90 Gallon In-Wall Build

[spd3001]

Bought a house in Las Vegas late in 2011. The house is in a neighborhood built in the 60's. They're all what we call "Atomic Ranch." One feature of note was a corner by the fireplace that had an in-wall 2' by 2' by 2' cube for a stereo. I immediately thought what a great place for an aquarium. So late in 2012 and early 2013, I started buying the equipment for a 2' x 2' x 3' custom aquarium I purchased from Glass Cages. We worked with an architect on a remodel of the house that would add an equipment room behind the corner to support the aquarium. We eventually had to put the project on hold due to my wife's declining health. She was put on a transplant list at Stanford and eventually got her double lung transplant in the spring of 2017. Fast forward to 2020 and the pandemic and I got bit by the bug again and have restarted the build. So I have the 90 gallon tank and a lot of gear from 2013. I'll list what I'm starting with in a later post. So far, I've been concentrating on tearing out the old stereo install and building out the equipment room behind it. I'll post some pictures of that effort in a later post as well. So that's how things stand for now. More later...

 

[HD_Reefer]

Bought a house in Las Vegas late in 2011. The house is in a neighborhood built in the 60's. They're all what we call "Atomic Ranch." One feature of note was a corner by the fireplace that had an in-wall 2' by 2' by 2' cube for a stereo. I immediately thought what a great place for an aquarium. So late in 2012 and early 2013, I started buying the equipment for a 2' x 2' x 3' custom aquarium I purchased from Glass Cages. We worked with an architect on a remodel of the house that would add an equipment room behind the corner to support the aquarium. We eventually had to put the project on hold due to my wife's declining health. She was put on a transplant list at Stanford and eventually got her double lung transplant in the spring of 2017. Fast forward to 2020 and the pandemic and I got bit by the bug again and have restarted the build. So I have the 90 gallon tank and a lot of gear from 2013. I'll list what I'm starting with in a later post. So far, I've been concentrating on tearing out the old stereo install and building out the equipment room behind it. I'll post some pictures of that effort in a later post as well. So that's how things stand for now. More later...

Looking forward to the build!

 

[spd3001]

So here are some pics of the corner where the tank will sit. Two sides of the tank will be visible. It's a 36 inch deep tank that's 24 by 24 inches. The stand is a custom stand built here in Las Vegas by Artistic Iron Works. If you're ever in Vegas and want to pick up some cool iron sculpture, it's the place you should check out. Behind that wall is our double car garage out of which I'm building out a 9' by 5' equipment room. Actually, part of that room is taken up by the backside of the fireplace's firebox and chimney. It will have a double set of doors that open to the garage to provide access to all of the equipment. The sump and display tank will also be accessible from the front. In the pics is a shot of the RODI setup, a 100 gallon tank and a four stage RODI system. All that's left of the remodel for the equipment room is sheetrock and paint. It's wired with two dedicated 20 amp circuits and one 15 amp circuit it shares with the garage lighting.

 

[spd3001]

So here's the equipment I have on hand for this build. All of it was purchased back in 2013 with the exception of the Skimz Macroalgae Reactor and the Hanna Instruments Test Kit.

• 90 Gallon Display Tank
  • 36" deep and 24” square.
  • Coast to coast overflow that is 4.5” wide and 5.5” deep.
  • Glass is 0.5” thick.
  • Three sides are Starphire glass.
  • Drilled for three 1” ID bulkheads for a Bean Animal overflow.
• Trigger Systems Ruby CUBE Sump - 20 inch
• Water Flow, ATO, AWC
  • Return Pump is an Iwaki MD30RXT Water Pump (Japanese Motor.)
  • Maxspect Gyre XF150 Generator Flow Pump.
  • Genesis Reef System's RENEW Pro + STORM Pro + Pumps Bundle.
• Water Temperature Control
  • Aqua Logic Delta Star Chiller 1/4 HP, DS-3 with Temperature Controller.
  • Aqua Logic 1 inch Flow Switch for Chiller.
  • 2 Hydor ETH 201 In-Line Heaters 200 Watt - 5/8 inch.
• Two EcoTech Marine Radion XR30w Pro LED Light Fixtures (1st Gen)
• ELOS USA Power Skimmer 200 with Pump PSK200
• Skimz Macroalgae Reactor
• RODI Water
  • Little Giant - 2-MDQX-SC Inline Pump
  • SpectraPure MaxCap RO/DI System w/ Manual Flush - 90 GPD
  • Vertical 100 Gallon 28” x 45” Tank
• Ultralife Titanium Grounding Probe
• Hanna Reef Test Kit (HIREEF) - Hanna Instruments
• Two 5 gallon buckets of Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix 175 Gallon

 

[spd3001]

Since it was purchased in 2013, the SpectraPure RODI system has only been used to produce about 400 to 500 gallons of RODI water. Does anybody think I should replace all the media before filling the tank?

 

[spd3001]

Looking forward to the build!

Thanks! I'm thrilled to finally get this build started.

 

[HD_Reefer]

Since it was purchased in 2013, the SpectraPure RODI system has only been used to produce about 400 to 500 gallons of RODI water. Does anybody think I should replace all the media before filling the tank?

I would, even if its not technically warranted. How bad would you feel going through all this setup and prep, only to find out some of the media failed and produced potentially toxic water. For the small cost, its not worth that risk.

 

[spd3001]

Good point, I'll spring for the media.

 

[spd3001]

I'm not sure where to get into a discussion about this, but for this build I'm going with a deep sandbed. The main reason for that is because the one fish I have my heart set on for this aquarium is a yellow-headed jawfish. I've had one in the past in a fish only tank and I really enjoy their personality. I'm planning on a sandbed with a depth of 6 to 8 inches. The display tank for this build is three feet in depth so it will have 30 inches or so of water column. So far purchased I've purchased 8 bags of variously sized sand. I'm trying to get something similar to Dr. Simak's analysis of sandbeds.

