My new 90 gallon build

TripleToe · 01/14/2014, 01:05 PM

New Tank

IMG_0384.jpg

My wife and I had been running a 28 NanoCube for over 6 years. I added a custom LED hood about 3 years ago and I have the thing so packed with SPS corals that it has become borderline irresponsible. At last count, I had something like 70 different frags mounted in that tank. That is not a typo. See the picture if you don't believe me. It just got out of control.

IMG_0130.jpg

It has also had a bad seam around the top rim for many years and the stand has slowly started to disintegrate. Although it was going to be expensive, I convinced her that it was better to build a near-dream tank rather than wake up to find a living room filled with saltwater once the stand and tank completely came apart.

We go the new tank along with new equipment back in mid-December. Here are the specs:

Planet Aquarium with external overflow and black vinyl backing - (36Lx25Dx24H) ~ 90 Gallons
Matching Coastal Classic Cap and Stand (Unfinished)
Trigger Systems Sump - (20Lx20Dx16H) ~ 27 Gallons
Siche Synchra 4 951 GPH return pump
2x Ecotech Radion Pro XR30W
2x Ecotech Vortech MP40wES
JBJ Nano-Glo Refugium Light
AutoAqua Smart ATO

Here are some items I already had from previous tank that are making their way over to this new one.

1x Bubble Magus - BM-T01 Dosing Pump 3-channels and control unit
2x Bubble Magus - BM-T02 Dosing Pump 4-channel extension
1x AquaMaxx HOB Skimmer
2x TLF Reactors
Chiller (probably not needed but just in cases)

I'm adding more details in the followup posts.

TripleToe · 01/14/2014, 01:08 PM

Stand Setup
My wife has a degree in Interior Design and wanted to stain the cap and stand to match her choice of colors (basically an 'Espresso' dark brown). It took about 5 days just to get the stain right as the wood took the stain very slowly and required 5 applications to get it dark enough. We then added sealant, putting two coats of gloss followed by two coats of satin once we realized the gloss was too shiney. She got the idea to take those sticky vinyl tiles and apply them to the bottom inside the cabinet and then silicone them to seal up the seams and edges. She also put the tiles about 4 inchs vertically around the edges to give it a sort of lower-border. Seems to have worked out great. We had to add an extra 6-inch board to the back to help mount the Bubble Magus dosing pumps on the inner right side of the stand.

Overflow and Float switch
I wanted the overflow to be as quiet as possible. I planned to implement a BeanAnimal in the external overflow but I was forced to go with a Herbie instead. The overflow is pretty small and space was limited so I ended up ditching the durso-style curved tops and I ended up with two stand pipes, one which is a full siphon with a strainer over the top that sits about 5 inches below the water line and an open channel pipe which mainly serves as the backup drain.

IMG_0029.jpg IMG_0030.jpg IMG_0031.jpg

They are both 1" pipes and while I've read that a 1" pipe is not sufficient to handle higher flow rates, my tests seem to confirm that if I close off the siphon drain, the second pipe can handle the load. I would love to have added a third drain pipe but the overflow only has three holes and one of those is the return coming up through the overflow and does a 90-degree turn back into the tank. Even if I put that return pipe elsewhere, the hole is only large enough for a 3/4" pipe so it would still be insufficent as a secondary drain without drilling a large hole. Again, my testing shows that it is not needed but I wanted to be sure I was safe so I added a float switch to the overflow.

I originally wanted to add the float switch to the sump to turn off the return if the level dropped too low. However, if the overflow gets clogged, the water will come out of the overflow and onto the floor long before the sump's level drops because the top of the overflow is about 1/2" below the top of the tank. So instead, I mounted the float switch in the lid that sits over the overflow. Now, should the water rise as high as the lid, the return pump will get killed.

IMG_0152.jpg

This is still not bullet proof but it seems to be a reasonable trade-off so that I do not have to start over and drill the tank or install a large overflow. I wished I had known about overflow sizing requirements when I ordered the tank as this external overflow could have easily been made larger at the time of manufacture. Live and learn I guess.

TripleToe · 01/14/2014, 01:13 PM

Lighting
At first I considered going with a the rimless tank, but I had fears about having major light leakage in the room and things jumping out of the tank so we went with a capped tank. I took at a look at ways that I might hang the lights inside the stand but since I was going to have to remove the cap from time to time, I took a suggestion from my mother-in-law who is also mechanically inclined. She came up with an idea for a sort of rail system that we could make from aluminium strips mounted to the top of the hoods.

IMG_0391.jpg

I went to the hardware store and got some 2 inch M8 bolts that matched the mounting holes on the backs of the Radion pros. Adding some washers to the top allowed the lights to slide horizontally so I can adjust their positioning to fit the results of future aquascaping.

