I got a great deal on a 90 gal setup that was a reef! The previous owner went to a 90 bow. The tank has been neglected so I am going to do an extreme makeover and turn it into my dream reef.

It's a 48" Standard, with:

VHO - URI bulbs and a URI ballast, with 2 Actinic White & 2 Super Actinic, FR40T12/VHO

Overflow branches into a 10g refugium & sump.
Kent Nautilus EX skimmer with a mag12.

2" LSB & 100lbs of LR

The fish/stars in it:
Adult Engineer Goby (8" long)
8" Black Brittle
16" Green Brittle (yeah, it's a monster)

This is a pic at the sellers house. It took us about 2.5 hours to tear it down & pack it up.

http://www.reefs4me.com/90gallon1.jpg

The Goby & Stars went to the LFS. They are too big & destructive for the reef I want to create. In a couple of months, I will move my Coral Beauty, Hippo Tang, Lawnmower, Purple Reef Lobster along with misc corals, BTA, Tube anemone to the 90. I'll trade the Tomato Clown & get a "pair" of clowns. This is a pic of my 30 gallon that 10 months old:

http://www.candlescentgourmet.com/reefs4me/Mom's%20Tank%20002.jpg

The LR is beautiful, big pieces. The Goby had most of it buried. Since I love LR, will probably buy another 20lbs, plus the 50lbs from my 30g. Unfortunately the new tank LR is infested with Aiptasia. So, this will have to be addressed before I put anything in the tank. My LFS told me to get a Copperband or Remora, let it eat all the AIP & trade it back. Joe's Juice will help while I get the tank set up again & its cycling, but won't be effective because there is so much. A lot of the AIP is too big for Peppermints, who in turn would be eaten by the Lobster.

After work today, I cleaned the tank so the back can be painted black tomorrow. Will give the paint a couple of days to dry before we move it in the house.

http://www.iheartpaws.com/forums/images/smilies/woohoonaner2gy.gif

Way to go. Keep us posted.

Cool! I am looking forward to seeing it develop.

Once I got the tank home the first thing was to clean it. There was Aip everywhere. (sump, refugium, overflow, plumbing.) I spray painted the back using Kylon Semi-Flat Black. Then, I had to spend an agnozing 2 days looking at it in the garage, with no one around to help me bring in it. Put about half the LR in, this has been in a tub & will have some die-off. The rest is in another tub that I have heat/light/air on, due to mustrooms & a Hawaiian Feather Duster. Once the tank clears & make sure everything is working properly, I'll do the rock-scaping.

http://www.reefs4me.com/JunB.jpg

http://www.reefs4me.com/JunA.jpg

http://www.reefs4me.com/JulB.jpg

http://www.reefs4me.com/JulC.jpg

http://www.reefs4me.com/JulE.jpg

http://www.reefs4me.com/JulD.jpg

It took a couple hours + to get all the equipment going. No instruction manual for the skimmer, but a bit of search found it on the net so I could understand how it works. It's got good flow, can tell from how quickly the tank is clearing! I added about 30 lbs new LS in the main tank, 10lbs in the refugium. One of the cool things about this stand is that is has cupboards at each end. One side houses electrical, and the other for chemicals (locked.) By the time I wake up, the tank should be all clear!


http://www.reefs4me.com/2hrs.jpg

Looking good already. The cupboard feature is nice.

This is a "water-logged" poster tonight! All the LR is in the tank (yeah, hated putting the feather duster in, its attached to the rock, which is huge & a keystone in the current design, my LFS is moving the store so couldn't trade it.)

Now, the waiting on the cycle. Think this should go pretty quickly. I kept all the original LS & LR on air/heat/light. There's a ton of blue & green hairy mushroom babies on all the LR, and it's covered with tiny red feather dusters. Lots of pods crawling around the LR & saw a couple bristle worms today.

