90G decisions (1 Viewer)

[darbex]

I have a 90 gallon tank that I am trying to determine what I want to do with it. I am torn between a reef tank or a FOWLR. The tank is a Reef ready tank. What all will I need to do each assuming I have nothing except the tank and stand. Please be specific as I am trying to get an overall hit on my wallet to get this started. Such as needing a 1/5 hp chiller and so on.

 

[RR-MAN]

Reef or Fish Only depends on how full is the wallet. What is your budget? You have to figure out how much you can spare for lights, skimmer, sump, supplements, RO/DI Unit and more...

 

[darbex]

Assume no budget just want to do it right. I am going to do one of the two but just need to know what its going to cost me. I also want it to be easy and not so much of a choir so I want it set up with the right stuff.

 

[Llama]

Either way you go you will need a good skimmer unless you plan on changing water often. Everything else is personal choice.

Lighting is an issue depending on what you want to keep. Any fish tank light is cool if you are going fish only. Reefs on the other hand require high powered, high PAR, multi-bulb fixtures.

From there you can look into under the cabinet filtration. Wet/dry systems work well for fish only tanks, but can cause issues down the road when used with reef systems and not cleaned regularly. Refugiums will work for both, but tend to be geared more to reefs because of their great nutrient uptake.

Sumps are great places to store items you don't want seen such as internal skimmers, heaters and such.

Supplements are not needed unless you are reefing. Even then in most cases elements are restored via water changes.

RO/DI is a must unless you have a LFS close by and don't mind buying.

That's all I got.

 

[darbex]

Well I guess what I was thinking I was going to need is the following.

1. Chiller 1/5hp
2. LED lights for Reef or T5 for FOWLR
3. RO/DI 100GPD
4. Skimmer
5. Sump/Wet dry
6. Controller (pH, ATO, & etc all in one)

Anything else that I may need?

 

[mario8402]

you dont NEED a chiller unless you are having heat issues, and if you are going with LED then heat SHOULDNT be an issue unless you keep your house hot as hell.
I have a 180gal with 3x250w MH and 2x4ft VHO and I do not have chiller, just a fan over the sump and I keep my house around 77 during the day.

 

[RR-MAN]

you dont NEED a chiller unless you are having heat issues, and if you are going with LED then heat SHOULDNT be an issue unless you keep your house hot as hell.
I have a 180gal with 3x250w MH and 2x4ft VHO and I do not have chiller, just a fan over the sump and I keep my house around 77 during the day.

I agree with a few small fans and constant house temperature, never had an issue with heat with MH or T5s.

 

[Llama]

IMHO LED's have not yet proven themselves enough to invest in. You'll be fine with T-5 high outputs on a reef as long as they have individual reflectors per bulb and you get a minimum 4 bulb fixture.

 

[darbex]

I keep my house at 83 during the day to save on electricity.

 

[RR-MAN]

I keep my house at 83 during the day to save on electricity.

Then go with a Fish Only tank if you are trying to save money on electric usage. The 90/g will run you an additional ~$50 a month minimum if you set it up as reef. The chiller will be ON more often if you keep the house at 83 degrees.

 

[mario8402]

yeah, a reef or fowlr tank isnt really for the electricity saving type lol maybe a turtle tank.. 83 indoor temp is gonna make for a hot tank.. gotta think, even if you arent running lights, the pump alone will put out enough heat to heat the water up. like rr-man said, since you say you keep your house at 83, the chiller will need to run, thus heating up the air even more and running the AC more, its a lose lose

I also agree with llama about the T5s.. I kept a successful reef tank with 4x4ft T5s with individual reflectors.

 

[darbex]

Well I figured it would be cheaper to run a chiller then trying to keep my house at 78 or so.

 

[fishcraze]

Well I figured it would be cheaper to run a chiller then trying to keep my house at 78 or so.

That's true if you can vent the chiller exhaust gas to outside or garage (best is to have your chiller sit outside. If you have your chiller inside the house, you house AC will have to work a little harder to remove the heat from the chiller exhaust...
And I also agree with others here about LED vs T5. LED is still kinda new while T5 is proven. You can keep essentially anything under T5 (highend, low end corals etc..). You also have more color/bulb choice w/ T5. The energy cost may not be much different b/t the LED and T5 which doesn't put out much heat at all. Meanwhile the T5 pendants are much cheaper than LEDs to start with, though people argue that LEDs would save you in the long run since the bulbs last longer (5 to 10 yrs?)... But are there many LED lighted tanks have lasted that long to prove that theory?

 

[flipside]

Man, if I had that tank, I would do a "reef only" tank. No fish at all. Nothing but water changes and dosing.

Fish are a PITA!

 

[darbex]

Is say 4 T5 better for corals than say 2 MH and 2 T5? So far for me I have had more troubles keeping coral than fish. Part of me wants a really nice reef with tangs and etc. But another part wants a tank with some triggers or angels.

 

[Llama]

Well, 4 T5's is always better than 2 T5's

As far as MH goes I feel that it's a matter of opinion. T5 in my opinion gives you better ability to adjust coloring. Also, it puts out less heat and CAN consume less energy.

 

[darbex]

So 216W is enough for corals?

 

[Llama]

It's not really a question of watts anymore. These days people look into PAR output. Which fixture are you looking at?

 

[darbex]

I was thinking about the Ice Cap retrofit kit and mount it to the canopy.

 

[darbex]

This one to be precise
http://www.marinedepot.com/IceCap_T...etrofit_Kits-IceCap-IC1511-FILTRTRFT5-vi.html