90 Gallon Sps Startup

[Bill_68]

Hello All,

 

I just thought I would just see if I could get some input and advice on my startup. I probably should have done some more research, but sometimes I tend to over-think sometimes. I just clicked off my brain and made a local Aquarium owner happy.

 

My goal is to grow mostly SPS corals , Acans and a few fish that can live off of the rocks.

 

 

I selected a 90 gallon tank because it was a bit taller. I like the height, and think it would give me more micro-environments to put things other than SPS that really like intense light. 18" does seem a bit cramped, I will try to lay off the habit of buying too much rock.

 

 

I guess I will start at the bottom.

 

Aqueon Model 4 sump: Rated up to a 210 Gallon setup. I figured that bigger is better with a sump. Fits pretty well.

 

AquaEuro USA 200 In-Sump Skimmer.

Skkye Light 19" Led 18: 10k 9 x 1 w

250 water heater. (Too small? 90 gallons + big sump)

Rio Hyperflow pump 12HF 510 gallons @ 6 ft.

 

I put a few handfuls of Aragonite from my other tank into it to seed the tank some. 10 lbs of smallish chunks of live rock. Added some Chaeto. I couldn't find the volume of the sump online. Should I put a few powerbeads in there, or is there enough flow due to the constant 510 gph going through it.

 

Also, the store did not have a Calcium reactor. There is about 11.5 inches left outside the sump to the wall. What do you folks recommend for a reactor? In-sump? Out of sump? I don't suspect I will need one for some time. I might add some more light in my sump so that I can put more live rock in the last chamber and try to put some coral plugs in there to grow them out a bit.

 

Tank Portion:

 

I have 80 lbs of Aragonite. I thought it was a bit much, but the shopkeeper said that is what is recommended as long as you have good water flow.

 

So far, there is 75 lbs of live rock. About 2/3 of it came from various live rock tanks from aquarium stores. Not much growing on it. The rest came from my established tank and has coralline algae growing on it.

 

As you can see from the photo, the rock is stacked along the back. Under the big area, there is a Aqueon 2400 gph pump. It is in the lower-right back corner, shooting flow across the back.

 

On the smaller area to the lower-left of the overflow return, there is Aqueon 1650 gph pump. It is pushing water towards the overflow return.

 

Lighting:

 

Two Blueline 120 watt (55x3 w Bridgelux Leds) (35 white, 20 blue (450NM))

I am a bit concerned that after reading, lots of people do not like these for SPS. Personally, I think they don't look as nice as my 150 w Phoenix bulb and the fan sounds a bit loud. The Shopkeeper said they would be fine, but I think that I might have to swap one out with a 250 MH bulb later on to keep the SPS's happy. For now, I will keep them and see how they do on the corals I am going to move over later.

 

Concerns and Info wanted:

 

Does anyone use a Top-off System, using a Reverse-Osmosis unit? Right behind the wall, I have access to a water line, a drain and power in the basement.

 

At some point, I will be needing a Calcium reactor. Suggestions?

 

Lighting and Pump switching systems. Suggestions? Right now, I am just going to use cheap electric timers, but I might want to use something else?

 

I think I have enough flow, but I am thinking of putting 4 pumps in the front of the tank. One on each corner. I then plan on putting each two alternating corners on a timer so that I can switch the flow around a bit. The pumps in the back are going to be kept constant. How big should these smaller be? Right now, I have 5600 gph theoretical. Two pumps plus main pump. Well, that sounds like way too much, since I added everything up. I should have 90 gallons x 20 = 1800 GPH Total.

 

So far everything is running ok. *Should* have put teflon on the elbow, where the pump return goes into the tank. It leaks and is noisy. I should not have cut the return to sump line. The clamp at the tank bulkhead is dripping slightly into the sump. There is a spiral groove on the inside of the return hose. Damn. The shopkeeper said to uses these metal hose clamps. I imagine they will corrode with time. I guess I should have used plain vinyl hose for the tank drain.

 

Anyhow, thanks for reaching the end of my little project any input will be greatly appreciated.

 

Bill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jam77]

I would consider dosing pumps instead of a calcium reactor. Calcium reactors seem to have people that either love or hate them nobody in between.

[BoCoMo]

Looks great!

[FireCorals]

Looks good! How do you like that sump/refugium? Having any problems with Microbubbles considering the skimmer seems to be in the last chamber?

[Bill_68]

Looks good! How do you like that sump/refugium? Having any problems with Microbubbles considering the skimmer seems to be in the last chamber?

 

So I see! I thought they were getting sucked through the 90 attached to my flexible thingie that shoots out water via venturi effect.

 

The joint needs some teflon to seal it better. It shoots out water too!

 

Bill

[Leatherneck3755]

Avast ATO. Check them out. I've been looking to buy for a few months. Best I have seen for the money. Thats my two cents though.