Checksix187's 90Gal

[CheckSix187]

Hello everyone! My name is Patrick, some of you know me by now, and im sure alot of you dont.

First off id like to thank everyone for all of your help in answering all my questions, and putting up with my beginner-ness. You have all been more helpful than I could have asked. I want to quickly give a special sincere thank you to Richie (rkaragozler) for designing my sump (TWICE) and offering to cut the glass and everything, as well as giving me answers and advice to things I never even thought of!

As for my aquarium history, Iv'e had a few 10 gallon freshwater tanks since I was about 9-10, nothing advanced whatsoever, and I always saw saltwater as something that was totally out of my ability (and it was)

Finally last march I dove in however, I was a beginner and let myself be jerked around by an upstate LFS, who sold me a 30 gallon tank, canister filter, and some LR rubble. Thankfully, I found this site :biggrinpa

This December I picked myself up a 90gallon tank not reef ready but im ok with that, with Richie's help I made myself a sump with a fuge out of my old 30 gallon tank, and made my own plumbing.

So heres the stats
90 Gallon tank
100 lbs LR (60 from BRS)
100 Lbs sand (40 Lbs medium coarse LS, 60 Lbs dry super fine white)

Current Livestock
1 Ocellaris Clownfish (about1.75")
1 Firefish (about 3")

1 Sebae Anemone

1 Red Sea Star
1 Sand Sifting Sea Star

2 Emerald Crabs
10 Blue-legged hermits
Small army of Stomatella snails
A few cerith snails

1 Golden torch
1 Green Trumpet
1 Mushroom, not sure of the exact name, red with vibrant green spots
1 "Limited Edition" Sympodium Soft Coral (from reeffarmers)
I got these 4 pieces from Kevin at Manhattan Aquariums, had a great time and they all look fantastic, ill have pics up soon

Anyway before I get too wordy ill throw in some pics
First my old 30g
Then my 90 without the new rock
Then aquascaping process and final design

Still Cloudy

Finally Clear!!!

I tried to create a lot of interesting spaces where I could display some corals really nicely, which will come in later posts
Ill also add my exact equipment list, but its 3:13 AM so im gonna let this finish here for now


Thank you all for taking the time to read this!!! :hug:

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Which LFS did you go to at first?

Nice job on the tank.

 

[acromike]

Looking Good!!!Great start!!

 

[fishman1069]

Love the rock work! Keep askin question and Keep up the good work! Remember that patience is KEY in this hobby. Try not to rush things once you finish cycling! The only thing that happens fast in this hobby is disaster!!!!

 

[CheckSix187]

Which LFS did you go to at first?

Nice job on the tank.

Thank you very much!

I think it was called Tropical World & Pet Center, in newburg

Looking Good!!!Great start!!

Thanks Acromike!

Love the rock work! Keep askin question and Keep up the good work! Remember that patience is KEY in this hobby. Try not to rush things once you finish cycling! The only thing that happens fast in this hobby is disaster!!!!

Thank you! ill post some more close ups of the rockwork when I can. And yes, im looking forward to taking my time and picking out exactly what I want for this tank, and researching EVERYTHING haha

 

[CheckSix187]

Livestock list added

 

[CheckSix187]

Some more pics for you guys

The Sympodium isnt open in this pic because it had just been placed in the tank, ill get a shot of it open and all its colors when i get home thursday.

 

[James404]

Great looking tank, I like the aquascape a lot.

 

[CheckSix187]

Thank you! and welcome to MR

 

[motortrendz]

good job so far, keep it up.. did u mention lighting? what are you using?

 

[CheckSix187]

Oh right sorry lol, Im running a 4 bulb 48" T5 fixture, plan on upgrading soon, wont be doing much with corals untill around march probably, just low-med lighting stuff for now

Im running 3 ATI super blue + i think theyre called lol, and still have one crappy white bulb im replacing as soon as I can get back over to Manhattan Aquariums

 

[CheckSix187]

Hello everyone, haven't touched this thread in a while as Ive been having skimmer issues and haven't been working much on the tank other than maintenance.

That however, ended today thanks to Russ from Saltwater Critters! I had the pleasure of driving over to Russ' place (only 45 min from me!) and meeting him! He helped me pick out the perfect skimmer! A brand spankin new Reef Octopus XP-1000SSS Cone Skimmer!!!

It was just like Christmas! :spin:


This thing is a awesome! It took MAYBE 10 min to assemble (even for noobies like my girlfriend and I) and it fit perfectly in my sump, all I had to do was remove one baffle that set the water level for my old skimmer (which never ended up working >.<).

I have to say, that when I turned this thing on, I thought for sure the pump was broken. But as I came out from behind my stand I realized nope, this thing is just SILENT. The bubbles it produces are so tiny it almost looks like there is milk in the body of the skimmer! Not only that, but as you can see in one of the picture, this thing started pulling brown-green gunk out of my water within 30 min! I was expecting at least a 24-hour "break-in period" as I had read about. Dialing it in was a breeze, even for someone like me, as this is my first ever skimmer.

But all in all, this experience would not have been the same without Russ, and I really have to thank him for having My father, my girlfriend, and I over! I will definitely be going exclusively to Russ and Jim for all my dry goods needs. Even without his great prices (49.99 for 160 gallons worth of reef salt?!? Where is he stealing this stuff from? :shhh his professionalism and willing to help is worth the trip alone and I cannot recommended SaltwaterCritters enough! :biggrin: Thanks again Russ!

 

[INNEED]

Yeah Russ is def the guy to see just got the xp 2000ssss n it's a beast

 

[rkaragozler]

Wow Patrick its been 3 months already, and I just got to read your thread, keep up the good work, take your time, and be patient. nice rockwork, if you ever come down to staten island i'll give you some coral,

 

[CheckSix187]

Wow Patrick its been 3 months already, and I just got to read your thread, keep up the good work, take your time, and be patient. nice rockwork, if you ever come down to staten island i'll give you some coral,

Thank you for all your help along the way so far Richie!

 

[masterswimmer]

Patrick, thanks for the kindness :redface:

Your description of the foam as 'milk' is spot on. Really does look like it.

Your rockwork is great. I'm loving all the nooks and crannies, caves, coves, tunnels and ledges. You seemed to incorporate all the attributes of a well thought out 'scape, including nice lengthwise swimming room. :lol_large

Anytime you need any help just give me a shout.

Keep up the good work and continue with more pix.
Best of luck,
Russ

 

[CheckSix187]

So yesterday I had to go down to Manhattan to go to a Site Visit for my architecture class, and of course I had to stop by Manhattan Aquariums! Where we picked up our first Acan!

This thing is gorgeous, its got 4 heads and they are all at least an inch across!

First pic is as soon as it was placed into the tank, and second is with tentacles extended at night (excuse the flash and dirty rock, CUC is coming in friday )

Thanks again to the guys from MA! Totally worth the trip everytime

 

[masterswimmer]

Nice addition Patrick.

Russ

 

[CheckSix187]

Here it is this after noon, fully opened!

 

[CheckSix187]

Time for another update, over the past month ive picked up a few nice frags from NDY and Dace, thanks guys!

From NDY I got:

- Cyclop PPE
- (Dont remember what this once was called)
- Aussie Duncan
- Tyree Green Toadstool
- Purple Plate (Which I forgot to take a pic of)

and from Dace (Who lives 5 min from me!) we got this ORA Bird of Paradise!

And from Dace