There will be another 50lbs of LR going in when I move the 30 into the 90. My Coral Beauty and Hippo Tang are both very interested in the "sea" next door. Both are swimming out-of-habit & hanging close to the end near the 90.

Oh, and that's my pal "Sam" in the 3rd pic. He's a mix of several possibilities: Leonberger, Caucasian Mountain Dog, German Shepherd, NewFoundland. He was a rescue headed for a Washington Sanctuary to live out his life. He had a "24hr lay-over" at my house. Took all of 2 minutes before calling WA, this dog's journey was at it's end.

http://www.reefs4me.com/jul8c.jpg

http://www.reefs4me.com/jul8b.jpg

http://www.reefs4me.com/samtank%20(360%20x%20480).jpg

6/07/07http://www.reefs4me.com/2hrs.jpg

9/07/07http://www.reefs4me.com/jul8c.jpg

:unsure: Hmmmmm lol

6/07/07

:unsure: Hmmmmm lol

Teehee, yeah I moved the rock around. On the 6th, I only dumped in the LR that didn't have any mushrooms on it. Once the tank cleared I spread it all out and spent that day and the next two killing all the Aip while I still had the opportunity to turn the LR over to find all those little buggers! Love Joe's Juice!

On Saturday, the 3 biggest pieces of LR went in, they were not in the pic on the 6th.
In about 6 weeks, we'll have another new look after I add the 50+ lbs from my 30.
Just like the ocean, my reef will go through several rock formations before I am satisfied. Every time I look at the tank, I think hmmm, that piece should go there and that one here! LOL!

It is looking very nice.

its all looking good, just need to wash that dog after swimming in your tank :raining: & your set!

Coming home from work yesterday was exciting! My anemone split (30g) and my 90g had brown stuff all over it! Yay, Diatom bloom! After that runs its course, the tank should be cycled. I'll let the glass go on my 30g now so I can get a good growth of the brown & green algaes, then seed the 90 with this and coraline (pink, red.) The brown/green is for my LMB. I have 2 qt bags of chaeto coming for the refuge & will also order a bottle of live pods for the main tank.

Anemones
http://reefs4me.com/images/spit1.jpg

Frogspawn
http://reefs4me.com/images/Coral/frog.jpg

Toadstool (this one is splitting)
http://www.candlescentgourmet.com/reefs4me/Toadopen.jpg

My "unknown" coral
http://reefs4me.com/images/Coral/leather.jpg

So far the Feather Duster is looking good & not showing signs of distress & the mushrooms are doing okay too. Maybe, they survive this cycle!

Purple Reef Lobster (1st shell left, otherwise never see it)
http://reefs4me.com/images/Coral/purplelobster%5C%27.jpg

Tube Anemone
http://reefs4me.com/images/Coral/tube.jpg

It's fun watching you set up your new tank. Looks Great!

I'll let the glass go on my 30g now so I can get a good growth of the brown & green algaes, then seed the 90 with this and coraline (pink, red.) The brown/green is for my LMB.

Could you help me understand what you're doing here? What's LMB?

Thanks

It's fun watching you set up your new tank. Looks Great!



Could you help me understand what you're doing here? What's LMB?

Thanks

Probably sounds a bit weird, where most people want algae to go away, I want certain ones to thrive!

LMB is Lawnmower Blenny. They are algae eaters, and I want to make sure there is ample food for it before I move it to the new tank by seeding the 90g. with the food it is eating now. If I put the LMB in the 90g now (assuming tank is cycled) it would most certainly starve to death.

I am also considering a Mandarin, which are live pod eaters. Lots of them too! So establishing a healthy food source is critical to keeping them alive. In fact, for the Mandarin, an extra supply of pods will be maintained in the refugium.

The Coraline algae is an important part of maintaining a healthy reef as well. That will be allowed to grow on the back glass

By taking the extra couple of weeks after cycling, and establishing the pods & algae before adding fish/coral/inverts, my 90 will be healthier in the long run & I will be able to move my livestock to basically the same maintained environment, with little to no stress. :up:

good news ... your unknown coral is no longer unknown to you. it is commonly called a cabbage leather (Sinularia dura).

good news ... your unknown coral is no longer unknown to you. it is commonly called a cabbage leather (Sinularia dura).

