After a few years with the Elos Midi, and now that work has settled down some, I've decided to finally upgrade to a 90 gallon (SPS) tank.
I've been running some sort of fish tank since 2007 or so, but I've never had a full-on SPS reef. I usually run mixed tanks with LPS and softies.
This will be a slow, steady, methodical build. I'm not rushing or taking shortcuts. I'm going to buy the best equipment I can (and only once, hopefully).
Here's what I have so far:
Tank: Standard 90 gallon (48x18x24T). I bought this a few months ago but haven't set it up yet.
Stand: I will pick up a marineland stand soon. I also have a cabinet that is used for my electronics. I don't like keeping electronics in the sump section, as the leak and salt creep potential is too high
Sump: DIY 30 gallon glass tank
Lighting: I'm undecided right now. Leaning toward ATI Sunpower. I'm not going with LED only, and I'm leaning toward T5 over MH due to heat concerns, but I'm not 100% yet.
Flow: I have 2x Tunze 6095s, an Ecotech Marine MP40, and an MP10.
Skimmer: No idea. I have had a nano for a few years and as such, I have not been keeping current. Suggestions are appreciated. Anticipated budget is somewhere in the $300-400 range.
Return pump: Laguna maxflow (not 100% on GPH yet). These are awesome pumps.
2 Part Dosing: leaning toward the Apex Dos system. They get great reviews, and I like the quality pump heads and motors.
Controller: Neptune Apex. I'm looking at setting up an older iPad as a display on the cabinet, and am looking at adding some accessories like the water detectors and buying the Tunze cables (how does the Apex compare to the 7096 that I already have?)
Additionally, I ordered a piece of white cutting board for the bottom, as I like the protection that it offers and want to start this tank BB. I am going to try buying and trading for SPS locally, rather than buying fresh cuts from the ocean, as I believe they are hardier, easier to care for (known history), and it's less of a strain on the environment. My wife bought me a DSLR so I should be able to finally take decent pictures.
As for livestock; I have 2x clowns and a cardinal that will be making their way over. As for the rest, I'm planning on adding a few anthias and a tang (not sure which; but it will need to be small enough to live its entire life in the 90).
Any tips or comments are appreciated. Thanks for following along.
I've been running some sort of fish tank since 2007 or so, but I've never had a full-on SPS reef. I usually run mixed tanks with LPS and softies.
This will be a slow, steady, methodical build. I'm not rushing or taking shortcuts. I'm going to buy the best equipment I can (and only once, hopefully).
Here's what I have so far:
Tank: Standard 90 gallon (48x18x24T). I bought this a few months ago but haven't set it up yet.
Stand: I will pick up a marineland stand soon. I also have a cabinet that is used for my electronics. I don't like keeping electronics in the sump section, as the leak and salt creep potential is too high
Sump: DIY 30 gallon glass tank
Lighting: I'm undecided right now. Leaning toward ATI Sunpower. I'm not going with LED only, and I'm leaning toward T5 over MH due to heat concerns, but I'm not 100% yet.
Flow: I have 2x Tunze 6095s, an Ecotech Marine MP40, and an MP10.
Skimmer: No idea. I have had a nano for a few years and as such, I have not been keeping current. Suggestions are appreciated. Anticipated budget is somewhere in the $300-400 range.
Return pump: Laguna maxflow (not 100% on GPH yet). These are awesome pumps.
2 Part Dosing: leaning toward the Apex Dos system. They get great reviews, and I like the quality pump heads and motors.
Controller: Neptune Apex. I'm looking at setting up an older iPad as a display on the cabinet, and am looking at adding some accessories like the water detectors and buying the Tunze cables (how does the Apex compare to the 7096 that I already have?)
Additionally, I ordered a piece of white cutting board for the bottom, as I like the protection that it offers and want to start this tank BB. I am going to try buying and trading for SPS locally, rather than buying fresh cuts from the ocean, as I believe they are hardier, easier to care for (known history), and it's less of a strain on the environment. My wife bought me a DSLR so I should be able to finally take decent pictures.
As for livestock; I have 2x clowns and a cardinal that will be making their way over. As for the rest, I'm planning on adding a few anthias and a tang (not sure which; but it will need to be small enough to live its entire life in the 90).
Any tips or comments are appreciated. Thanks for following along.