UNS R90 Build

wakejumper22

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Hello all,

My name is Travis.. I’ve been in the hobby for about 10 years now. I’ve had all the tanks.. Redsea, Waterbox, Fluval, JBJ. Now I am the proud new owner of a UNS R90! My latest tank was a custom 55 gallon waterbox with no filtration. The tank did well for the year I had it up and running. Eventually I realized I wanted a tank that I could hide equipment while having streamlined, modern look. I had not heard of UNS until my search began. From what I gathered UNS was mainly a freshwater company. In researching their freshwater tanks I could see how well built they appeared. I soon found the new R reefing series of tanks offered by UNS. It was difficult to find any other members with this tank, with it being so new. I took the chance after watching a few of the owners and videos I could find. It appeared that UNS did a great job incorporating things that reefers were always looking for. I placed an order for the R90 as I felt the 62ish gallon display and 82 gallon overall volume would be perfect for me to maintain while also having enough water for the stability I would like.

Within a week of placing the order through Buceplant.com the R90 was delivered via FedEx freight to my garage. No waiting, no backorders. Everything came well packed in a crate that was easily removed. I went with grey as it went with our other decor in the room. Upon initial inspection everything looked to be in great shape!

That night I moved the tank into its final resting place while also using the heavy duty, adjustable feet to level it off. What I loved about the UNS is that it comes assembled… no building the stand like ikea furniture. I must say, this tank looks and feels like a better quality than anything I’ve had before. All aluminum stand, 4 removable doors, thick glass mitered at a 45 degree angle to allow cleaning without damaging silicone. It just feels sturdy and well built.. you get a sense of quality right away. Even though these tanks are pricey, I believe you do get what you pay for.

My plan this time around is to take my time and do everything right the first time. I want to avoid making changes in the future with the goal of stability. I’ve always been a fan of spending the money up front for good equipment to avoid problems down the road. I want a clean, simple, stable tank. This will be a mixed reef, with a little bit of everything, and some pretty, more unique fish.

The R90 sump is well built and really streamlines everything.. covers prevent salt creep, rounded corners and cord cutouts are just a few of the nice features among others.

So far I have the tank set up, and I hope to add water this week. I have some live rock and two frost bite clowns waiting in a bin for their new tank to be up and running. The live rock will go in the sump while I constructed a new dry rock structure from reel reef rock in the display. Here is a list of the other equipment I’m using:

Vectra M2 Return Pump
Nyos Quantum 120 Skimmer
Sicce Scuba Heater
Versa Dosers with Dock
Neptune Apex
Neptune Trident
(2) Ecotech MP40’s
Kessil Ap9x
Reel Reef Dry Rock
Live Rock
Sicce UV Clarifier 13 watt
Caribsea Special Grade Sand

I have attached some pictures of the progress so far.

Hopefully I can provide some insight for those looking to purchase the new UNS Reef Tanks!

Questions and comments welcome

IMG_8753.jpeg IMG_8754.jpeg IMG_8752.jpeg IMG_8751.jpeg IMG_8750.jpeg IMG_8749.jpeg IMG_8747.jpeg IMG_8746.jpeg IMG_8745.jpeg IMG_8744.jpeg
 

Gk5321

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Thanks for the write up! I’m glad to hear the setup went well and I’m excited to see your progress. I feel exactly the same way about spending money up front and think this tank is the right way to go for me.
 

LiveAndLearn

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Awesome setup!

I currently have IM 50 Gallon Int but looking to upgrade. The silicon is starting to go after only 2 years and the front viewing glass came defective with a horizontally line in the middle and Innovative Marine did not replace it. Also the PVC panels are very soft and easy to puncture. I DO NOT recommend anyone getting IM tanks.

I've been eyeing UNS R90 because it looks well organized, but the space looks limited.

Are you able to fit your Apex controllers inside? Would a Trident fit inside? I was planning to go with Hydros X10 and the Maven when it's released.

Whats the dimensions of the controller cabinet section? I couldn't find it on UNS website. What's the cabinet height of the sump section?
 

Gk5321

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Awesome setup!

I currently have IM 50 Gallon Int but looking to upgrade. The silicon is starting to go after only 2 years and the front viewing glass came defective with a horizontally line in the middle and Innovative Marine did not replace it. Also the PVC panels are very soft and easy to puncture. I DO NOT recommend anyone getting IM tanks.

I've been eyeing UNS R90 because it looks well organized, but the space looks limited.

Are you able to fit your Apex controllers inside? Would a Trident fit inside? I was planning to go with Hydros X10 and the Maven when it's released.

Whats the dimensions of the controller cabinet section? I couldn't find it on UNS website. What's the cabinet height of the sump section?
I’d like to know this too. I was thinking of just building an extra shelf in the main cabinet area for extra goodies.
 

UNS_Parker

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Awesome setup!

I currently have IM 50 Gallon Int but looking to upgrade. The silicon is starting to go after only 2 years and the front viewing glass came defective with a horizontally line in the middle and Innovative Marine did not replace it. Also the PVC panels are very soft and easy to puncture. I DO NOT recommend anyone getting IM tanks.

I've been eyeing UNS R90 because it looks well organized, but the space looks limited.

Are you able to fit your Apex controllers inside? Would a Trident fit inside? I was planning to go with Hydros X10 and the Maven when it's released.