I was hoping someone would pick up on that & know the answer!

http://www.portablegaming.de/images/smilies/thx.gifhttp://www.portablegaming.de/images/smilies/thx.gif

:up: :up: :up:

BTW ... if you ever need to know what a coral is, dont be afraid to ask. we would all prefer that you know what the coral is, so you know how to take care of it.

Had a set back when I found a leak in the back overflow. Shut down all but the powerheads for a couple of days & did a temp fix. The rubber seal was messed up so I sealed it using aquarium silicone. This should hold up until I can buy a new overflow. Was going to replace this eventually with a "quieter" Hurricane overflow.

Today I am going to help my daughter get her tank 55g going & snag some of her LR for my tank. She has way too much for the tank she wants, no swimming room! She has two scenarios in mind: snowflake eel, valentini puffer, and long-nosed hawkfish -or- snowflake eel, dwarf lionfish, and long-nosed hawkfish. She'll join this board when she has internet again.

The Diatoms in my tank are disappearing. My water perimeters as of this morning:

Salinity 1.25 (need to raise a bit)
PH 8.2
Alk - tests in normal range
AM - 0 with just a hint of "green" on the test card (.05 maybe)
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 2.5

With the 2 day shut down on the refuge & sump, plus adding more LR today, I kinda expect to see one more AM spike. Will also seed the tank today with algae's from my 30g. Then.....

Fish List:
Copperband Butterfly
Blue Hippo Tang
Coral Beauty Angel
Lawnmower Blenny
1 or 2 Clowns

My daughter asked me if I was going to get another BTA and I told her no. The BTA must have heard me, because it split the next day, lol!

My clown problem is that I really like my Tomato and hate taking fish back to the LSF. Yeah, bleeding heart and I am responsible for its life. It would be cruel to separate this clown from its anemone & vice versa. However, I would like to have a pair of clowns and it would probably be too risky to add another Tomato. The one I have has been with me almost a year. The anemones & clown will be the last to move into the 90g. I was thinking about getting one of those large plastic critter cages, drill some holes, put some LS & LR in it, and set it inside the 30 with a smaller Tomato clown in it. Let them get used to each other, for several days in a safe environment?????

Was going to trade the Lobster too, but it left me another shell yesterday and when push comes to shove, I probably won't be able to part with it either!

My daughter asked me if I was going to get another BTA (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/4540-90-gallon-reef-diary.html#) and I told her no. The BTA (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/4540-90-gallon-reef-diary.html#) must have heard me, because it split the next day, lol (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/../autolink.php?id=116&script=showthread&forumid=27)!

Funny!

The ammonia spike is over now. Most of the Diatoms are gone & the glass is growing a healthy crop of green algae. There's a spot of Pink Coraline too (surprised me, didn't expect it so soon). Last night, I moved 2 snails to the tank who are cleaning the green from the glass. This morning I moved 3 crabs & seeded the tank with algae from the 30g.

One of the best indicators that my 30g needs some extra attention, is the Xenia. I trust Xenia more than the test kits to tell me how my water is. Tonight, I'll put some in the 90g & see how it does for a few days. Next step will be the clean up crew. Surprisingly, I have not seen many bristleworms in this LR, just tons of pods & tiny red feather dusters, so I may trap some bristles & move them from the 30g this weekend. Am waiting on weather to cool down so the Chaeto I bought can be shipped, for the refuge.

The seal is holding on the overflow leak. Added another powerhead this AM too. The I/O flow was not keeping up with each other. Going to have to work with this a bit to get it balanced.

:sailing: Sailing along smoothly!

