90 gallons in 90 days.....??

[jrf1175]

Hey all,

Maybe I am jumping the gun here a bit but I am so excited to get everything going! Since I don't have my system yet I figured the next best thing would to be start my 90 gallon adventure here. The past two weeks have been pretty intense...this is when I finally decided that I was going to dive head first into a reef aquarium (my first). Seems that this has taken up most of my spare time and even some work time ssshhhhh don't tell the boss! Anyways I am getting much closer to having something to show for it and that feels good!

So many decisions.....120 gallon, 58 gallons, 75 gallons, custom cabinet, canopy no canopy...I think I have tackled these issues and here is what I have come up with:

Tank
Custom 90 gal 48 x 21 x 20
Starphire front and side panels
Custom sump with refugium

Stand
Custom metal stand framed in wood

Lighting
Aquactinics 48" Solar Flare
Tank mounted

Euro-Reef RS 135 Skimmer
WavySea
Return pump (TBD)

So I think that is a pretty good start and once work can get me some of my expenses back and I can clear up my CC the ordering will begin!

As my Title suggests I hope to see some serious results in the next 90 days. Hopefully this is realistic, only time will tell. More updates to come, right now my only photo is of the future home reef, looks pretty lonely...but that will change soon.

Wish me luck.

Cheers,
Jayme

 

[TDEVIL]

a starfire tank would be awsome

what are your plans for the overflow, are you going to have the tank drilled and install bulkheads or are you going to have a coast-to-coast overflow?

Jay

 

[jrf1175]

All drilled with corner overflow, since the side will still be viewable I will have the exposed corner covered with a black acrylic insert. Going with black silicon as well.

 

[Charlie97L]

sounds awesome! do you have the tank yet?

i'm going to run the rs135 as well. and get a wavysea eventually.

 

[jrf1175]

No tank yet, 3-4 weeks once I order (in a week or so) I am pumped!

 

[boozeman]

... and I can clear up my CC the ordering will begin!

The circle of life!!
looking foward to seeing this tank go up...you have done your homework and it looks very promissing

 

[sasquatch]

jfr dont be camera shy, take lots of pics as you go, even the boxs stuff comes in lol. Steve

 

[jrf1175]

Wooohooooo Aquarium is ordered!!! Cabinet/Canopy and sump will be ordered soon.....can you handle the excitement??:whstlr:

85 days to go...

 

[boozeman]

woohooooo!!!

 

[jrf1175]

OK, well had to make a change and am now going with the standard 90 gallon sizing (48x18x24). Custom size would have cost and extra $200 for thicker glass and euro-bracing. Other items (custom made stand) are costing me enough as it is!!

My idea for the wider/shorter tank was to allow more width for aquascaping without having lots of "empty" water in the upper region of the tank. Looks like more live rock to fix that....but I will worry about that when the time comes.

 

[TDEVIL]

My idea for the wider/shorter tank was to allow more width for aquascaping without having lots of "empty" water in the upper region of the tank. Looks like more live rock to fix that....but I will worry about that when the time comes.

sometimes "empty" space in the upper water column can be a good thing as it will give corals room to grow

Jay

 

[jrf1175]

I think my issues with this also falls back on going with a black background or nothing. I don like the idea of seeing my white wall through the back of the tank. I know eventually it will be covered in coraline, or do most people tend to clean the back of their tanks as well?

Thanks,
Jayme

 

[TDEVIL]

i dont clean the coraline off the sides or the back, a lot of people do just depends on what you want it to look like.

you can paint the back of the tank, better than one of those tape on backgrounds, w/ a marine tank the saltcreep will get inbetween the glass and the background and wont look very good, just depends on what you want.
something to think about anyways, lol

goto go, have a good 1

Jay

 

[jrf1175]

Just a brief update....

Getting a little closer to having something of substance. Tank was getting built on Wednesday and could be delivered to "my dealer" as early as today!!!! I am excited and it wont even be in my condo for a few weeks. Once it is delivered I can get the final measurements to have my stand and canopy built.

After 2 months of searching for the perfect stand I found a local carpenter that has some experience and will build me a unit for $1000 CAD....to put that in perspective I had a quote from a furniture builder that was $2800-3200!!! The great thing about this is I can pull out some of the best features I have seen on stand and canopies in photos from this forum and others. should be pretty sweet.

Lastly, I found a great deal on an Euro-Reef RS135 and have it on order as well. That may actually show up today. My have been a bit anxious but it was taking so long I just needed to buy something.

It really is crazy...I have wanted a home theater for years now...I could have bought a dream system (or two) with what I will be paying for my reef....but this is so much more fun!

Hopefully I will have some photos to add soon. Till next time..

Cheers,
Jayme

 

[boozeman]

.... Tank was getting built on Wednesday and could be delivered to "my dealer" as early as today!!!! Cheers,
Jayme

can you stand the excitement !!!
your setup sounds like its gonna be real top-notch
...stand prices are getting out of hand...I am learning woodworking and plan on building mine because of it.
:lurk:

 

[jrf1175]

I am really surprised that there are not some really good quality stands produced these days. The stands from the big manufacturers just seem cheap and I would be scared to put 1000lbs of water on them, designs and colours are limited too.

If I had the resources I would be building my own too.

 

[TDEVIL]

congrats

cant wait to see this up and running

i built my stand for the same reason

Jay

 

[fidojoe]

Sounds like you're going to have a nice setup! Can't wait to see the pics.

I absolutely love my LeeMar pinecrest series stand. Only downside to it is that it doesn't fit a very large sump under it without cutting the top open. I may eventually take my router to it with a cutting blade and make a hole to slip a 29g sump in... I can't complain though, as it was only $180 delivered to my LFS, and it only took 3 days to get.

 

[jrf1175]

Well, I got a early present for myself this year. Its kinda funny since I don't even have my tank yet, but maybe I will buy a gold fish and let it swim around in the skimmer until I can actually use it

 

[mps9506]

Your gonna like that skimmer, most maintenance free one I've used.
Can't wait to see it start to come together.