IMG_0394.jpg IMG_0396.jpg IMG_0399.jpg

Aquascaping
I purchased 125lbs of Reef Saver live rock from BRS. As advertised, it fits together very nicely and I relied upon my mother-in-law's artistic eye to come up with a couple of tower-like structures leaving lots of lagoon-style area in the middle. We used hydraulic cement to bind the rocks together to come up with the aquascape you see here. They are fairly heavy but not so much that I cannot life them out in the future if we move or something.

IMG_0142.jpg

TripleToe · 01/14/2014, 01:15 PM

Pod Hotels

Longterm, I really want to add a mandarin to the tank. A clown is the really the only other fish I have so I figure if I get the pod population up over the next 6months to a year, I can support a mandarin. I created 4 pod hotels which are curing in the sump alongside the rest of the rock at the moment. I plan to add some macro algae soon and then start dumping pods in as soon as the tank becomes stable.

(pod hotels in the sump at the lower left)
IMG_0148.jpg

Morganfbs · 01/14/2014, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TripleToe

Lighting
At first I considered going with a the rimless tank, but I had fears about having major light leakage in the room and things jumping out of the tank so we went with a capped tank. I took at a look at ways that I might hang the lights inside the stand but since I was going to have to remove the cap from time to time, I took a suggestion from my mother-in-law who is also mechanically inclined. She came up with an idea for a sort of rail system that we could make from aluminium strips mounted to the top of the hoods.

Attachment 260034

I went to the hardware store and got some 2 inch M8 bolts that matched the mounting holes on the backs of the Radion pros. Adding some washers to the top allowed the lights to slide horizontally so I can adjust their positioning to fit the results of future aquascaping.

Attachment 260029 Attachment 260030 Attachment 260031

Aquascaping
I purchased 125lbs of Reef Saver live rock from BRS. As advertised, it fits together very nicely and I relied upon my mother-in-law's artistic eye to come up with a couple of tower-like structures leaving lots of lagoon-style area in the middle. We used hydraulic cement to bind the rocks together to come up with the aquascape you see here. They are fairly heavy but not so much that I cannot life them out in the future if we move or something.

Attachment 260028

Like the scape! Is it a standard size 90 gallon?

TripleToe · 01/14/2014, 01:25 PM

It is 36Wx25Dx24H so I think it is deeper and more narrow than the typical 90 but I could be wrong.

conradryaan · 01/14/2014, 02:02 PM

love the tank! great shape and size. the use of those pod hotels is genius! how did you go about making those. and the slides for the light is brilliant. who needs the forums when you have an awesome wife and mother in law haha

TripleToe · 01/14/2014, 03:50 PM

The pod hotels are made from plastic gutter guard rolled into a cylinder with plastic tie wraps with a matching gutter guard end caps (also tie wrapped). They are loaded with live rock rubble along with some strips of poly filter which I heard pods would like. The use of gutter guard to build these has been suggested by lots of folks on the forums here which is where I got the idea. Hopefully it will make for a healthy tank.

01/14/2014, 01:05 PM	#1
TripleToe Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Round Rock, Texas Posts: 46	My new 90 gallon build New Tank IMG_0384.jpg My wife and I had been running a 28 NanoCube for over 6 years. I added a custom LED hood about 3 years ago and I have the thing so packed with SPS corals that it has become borderline irresponsible. At last count, I had something like 70 different frags mounted in that tank. That is not a typo. See the picture if you don't believe me. It just got out of control. IMG_0130.jpg It has also had a bad seam around the top rim for many years and the stand has slowly started to disintegrate. Although it was going to be expensive, I convinced her that it was better to build a near-dream tank rather than wake up to find a living room filled with saltwater once the stand and tank completely came apart. We go the new tank along with new equipment back in mid-December. Here are the specs: Planet Aquarium with external overflow and black vinyl backing - (36Lx25Dx24H) ~ 90 Gallons Matching Coastal Classic Cap and Stand (Unfinished) Trigger Systems Sump - (20Lx20Dx16H) ~ 27 Gallons Siche Synchra 4 951 GPH return pump 2x Ecotech Radion Pro XR30W 2x Ecotech Vortech MP40wES JBJ Nano-Glo Refugium Light AutoAqua Smart ATO Here are some items I already had from previous tank that are making their way over to this new one. 1x Bubble Magus - BM-T01 Dosing Pump 3-channels and control unit 2x Bubble Magus - BM-T02 Dosing Pump 4-channel extension 1x AquaMaxx HOB Skimmer 2x TLF Reactors Chiller (probably not needed but just in cases) I'm adding more details in the followup posts.

