Squishie's 90g FOWLR

[Squishie89]

Today my 90g tank was installed. It took about 3.5 hours. The stand, tank, canopy and lights are Marineland, most of the other stuff is Aqueon, and the skimmer is a Reef Octopus. It has a wet/dry sump currently with bio-balls. It also has one piece of Instant Reef, the other 2 pieces I have made the tank look very cluttered. It also has around 50lbs of live rock. Might add more to have more hiding places, grazing space, etc. So far the only problems I have encountered was an overflowing skimmer, and a leaking pipe for the sump. Otherwise everything is going very smoothly.

Thar' she is, in all her glory. It only took about 3 hours for the water to clear.

I may be a bit biased, but every time I look at the tank, I go, "Wow."

Live rock everywhere. Going to cut the ends of those zip ties tomorrow.

The sump, with an in-sump skimmer

The lighting and the hood. Lighting is a 48" Marineland reef capable led light

I am so excited though. And really look forward to documenting my progress of jumping both feet first into this amazing hobby on here.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Woohoo!!! I can't wait to see what you do with this tank!!! Good luck!!!!

 

[VelasCorals]

Can't wait to see what fish you go with

 

[wysiwyg]

nice looking tank keep us updated as you add livestock

 

[revsgirl]

Lookin' good

 

[revhtree]

Congrats and yes it looks great!

 

[Squishie89]

That is how she looks at night. She glows SO bright. But it is such a beautiful blue, I love it. And the birds don't seem to mind! (I have 3 parrots)

I added some stick on lights in the cabinet if I happen to be checking on it in the evening. (The lights are stuck to the cabinet, not the tank bottom)

And my beautiful log book. I have a thing for stickers, what can I say.

I love this piece of rock, with all of its bumps.

Right now I am waiting to hear back from a local aquarium guy to see if he can help me. This weekend will hopefully be my first water change. Not much more going on. Thanks!

 

[Bry]

Following along to see how it progresses. Looks good

 

[Squishie89]

Update: Just had the guy who did the install come over, and he tried for 40 minutes to make the skimmer work, but it just refused to cooperate. And he took the whole thing apart, and could not find any obvious issues. He believes it is something wrong with the pump, because despite the valve being in the off position water is still forcing its way through. So he took the whole unit and is going to have his boss look at it (he works at the LFS) and see if he can fix it, otherwise they will be ordering me a new unit. This just makes me even more glad I was/am waiting to get critters. Tank is staying at around 78 degrees F, and water parameters are looking good (tested on 9/18/12: Ammonia 0ppm, High range PH 8.1, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 5.0ppm). I found out I was taking the SP wrong. But he okayed me for getting some clean up crew guys, but I am going to wait a few days before doing so. It would be nice to watch something other than rocks. I told the guy, "You may think I am bummed you are having to take the unit, but I am just so happy it isn't working for you guys either."
I also bought a brand new tank for my Q.tank from a petstore, 15g and came with everything (heater, net, light, thermometer, filter and more) for 100 dollars. And luckily I did not have to buy the stand (another hundred dollars) because it fits perfectly on the stand that came with the original q.tank I was going to use (but it has a leak). Still need to check that is it water tight, and clean it out, but otherwise I am good to go!

 

[jonnye46]

tagging along :wink: hey since we're local we can help each other out

 

[Squishie89]

tagging along :wink: hey since we're local we can help each other out

Definitely. =D

 

[Squishie89]

Here is a list of my equipment. All bought brand new. (Prices listed on these sites do not correlate with prices I paid)
Marineland Monterey Cabinet Stand in Red Oak 48"x18"
Marineland Monterey Cap in Red Oak 48"x18"
Marineland Corner Flow 90g Glass Aquarium 48"x18"x24"
Marineland Glass Canopy 48"x18"
Marineland Reef Capable LED Light 48"-60"
Aqueon ProFlex Sump Model 3 (used as a wet/dry system)
Pondmaster Mag Drive Pump PM 9.5
Aqueon Heater 250 Watt
Reef Octopus In Sump Protein Skimmer
Hydor Koralia Powerhead (x2) Evolution 1050
Everything is basic/accessory stuff (hydrometer, buffers, etc.)
I currently have ~50lbs of live rock, I intend to get more. And about 60lbs of live sand.

