90 Gallon Build Thread

Here goes. Scored a 90 gal. std tank, drilled for reefkeeping. $219 including the overflow pipe plumbing. $49 for the 30 gal. long, soon to be the sump/refugium.

The two tanks with the lumber for the DIY stand:

 

Good goin there sparky, keep us updated!

 

Great score Sparky, Thats the same set up that I have, Your gonna love it. Luna

 

Top and bottom of stand framed out. That wasn't too hard. Using 3" coated screws, gotta drill pilot holes in the lumber first, or it'll split. I found this out the hard way.

 

Stand frame complete. Lowes cut the wood for me. Construction took about an hour. I can already tell it's more sturdy than the run of the mill stand you'd pay more than $200 for at the LFS.

The materials for the stand were $22.07. I needed 4 sticks of 12' two-by-fours, and a pound of screws. I'll add the sides and doors later.

 

Sunday well spent. Drove to the LFS and Lowes. Got a tank and sump, constructed a stand. Here are some more pics with the tank on the stand and the soon-to-be sump/'fuge underneath.

 

I wanted some feedback on my sump/fuge design. As the name implies, I want both. The left side will be the sump. It will house the protein skimmer and my reactor chamber. The right side will be the refugium. The pic is crude, but the main idea here is that the sump side will have at least 80% of the flow, housing the skimmer and phos reactor. The right side will tee off the main input and slowly flow 20% of the overflow from the tank over a lit chaeto chamber. The center will house the return pump.

Click on the pic for a larger, clearer shot. Thanks!

Anyone please, chime in on design improvements regarding what's worked for you. This is a 30 gal. long tank. It's 36" long, and 17" high.

At present, I plan on the sump side (left side) being a little less than the 'fuge side.

In the fuge, I think I'll have a deep sand bed. The sand will be undisturbed, hence acting as a denitrator.

I'd like lots of input here with any opinions, pros and cons; praise and critisism.

Let's hear what you think, everyone. Thanks!!

 

Looks awesome Sparky, But when I build mine, I made the stand a little bigger so I could have room for other pieces of equipment. Are you planning on placing anything else under the DT? Luna

 

Good job

 

Thanks Luna. I value your input.

I couldn't figure out how to make the stand any bigger. Structurally, you'd have to have the two boxes (top and bottom frames of the stand, as in my picture above) sharing the same footprint, and this must match the rim of the tank. I suppose I could have used 4x4's and "cheated" it a little, but it would have looked pretty tacky. After I add the plywood covering (or whatever covering I finally choose), the capacity of the stand underneath will be just as large as the tank above. There will be no center brace between the doors--something I've always wanted.

To answer your question, I don't plan on having anything else under the stand other than the fuge/sump, skimmer, and reaction chamber. One day I might have a calcium reactor, but that's not anytime soon.

Again, thanks for the response!!

Thanks to you, Horton, too!! (did that sound like Dr. Seuss?);D;D