Cali Kid Corals

custom 90 gallon

JRocha

JRocha

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So after taking a few years off because of moving and buying a house I am finally going to use my custom 90 gallon (3ft long, 2 ft deep, 2ft tall). Using my ATI LED power module for lighting (4x39 watt T5 and 2x75 watt LED pucks). Ehiem pumps for returns to my ADA Lily pipes (I was using the 90 for a freshwater planted) I like the flow that it produces and will see how well that works for the new reef. Not sure what kind of skimmer I'm going to use but if anyone has any suggestions that would be great. I have a UV sterilizer as well. Other than that I believe I should be good on equipment. As for stocking the tank. we are going to make it into a goby tank with lots of LPS. Mostly favias, blastos, chalices, and one open brain since they take up lots of space. We'll see how it goes. As for the fish we want an aurora goby, red mandarin goby, maybe 5 fire fish( wife wants helfrichs), a caribean sail fin blenny, and i'm not sure what wrasse I'm going to get but it better be a passive one. I would love a tang but my tank is too small for one. I am going to see if any of the corals I gave away when I broke down my tank a few years ago are still alive so I can get some frags. I will post pics of the system a little later as I am going to fill it with water today. I spent all last night tearing down the planted tank and cleaned up the entire system. Just happy to get back into reefing.
 
Sounds cool! I'm interesting in seeing how this turns out. I'm considering upgrading to a ATI LED power module myself, from my cheap LEDs.

As for skimmers, I can only really comment on what I've used, but Reef Octopus seems to be pretty good. I've got their space saver 110 and its going great for my tank.
 
I used to have a 240 gallon reef about 7 years ago and I had the 2 ati power modules over the tank and that beast of a tank was bulletproof. The lights are awesome and the corals loved the light. I still have the system, but my parents are using it as a cactus tank. Its hilarious, but it works. they did this with another 125 gallon tank in their sunroom as well. I will check out the info on the reef octopus. I used to have euroreef skimmers in the past. they made some awesome skimmers.
 
Welcome back to the hobby. I'm running a tank with the same dimensions as a mixed reef for the last year or so and it's worked out well for us. The 24" of depth is a bit of a pain for aquascaping and coral management, but maybe you have longer arms than we do. Check out our tank journal for complete details.

I would second the Reef Octopus recommendation for a skimmer. Do you already have a sump or are you planning that as well? I'd advise going for the biggest skimmer that will comfortably fit in your sump. We have a Trigger Systems Tidline 30 sump and a Reef Octopus 150SSS. The space saver models locate the pump in the skimmer body to reduce footprint and have a relatively constant size. It's worked out very well for us and usually goes on sale in November for Black Friday at BRS and other stores.

Welcome back and good luck with your new tank. Feel free to drop me a line if there's anything about our setup we can share.
 
Thanks guys. My sump was made by Tap Plastics and is just a big cube under my tank. I am getting a 14x14x14 inch acrylic cube made for a gravity fed refugium so that the little critters can just fall into the tank as live food instead of going through the pumps. As for the skimmer I can fit my old Euro reef RS250 skimmer that was used on my 240 gallon with a 165 gallon sump, but since I've been out of the game for a while I'm not sure if that massive skimmer on my new tank that will be about 140 gallons of water will be too big. If that will work I would rather keep my money and spend it on livestock. If its too big then I will look into the reef Octopus. I just really enjoyed how well euro reef skimmers worked on all my systems in the past and were so easy to clean. Just sucks cause I believe since I've been out of reefing they went under.
 
I'd try your old skimmer if the pump is still good and it fits well. May be a little overkill, although I bet you could fit say one yellow tang in there too...
 
Gorgeous glass. I plan on shopping for something that size in a couple of months, who made it for you? I love the ADA Lily pipes for returns, haven't seen anyone use those on a reef before, hopefully they're not too difficult to keep clean. I just sent my 6 year old 60 gal planted tank to live with a friend of mine last weekend, so I understand the transition!
 
wpeterson said:
Wow, that is a beautiful tank and stand. It looks like eurobracing around the rim? Best way to do a rimless tank, imho. Very cool glass return lines as well.
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Thank you. The tank is a custom Truvu acrylic tank. It is made of 1/2 inch acrylic all the way around so that it never bows. My old tank bowed and I hated it. The stand was purchased from Aquatic Collections where they got it made for me. It stands at a total of 40 inches tall, but the tank sits like an inch lower to hide the base of the tank. I wanted it taller so it makes for easier viewing. The glass returns are ADA Lilly Pipes which I got when the tank was a planted tank. Trying them out cause I like the flow. We shall see.
 
Coral reefer said:
I'd try your old skimmer if the pump is still good and it fits well. May be a little overkill, although I bet you could fit say one yellow tang in there too...
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Ya the skimmer is too big. I'm leaning towards the Reef Octopus Elite 150INT. I would love a tang, but I can't have any of my favorites ( Fowleri, Powder blue, and Chevron).
 
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