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Reefdads 90 gallon mixed reef

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I have been trolling these boards for about a month now and thanks to everyones advice I have started and upgrade to a 90 gallon Oceanic Glass mixed reef system. I am upgrading from a 12 gallon aquapod that I have had running for about a year. I am doing a little different setup than the usual tank I am seeing on theis board but I will not be running a sump/fuge system. I am aware of the differences but I believe I can have good success on my choosen route.

I will be running a Tunze product called the Combline 500 reefpack. It is three products in one "in tank" setup. It combines the Doc 9005 skimmer (rated up to 135 gallons) an osmolator and a filtration system, all in thank in a compact setup. As far as lighting I plan on running T5/HO's Currnets Nova Extereme 54 watt X 8. I will eventually change out the bulbs but for now I will be running it stock. I am filling the tank with 40lbs of dead porous rock and 30 lbs of live tonga rock. Due to expense I will continue to add LR throughout the cycling phase as I cannot afford to but it all now, eventually getting to 100 lbs. And finally I have choosen to do jsut a 1-1/2" sand bed purley for looks.

Because I am not using an fuge I will be using some other products to keep my water quality at it's best. I planned an running multiple (2 or 3) filter media reactors plumbed together and fed with a power head under my cabnet. I plan on using carbon, Purigen, Phosguard. Additionally I was looking into running a De-nitrator again fed by a powerhead which could feed a calcium reactor and then return flow to the tank. I could use one large powerhead plumbed down into my cabinet and then dividing the flow in two directions one to the reactors and the other to the denitrator and calcium reactor. I could put flow control on the lines to control the proper amount of flow to specific units.

So at this point most of you are asking why do it this way just use a sump!!!. This seems more expensive. The simple answer is "Piece of mind" I hve 90 gallons of water in my home and I realize that there is a way to prevent overflow or reverse siphoning in the event of power falure, but to have all the water contained and very little plumbing is piece of mind for me.
 
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Sounds like you have a solid plan.

One thing though, I would highly recommend using a GFO product over the Phosguard, the aluminum in the Phosguard can irritate some corals, not only that it adsorbs silicates before phosphate, so at times the media gets spent before it even gets a chance to bring your phosphate levels down.
 
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[quote author=tuberider link=topic=6579.msg84714#msg84714 date=1235666541]
Sounds like you have a solid plan.

One thing though, I would highly recommend using a GFO product over the Phosguard, the aluminum in the Phosguard can irritate some corals, not only that it adsorbs silicates before phosphate, so at times the media gets spent before it even gets a chance to bring your phosphate levels down.
[/quote]

What is a GFO product can you recomend one?
 
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Granulated Ferric Oxide, I usually get it through bulkreefsupply.com since I buy a ton at a time, but it can be found at most aquarium stores. It is made by a few companies, Phosban and Rowaphos are two right off the top of my head.
 
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I need some input on my aquascaping. Does this even look good? Any opinions would be great. Thanks
 
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I'm liking it... it would help to have some shots from the sides and at an angle to get a better since of the depth and arrangement of the rock.
 
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here is some more pics
 
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I am having trouble placing the tonga branches and the larger tongs rock. It is shaped in such a different way you cant really stack it ???
 
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You have some "black" rock in there. What kinda rock is that?
 
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It's lace rock kind of like concrete, using it just for some structure. There is about 90# total in the pic the lace comprises about 40# of it.
 
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Is it safe to use in SW? IMO, you have a lot of rock already. No need for those but you can't really tell until the rock in the tank..
 
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in small amounts it is ok
 
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It is difficult to mix rock of different shapes. I like the over all symmetry, but don't see very much in the way of slopes to place coral on, when your rock is more vertical like that the corals on top tend to grow out and shade the lower corals.
 
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I agree with Jeremy. It looks good but you will be very limited with space to put corals. I notice the same thing with my pillars, I am more limited than a regular sloping wall.
 
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Ok here is another version. I tiered it back more adding more ledges and areas for stuff. Any thoughts?
 
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Looks good Eric. I can't wait to see water and livestock in this bad boy.

Adolfo
 
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Much better!
 
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Ok here is the final layout with my new lighting.

Any Thoughts?
 
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How do I know when my cycle has started? Should I keep testing or let it sit? And do I start my lighting cycle as well?
 

Roc

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lighting is not really important as you are using dead rock. I would save my bulbs and electricity
 
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