Upgrade to UNS R90

Char.toombes

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 30, 2021
Messages
78
Reaction score
101
Location
Clovis,
What state or country do you live in
California
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hey R2R community,

I’m another one making the plunge into the UNS world. I’ve been in the saltwater game about 5yrs now with a basic Aquatop 40 AIO that I’ve had shares of highlights and traumas through my duration in the hobby. Dinos, cyano, a wild aiptasia infestation and death have all been had along with anxiety and determination to succeed. I’ve kept a handful of fish for sometime, and tested out keeping various types of corals with honestly not bad success but nothing like picture-esk tanks you see all over social media. My tank has always left me wanting more out of the hobby; a well thought out and custom rockscape, more space for equipment and more room for more fish.

It took some years to get to a point where it was feasible to upgrade (as well as getting the wife to sign off) and we are stepping away from AIOs and into a traditional display/sump. I’ve been eying WB for sometime, and was fairly sold on the marine 90.3. That is until I came across the new UNS R Series, the R90 to be exact.

I placed my order with Frank from TSA on 7/30, he really was a great asset when making the big purchase. I have received everything thus far with exception to the tank which I believe is still delayed with the shipper. TSA stated 2-4wks and an additional 1-2 delay so I’m hoping I will hear something soon.

I’ve read nearly all other UNS posts on this forum in an effort to plan ahead and learn from others mishaps. My equipment list is as follows:

Filtration
-Nyos Quantum 160 EQ
-Dual Nature Dimensions N Clear M rollers
-Ice Cap 18W in sump UV
-I will run a refugium w/ chaeto & miracle mud

Pumps/Powerheads
-Jabao MDP-2500
-(2) Jabao DMP-20s

People say what they want about Jabao but I’ve been using their SLWs for years without fail, they are more than capable of the workload for fractions of the big name brands pricing (hard to beat buying 2 dmp 20s for half an ecotech).

Lighting
-(2) radion XR15 G6 Pros w/ 3DReef shades
-UNS fuge light

RMS mounting is holding up the Xr15s.

Automation
-Hydros Launch
-Red Sea Reef Dose 4 (I may end up swapping this out to a Minnow or something in the hydros sphere in the long run)
-Hydros Blenny
-Inkbird heat control w/ 200W BRS Titanium

I also placed an order for a Toplid to top it all off ;)

Livestock currently
-Mated pair Picasso Clowns (Petey & Pablo) they are going on 6yrs together.
-Pink Spotted Watchman (TBD)
-Candy Cane Pistol shrimp (Pistoleto)
-Fire shrimp (no name)
-4 Rainbow BTAs
-various snails

Corals
-Large colony of Yuma ricordea mushrooms
-misc green & red rhodactis mushrooms
-Large green polyp toadstool
-large colony Branching GSP
-small frag of green anachro

All of my livestock & corals will be making the jump from the old setup, though I will be thinning out the colonies to make space for others. My aim is a mixed reef, I definitely want to have a go at more SPS stuff.

While I’ve been waiting for my delivery, I got to work on my rockscape, and it is now in a brute can cycling until further notice. Pictures below
IMG_8366.jpeg IMG_8367.jpeg IMG_8371.jpeg IMG_8368.jpeg IMG_8370.jpeg

Looking forward to the tanks arrival so I can continue sharing the journey here. Thanks for the read.
 
Last edited:
Here is a pic of my current tank setup. One of my BTAs just split again this morning bringing the total up to 5. As you can see I run a Nature dimensions Nano roller for and an Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 skimmer for filtration. Im using a mightyjet 525 return pump and jabao slw-10s for flow. IMG_8410.jpeg
 
@UNS_Brandon @UNS_Parker do you guys have any insight into shipping delays? TSA told me 2-4wks normal turn around and there was a 1-2wk additional delay. I’m now on week 5. TSA wasn’t able to answer anything further unfortunately, not sure if many others are experiencing delays or not
 
Today was delivery day! Everything looks to be in order and I just gotta say this tank looks WAY nicer in person. Crisp clean cuts on the glass, the bevel seams. I can see why you pay a premium for it. Now I just have a small vacation and some housework before I can set it up 🫠

Can’t come soon enough!
IMG_8485.jpeg IMG_8488.jpeg
 
Welcome to the R90 club! It was a little heavy - huh? 😀 Following along and can’t wait to see how it progresses!
Thankfully the delivery guy dropped it with a pallet jack in my garage for me. Moving them around individually though to inspect everything was a pain 😅

I have a cube with similar dimensions mine the added 13.5” length and I’m impressed how much bigger that actually is
 
hold on... tell me more about those garage floor tiles.
Horse stall mats from Tractor supply my man. 4’x6’ and durable as hell. I used some joist nail plates underneath to keep them all locked together as well. It’s great for the garage gym
 
Nice. Was the tank super heavy? I would need to take it down a decent flight of stairs to the basement. Hoping that two people can carry it.
 
Nice. Was the tank super heavy? I would need to take it down a decent flight of stairs to the basement. Hoping that two people can carry it.
I havent had to pick it up to move just yet but sliding the pallet around it’s definitely got some weight to it. A quick Google is showing 160lbs dry weight for it, definitely a 2 person job.
 
Mine was dropped off at the side of the road and I have a looong driveway. My husband and I moved it. It was so heavy - I actually threw up!
Man, I’m grateful now the delivery guy wheeled it into my garage for me via pallet jack. A friend and I will be moving mine soon because my wife is concerned it’ll be too much for her 😅. It’s definitely the size more than anything imo
 
FINALLY AN UPDATE

Life has been super busy but we finally are getting the tank setup. Because we were planning to do some fresh paint and baseboards in our house in the near future, I decided to get that done prior to tank setup.

Fast forward to today, and we got the tank inside and I’ve started the mess that is wiring everything and seeing how it all fits. I also decided today as I was doing all this that it is WAY too in the way of our hall, so it will be moving about 6’ into the next hall. That work will be done tomorrow.

Next update I’ll have rock sand and water in!



IMG_8720.jpeg

IMG_8719.jpeg

IMG_8718.jpeg
 
That’s a beautiful tank man!

I started my build a little over a month ago, fastest cycle ever! .
I’m rocking the UNS 40A & has been awesome however I may be replicating yours very soon (When I figure how to talk wifey into it, lol )
 

WHEN REEFING GETS TOUGH, WHAT KEEPS YOU MOST INVESTED?

  • My livestock depends on me, so I keep showing up for them

    Votes: 13 59.1%
  • I look for small signs that things are improving

    Votes: 3 13.6%
  • I want to figure out what’s going wrong

    Votes: 1 4.5%
  • I remind myself that rough stretches will pass...just keep reefing

    Votes: 3 13.6%
  • I lean on other reefers for advice or encouragement

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I simplify, step back from tinkering, and give the tank time

    Votes: 2 9.1%
  • Honestly, sometimes I wonder if I want to keep going

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other (Post in the comments)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top
Home
Post thread…
Market
What's new