 

[Squishie89]

Well the good news is I got the q.tank up and running. Still tweaking the heater, and need to test the water, and get the parameters under control, but otherwise she is good to go. And the main tank is still going great. I took some pictures of some stuff that is growing on the rocks and coming up through the sand, but I want to retake them with a different camera.
Bad news is: one of my cockatoos, Puck, has not been the same attitude wise since the tank install. I have been bit 7 times, and only when in the living room (tank is in the dining room, and only about 7 feet away). My Dad and I have a lot of different ideas of what could be causing this. But Plan Z is to disassemble the tank and either relocate it, or put it away until I move out. So I am going to be holding off on buying any critters at all, even snails and crabs, until we know what we are doing about Puck. We still have a lot of options and plans before Plan Z. Hopefully we can fix this without moving the tank, but it is a real possibility. =/

 

[Squishie89]

Some new pictures.
Some stuff has started growing!

I think some sand got into the overflow

Filter socks need cleaning soon

Super basic quarantine tank. 15g.

 

[quajoreef]

Sorry to hear about the delay, I hope everything will work out okay and you will still get to keep your tank where you want it. I can't wait to see what you end up stocking with!

 

[Squishie89]

Sorry to hear about the delay, I hope everything will work out okay and you will still get to keep your tank where you want it. I can't wait to see what you end up stocking with!

I hope so too. Especially since the only other place the tank could go, is in the basement, where I very infrequently go. This is a set back I mentally noted before setting up the system, I was just hoping it wouldn't happen. I am putting my parrots first, so if Puck says the tank has to go, well then, the tank has to go. But we are doing our best to avoid that. We are going to the vet on Saturday to double check nothing physical is going on with her, as she is a mature female. Then from there we are going to possibly relocate her farther from the tank and see if that helps. I just had wanted this all to go so much more smoothly =/ Ah well, patience is key in this hobby any way, and this also gives me ore time to get a generator for our house, and a battery back up for the tank until then.

 

[KoleTang]

If you move the bird away from the tank. And it still acts odd. Wouldn't that mean it has nothing to do with the tank, so there is no good reason to get rid of it?

I like the setup though. You should get some fish that reefers only dream of having because they would eat the corals.

BTW what tank is your QT. It looks interesting.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

The tank is coming along nicely. I really like the QT. Cockatoos are a tough bird. Some do not like any change and revolt against it. I am hoping that Puck is OK and adjusts to the tank given time.

 

[Squishie89]

If you move the bird away from the tank. And it still acts odd. Wouldn't that mean it has nothing to do with the tank, so there is no good reason to get rid of it?

I like the setup though. You should get some fish that reefers only dream of having because they would eat the corals.

BTW what tank is your QT. It looks interesting.

That is the plan! I am already planning the next tank to be a reef tank. Thanks to you guys I have fallen in love with zoas XD.
We are taking things one step at a time, first thing is make sure nothing is going on physically that may explain her attitude. Next we will probably switch her cage placement with my other cockatoo and see if that helps, which would put her further from the tank. We also may keep the lights off for the tank so it does not seem as threatening.
The q.tank is this- 15 Gallon Aquarium » Aqueon® 15 Gallon Column Deluxe Aquarium Kit | PetSmart It looks like I may have to DYI the filter media to make some for when the tank is used for hospitalization because so far I can only find filters with carbon.

The tank is coming along nicely. I really like the QT. Cockatoos are a tough bird. Some do not like any change and revolt against it. I am hoping that Puck is OK and adjusts to the tank given time.

Thank you. I like it too! It was such a b**** that I had gotten almost the same exact tank (but with no equipment) on craigslist, but found out it had a leak. Then I found this tank and it fit perfectly on the stand! So, I lucked out, even though it does not match in the slightest XD
Puck has been good with change, but it seems maybe not this one. The other problem is it is cockatoo mating season down in her distant home, Australia, and Puck thinks I am her mate. So this may be all hormonal and just need to wait it out, or get some medication help. We will see how it goes tomorrow with the vet.

 

[Squishie89]

Hopefully I will be able to update with pictures tomorrow, but today I re-did the aquascape in the tank. I took out all the rock, and found a couple that needed to be re-cured =X wow that smell is horrible. By the end of the day it was only one that needs to sit and get rid of some dead stuff, seems sitting in a warm tub of saltwater helped the others out. But the aquascape is SO much cooler now. I may not need to add any rock after all. I can say, I will not being do that again any time soon.
Update on Puck: took her to the vet, nothing physical showed up, Dr did take blood to make sure that is all normal. We moved the cages around, and long story short, so far it does not seem to have solved anything, so I do not think it is the tank. We may be going the medicinal route for Puck. We also have it so there are no tank lights on after the birds have been put to bed.