Matt's 90 Gallon Build Thread
So as many of you know and I mentioned on the .com that I'm setting up a 90 gallon. I'm in the process of waiting for it to get drilled so I can set it all up... the stand and canopy are both built and just need to be painted. It's going to be a semi-gloss blackish gray.. I like the color a lot and it will hold up to water spills and clean up nicely. The drain will consist of one overflow with a single 1.5'' drain. I will keep the same return pump I have now until I can find a good deal on one. I will add a pair of Koralia 1's as well as a couple threes I think.. I want to hide as much of the powerheads as possible but I know that's not always an option. Lighting will be a pair of 175 halides (14k) and a single 150DE halide as well (14k) I think this should be a sufficient amount of light on a tank this size. Skimming out the crud will be an ASM G3 Skimmer. This should be more than capable of handling my system. The tank will be a mixed reef consisting primarily of LPS to start with. I will slowly over time start adding more SPS as the bug bites me. I will have a small amount of rock that will be for my softies... Zoo's mixed throughout. I will try and get some pictures soon of what's been done.. I am hoping to get the overflow in by the end of the week and I'm crossing my fingers I will have time to setup next week... if not it will be after school gets out on the 22nd. At that point I will have more time to truly devote to the setup. :worthless:

whoo hoo a G3!! its definetly a good skimmer. i have the goods to mod it when youre ready, although it would be way overkill. it sounds like a solid plan matt. a 1 1/2" drain may be quite noisy with the water rattling in the pipe, so you may want to adapt it down to 1". but make sure to make your stockman out of 1 1/4. it will handle all of the flow you can throw at it and be silent. thats how mine is done and i can plug one side and the other barely flinches (mag 9 return pump). also spaflex/other solid color hose works wonders on quieting things up.

Yeah I'm stoked about the G3! I dont think it will need to be modded but of course I will anyways.. I will probably make it recirc as well. I will keep that in mind and do it that way with the drain... I was going to do the stockman out of 1 1/4 anywho.... Thanks Josh

You deff. have to do the gate and mesh mod. IMO the gate valve and mesh mod improved my skimmer by 200%!!! The only thing extra the Recirc mod may do is keep a constant water level in the skimmer at all times. You can always put a gate valve on and still use the larger drain in case you want to increase the flow later.

What mesh did you end up using rob? :hijack:

One of those blue algea scrubber pads!! It actually works to well. I have a filter sock over the outlet to prevent all the microbubbles. I am too lazy to fine tune the mesh hahahaha

hahah hijack all you wish.... I will mesh mod it... I am similar to Josh in the sense that neither of us can really just leave anything alone as is... I will do the gate valve also as I hear it's one of the best mods you can do to the ASM's.

ace up here has gate valves in several sizes. i special ordered them a few years ago and the store has stocked them since. I dont know where in chico that has them.

They have them nearby at OSH, probably more than your helpful ACE.. that ACE is awesome.. I am amazed at what they have. :mrgreen:

OSH carries them.................the Ace by my store carries more Rifles then most gun stores I have been in hahaha

ahh i've never been to osh. im gonna have to check it out. The ace up here is the holy grail of coolness for sure. i dont know what they dont have.

The OSH in chico is my favorite of all the home stores here.. Not necessarily the cheapest but the cleanest, brigh-*test*-('"), most organized place I have been in bar none! I shop their for most of my things since it's closer than Lowes or the depot and not a ton more... Unless I'm using (and reusing) those lowes coupons :lol: The first time I ever went to the Paradise ACE I was probably 10 or 11 with my dad and I remember thinking it was heaven... It still is the place to go for everything in my opinion... very similar in chico is colliers although it's much smaller

I too hit up OSH before heading all the way to the opposite side of town as I too live in the North end. Also, I usually forget about the True Value store on the NW corner of Cohasset and East. (opposite shopping center of old Reef Connections - kind of). Anyway, they have some random gem items than you never know what you could possibly need.

Yeah I do like that true value also. I am hardly ever on that little section of town though.. I'll have to stop by there again soon.