The heater broke on my 30g & temp went up to 98 degrees. Lost my Frogspawn, which was devoured by the Lawnmower Blenny. Everything else made it through. Two days later all the pink coraline died off, half the glass on the tank was covered with it. When I tested the water this evening there was an ammonia spike. 2 years in the hobby & my first crash, guess it was time to pay my dues!

On the bright side, sitting next to the nasty 30g was a cycled & already thriving 90g (snails, crabs, zillion pods, mushrooms & xenia are all loving the new tank!) So my daughter & I moved the livestock over this evening. Had planned on doing this slowly, but that all fell apart.

Bought a Deep Blue Rio Mini flexible light today & love it! Have it reflecting across the top & length of the tank, rather than straight down above the water. My LFS guy told me to lay it out this way & it was a great idea.

Will get some pics taken tomorrow!

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

LOL! Topping all of this off is, was coming down with a nasty flu/cold on Friday & its a miserable one! It was a lot of work, a true labor of love!

24 hours later - The BTA's are even more beautiful under the VHO lights & they look very healthy! The toadstool opened last night with the shimmery moonlight. Usually, when I mess with the toad, it will close up for 1-2 days & it opened in 3 hours. Xenia is pulsing and the Hawaiian Feather Dusters still have their heads :up:

The Hippo, Coral Beauty & Lawnmower were all accounted for & no signs of stress.
I borrowed a fish trap from my LFS during my lunch break yesterday, so I could move the fish without tearing down the LR & ended up not needing it. The LR all went first & my big net is the width of the tank! Maybe 5 seconds to herd & release each one.

So far all is good. One big difference, from the 30 to the 90, there are so many empty "places" on the LR now! What ever shall I do with them all?

What ever shall I do with them all?
More corals!:)

Hehe, room for lots more corals :up:

Here's some pics from about 5 minutes ago:

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/jul27_04.jpg

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/jul27_05.jpg

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/jul27_01.jpg

That's what I'm talking about!

That's what I'm talking about!

And so much fun in the process! However, I will be poor for the next 6 months!

This weekend's trip to the LFS $180 on food, long handle tool, 3 fish, 1 Eel (for my daughters 55), one coral.

This is all so much fun & has certainly been a labor of love! All my livestock is doing very well after the move. I completed my "fish" list for the tank, and will just add corals from this point. Still need to do some work with the flow, change some powerheads around & I need to re-build the tank top so I can access it from the front & not on a chair from the top :up:

Also mowed down some xenia & put the BTA's in the bottom corner. The 2 percs have been hanging in that corner together & I am hoping they will go for the BTA's over the toadstool. The smaller perc is giving it some serious consideration!

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/jul29tank.jpg

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/jul29toadperc.jpg

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/jul29bluemush.jpg

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/jul29cabbage.jpg

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/jul29xenia.jpg

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/redbrain.jpg

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/jul29bta1.jpg

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/jul29bta3.jpg

http://reefs4me.com/images/90g/jul29grn1.jpg

Nice. I love the blue mushroom.

I've never bought corals or fish online because I have a SW only LFS. So I am not familiar with all the "online" websites. Recently, I was directed to the PNWMAS website and a poster told me about Totally Exotic Corals. They only sell online and just happen to be 5 blocks away from me! This is run by 2 guys working from their homes. So, I got in touch with Keith and he allowed me & my daughter to come & look at his corals last Saturday. The other partner, Jody was putting in new tanks so we couldn't see his stock (will do this next payday.) Keith was very helpful, their corals are beautiful & healthy, and the prices are awesome compared to what my LFS charges. I bought a Fox Coral and a Hammer Coral for my tank, and a Fox & Ricordia for my daughter.

I need to do some aqua-scaping for the Hammer & can't get a decent picture :( Its a Pink hammer about 8" long. At night, with the blue moonlight on, it glows green. It's mad at me in this picture, I moved it :no:

http://reefs4me.com/images/Coral/hammer.jpg

My new Fox Coral is about 7"

http://reefs4me.com/images/Coral/fox814.jpg