New to to all Setting up 90 gal tank

[Shuffles]

heys guys/gals congrats on an awesome site with the best info ive seen keep it up inspires me to keep setting me tank well from australia so excuse me lingo hahah well just setting up a 90gal (us) tank so far ive build me stand which is fully enclosed and at my 2nd job atm getting sprayed in 2pac black outside and white inside i'm new to salt water aquaruims very keen to learn as i work as a diver on the great barrier reef off cairns, queensland, australia
i love it but... to many decisions to make i have a sump but do i run bio balls will be having fish and coral , live rock etc.. i was told on my overflow to go to a filter sock then that pours into egg crate into 20% exposed 80% sumerged bio balls then partioned into live sand and live rock in centre of sump with a skimmer, heater, havent thought of diy chiller yet will get there then pumped back to tank.. big decions on what to do u guys r experienced in this field all the help would be gladly apprieciated sorry for spelling hahah thanks guys atm i'm lost got this far not giving up thanks ..

 

[NaH2O]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!!

I would skip the bio balls, if you plan on having corals. Some info in this thread: Why Bioballs are bad. As far as filter socks go, they are good for when you do a tank clean/blast the live rock off with a powerhead. Keeping them on all the time without changing out often will lead to poor water quality. All the detritus it traps will be just as bad as having it in the tank. Hope this helps!

 

[Shuffles]

thanks heaps so with filterr sock ans sump setup up do just have say filter sock charged every couple of days, do i run a drip tray into sump or just straight from sock to sump with LR , LS my skimmer will be in sump as weel as heater i new to all of this but i love it and like learning new things about it.. how much live rock do i have in main tank? do i biuld base out of agrograte then glue live rock it or not? sum people say run inlet to a spray bar on surface other say run inlet on bottom of tank to inside of agrogate, LR like i spose poutting in a powerhead inside "bommie" to have current blowing on live rock all the time then use powerheads to make current eslewhere sorry for all q's but would like a good start....

 

[Beckmola24]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!! This place has loads of helpful information that will help you get your tank up and running

You can run the water strait from you tank into the filter sock. It helps cut down on the detritus and junk that makes it into your sump. It is good to clean it out every few days. Just throw it in your washer with some bleach to get it clean.

How much Live Rock you put in your main tank is really up to you. It depends on what you want it to look like. If you like the rock wall look, then go with something like 1.5 lbs or so per gallon, but if you like the open look with more swimming space for your fish, you can go with a lot less. It also depends on what type of rock you get (Fiji, Kelanei, Pukani, Marshall) Some of those types are a lot more porous and you don't need as much to fit into your tank.

You do have the option of buying base rock and seeding it with live rock. It would cost less and the base would become live in a few short months.

With some of the heavier pieces I'm not sure I"d glue them but that's my opininon. You can get acrylic rods or use zip ties or whatever you can come up with to hold them together, but with glue, you might have the problem of the glued rocks breaking loose. Don't be afraid to drill or saw your rock to make it what you want it to be. IME

With the spray bar, you can go either way (top or bottom) I personally will be running my spray bar on the bottom of the tank to help get the junk that gets trapped under the live rock, but go with whatever suits your needs the best. Are you using sand or going with a bare bottom tank??

Powerheads help a lot with keeping your live rock clean and help keep particles suspended in the water column. There are many different types you could use (Tunze,Seio,MaxiJet) Here is a link to Marinedepot and a page of the different types of powerheads you could use. http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_powerheads_pumps__index.asp?CartId=
Hope all of this helps!!

 

[Shuffles]

new to 90 gal

:razz: thanks heaps have settled down of decision of sock into sump etc have intake enter inside lr (bommie most likely to be built out of agrogrte then live rock) holes for flow of intake water then power heads thanks for powerhead link poretty sweet will be using live sand in tank and in sump with lr in sump as well, no a few friends i used dive with who harvest with a marine aquaruims shop in cairns so obtaining sand and lr shouldnt be too musch of a prob crossing fingers anyway haha buying a digi camera next payday to post pictures for yous comments with would be great have biult my own stanbd and having family as painters have sprayed inside white and outside in debeer high gloss black all has been fair with all fair used on white boats we call or luxury yaghts so should last thanks so much will keep posted .. :razz: