90 gallon aquarium stand build

[Partsman19]

Hi all,

I purchased a short 90 gallon aquarium stand a while back without thinking that I would have a difficult time finding a protein skimmer for it that would fit in the stand. This is my first aquarium with a sump. The aquariums I have now, a 10 gallon and 28 gallon use HOB filters, so I am new to sump filtering. Anyhow, I would like to try and sell the stand I purchased and see if anyone had the blueprints so I could build a stand instead of having to go out a buy another one.

Thanks

 

[George Lopez]

First off welcome

Now you you have some decisions to make before getting started:

1. Do you know if you want to go 2x4 construction, all plywood, steel stand, or extruded aluminum? (Budget usually dictates)

2. What kind of tooling are you planning on using? Do you have what you need or will you have to buy/ rent? (Also adds to the budget)

3. Are you looking for any specific features built into the stand? I.e. drawers, separate compartments, ledges, electrical cabinet.

4. Do you know what size sump, and skimmer you plan to use? (Determine interior dimensions)

If you haven't made these decisions yet look up some diy stands and pick and choose what you want out of your stand and we will be more than happy to help along with the process.

 

[Partsman19]

Okay, let me try to answer your questions:
1. I want to go 2x4 construction.
2. The only thing I need at this time is a circular saw but by the time we move and get ready for the build I should have that as well.
3. I saw a picture online which I am going to try to attach to see if this type of stand is possible. If not just a regular stand with canopy will work fine.
4. The sump I have purchased is a Marineland 30 gallon tank with the dimensions of 36 x 13 x 16.

Also, I have another question hopefully you could answer. I went to our local aquarium store here in Columbia a weekend ago and purchased some live rock and coral for this tank and he told me to add "A" and "B" to the tanks in order to get my other rocks to get coraline algae on them, which I did in very small amounts and now the tank crashed. It killed the only clown fish I had in there and all my orange mushrooms. Also, the other coral I purchase, which was hard coral does not look too good either. I just took 3/4 of the water out and put new R/O water in it. What might have happened?

Thanks

 

[George Lopez]

Okay, let me try to answer your questions:
1. I want to go 2x4 construction.
2. The only thing I need at this time is a circular saw but by the time we move and get ready for the build I should have that as well.
3. I saw a picture online which I am going to try to attach to see if this type of stand is possible. If not just a regular stand with canopy will work fine.
4. The sump I have purchased is a Marineland 30 gallon tank with the dimensions of 36 x 13 x 16.

Also, I have another question hopefully you could answer. I went to our local aquarium store here in Columbia a weekend ago and purchased some live rock and coral for this tank and he told me to add "A" and "B" to the tanks in order to get my other rocks to get coraline algae on them, which I did in very small amounts and now the tank crashed. It killed the only clown fish I had in there and all my orange mushrooms. Also, the other coral I purchase, which was hard coral does not look too good either. I just took 3/4 of the water out and put new R/O water in it. What might have happened?

Thanks

The tank that crashed was it one of your old tanks or new?

Do you know if you want to go paint or stain?


And yes that stand can be made you can use dimensional lumber as a frame and then a nice finished 1/2" plywood to wrap it with 45° cuts on the corners to hide the raw edges. To get a perfect flush seam a biscuit joint is recommended or you can match as best you can and sand it down.

The doors become a bit trickier but not impossible. Just once again I would say biscuit joint and a good miter saw and a router to clean it up nicely.

That stand is more than likely just plywood just an fyi

 

[Partsman19]

It was my older 10 gallon tank. I did a 7 gallon water change last night. The only thing left in the tank is the cleanup crew and the hard coral but I am not sure if that is alive or not as it lost all of its color. I am not sure if I put too much of the chemicals in the tank or what is going on. I will get the name of the chemical which were suggested for me to use to get coraline algae on my other rocks and get back to you if needed. I am thinking about calling the LFS and see what they can do for me.

Also, would you have the blueprints for such a tank so I know what size cuts I would need.

Thanks,

Glenn

 

[Partsman19]

I have another question for you. Instead of building a completely new stand would it be possible for me to beef up this stand and make it higher? I was thinking about putting some 2 x 4 inside the stand taller than the stand now and then wrap the stand with other wood the distance of what I am adding and then add some decorative molding where I am adding the extra height to the stand so it looks good. What do you think?

Thanks

 

[George Lopez]

How much taller do you want to go?

What is the stand made of? (If it's mdf I wouldn't touch it)

You can always build a base for it to sit on and then use molding to blend it in (less invasive than modifying the stand just won't gain internal height unless you remove the floor inside the sump)

 

[Partsman19]

The stand is made of oak I believe. I was thinking about putting some 2 x 4 in the corners of the stand, a little taller than what the stand is now and then frame it out on the top of the stand so the tank would sit on the addition. My problem is gaining more height on the stand so I can get a protein skimmer out of the stand. Also, what protein skimmer would you recommend?

 

[George Lopez]

Everyone loves reef octopus. I love my sca 301 and would have gotten an sca-302 or a bubble Magnus curve 5 or 7 (depending on load you plan on having) for my 90 if I wouldn't have gotten the aqua-c for the price i got it.

 

[George Lopez]

How tall is the sump area of the stand?

 

[Partsman19]

The sump is 16 3/4" tall. After looking at my stand last night I see that the tank fits just inside the stand and rests on the crossbar and around the edges around 1.5" inside the stand so what I was thinking to do probably would not work and I am going to be forced into either building a new stand or purchasing a new one. On a different topic...since I have not put my sump together and I am using an Aqueon 30 Glass 36 1/4 12 5/8 16 3/4 tank for my sump, how would I go about building this sump. What size panels would I need and where should I place them? I was thinks about going with an Eshopps S-120 unless you feel the Reef Octopus or the Bubble Magus would be better. I am not planning on having a large bioload in the tank.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[George Lopez]

The 120 should be fine with a light bio load and everyone has opinions on glass vs acrylic baffles. If you habe a glass shop around and are making simple cuts definitely go glass. I have never had issues with acrylic and my cuts are more complicated as is my design you just have to use the correct silicone either way.

As far as sizing it depends on your preference of if you want socks or not, fuge, wet dry things like that also the order you wish to put them in.

I just built the same sump you are just my own design adding everything I wanted it of acrylic

This is my oddball build
www.reef2reef.com/threads/90-gallon-budget-build.319538/#post-3953561