GTGs 90G reef build

Greg Gdowski

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I've started this thread a bit late in my build. I think it is in part because of what motivated this build in the first place. I had a 45G bow front tank for several years. It survived two house moves, but as a consequence I had very simple setup with easy corals and fish. Its almost hard for me to look at these photos because after refinishing floors on the other side of the house, the tank immediately crashed. I lost everything except a toad stool coral and a kenya tree coral.
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After the tank crashed, I was able to restart it but I was clearly demoralized. The tank showed it.

I decided to build a new tank to drop the bad memories of the prior tank. That was in Sept. 2017.

The next tank was a restart using everything I had learned over the several years of maintaining and moving this tank.

Here is where I'm at today (15months later) --- I'll do my best to restate the past year.
IMG_9650.JPG
 
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Greg Gdowski

Greg Gdowski

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When I started the new tank, there were a number of things I did not want to repeat.
I didn't want to put everything under the tank. In the last tank, I had a sump, skimmer, and all of the electronics under the tank. There were many times I felt it was a borderline fire hazard with so much electronics in close proximity to sump. That ruled out all the AIO tanks. I also did not want to carry water up the stairs from the basement, where my RO/DI unit was set up. I had spilled water on many occasions. I also felt that the porting of water up and down stairs really hampered my desire to do maintenance. That led me to consider a tank that I plumbed into our basement. That was one of the best decisions I made.
 

Victoria M

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Ok...that was a good start but you have a lot of catching up to do. :) Picture of your basement sump would be a great start! lol. Do you have a fishroom? The colors in the tank are just phenomenal! Loved the video too.
 
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Greg Gdowski

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IMG_0368.JPG Here is a full shot of the 90G display tank. It is plumbed into the basement where I have a 65G refugium.

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The refugium is plumbed into a 35G sump.
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Here you can see the sump with the 3 BRS dosing pumps that I use to dose aquaforest 3part solutions.
Currently, I am dosing about 225ml of each part daily.

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I plumbed my RODI unit into a 10G tank. I use that as the reservoir for my ATO.

So much for putting in thumbnail pictures. They always come out large.
 
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Hemmdog

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I've started this thread a bit late in my build. I think it is in part because of what motivated this build in the first place. I had a 45G bow front tank for several years. It survived two house moves, but as a consequence I had very simple setup with easy corals and fish. Its almost hard for me to look at these photos because after refinishing floors on the other side of the house, the tank immediately crashed. I lost everything except a toad stool coral and a kenya tree coral.
IMG_0051.JPG

IMG_0033.JPG
IMG_0021.JPG

737284_4708601964372_982430567_o.jpg


After the tank crashed, I was able to restart it but I was clearly demoralized. The tank showed it.

I decided to build a new tank to drop the bad memories of the prior tank. That was in Sept. 2017.

The next tank was a restart using everything I had learned over the several years of maintaining and moving this tank.

Here is where I'm at today (15months later) --- I'll do my best to restate the past year.
IMG_9650.JPG
That yellow Goni is beautiful! Wow!! Everything is.. but especially that!
 
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Greg Gdowski

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IMG_7915.JPG
I've had a lot of growth over the last few months. The frogspawn in the back is now the size of a small football.
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A view from the other side of the tank.
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Here is a picture from the side of the tank.

For some reason the web pages wants to add these pictures twice (even though I repeatedly delete them).

IMG_0118.JPG


IMG_7915.JPG
 
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Greg Gdowski

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That yellow Goni is beautiful! Wow!! Everything is.. but especially that!

Thank you! That one seems to be popular. The irony is that I purchased that from someone selling out their stock. It was buried within the palys you see in the center. I moved it to the rock where it is now and it is doing quite well. I'd like to put a red goni next to it, but everyone I see out there for sale is really quite small.
 

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Thank you! That one seems to be popular. The irony is that I purchased that from someone selling out their stock. It was buried within the palys you see in the center. I moved it to the rock where it is now and it is doing quite well. I'd like to put a red goni next to it, but everyone I see out there for sale is really quite small.
That would look great. I’ve been looking for a red/pink myself. I only have a green :( haha
 
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Greg Gdowski

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That would look great. I’ve been looking for a red/pink myself. I only have a green :( haha
A person at the frag sway last weekend had a red -- but it was literally like 5 or 6 polyps. They don't grow that fast.... buying such a small frag seemed a bit ridiculous.
 
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Greg Gdowski

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Grew up in Barrington. Most of my family is still in RI (East Providence and Portsmouth).
Thank you! There was just never enough room under the tank. I always felt like it was a fire hazard. There is a lot of space in the basement.
 

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Oh cool! I'm in Cranston. I actually had a 120 display and fish room in my basement up till about 10 years ago. After I broke down the tank I got hit with a flash flood and the basement is no longer finished. I have a 3.4g and 20g fusion aio in my office now. Whatever I do next will be on the main floor and plumbed down to the basement for sure =)
 
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Greg Gdowski

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My dad used to work at Davol in Cranston. Its now C.R. Bard. That was in the early 70s. He later started a company in Taunton, MA.

Sorry about the flood. That sounds like my wood floor refinishing accident.
 

RIreefGuy

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That's crazy. I worked in that building for 10 years after davol left. I work for a local bank that leased that building until they built a new campus. I can walk to the davol building. Top Golf going in the parking lot soon. =)

Flood was crazy. 4 feet of water. Happened in less than an hr. Blew the door off the hinges. Glad the tank was gone by then lol
 
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Greg Gdowski

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Small world. My dad left in 75 or 76.
A flood hit my cousin like that in Chicago while I was visiting. One minute I was sleeping, the next minute I was being rescued by boat. It was surreal. I'll never forget it. She also lost everything in her basement. Luckily, it stopped just below the first floor. Another foot and the house would have been a complete disaster. Very sorry.
 

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