90 Gal Predator & Macro Tank

Goodair

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Hello and welcome to my build thread everyone!

Predator fish, macro algae, softies/lps corals
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First tank, never had an aquarium. I've been interested in it for a long time and did some research here and there but now I finally decided to start. DYI projects are also something that are very enjoyable to do so this fits two bills. The learning curve has been HUGE and I'll be updating both my successes and failures so others can learn from my experiences. I've run into some of the common problems that tend to run with early tanks but with patience and research, the tank has been great so far!

Stages:

Carpentry:

-the front has 3 layers of plywood (exterior layer was 1/4" slotted plywood, other 2 layers were just leftover plywood from other jobs. This was so I can have to doors be flush with the walls and have some thickness to the doors. This part was a real pain in the butt due to the tank dimensions being 48.5" long, thus the cabinet frame was 49" long and then add the extra 1/2" for the side plywood sides, so I had to extend the sheets for such a small amount. It is a lot to type out how i did the extension and offsets but if you are interested, let me know.
-the sides only used the 1/4 slotted plywood.
-trim on the top to cover the plywood edge
-pegboard for the back
-the stain isn't what I wanted but needed one to go with the rest of the house decor and flooring. American chestnut stain with spar urethane finish inside and outside the cabinet.
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Plumbing:

-3 stage sump using a 40b tank
Stage 1 - Mechanical:
-Filter Sock
-Reef Octopus Skimmer classic 110 int
- 2 Heaters with an Inkbird monitor
Stage 2 - Biological:
-live rock
-Misc macros, primarily chaeto .
-Pods that came with the chaeto, not sure what kind. Thank you to local reefer!
-Trochus snails have been breeding and consantly picking them out and adding to DP when they are a good size.
-Will be attempting to breed mollies one day
Stage 3 - Return:
-have some acrylic pieces on the baffle to hold a eggcrate, will put a filter pad
here to catch anything that tries to come out of the bio chamber
-Autoaqua smart ato micro
-Mag 7 Return Pump

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-75 gal tank cracked during drilling (my fault for not checking both sides for tempered glass, one side wasn't and a few weeks later, I drilled on the other side...) but got a good deal on a used 90 gal predrilled from lfs.

Lighting/ Wavemakers:
-UPS was tested with some runs on the wavemaker, getting 7 hours of runtime
- Ocean Revive LEDs
- 2 Computer fans - controlled by Inkbird


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Scape:
I'm very satisfied with the aquascape. Tank will be filled with macros and a few corals slowly over time. This will be the slowest and hopefully most satisfying as everything gets added and grows out to fill the empty space.





Fish Stock:

Snowflake Eel
Radiata Lionfish
Tomani Tang
Harlequin Tusk
Plans for zebra eel

Inverts:
- Longspine Urchin
- Mixed batch of snails, mostly trochus snails.
-Rainbow/Rose btas
-Feather Dusters
-Coco worms
Macros:
- Mangroves
- chaeto in the sump
- gracilaria, mermaid fans in the display.
- multiple other macros have been atempted and wither didnt grow or got eaten.

Corals:
Do not know the names given to these corals, especially the zoas, been buying small frags from local reefers and just picking whatever would look nice.
- kenya tree moved to sump, fingers randomly scattered in DP
- duncan
- acan
- hammer
- zoas (looking to do a garden)
- gorgonian
- cabbage leather
- mixed mushrooms
-not actively looking to add sps, have attempted but ended up losing them.


Progression Pics, random intervals. I'll have to look up pic info and track dates.

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tank.jpg
 
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WV Reefer

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Hello Everyone!
New to the hobby, never had a pet fish before, not even a goldfish. I've been interested in it for a long time and did some research here and there but now I finally decided to start. DYI projects are also something that are very enjoyable to do so this fits two bills.

Stages:

Woodwork: Complete
-2x6s for the horizontals.
-2x4s for the verticals.


-the front has 3 layers of plywood (exterior layer was 1/4" slotted plywood, other 2 layers were just leftover plywood from other jobs. This was so I can have to doors be flush with the walls and have some thickness to the doors. This part was a real pain in the *** due to the tank dimensions being 48.5" long, thus the cabinet frame was 49" long and then add the extra 1/2" for the side plywood sides, so I had to extend the sheets for such a small amount. It is a lot to type out how i did the extension and offsets but if you are interested, let me know.
-the sides only used the 1/4 slotted plywood.
-trim on the top to cover the plywood edge and styrofoam
-plywood for the back
-will update once stain is done drying
20190109_201932.jpg 20190111_193052.jpg
Plumbing: Under Progress
Whats done:
-3 stage sump using a 29 gal tank
Stage 1 - Mechanical:
-Filter Sock
-Reef Octopus Skimmer 150int
-Heater
Stage 2 - Biological:
-live rock
-maybe macro algae, need to look into it more
Stage 3 - Return:
-have some acrylic pieces on the baffle to hold a eggcrate, will put a filter pad
here to catch anything that tries to come out of the bio chamber
-UV sterilizer
-Mag 12 Return Pump
-Looking to put an auto top-off here and a reactor
Whats left:
- need to pick out a overflow, looking at the Eclipse M, not sure of the L is overkill (~800gph if i go a single return, see below)
-debating on putting the overflow in the middle and splitting the return on the 2 corners with a y/t joint, or just having overflow on 1 end and return on other. Please, any feedback on this is GREATLY appreciated! I feel as the split method would make a more even flow and drain and would not blast the fish with a single return . I got no experience in this so unsure if the fish like the higher flow area or not. I know that this will lower my overall flow, but it will still be more than enough for this size tank.



