacchiega]

....Trigger seems to be a saving grace LOL.....