So I'll need a volume of about 1.84 sq. ft. (23” x 23” x 6”) which is approximately 130 lbs of sand. So this is what I've got so far:

Bottom layer: 0.1 to 0.5 mm: 40 lbs @120 lbs/cu ft - Nature's Ocean Marine White Sand #0 (Do not wash)
Second layer: 0.125 to 0.25 mm: 45 lbs @ 77 lbs/cu ft - MarcoRocks Bahama Aragonite Sand (Do not wash)
Third layer: 0.25 to 1.0 mm: 60 lbs @ 96 lbs/cu ft - CaribSea Aragamax Sugar-Sized Sand
Fourth layer: 1.0 to 2.0 mm: 15 lbs @ 85 lbs/cu ft - CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade Reef Sand
Top layer: 3.0 to 6.0 mm: 2 lbs @ 72 lbs/cu ft - CaribSea CORALine Caribbean Crushed Coral

0.3333 cu ft + 0.5844 cu ft + 0.6250 cu ft + 0.1765 cu ft + 0.0278 cu ft = 1.7470 cu ft total. So I'll likely need another 8 to 10 pounds which a portion of will be larger coral chunks that the jawfish will need for construction.

With this deep sandbed, I'll of course need to seed it with the bacteria and critters that typically inhabit deep sandbeds. I would appreciate some advice on where to order inhabitants for this sandbed. I'm going to avoid the larger members of your typical cleanup crew and concentrate on fauna for the deep bed.

 

[Brian Hall]

I'm not sure where to get into a discussion about this, but for this build I'm going with a deep sandbed. The main reason for that is because the one fish I have my heart set on for this aquarium is a yellow-headed jawfish. I've had one in the past in a fish only tank and I really enjoy their personality. I'm planning on a sandbed with a depth of 6 to 8 inches. The display tank for this build is three feet in depth so it will have 30 inches or so of water column. So far purchased I've purchased 8 bags of variously sized sand. I'm trying to get something similar to Dr. Simak's analysis of sandbeds.

So I'll need a volume of about 1.84 sq. ft. (23” x 23” x 6”) which is approximately 130 lbs of sand. So this is what I've got so far:

Bottom layer: 0.1 to 0.5 mm: 40 lbs @120 lbs/cu ft - Nature's Ocean Marine White Sand #0 (Do not wash)
Second layer: 0.125 to 0.25 mm: 45 lbs @ 77 lbs/cu ft - MarcoRocks Bahama Aragonite Sand (Do not wash)
Third layer: 0.25 to 1.0 mm: 60 lbs @ 96 lbs/cu ft - CaribSea Aragamax Sugar-Sized Sand
Fourth layer: 1.0 to 2.0 mm: 15 lbs @ 85 lbs/cu ft - CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade Reef Sand
Top layer: 3.0 to 6.0 mm: 2 lbs @ 72 lbs/cu ft - CaribSea CORALine Caribbean Crushed Coral

0.3333 cu ft + 0.5844 cu ft + 0.6250 cu ft + 0.1765 cu ft + 0.0278 cu ft = 1.7470 cu ft total. So I'll likely need another 8 to 10 pounds which a portion of will be larger coral chunks that the jawfish will need for construction.

With this deep sandbed, I'll of course need to seed it with the bacteria and critters that typically inhabit deep sandbeds. I would appreciate some advice on where to order inhabitants for this sandbed. I'm going to avoid the larger members of your typical cleanup crew and concentrate on fauna for the deep bed

I had just watched a video someone had posted on here from Bulk Reef discussing this very thing as the future of the hobby. Having a reliable source for clean micro fauna additives to start new systems on the right foot. It sounded that for now getting quality seasoned live rock or sand from a trusted source are the only options other than some beneficial nitrifying bacteria products.

 

[spd3001]

I had just watched a video someone had posted on here from Bulk Reef discussing this very thing as the future of the hobby. Having a reliable source for clean micro fauna additives to start new systems on the right foot. It sounded that for now getting quality seasoned live rock or sand from a trusted source are the only options other than some beneficial nitrifying bacteria products.

What video were you watching? Looking things over, I think I'm going to start with some snails (Trochus sp, Cerithium spp, and Nerita spp) and pods. See if I can keep them happy before introducing my jawfish and a few corals.

 

[Brian Hall]

What video were you watching? Looking things over, I think I'm going to start with some snails (Trochus sp, Cerithium spp, and Nerita spp) and pods. See if I can keep them happy before introducing my jawfish and a few corals.

Seems like a logical plan. I went back to find the thread but could not find it. The topic was flesh eating virus. Talking about the bacteria and viruses that could be found in your tank and being careful. BRS had a guest video in that is testing peoples tank water and analyzing exactly what microbes are there and in what quantity and what effects it may have on your system. They were out sourcing the testing, but the demand was enough that they are ramping up their operation and purchasing lab equipment to do the testing in house and decrease the lead time on results. Ill see if I can find the video on YouTube.

 

[Brian Hall]

What video were you watching? Looking things over, I think I'm going to start with some snails (Trochus sp, Cerithium spp, and Nerita spp) and pods. See if I can keep them happy before introducing my jawfish and a few corals.

This is the video on Youtube.

 

[spd3001]

This is the video on Youtube.

Wow, that's great info. It's just the kind of info I need for the 90g build I'm just starting. Thanks for the link.

 

[Brian Hall]

Wow, that's great info. It's just the kind of info I need for the 90g build I'm just starting. Thanks for the link.

Glad you liked it. I thought it was interesting.

 

[Zer0Sum40]

How is the build going?