90 Gallon Freshwater Community Build

Hello all!

Last weekend I took delivery of a used 90 gallon tank that measures 48"x18"x25". I'm upgrading from a 60 gallon tank that has the same length and height, but my current tank is only 12" wide...so it'll be nice to have a bit more space. My current stock consists of Red Fin Tetras (6), Neon Tetras (10), Black Neon Tetras (9), Serpae Tetras (6), Black Skirt Tetras (9), a BN pleco and a Blue Pearlscale Angel.

So here is my plan/to-do list for this new tank:

-Stand - I plan to build a platform that the stand and tank will sit on. Basically going to be 2x4s in a box with support beams to hold the weight. This will dress the stand up a bit and also raise the overall height of the tank and stand.

-Filtration - the tank came with a Grech 304b canister filter. From what I've found online, this is the same thing as the SunSun. It comes with 4 baskets and a UV light. For media, I was planning on doing a coarse pad in the bottom tray, followed by a medium pad in the second tray, a fine floss in the third tray and then finally Seachem Matrix in the very top tray. Does this arrangement make sense? I still need to buy the filter pads and Matrix. As far as seeding the new filter, what would be the best way to do that? I currently have the 2 Emperor 400s with a total of 4 bio-wheels. Should I get a bag of the Matrix in my current tank and let it sit for a few weeks?

-Heaters - I'm currently running two Aqueon 150s in my 60 gallon, so those will just get transferred over to the new tank.

-Lighting - I currently have a Satellite LED fixture that will get transferred over to the new tank.

-Fish - I plan to transfer my current stock to the new tank and since I have extra room in the new tank, I'll either expand the schools I currently have, or buy some new species. With 30 more gallons, I feel like I have more options.

-Tank/Filter - I want to clean the tank and filter really well. My thought was to fill the tank with water and then pour in a gallon of white vinegar, then run the filter so that the tank and filter get cleaned out. Does that make sense? Too much vinegar?

I have an API Master Test Kit that I'll use to ensure all my parameters are good. The decor and substrate from my current tank will get transferred as well, so that should help in the seeding process.

I think that about does it for this post. Stay tuned for additional updates!!

 

angelfish require higher temperatures than the neons should be in. That may be the case for the skirt tetras as well but i'm not 100% on that.

For the 3 filters I think you have enough filtration between them all. I would consider putting more matrix or biomedia in the canister than just one layer. The other stuff is fine.

I'm in the midst of building a stand for my 75 as well. It's been a rewarding experience.

 

angelfish require higher temperatures than the neons should be in. That may be the case for the skirt tetras as well but i'm not 100% on that.

For the 3 filters I think you have enough filtration between them all. I would consider putting more matrix or biomedia in the canister than just one layer. The other stuff is fine.

I'm in the midst of building a stand for my 75 as well. It's been a rewarding experience.

I keep the tank at 76 degrees...which fortunately satisfies the temp requirements of all the fish.

For the filtration, I wasn't planning on running the Emperors on the new tank, only the canister, but I think it's a good idea to run more bio media...so maybe the top two trays will be Matrix just to be safe

As for the stand...it's probably fine as is...but I'd like to do a little something more to make it look even better. Hopefully it comes out like picturing.

 

Angelfish need temps of 79 degrees or higher. That's too warm for neons

For 90 gallons you need about 900 gph. a sunsun 304b has 525 gph before adding any media. After adding media that can reduce 30% or more. You'll want to up your filtration some. Granted your existing stock is pretty light so right now you might not need the additional filtration but if you intend on upping your stock then it's probably a good idea to add another filter in addition to th 304b.

 

Angelfish need temps of 79 degrees or higher. That's too warm for neons

For 90 gallons you need about 900 gph. a sunsun 304b has 525 gph before adding any media. After adding media that can reduce 30% or more. You'll want to up your filtration some. Granted your existing stock is pretty light so right now you might not need the additional filtration but if you intend on upping your stock then it's probably a good idea to add another filter in addition to th 304b.

I have been thinking of getting another filter actually; leaning heavily towards an Eheim 2217.

Where do you buy your filter pads?

 

Where do you buy your filter pads?

Amazon typically

 

I found a two pack of coarse filter pads made for the Marineland filter that can be cut down to fit my trays...I believe they were like $10 for the two pack. May end up going with those.

Tonight I plan to move the tank out into the garage and fill it with water and vinegar, add the filter to it so that the water/vinegar mix can run through all the tubes, pipes, etc. I'll leave it like that for a couple days, then drain, rinse everything and refill with just plain water and repeat the process. By the weekend I should be able to scrub everything down.

Then I'm going to buy Matrix and put it in a bag in the bottom of my tank to get seeded with some good bacteria.

I also need to get cranking on the platform for my stand...

 

Well yesterday afternoon I got the tank and stand out into the garage, filled it with water and a gallon of vinegar and also got my canister filter running. I have to admit...this filter is dead silent. I walked out into the garage this morning and the only thing I could hear was the return water breaking the surface of the water.

I found a replacement kit online that includes new tubes, In lines and Out lines for my filter for only $20, so I will be purchasing those and just replacing versus trying to clean.