Electric: Will look into it soon. Backup battery, controller, lights, power demand, etc. Any recommendations on this topic appreciated aswell!

Scape: I got black gravel and 80 lbs of dead rock sitting all alone =[

Stocking: Planning on a Predator tank
1-Lion fish,
1-Foxface Fish
1-Puffer Fish
Maybe a few corals in the future

Welcome to R2R!!

A predator tank will be awesome! :D
 

reacclimating 2 the hobby

patience is... oh look an acro pack fs!
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I would get your rock into some RODI water for a week or so to soak and then put it in a brute with saltwater while you get things going. Will help get things kick off. I would agree with the split return if you have the option.
 
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Goodair

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Well good and bad news. I only checked one side of the tank a few weeks ago to see if it was tempered, it wasn't. Today I started to drill for the overflow and it broke, seems as the other side was tempered and I'm kicking myself for not checking both sides...:mad::mad::mad:
Bright side is my LFS had an used 90 gal already drilled for sale and they sold it to me for 50 bucks! So in the end it saved me money by returning the overflow box, and got a bigger tank!
 

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Well good and bad news. I only checked one side of the tank a few weeks ago to see if it was tempered, it wasn't. Today I started to drill for the overflow and it broke, seems as the other side was tempered and I'm kicking myself for not checking both sides...:mad::mad::mad:
Bright side is my LFS had an used 90 gal already drilled for sale and they sold it to me for 50 bucks! So in the end it saved me money by returning the overflow box, and got a bigger tank!
50 bucks! I spent 500 on my 90! lol. Nice find

Welcome to reef2reef!
 

welsher7

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Drilling glass always makes me nervous. Great deal on the tank though.

What puffer and lion fish are you looking? Generally puffers and lion fish do not mix well. Puffers tend to nip the spines on a lion fish. So I would have a backup plan if the puffer gets nippy.
 
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Specific species im not 100% set on yet, was gonna look more into it once the tank is starting to cycle.
Just from taking a quick look, blue spotted or saddle puffers look great, as for lion, the non dwarf ones.
 
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welsher7

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Just my two cents

I would go with radiata or antennata if you you don’t want a zebra or fuzzy. The volitan, russells, and miles will be too big for a 48x18 footprint. They are really fast growers.
 
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Just my two cents

I would go with radiata or antennata if you you don’t want a zebra or fuzzy. The volitan, russells, and miles will be too big for a 48x18 footprint. They are really fast growers.

Glad you said radiata, that would of been my first choice!
 

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20190126_171028.jpg
20190126_170952.jpg
Plumbing is done, need to plug in and start cycling now!!
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Would you mind taking pics of inside your overflow box from the top and then another from the bottom side of the plumbing coming out of the overflow? I’m trying to figure out if I want to keep the factory 1 drain & 1 return or make two drains and run returns over the top.
 
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Im going 'Herbie' method for draining which lowers drainage noise. In theory it makes sense and that what alot of people say. Bean method seems like overkill, maybe for a really big tank it can be justified. The returns being on the far sides also feel like a better idea to get a more random flow. I'd recommend it if your handy enough with pvc.
Hope these pictures help! The ball valve is connected to the shorter overflow which will be adjusted once water is in. Keep in mind, I built this stand with adding an eclipse overflow box which ended up changing. The support was in the way and I had to cut just enough it to fit 2 elbows and add another support next to it to kinda help compensate.
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welsher7

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Glad you said radiata, that would of been my first choice!

That’s good news, some people try stuff volitans or Russells lions in to tanks that size.

I plumbed my current tank the same way you plumbed this tank, really quiet compared to running a durso. You should try to find or make intake guard for the primary drain just in case anything makes it in to the overflow. I zip tied knitting screen around mine.
 

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Im going 'Herbie' method for draining which lowers drainage noise. In theory it makes sense and that what alot of people say. Bean method seems like overkill, maybe for a really big tank it can be justified. The returns being on the far sides also feel like a better idea to get a more random flow. I'd recommend it if your handy enough with pvc.
Hope these pictures help! The ball valve is connected to the shorter overflow which will be adjusted once water is in. Keep in mind, I built this stand with adding an eclipse overflow box which ended up changing. The support was in the way and I had to cut just enough it to fit 2 elbows and add another support next to it to kinda help compensate.
20190126_235415.jpg
20190126_235430.jpg
20190126_235546.jpg
20190126_235620.jpg
Nice!
 
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