90 gallon tank... now what?

[MuscleGirl'sHobby]

Oh boy, am I ever in trouble! I found myself a 90 gallon glass aquarium yesterday on cragislist.

I'll be doing a ton of reading here in the terrarium section as I've got a lot to learn. I'm not going to be able to start out super fancy. I have no pumps, misters, or fans yet. I do have a small "personal" desk fan which I can temporarily rig up to get circulation going... and I've got a small indoors fountain I think I can stick in there to help with humidity a bit. That combined with misting by hand should do the trick until I can get more sophisticated!

Those of you tank pros, what would be the top suggestion for me? I'm starting from scratch here, but do need to keep it simple for now. I'm planning on putting the more humidity loving 'chids there, some mounted, some potted. Possibly seedlings for the time being.

The tank was being stored outside, so has some mineral buildup that needs to come off, and I need to sterilize it good I'm sure. I'm working on that today in the back yard since it's simply beautiful! Hopefully it will be in the house and ready for 'chids tonight or tomorrow.

I'm so seriously stoked about this!

[Amanda L]

YAY Nichole!!!! Congratulations on your new tank!!!! Let the creativity begin!!! Sorry I can't give any advice to you with getting this set up. Just wanted to say YAY I'm excited for you! Make sure to post pics of your process and finished product!

[calvin_orchidL]

Congrats I have an 80 gallon - these guys are heavy!!

I would ask first what kind of light are you thinking of? That will change the way you set up a lot of things.

[MuscleGirl'sHobby]

Thanks Amanda. I'm not the most creative when it comes to these things... so no fancy pools and ponds with branches and stuff all over! lol Maybe one day!

Great question Calvin! I'm still trying to figure that out I'd like the tank to eventually be home to plenty of mounted minis, some small broms & tillies etc. As for right now, it's probably going to be home to mostly seedlings. I have some vanda babies on the way, as well as the "seedling stimulus package" from Oakhill Gardens. So, depending on the size of those, some may go in there. So, I guess on account of the Vanda's it would need to be a bit higher light. I can always develop something to cover/shade any lower light plants in there.

[Gold3nku5h]

well, just because a plant is labeled as a low light, doesn't mean they cant get higher light. Many plants can get acustomed to higher light levels. Depending on the type of light, if fluorescent you can have them all under the same light. If its HID thats a different matter, and you may actually need to shade some of them, but they could eventually get used to it.
As for fans, you might check into ADDA waterproof fans, they will hold up incredibly well to high humidity, and is my choice of fans for inside my paludarium.