Whats the dimensions of the controller cabinet section? I couldn't find it on UNS website. What's the cabinet height of the sump section?
I’d like to know this too. I was thinking of just building an extra shelf in the main cabinet area for extra goodies.
Thanks for the heads up, I will get the dims of the cabinet for you guys ASAP.

The wire management organizers are also able to be removed with a little bit of force inside of the R90 if you wanted to open up the cabinet a bit more for Neptune controllers.

If you size up a little bit, the R120 has much more room inside of the electrical box if wire management is what you are concerned about.
 

UNS_Parker

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Tank looks Sweet though OP! Huge fan of how you organized the electrical box... gotta redo mine soon. The controllers fit the front panel perfectly too. Excited to see this build!
 
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wakejumper22

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Awesome setup!

I currently have IM 50 Gallon Int but looking to upgrade. The silicon is starting to go after only 2 years and the front viewing glass came defective with a horizontally line in the middle and Innovative Marine did not replace it. Also the PVC panels are very soft and easy to puncture. I DO NOT recommend anyone getting IM tanks.

I've been eyeing UNS R90 because it looks well organized, but the space looks limited.

Are you able to fit your Apex controllers inside? Would a Trident fit inside? I was planning to go with Hydros X10 and the Maven when it's released.

Whats the dimensions of the controller cabinet section? I couldn't find it on UNS website. What's the cabinet height of the sump section?
Hi there, so with the R90 it is a bit tight space wise.. I was able to fit the EB outlets in the side cabinet. The Apex “brain” I put In the sump area. I do have a trident that I will be using. I purchased the trident mini housing from printed reef and will hopefully find a spot for that soon.. either under he sump or I may get a nice shelf for the side of the tank…
 
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wakejumper22

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Welp, we are live!! The last few days I’ve been busy getting the rest of the equipment installed, tank filled and overflow dialed in. I am using the refugium section and part of the skimmer section as a refugium/live rock area. I used gulf live rock that I had in my previous tank. I also had two frost bite clowns waiting with the live rock to go in. I placed a fish order today..

Tomini tang
Small captive bred yellow tang
Hooded Flame Fairy Wrasse
Flameback Angel
Cleaner Shrimp

Tips for the R90- the sump is awesome and moves a lot of water. To quiet the water pouring into the filter sock area I’m using a filter pad and it’s silent with the filter floss and lid on.

Im using the Ecotech M2 return pump. I have it at 30 percent and that seems like it’s working well. I did notice with the R90 you get stronger flow out of the Left Side return nozzle compared to the Right, I’m assuming that’s just because of how it’s plumbed. The 2 mp40’s will supply the flow anyway.

I also Love the little drawer, it is a nice place to keep my Hanna checkers, glue, phone filter etc…

So far so good, Have my first Zoa’s coming in about a week!
 

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UNS_Parker

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I’d like to know this too. I was thinking of just building an extra shelf in the main cabinet area for extra goodies.
Awesome setup!

I currently have IM 50 Gallon Int but looking to upgrade. The silicon is starting to go after only 2 years and the front viewing glass came defective with a horizontally line in the middle and Innovative Marine did not replace it. Also the PVC panels are very soft and easy to puncture. I DO NOT recommend anyone getting IM tanks.

I've been eyeing UNS R90 because it looks well organized, but the space looks limited.

Are you able to fit your Apex controllers inside? Would a Trident fit inside? I was planning to go with Hydros X10 and the Maven when it's released.

Whats the dimensions of the controller cabinet section? I couldn't find it on UNS website. What's the cabinet height of the sump section?
The electrical cabinets internal dims are 43CM X 14.5CM X 70CM. We were designing it with wire management in mind and less so apex controllers, but if you guys find a way to make it work let us know and we would like to see!
 

Gk5321

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The electrical cabinets internal dims are 43CM X 14.5CM X 70CM. We were designing it with wire management in mind and less so apex controllers, but if you guys find a way to make it work let us know and we would like to see!
I’m a bit of a ways off from getting my tank. My new house won’t be finished until June but I was thinking of throwing in a shelf or something above the sump area. I think that might be a good option for extra space maybe.
 
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wakejumper22

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I’m a bit of a ways off from getting my tank. My new house won’t be finished until June but I was thinking of throwing in a shelf or something above the sump area. I think that might be a good option for extra space maybe.
Only tough part about that is all the doors are removable so finding something to mount the shelf to might be hard depending on what you’re trying to mount. Currently I have the ATO in the sump area as it came but may end up moving it to outside the tank to free up space. The only thing I currently have outside the tank is my Trident. It all looks clean and tidy though. I pretty much have everything I need with the exception of possibly a kalk stirrer and Co2 Scrubber but I’m sure I’ll make it work.
 
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wakejumper22

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12/7/24 Update-

A little over a week in now.. tank is settling in, the dry rock in the display is starting to grow some algae which is pretty quick, although the live rock in the sump I’m sure accelerates that. Already saw a small aiptasia and asterina starfish.. which is incredible how they made it through the return this fast haha. Added my first few corals.. I won a few gift cards in the r2r partner raffle which I was able to get some nice corals with. Started a little zoa garden thru the two pillars.

A few fish on order from Dr. Reef.
- Yellow Tang
-Tomini Tang
-Flameback Angel
-Hooded Flame Wrasse
- 2 Helfrichi Firefish
- Cleaner Shrimp

Also received my @Kraken Reef Lid. It looks amazing and will hopefully keep my wrasse wet.

So far so good, hoping to add more corals soon!
 

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