new 90g reef stewardship, ideas?

[Hhaynie]

hello, I am in my high school's aquaculture program, and recently got assigned to revive the 90 gallon reef tank with a 20 gallon sump. I have a couple years of planted tank experience, and have been reading non-stop about reef tanks for about a week now, but it's still pretty alien to me. There is sand and live rock already in, along with what I think is a candy cane coral that is hanging on to life. I have a shoestring budget to spend on lighting and flow, so any ideas on that front would be great.

I want to showcase an amazing reef tank in my classroom, something that might inspire other people to get into aquariums. Please throw out any cool ideas that you want to see happen! (beginner friendly/cheap please)

 

[Peace River]

#WelcometoR2R and thank you for taking on this stewardship project! Does the system current has lights or a powerhead? I so, can you find a brand and a model number? Also, what can you tell us about the return pump (brand and model number) that pushes the water from the sump back up to the display tank? Pictures may also be helpful.

 

[Hhaynie]

the lighting is currently a white/yellow 48" four bulb t5 fixture held together by salt creep, it needs replacing. there is no powerhead. i don't know the make or model of the return pump, but it works.

 

[Peace River]

I understand what you are dealing with by trying to help your high school aquaculture system. I did something similar a few years ago to help a restore (2) freshwater tanks (125g and 55g) for a local nature center. If you replace the T5 fixture then you are looking at about $100 and then another $25 each for bulbs, however most people will recommend LEDs. You could consider something like (2) ViparSpectra 165w or (2) @noopsyche K7 Pro3. These may still limit what corals you can keep but should allow you to keep some corals.

I asked about the return pump because that will provide some flow and you could alter/improve the flow or flow direction by the tip that is one the return (e.g. adding a @Vivid Creative Aquatics Random Flow Generator). One of the lowest cost powerheads for that size system is a Hygger 2000 gph powerhead will be about $30 from online retailers. Jebao is also considered to be a low cost option that may be appropriate for that system.

At some point an ATO will be helpful as well as a way to get RODI water.

 

[Hhaynie]

thank you, I have heard of the Viparspectras, do they hold up? I luckily have an RODI system in the room, so getting water isn't an issue. I will look into the pumps you mentioned.

 

[Peace River]

You can use the R2R search feature for "ViparSpectra" and I think you will find that many people have used these or other "black boxes" (similar lights with different brand names). They have a blue channel and a white channel, but have limited programming. If you could put a @Reef Breeders Photon 48-V2 Pro light over the school's reef tank then you (and your corals) would be far better off, but you may need to start with a value light and then work toward something like that.

 

[Hhaynie]

Thank you for the advice, I’ll try to give an update on here when I’ve got the system up. One more question, how worried do I need to be about gsp or Xenia choking out other corals? Is it worse than fast growing plants? How does it compare to high energy planted tanks?

 

[Jekyl]

Thank you for the advice, I’ll try to give an update on here when I’ve got the system up. One more question, how worried do I need to be about gsp or Xenia choking out other corals? Is it worse than fast growing plants? How does it compare to high energy planted tanks?

Very worried. GSP if allowed will cover everything.

 

[Hhaynie]

Yes, but would I need to trim more often than I would trim a co2 injected planted tank? Is it harder to trim?

 

[Jekyl]

Yes, but would I need to trim more often than I would trim a co2 injected planted tank? Is it harder to trim?

It sticks to rough surfaces rather well. Any pieces left floating will grow where ever they land.

 

[Hhaynie]

Would it go out of control with weekly trimming? I’m comfortable with trimming often. This tank had to be trimmed every other week. I’m just curious how gsp translates from a freshwater trimming schedule?

 

[Jekyl]

Just isolate it on an island at least 5" from anything else.

 

[Vivid Creative Aquatics]

As @Peace River mentions, we could certainly help with your flow with our Random Flow Generator , and if setup correctly, may be one of the least expensive way of creating the sort of flow coral needs.

Can we get a few more details in the return pump (brand, model, estimated GPH), and maybe a photo of the tank?