My New 90G Build

Sleepingtiger

Premium Member
I just picked up a 90g cube from a member. It came with the stand, led lights and a sump.The tank measures 30x30x24 W x L x H. It is rimless with a quarter moon shape overflow on the back corner.The light is a Maxrespect R420R 160W 1600K, but I plan to upgrade it. Thinking Radions or AI. What do you all think? What do you think is the best lighting for a cube? I am going mixed reef with sps and lps.The sump is one of those old school sumps with no room for skimmer. I plan to upgrade that to a regular sump. I am really liking the ATS sumps available on BRS.The stand is falling apart. One thing I hate about the old stands is that it sits so low. You really have to bend over to view the tank. It is about 50" tall with the tank. Again, that sucks. So my plan is to build a stand that will make the aquarium sit about 6' tall. That will make everything eye level. The stand by itself will be 4' tall.Because of the additional height, I can incorporate different things like 6" drawer to keep test kits and such. Below the drawer will be a rack mount surge suppressor.Right below is the control center panel for things like Apex, wavemaker controller, doser, or anything else. Behind the control panel will be a box for those unsightly power supplies, UPS, or additional wiring. The whole panel and box will be on a hinge for you to swing open to gain access to the sump.I really hate the idea of overflowing sumps, skimmers that leak all over hardwood floors and carpet. So I plan to add in a tray in case of a overflow.Also, one of the things I don't like about some stands is they don't have feets for leveling. That is definitely something I will add.Everything will have clean lines. The stand will be built from 3/4" furniture grade plywood primed with killz, painted white and coated with a high gloss epoxy.What do you think of my plans? Anything you think is excessive or is needed? Let me know
 
Sounds like you have a great plan, can't wait to see it all come together.I have not used those lights before, but I am sure either will work fine. Maybe others will chime in with their experience.Keep us posted!
 
yea, sounds like you planned it out well. i just built my own stand and i wish it was taller but i thought that might make it harder to get into. my stand tops out at 34".  im 5'10 and i have to use a step stool to get into the top of my tank. thats the reason i didnt make it taller. the only thing i would think about is getting into the top of the tank. im in the top of my tank all the time and if my tank was a foot taller it would be a pain in the butt. just a thought before you start cutting wood. we have the same height tanks so you might wanna think about that.  also my canopy opens upward not outward so it would be touching the ceiling and i wouldnt even be able to open it without a step stool if it was a foot taller. just some thoughts . ill attach a pic to show what im talking about. good luck and take lots a of pics. keep us updated View attachment 9751
 
Posted by: Catjuggler yea said:
9751[/ATTACH]"]Great points! Curious about several things. Why do you need so much access to the top? is it to feed? rearrange? Seems like you need the ladder to open the hood more than to work around the tank? Since my tank is rimless with no hood, would that change how you would build your stand?The red sea tanks AIO are 63" tall,  Innovative Marine tanks are about 70" tall.Also, the pic show you on the first step of a ladder already, does it make a difference if you climb two more steps? How much does it bother you to bend over a view your tank? I had a similar height tank and I find myself knelling all the time looking at the tank. Apologize if I sound argumentative, just trying do pros and cons on the height of the tank. I have a 600g freshwater tank and its about 7' tall. I have to get a 6' ladder to gain access. Actually I use the ladder to climb on top of the tank. Especially if I have to try and gain access to the overflows. So I know what kinda pita it is to get a ladder every time.
 
i totally understand, no worries. mostly just feeding, rearranging, water changes and putting in new stuff, but i feel if it was a foot taller it would be a pain. i do bend over to look inside if im next to it, but its not to big of a deal. kinda wish the stand was 3 or 4 inches taller so i didnt have to bend over to see everything.  from the couch it looks awesome. i think not having a canopy would make a huge difference but i like to hide my lights. i would love to have a open tank but i really hate seeing the lights. also i game and watch tv in the room i have my tank and it would annoy me to see the reflection. if i need to get to the bottom of the tank ill use the step ladder.  right now i can lock the canopy open without the ladder but if it was a foot taller i would need the step stool. im thinking about making the canopy open in the front, that way i can mount the lights to the top of the canopy and it would be much easier to feed. 
 
With all the threats of coronavirus, I actually found some time to FINALLY start my project. I picked up 2 sheets of decent quality plywood and started my cuts. Hoping to finish cutting and putting it together this weekend for priming and painting.
With advice from current members, I decided to make the stand 40" tall. This will make the tank and stand right around 65" with the leveling legs installed.
I will still prime with killz, but decided against an oil based paint and will use marine quality Topcoat. This paint was meant for boats. It has a high gloss finish.
One of the things I am thinking of adding is a drawer slides where the sump sits. This will allow you to pull the sump out to do maintenance. The drawer slides themselves have to be able to support 500# and extremely corrosion resistant. The cost for those slides will be around $250. Not sure if the convenience is worth the $250. Not only that, to support 500#, I might have to reinforce the plywood that the Sump sits on.
 
@sleepingtiger
that's a really rad idea. I would think it would be totally worth the extra cash to make the sump roll out. I would worry over time that the rollers would lose any coating they have on them and start to rust and stick. I dont know the product your gonna use but over time, salt usually gets everything. I think it's a great idea thou and if you think the hardware can stand up to it, I would go for it.  keep us updated. 
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How many times a year do you think you need to do maintenance where you need to pull out the sump? I assume to pull out the sump, there will be valves to be turned and unions to be disconnected. Is it worth it to disconnect unions to remove filter socks or clean skimmer head?
One thing I think will be worth it is big task like vacuum the sump, refill ATO, maintenance on reactors and pumps.
You're right about salt getting everywhere. No matter how corrosion resistant something is, salt is an incredible oxidizer and its just a matter of time.
Need to think about this.
 
Also, I just picked up a 175G bowfront. Thinking whether I should use the 175G as my reef tank or the 90G. Right now its the 90g reef and use the 175G for my freshwater fish.
 
 
Hey, I finally got any update
the stand is nearly complete. Ran into some issues, but it’s good. 
Construction is comprised of 3/4” furniture grade plywood. I didn’t use any pocket holes for jointery. All joints utilized a biscuit joint with Titebond. 
all stainless steel parts except the rails for the drawer. That means all screws, handles, hinges, brackets are stainless steel to prevent corrosion or at least slow it down
main door is has slow close mechanism
added some final mods by adding glass
panel on main access door.
The sump access door to display your coolest gadgets like controller, doser, 
 
I see why nobody adds a drawer in their design. Its a design nightmare with the full offset front door as the drawer hits the door when it opens. I had to modify the drawer quite a bit to make it work.
I have done a lot of sanding and prepping for paint. Tomorrow I will focus on caulking all the seems. No water will seep into the seems and into the wood to cause warping. I see a lot of old stands with this issue. 
I will apply a coat of Killz then a coat of Rust-Oleum Topside. This is a really top notch paint that is intended for marine use. This stuff ain't cheap either at $75 per gallon. I am hoping to get this stand done by Sunday. I really need to clean out my garage and prep for some real cabinet work.
 
 
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