UNS R90 Mixed Reef Build

[eggyplantz]

I used the 5.5 by 2.5 fork adapter and refugium light works direct drive.

Awesome, that's great info thank you!

 

[eggyplantz]

At long last, we have (more interesting) life! Video from the weekend of the inhabitants I've added over the last few weeks. So far we have...

Corals:
-Clove polyps x2
-Toadstool leather
-Xenia
-Torch
-Elegance
-Jawbreakers
-Green star polyp x2
-Branching green star polyp
-A couple of mysteries because I lost the note they were written on lol

Fish:
-Bonded pair of black ice clowns
-Chromis
-Royal gramma
-Diamond goby
-Fire goby
-Six line wrasse

Other:
-Hermit crabs (x10)
-Fire shrimp
-Cleaner shrimp
-Maxima clam

Sump:
-Chaeto
-Dragons tongue
-Macro i can't remember the name of

The corals were added first over about a week. All are opening/extending fully every day and look to be healthy and happy. All other inhabitants have settled in well and are finding their spots. I'm pleased that all the time I took to design the rockwork was well spent because I can tell how much the fish have been making themselves at home in all the crevices.

So far very little in the way of nuisance algae or other "uglies" even with the full light cycle running for several weeks now, so the refugium seems to be doing its job so far. I finally got the miracle mud added to it this weekend so I'm eager to see that become populated. The copepods are already reproducing well in the refugium, but I'll continue adding them to keep the population strong.

Really pleased with how everything is progressing and how happy everything seems! Now if I can just stop adding frags every time I have a free day. ;)

PS: Everything came from three great LFS we have here in San Diego. Shoutout to Aquatic Warehouse, Kung Fu Corals, and AquaSD!

 

[Rookie2025]

Looks great!

As a fellow R90 owner, I can hear the water trickling in your video. What's the source and have you tried to silence it?

I'm trying to silence the noise from the reef factory roller mat setup myself

 

[eggyplantz]

Looks great!

As a fellow R90 owner, I can hear the water trickling in your video. What's the source and have you tried to silence it?

I'm trying to silence the noise from the reef factory roller mat setup myself

Ah it's trickling in this video because I hadn't finished a water change and I was in the middle of reconfiguring some things in the sump so it was lower than normal. That's the water falling into the sock chamber. I don't use mechanical filtration so all that's in there are some large bioballs.

I keep the baffle between the skimmer chamber and the fuge at almost its highest point, which minimizes the trickling noise through the sock chamber since the water level is higher in that half of the sump.

In general though, I and another R90er discussed earlier in the thread how tricky it is to balance the return to get silent operation so I don't think you're alone. I can't say I've gotten it perfectly right yet but I just haven't spent the time yet to mess with it again.

 

[Rookie2025]

I saw that discuss and will join in at some point. I am using a high baffle position coming out of the first chamber as well to quiet the filter roller. Need a lot of water in the sump to ensure the return gets fed

I'm going to get the rest of my equipment in and then go back to making it all silent

 

[eggyplantz]

I saw that discuss and will join in at some point. I am using a high baffle position coming out of the first chamber as well to quiet the filter roller. Need a lot of water in the sump to ensure the return gets fed

I'm going to get the rest of my equipment in and then go back to making it all silent

Nice, yea hopefully you have an easier time than I did lol.

Idk if this helps you or not but I happened to notice the other day that UNS now has their own roller add on adapter for the system in case that's a better option for you.

UNS Roller Mat Adapter

 

[Rookie2025]

Ya I'm using that part for the roller mat and having problems. I'm not the only one from what I've read on here. Hopefully as a collective we can come up with and share solutions!

 

[eggyplantz]

Ya I'm using that part for the roller mat and having problems. I'm not the only one from what I've read on here. Hopefully as a collective we can come up with and share solutions!

Ah I gotcha. UNS is responsive if you email their customer service, they may have some tips.

 

[eggyplantz]

Well, it had to happen eventually, kind of a bummer set of updates today.

Had a couple of casualties and regretting the black and white chromis. I'm going to eventually have to figure out how to trap them and get them sold but for now I have a bigger issue which is:

My PH went off a precipitous cliff a few days ago after being stable between 8.1 and 8.3 since it's been set up. I ended up changing some water last week with newly mixed saltwater and it's been steadily ticking down in the days since. Its bottomed out at around 7.6 now. We were out of town for the weekend so now I'm in damage control mode and will be running a battery of tests today to figure out if my probe is accurate and where the solution lies. The only visible sign that anything is wrong is that my GSP and toadstool leather are all completely retracted and not looking happy at all for the first time since they were put in a few weeks back.

I'll keep the thread updated with what I figure out.

Also as an aside, it was cool to see @Randy Holmes-Farley pop up as a footnote/bibliography reference in The Reef Aquarium: Vol. 3 throughout the sections on pH management.

