My 90g Build Thread

You can keep the reservoir just about anywhere. If there is room near the RO unit that would be ideal, especially if the tank is on a lower floor, just run 1/4" tubing down to the sump. Once the siphon is started you really don't need a pump just a float valve or a unit like the Level-loc. The siphon will keep water supplied to the float valve which will control the water level in the sump.

OK for some reason I thought it was going down from an upper floor. In that case you will need a pump that is strong enough to push the water up through your ceiling. I would recommend a system that uses electronic float switches. Ideally you would use 3 float switches. Switch 1 goes in the sump at the level you want to maintain. Switch 2 goes slightly above switch 1 and will shut off the pump if switch 1 fails. Switch 3 goes in the bottom of the reservoir and shuts off the pump if the container runs dry. They are all connected in series through a simple relay the powers the pump. Switch 1 and 2 are set to open when the water level raises and switch 3 is set to open when water level drops. I got my DIY retrofit kit complete with the instructions switches, relay, transformer and project box from aquahub.com for about $40.00. The kit will power any pump you choose to use. There is also a 2 switch version but for just a little more its nice to have the redundency of 2 switches in the sump.

I've had a few changes, but not a ton. I've added a bit of livestock. A couple of tangs, cleaner shrimp, diamond goby and a sixline wrasse. I'll probably look at adding a bit more life over the next couple of weeks. Everything has survived and thrived with almost no pickup in my skimmer.

Coral-wise I've added a LOT of frags. I haven't stuck to any one type of coral, I'm hoping for a good mix with variety and so I'm pretty much buying up what catches my fancy. Maybe as the corals start to grow out I'll become a little more picky on what I put in the tank and what I want to do look wise.

Future projects for this tank include an ATO. I want to redo my lights so they are closer to the water and get better growth. I also need to replace my protein skimmer pump. I decided to run skimmer-less tonight and tomorrow to see if it's making much of a difference.

Time for pics! These were all taken right after feeding so the water was stirred up a bit.

Candy cane eating some mysis. This started out as a half dead frag and is now starting to split and grow!

Keeping the sand white and burying my frags in the process. He inspired me to build a frag rack.

Frag rack made with a mag float, egg crate and plastic corner protectors.

Known as the "Old Man"

More Frags. I'll be adding a lot more rock to this area as things start to grow out.

New frags: Blasto, Armor of God, Start Polyps.

Rock Tower starting to show some coral growth.


Pretty much it for now. I haven't done much work on the tank itself. I've mostly just been trying to fill it up!! Too much space and I'm not patient waiting for corals to grow. I'll be changing out some of my bulbs as well to get more blue. It looks ok, but still just a little too bright for my taste. Let me know what you think and what I can do better!