BlueFish1
New Member
After months of ogling other people's tanks and then looking at my Fluval 32, I finally pulled the trigger on upgrading to a big boy tank. Was very lucky to find a new 90.3 that someone had bought, but never set up. The trick was that this tank would have to go in the same spot as my current tank. Wife has agreed to let me do what I want, as long as my tank was out of the way. So its in my home office! Smaller footprint for my last setup (with stand), but much more real estate! So far, I'm pleased with how it turned out and super excited to watch it grow and come into its own (plus stock it up).
So to start, here is the basic parts list:
- Waterbox Marine X 90.3
- Reef Octopus Classic Int-150
- Kessil A360we Tuna Blue + Spectral X controller (running default tuna blue schedule)
- 2x Icecap 2k WiFi (running 25%-50% gyre during the day)
- Reef Octopus Varios 4 return pump
- Tunze ATO
- Crappy BRS screen lid (Toplids cover has been ordered)
- 9w UV (way too small, but used it in my old tank, can't hurt!)
- 500 w titanium heater w/ Inkbird dual probe WiFi controller
- Custom rock scape
Got the new tank all set up and leveled ( on a carpet), fixed a minor bulkhead leak (forgot an extra gasket for the main drain), a few more leak tests and trying of the floor and filled her up! Got all my old rocks in there, some in the sump, and threw in all the ceramic media and let it sit overnight.
Next day the smoke had cleared, then added a bottle of Fritz Turbo Start 900, turned off the skimmer and mini uv and crossed my fingers. Had a small ammonia spike (no more than .25ppm) and some immediate nitrates about 1mg/L, and no nitrites). Some corals started opening right away, others were not happy. Finger leather started shedding and my Goni wouldn't open at all.
After about a week, my custom rock finished its bleach cure and a Seachem prime dip and was ready to go in the tank.
Today, will be adding some pods and phyto to the tank and a couple new corals. Some detritus started growing, ammonia back to 0, and looks like I'm good to go!
I'll continue to update as I add more corals. Always looking for advice as well, so feel free!
So to start, here is the basic parts list:
- Waterbox Marine X 90.3
- Reef Octopus Classic Int-150
- Kessil A360we Tuna Blue + Spectral X controller (running default tuna blue schedule)
- 2x Icecap 2k WiFi (running 25%-50% gyre during the day)
- Reef Octopus Varios 4 return pump
- Tunze ATO
- Crappy BRS screen lid (Toplids cover has been ordered)
- 9w UV (way too small, but used it in my old tank, can't hurt!)
- 500 w titanium heater w/ Inkbird dual probe WiFi controller
- Custom rock scape
The Build Day!
As stated, this would be an in-place transfer and didn't have another tank to put my existing corals and fish. A few days prior to doing the transfer, got some ceramic media and stuck it in my Fluval to try and get some more bacteria in place. So with some buckets, brutes, and some extra airstones/power heads, I got to work. All rock work and corals went into a brute, fish into a bucket. I tried to save as much water as I could and did my best to keep any sand from stirring around. Got about 15-20 gallons out of it that was usable. Queue the build montage!Got the new tank all set up and leveled ( on a carpet), fixed a minor bulkhead leak (forgot an extra gasket for the main drain), a few more leak tests and trying of the floor and filled her up! Got all my old rocks in there, some in the sump, and threw in all the ceramic media and let it sit overnight.
Next day the smoke had cleared, then added a bottle of Fritz Turbo Start 900, turned off the skimmer and mini uv and crossed my fingers. Had a small ammonia spike (no more than .25ppm) and some immediate nitrates about 1mg/L, and no nitrites). Some corals started opening right away, others were not happy. Finger leather started shedding and my Goni wouldn't open at all.
After about a week, my custom rock finished its bleach cure and a Seachem prime dip and was ready to go in the tank.
Today, will be adding some pods and phyto to the tank and a couple new corals. Some detritus started growing, ammonia back to 0, and looks like I'm good to go!
I'll continue to update as I add more corals. Always looking for advice as well, so feel free!