 

[eggyplantz]

An update for the void:

I figured out what happened with my PH. We went out of town for a couple of days and before we left, I had a water change in progress. I was adding new saltwater via a drip to the sump and I left the drip going until the bucket was empty, which finished while we were gone.

However, there was about 1-2 gallons too much added to the sump, which raised the level to such a degree that there was no aeration of the surface. All of the chambers of the sump were essentially still water with everything flowing silently. This was also partially because I had lowered the baffle between the second and third (refugium) chambers. Normally, water falls into it, which aerates the water and also is responsible for keeping the chaeto ball spinning. With all of this gone, the chaeto ball sat still and was not efficiently scrubbing nutrients.

Over time, and with the windows and doors closed all weekend, the system basically became saturated in CO2. Additionally, I had reduced the refugium's on time to 8 hours a night instead of 12 because the nutrients in the system were so low before I added fish. So between that, the lack of flow, the lack of chaeto ball spin, the lack of gas exchange, and time away, it basically crashed my PH and caused phosphates and nitrates to skyrocket.

The GOOD news is that once I figured this out, I took out a couple of gallons of water, raised the baffle in the sump again to restore aeration/the chaeto "engine", and turned the refugium light on 24/7, and the system almost immediately began to improve. PH is steadily ticking upward again and it's now up over 7.7. GSPs have started poking their polyps out again and every fish and coral is looking more healthy.

I'm happy I was able to solve it without going down a lot of rabbit holes. It's also pretty interesting to see the real life chemistry play out. Worth mentioning I never would have solved this without seeing the data clearly graphed in the Hydros system. For me, this made the controller system and probes all the more worth it.

 

[divewsharks]

An update for the void:

I figured out what happened with my PH. We went out of town for a couple of days and before we left, I had a water change in progress. I was adding new saltwater via a drip to the sump and I left the drip going until the bucket was empty, which finished while we were gone.

However, there was about 1-2 gallons too much added to the sump, which raised the level to such a degree that there was no aeration of the surface. All of the chambers of the sump were essentially still water with everything flowing silently. This was also partially because I had lowered the baffle between the second and third (refugium) chambers. Normally, water falls into it, which aerates the water and also is responsible for keeping the chaeto ball spinning. With all of this gone, the chaeto ball sat still and was not efficiently scrubbing nutrients.

Over time, and with the windows and doors closed all weekend, the system basically became saturated in CO2. Additionally, I had reduced the refugium's on time to 8 hours a night instead of 12 because the nutrients in the system were so low before I added fish. So between that, the lack of flow, the lack of chaeto ball spin, the lack of gas exchange, and time away, it basically crashed my PH and caused phosphates and nitrates to skyrocket.

The GOOD news is that once I figured this out, I took out a couple of gallons of water, raised the baffle in the sump again to restore aeration/the chaeto "engine", and turned the refugium light on 24/7, and the system almost immediately began to improve. PH is steadily ticking upward again and it's now up over 7.7. GSPs have started poking their polyps out again and every fish and coral is looking more healthy.

I'm happy I was able to solve it without going down a lot of rabbit holes. It's also pretty interesting to see the real life chemistry play out. Worth mentioning I never would have solved this without seeing the data clearly graphed in the Hydros system. For me, this made the controller system and probes all the more worth it.

Make you keep the GSP isolated same with the cloves. They can easily take over whatever they touch (unless you want them too).

 

[eggyplantz]

Brief but positive Monday update:

PH continues to rise incrementally every day and is now consistently above 7.8. Hopefully within another few days we'll be back over 8. The GSP are slowly re-emerging and the other corals are looking better every day. Testing over the weekend revealed everything within range other than a slightly low magnesium level. I'm leaving that for now until my PH level has resolved.

Everyone else seems to be doing well, though I need to recharge my copepod populations. The clownfish appear to have chosen a rock as their host despite all the better options (to me) available. Oh well, what can you do.

 

[iprayforwaves]

Were you able to move the tank and stand fairly easily when it was empty? I’m having one delivered tomorrow and placed where it will be staying, but I’ll need to get behind it to repair a few holes from the TV mount that was there before and touch up the wall paint. Just wondering if I’ll be able to scoot it forward to get back there.

 

[Sharbuckles Reef]

Photo update even though not that much is happening. The ball of chaeto chilling and slowly spinning 24/7 is a bit mesmerizing. It's impossible to see in the photos but there's a nice dusting of random algae on the rocks, sand, and pebbles in the DT that will make some nice foundation food for the CUC incoming soon.

Also wanted to mention that I've been really pleased with the Tunze refugium light you see down there. Magnetic mount, multiple ways to configure it with the clever mounting bracket, and most importantly submersible. It's worked very well, as you can see from the size of the ball. It was about the size of a grapefruit when I got it a few weeks back. The light is currently set to come on at night and turn off during the day. I need to probably slightly lower the on time since it's growing so fast.

