Several of you may have already read my Meet & Greet post ‘Reef Tank or Divorce – Last Chance’ so I am not going to bore you with that again. Thank you to all that replied and were very helpful with suggestions and encouragement on the new tank build. Seems like the main under lying factors are PATIENCE, LET THE CYCLE RUN ITS COURSE, and CHEMICAL FREE. I agree that those 3 traits were absent from the previous attempt and resulted in the demise of the tank. Lesson learned.
Since this is a New Day, New Friends (R2R Community), New (better) Advice, and a New Tank I thought it was only fitting to call this build the 90 Gallon Phoenix so I can raise the dream tank I have longed for out of the ashes.
I have sent the wife out with her girlfriends for the day with the last little bit that is left on the credit card, some adult beverages getting cold in the fridge, 80’ music jammin’, and a date with a 90 Gallon tank, rock and sand. If that’s not living I don’t know what is.
Back up a couple months for those that have that old tank in the basement that is begging to come back to life. Here is how i broke down the tank to get it ready for today. I may have taken the long way around to get here but I am over cautious now on this build due to my past expierence. Time will only tell if I did enough to erase the past.
Tank and Stand Specs:
90 gallon 48x18x24
Blacked out 2 of the 3 sides - wanted to be able to see into the tank from the side as you enter the room
I built the stand out of 4x4 posts and used 3/4" birch plywood to enclose it all (not a carpenter but it is level) Weight tested it with the frame to my 72 Bronco - Odd but fun
EShopps Sump
My wife found 2 old windows in her grandmothers house that we put pinao hinges on and used for doors
She used some mirror paint (or something) on the glass to keep light out and so you couldnt see the Sump.
She then lined the inside with shelf paper so it would look nice if some one opened the doors to look in. I do have to admit it is super easy to clean salt creep out and glad she did it.
Equipment hangs on the side of the stand out of sight and not in the sump where salt could get to it.
She then went and bought a cheap trunk from a big box hobby shop for the ATO tank. I just run a hose around the back of the stand and into the sump.
It is in our main living room where we entertain quite a bit so we wanted it to look good and hide as much as we could. I am sure there will be some type of tree or something behind the chest before it is all over with.
We think it is a nice clean look.
Side Note: Just food for thought before setting up the tank. If there are any thoughts of painting or new flooring where the tank will be, do it BEFORE putting the tank in. Do it while your curing rocks or buying equipment. Thats what we did so we are good for several years on painting walls and before having to move the tank to replace the carpet. Lord help me when that day comes.
Off to do some aquascaping.
Since this is a New Day, New Friends (R2R Community), New (better) Advice, and a New Tank I thought it was only fitting to call this build the 90 Gallon Phoenix so I can raise the dream tank I have longed for out of the ashes.
I have sent the wife out with her girlfriends for the day with the last little bit that is left on the credit card, some adult beverages getting cold in the fridge, 80’ music jammin’, and a date with a 90 Gallon tank, rock and sand. If that’s not living I don’t know what is.
Back up a couple months for those that have that old tank in the basement that is begging to come back to life. Here is how i broke down the tank to get it ready for today. I may have taken the long way around to get here but I am over cautious now on this build due to my past expierence. Time will only tell if I did enough to erase the past.
- Emptied the tank of all Rock
- Drained the tank and the sump
- Got all of the sand out
- Filled the tank with water straight from the garden hose and a liberal amount of white vinegar. I want to say a gallon if not 2 but don't really remember, it was a while ago.
- Left all of the equipment in the tank (probes, heater, everything)
- Ran pump, powerheads, and skimmer for a month to break down and clean all the coraline out (it was all over everything)(didn’t know corline was a good thing so apparently my tank was pretty stable when I was told / advised that it needed to be broken down and bleached….but I am not bitter at all:mad:).
- Drained the tank
- Filled it back up with water for the garden hose and ran it through everything for a month
- Drained and re-filled again and ran for another month
- Drained the tank and let it air dry for another month.
- Wiped it all down with a damp lint free soft cloth (no cleaning chemicals)
- Took apart and inspected all the pumps, etc and gave them one more good cleaning.
- Here we are today ready to go
Tank and Stand Specs:
90 gallon 48x18x24
Blacked out 2 of the 3 sides - wanted to be able to see into the tank from the side as you enter the room
I built the stand out of 4x4 posts and used 3/4" birch plywood to enclose it all (not a carpenter but it is level) Weight tested it with the frame to my 72 Bronco - Odd but fun
EShopps Sump
My wife found 2 old windows in her grandmothers house that we put pinao hinges on and used for doors
She used some mirror paint (or something) on the glass to keep light out and so you couldnt see the Sump.
She then lined the inside with shelf paper so it would look nice if some one opened the doors to look in. I do have to admit it is super easy to clean salt creep out and glad she did it.
Equipment hangs on the side of the stand out of sight and not in the sump where salt could get to it.
She then went and bought a cheap trunk from a big box hobby shop for the ATO tank. I just run a hose around the back of the stand and into the sump.
It is in our main living room where we entertain quite a bit so we wanted it to look good and hide as much as we could. I am sure there will be some type of tree or something behind the chest before it is all over with.
We think it is a nice clean look.
Side Note: Just food for thought before setting up the tank. If there are any thoughts of painting or new flooring where the tank will be, do it BEFORE putting the tank in. Do it while your curing rocks or buying equipment. Thats what we did so we are good for several years on painting walls and before having to move the tank to replace the carpet. Lord help me when that day comes.
Off to do some aquascaping.