I sold my humungo 210 gallon drilled setup in favor of something far more managable and picked up a sweet deal on a 90 (48 * 18 * 25) with stand on black friday.

Here is the proposed setup
MTS/Topsoil capped with playsand, 1.5 inches of each
4 48in t8's (ultrasun/florasun mix)
Filstar XP2 canister filter
10 hour photoperiod

lots of little fish with a few pearl gouramis
swords, crypts, wisteria and other stem plants
MAYBE a dwarf chain sword carpet, still debating

either DIY co2 or a 5lb presurized system, not trying to overdrive the system, just supply a small amount of supplemental CO2

I have two massive chunks of wood for hardscaping

Hoping to keep water column dosing down to once or twice a week with trace and no more.

I know you probably know this, but your going to need a heck of a lot of diy bottles to run co2 on a 90g. May not be worth your trouble, I'd go pressurized.

I was doing it on my 210 and it did make a noticable difference

No other suggestions or comments? Looks like i'm good then.

I mean the setup sounds good.

No offense but not sure what you are looking for...you didnt really ask ne questions or point out specific things looking for guidance for. Everything you mentioned are pretty much things that you should do, and are viable options, so not like anyone can be like "NO". Personally, I am not a fan of sand, but personal preference. .

I like the carpet idea. I am very fond of them, and it is something I will be looking to do on my 65G conversion coming up in a month or so. There are a few types of carpets out there so do the research to see what you think. Personally, I think it comes down to the type of fish, rocks, and look of the wood that determines which carpet is best suited.


I am sure by posting picture of the tank, rocks, and DW will get you some suggestions for what to do.

Just a recommendation if you go pressuraized get a bigger bottle at least 10lb, it will easily fit under the stand and turning it on and forgetting about it for a long period is a big benifit over DIY.

Len

OP you have about the same setup I recently went with.
125g with 70lbs of MTS capped with 100lbs of PFS, T5HO for 12hrs. (2bulbs in morning, 4 bulbs for a mid day burst of an hour and 2 bulbs in the afternoon/evening) I have DIY co2 (5 two litre bottles diffused with a powerhead, been running these a week and seem to be helping a little) I just got my dry ferts in yesterday and plan to dose twice a week.
Should be a pretty good setup and rewarding.
I understand the DIY co2 supplent, just to help the plants get a little kick in the right direction.

Thanks for everyones thoughts, I really did not have any particular or pointed questions. More I just wanted to throw the setup info out there and see if anyone had any suggestion, wild ideas or plain nonsense. I find these opinions stimulate my brain very well.

I would suggest pressurized CO2. Also, those gouramis might bully the little fish. Be prepared to do a few exchanges at the LFS for more mild ones.