A slight strategy pivot: I was misunderstanding dosing (saltwater newb problems) and was way ahead of myself there. Had a very helpful chat with my LFS yesterday where they suggested beginning with CUC and some true soft corals to begin for a few months and move up into dosing as needed with water testing. I originally called to find out if they had ICP test kits and in the conversation realized I was ahead of myself and stressing over things that I didn't need to for my level.

SO, with that in mind this weekend's focus will be doing the full battery of tests and getting the lighting schedule sorted since it's been off almost the whole time. Then I'm going to swing through my LFS to grab some some clean up guys and maybe a small soft coral or two and we'll be finally building the reef proper.

Fun times ahead, happy Friday Eve to all.

That’s one healthy ball or chaeto! Tanks looking great. Sorry if I missed it but which light are you using for your Refugium?

 

[Cruzilla69]

Obviously been a bit since updating, but finally have some milestones to share. After getting the tank up and in its spot back in December, I took my time building my rock structure outside the tank and life got a bit busy. I also took a lot of time to research and gather materials, books, and equipment, and make decisions on how I wanted to set up the system. I went back and forth on a lot of things but am really pleased with how its all come together and am glad I spent the time to plan.

I've included pics at the end of this post of progress along the way up through today. (Ignore the plastic sheeting, we're having some plumbing work done in the ceiling of this room so that protects the setup.)

I've opted begin with Triton method since the system has a good sized refugium setup in the sump. I know there are a lot of opinions out there on that but it's what I'm interested in starting with and I'll be curious to see how it works.

I also set out with visual cleanliness, organization, and minimizing cables as primary goals, so I decided ultimately to go all in on the Hydros controller ecosystem from the start, and am so far glad that I did.

The total water volume of my entire system is 72 gallons and I went with a rock heavy setup because I wanted to maximize surface area for varying types of inhabitants. I opted for CaribSea Bimini Pink sand and a bunch of dry rock from my lfs for the display, along with about 16 lbs of cured live rock from the same lfs in the skimmer zone of the sump. For my salt I opted for Tropic Marin Syn-Biotic. I'll eventually be dosing with the Triton 4 part once my cycle is complete.

Brief equipment list:

Hydros:
-Kraken w/ 12v battery backup
-Controller X4
-Wave Engine LE
-WiFi Power Strip
-Sensors (ph probe, temp x2, water level x2)

Water Movement:
-2x Maxspect Gyre 350 (WiFi edition but pump only. Controlled through Hydros)
-Simplicity DC 1600 return pump (Controlled through Hydros)

Heaters:
-2x Eheim Thermocontrol-e 250W (Controlled through Hydros)

Dosing:
-Simplicity 4 head doser (Powered through Hydros)

Lighting:
-Kessil AP9X
-Spectral Controller X (I didn't want to have to deal with WiFi for the lights day to day but I like to have the capability built-in)

Lid:
-Kraken custom

I have an RO/DI filter setup from an lfs in the bathroom adjacent.

I'm going to be shortly adding a Hydros Minnow for two additional dosing pumps for future use, and to add another quad of sensors for some additional ones I'd like to implement. Otherwise I have no more equipment plans until the need for something arises.

Testing wise I'm using a combo of tests after reading through various forums including Tropic Marin, Red Sea, and Hanna checkers. (If anyone has recommendations for a colorblind person, please share even if the answer for everything is Hanna checkers lol)

Currently the tank is on day 4 of cycling in the dark after adding the recommended dose of Dr. Tim's along with my lfs cured live rock in the sump. So far the ammonia and nitrate levels are hovering above zero at around .02 ppm, so I'm happy just letting all of the bacterial cultures build while I take a few weeks to wrap my head around the chemistry of it all and decide on my first inhabitants. The goal way down the line is to have corals, but I want to focus first on building stable water parameters for a long period and understanding the chemistry.

One final thought: I'm a person who loves having dense reference books for everything, and this hobby is no exception. I have a few great ones but by far the best resource has been The Reef Aquarium three volume series by Delbeek and Sprung. All three books are dense with timeless information that has really helped guide me.

I'll be posting more pictures as things develop but probably not for a bit since there's not much to see. If anyone has any cycling tips (I'm avoiding using ammonium chloride additive) or wants to give suggestions for good first inhabitants (including clean up crew) please share!

Hola,
I just also got the R90 but hasn’t been delivered yet. But I’m also thinking of going with maxspect fix 330 gyre pumps on the back wall. But wanted to ask if they would be enough room length wise for them in the back wall?

Thanks

 

[JCarrow]

Loved reading this @eggyplantz, thinking of getting a R90. Any updates?

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