01/14/2014, 01:08 PM	#2
TripleToe Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Round Rock, Texas Posts: 46	Stand Setup My wife has a degree in Interior Design and wanted to stain the cap and stand to match her choice of colors (basically an 'Espresso' dark brown). It took about 5 days just to get the stain right as the wood took the stain very slowly and required 5 applications to get it dark enough. We then added sealant, putting two coats of gloss followed by two coats of satin once we realized the gloss was too shiney. She got the idea to take those sticky vinyl tiles and apply them to the bottom inside the cabinet and then silicone them to seal up the seams and edges. She also put the tiles about 4 inchs vertically around the edges to give it a sort of lower-border. Seems to have worked out great. We had to add an extra 6-inch board to the back to help mount the Bubble Magus dosing pumps on the inner right side of the stand. Overflow and Float switch I wanted the overflow to be as quiet as possible. I planned to implement a BeanAnimal in the external overflow but I was forced to go with a Herbie instead. The overflow is pretty small and space was limited so I ended up ditching the durso-style curved tops and I ended up with two stand pipes, one which is a full siphon with a strainer over the top that sits about 5 inches below the water line and an open channel pipe which mainly serves as the backup drain. IMG_0029.jpg IMG_0030.jpg IMG_0031.jpg They are both 1" pipes and while I've read that a 1" pipe is not sufficient to handle higher flow rates, my tests seem to confirm that if I close off the siphon drain, the second pipe can handle the load. I would love to have added a third drain pipe but the overflow only has three holes and one of those is the return coming up through the overflow and does a 90-degree turn back into the tank. Even if I put that return pipe elsewhere, the hole is only large enough for a 3/4" pipe so it would still be insufficent as a secondary drain without drilling a large hole. Again, my testing shows that it is not needed but I wanted to be sure I was safe so I added a float switch to the overflow. I originally wanted to add the float switch to the sump to turn off the return if the level dropped too low. However, if the overflow gets clogged, the water will come out of the overflow and onto the floor long before the sump's level drops because the top of the overflow is about 1/2" below the top of the tank. So instead, I mounted the float switch in the lid that sits over the overflow. Now, should the water rise as high as the lid, the return pump will get killed. IMG_0152.jpg This is still not bullet proof but it seems to be a reasonable trade-off so that I do not have to start over and drill the tank or install a large overflow. I wished I had known about overflow sizing requirements when I ordered the tank as this external overflow could have easily been made larger at the time of manufacture. Live and learn I guess. Last edited by TripleToe; 01/14/2014 at 01:14 PM. Reason: adding picture

01/14/2014, 01:13 PM	#3
TripleToe Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Round Rock, Texas Posts: 46	Lighting At first I considered going with a the rimless tank, but I had fears about having major light leakage in the room and things jumping out of the tank so we went with a capped tank. I took at a look at ways that I might hang the lights inside the stand but since I was going to have to remove the cap from time to time, I took a suggestion from my mother-in-law who is also mechanically inclined. She came up with an idea for a sort of rail system that we could make from aluminium strips mounted to the top of the hoods. IMG_0391.jpg I went to the hardware store and got some 2 inch M8 bolts that matched the mounting holes on the backs of the Radion pros. Adding some washers to the top allowed the lights to slide horizontally so I can adjust their positioning to fit the results of future aquascaping. IMG_0394.jpg IMG_0396.jpg IMG_0399.jpg Aquascaping I purchased 125lbs of Reef Saver live rock from BRS. As advertised, it fits together very nicely and I relied upon my mother-in-law's artistic eye to come up with a couple of tower-like structures leaving lots of lagoon-style area in the middle. We used hydraulic cement to bind the rocks together to come up with the aquascape you see here. They are fairly heavy but not so much that I cannot life them out in the future if we move or something. IMG_0142.jpg

01/14/2014, 01:15 PM	#4
TripleToe Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Round Rock, Texas Posts: 46	Pod Hotels Longterm, I really want to add a mandarin to the tank. A clown is the really the only other fish I have so I figure if I get the pod population up over the next 6months to a year, I can support a mandarin. I created 4 pod hotels which are curing in the sump alongside the rest of the rock at the moment. I plan to add some macro algae soon and then start dumping pods in as soon as the tank becomes stable. (pod hotels in the sump at the lower left) IMG_0148.jpg

01/14/2014, 01:25 PM	#6
TripleToe Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Round Rock, Texas Posts: 46	It is 36Wx25Dx24H so I think it is deeper and more narrow than the typical 90 but I could be wrong.

01/14/2014, 02:02 PM	#7
conradryaan Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 71	love the tank! great shape and size. the use of those pod hotels is genius! how did you go about making those. and the slides for the light is brilliant. who needs the forums when you have an awesome wife and mother in law haha

01/14/2014, 03:50 PM	#8
TripleToe Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Round Rock, Texas Posts: 46	The pod hotels are made from plastic gutter guard rolled into a cylinder with plastic tie wraps with a matching gutter guard end caps (also tie wrapped). They are loaded with live rock rubble along with some strips of poly filter which I heard pods would like. The use of gutter guard to build these has been suggested by lots of folks on the forums here which is where I got the idea. Hopefully it will make for a healthy tank.