New 90 gal saltwater aquarium

[Zoegirl]

Hello - Wanted to post a thread as I have started the process of a 90 gallon saltwater aquarium with a 40 gal breeder sump. So far I have built a stand with flush doors and canopy. Ive added caribsand and some dry rock. I was told I'll need quite a bit more in the future, but I just wanted to get started and see what happens.

The tank has been filled and I am dialing in my salinity and temp before I start the Dr Tims Fishless cycle later this week. I plan to add local wild caught CUC and fish in the St Petersburg area. We will see how it goes as the goal isnt to add a lot of store bought stuff for a while.

 

[JayM]

You have plenty of sand, but definitely need more rock. If you haven't already, make sure the rock is setting on the bottom of the aquarium as opposed to just sitting on the sand or you run the risk of it moving and toppling over.

 

[Buckster]

Hello and Welcome to R2R! Yes you do definitely need more rock. The fish love to hide and won't be as stressed.

 

[Zoegirl]

You have plenty of sand, but definitely need more rock. If you haven't already, make sure the rock is setting on the bottom of the aquarium as opposed to just sitting on the sand or you run the risk of it moving and toppling over.

I made sure to shake/press/shift it around so its solid on the glass and I dont run into issues with a burrowing fish knocking it over.

 

[Zoegirl]

I am thinking about adding a few large pieces of premium rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater since I can pick it up locally, but I am going to cycle the tank first. That way I dont end up killing all the beneficial factors that come with the live rock.

 

[Zoegirl]

2 weeks in. We added some live rock and caught a porcupine puffer, a lawnmower blenny, and two mojarra. Just did the first 20% water change and parameters have been pretty consistent once ammonia dropped to 0-0.25. My nitrites were still around 2 which is why I did the water change. Phosphates have been right at 8 the whole time.

 

[kevgib67]

Came along well! Gorgeous wild caught fish. If I lived so close I would add more live rock down the road as your bio load continues to grow.

 

[Idech]

It’s a good start !

You seem to have at least 4 inches of sand so make sure you understand the dangers of a deep sand bed if you don’t already.

 

[Zoegirl]

It’s a good start !

You seem to have at least 4 inches of sand so make sure you understand the dangers of a deep sand bed if you don’t already.

It’s about 3”. The blenny and snails love to burrow down in it. I made sure when placing my rock to shift it side to side to avoid any shifting because of critters burrowing

 

[Idech]

It’s about 3”. The blenny and snails love to burrow down in it. I made sure when placing my rock to shift it side to side to avoid any shifting because of critters burrowing

I meant about anaerobic bacteria buried deep in the sand that will cause an ammonia spike (and can kill your fish), if you disturb it.

With a deep sand bed, you either disturb it regularly, or you don’t.

 

[Zoegirl]

Ah I did not know that. I wasn’t planning on messing with it unless it needed a major cleaning and even then I read to do small sections over time

 

[Zoegirl]

So we are 4 months in now and I wanted to give an update on progress. Due to my wife becoming completely fascinated with the hobby, and coral, we had to release most of our wild caught fish. The lawnmower blenny got nearly 3.5 inches and had a desire to eat Zoas, and the puffer fish thought birdsnest coral was a slimjim. We have upgraded our china black box lights to AI Hydra 32's and I was shocked at how much less power they put out, while still giving everything in the tank a much better look and color spectrum. I bleached a coral or two before I realized I was just running them too powerful. We also added a quantum nyos 160 skimmer.

We have since added:
Orange spot goby
Cleaner shrimp No.2 (RIP to the first one due to puffer)
Sailfin Tang
We still have two wild caught mojarra but they are pretty chill and cool to look at when they chase each other.

Coral list has become quite extensive as well.
Protopalythoa
Bubble gum monti
GSP
Green Slimer
Red/Green Challace
Goni (2)
Trumpet
Alviapora
Gorgonian
Kenya Tree
Favia
3 Zoas
Green Hammer

We are learning the ups and downs of the hobby. My sump baffle job failed so I ordered a new baffle kit and have since swapped out the sump for a new 40 breeder with the baffle kit. This leaves a perfectly fine 40 breeder to start another tank in my office where I spend a lot of my time.

We did have a slight ich outbreak with the tang, and unfortunately lost a pair of 5 day old black and white clown fish that were very small. We have since decided to add a 10 gal QT tank in the house and are going to go Fallow for 76 days to treat and beat the parasite. From now on all new fish will be in the QT for 30 days minimum.

Immense amounts of research and trial and error so far in this hobby and we as a family really enjoy it. I am currently waiting for a new power supply for my AI Hydra 32 and then I will get an updated tank picture with all the new coral additions.

 

[Cell]

I am thinking about adding a few large pieces of premium rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater since I can pick it up locally, but I am going to cycle the tank first. That way I dont end up killing all the beneficial factors that come with the live rock.

That live rock will provide a skip cycle, no need to cycle first when adding live rock.

 

[Zoegirl]

Some tank shots tonight after our coral auction haul from Savage Reefers has acclimated for a few days.