Building up a 92g Corner Tank

[flipsideleo]

Just thought I'd post up a collection of pics that I have built-up over the past several months. I'm taking this very slow since I have no idea what I'm doing...

I went with a 92 corner because of the footprint. In hindsight, I probably wouldn't have picked this tank. First, the inhabitants are "slightly distorted." Second, lighting is going to be a PITA. Third, if you have no basement, good luck with the sump.

Any way, here's some pics of it so far:









Above is what everything looked like when I brought it home.






With all that rot, I broke out the level.

[flipsideleo]

After seeing this, I new I was going to have to buy a stand, or build one. I opted to try and build one, although I have "zero" experience with wood.

[flipsideleo]

Went and got some wood at a local HD. The guys there were pretty helpful as I had no idea what I was doing. I got some 5/8" thick plywood (I think that's what it was) and I only got a sheet. I had them cut it in half so it would fit in the minivan.





Here's what I did next...





Like my workbench?

[flipsideleo]

Here's how it turned out. "Almost" perfect fit.

[flipsideleo]

And here's my supports and everything wood screwed in place.







Canopy resting on top of the finished frame.

[flipsideleo]

Here's where I wanted to put the tank.



I made the stand 34" tall. The stock one is less than 30". I had to take the front door off of the house so that I could get the stand in the house. I expected that, though.

[flipsideleo]

Here's some fun pics my wife and kids wanted in here.

[flipsideleo]

Then I filled it up. Nothing went leak or creak.



I filled it up all the way, but I can't seem to find those pics. You all have seen a full-of-tap-water-tank before though. I think I let it sit for a couple of days.

[flipsideleo]

Then I painted stuff.

[flipsideleo]

And here's how it looks tonight. I just got a dSLR camera, and I don't know how to use it yet. Here's my lame attempt at a FTS.

[thebiggster]

cool

[flipsideleo]

Thanks thebiggster. Looks like I owe you a "welcome to RC!" as well. I'm flattered that I was your first post, too.

[Rustylugnuts]

Awesome start thanks for sharin it with us. Hopefully we get to hang out for the "what happens next" for a good while! Do you have any plans nailed down as far as what's going to end up in the tank critter wise?

WARNING useless advice follows:
2 suggestions that have helped me a ton were the backsaver 1200 (maxijet with a length of 1/2" tubing zip tied on plugged into a powerstrip for toeswitch activation) for water changes and the dual media reactors (1 each for carbon and GFO) to help with the inevitable algae invasion . I still have some pesky maidens hair algae a month after installation but we seemed to have arrived at a stalemate at least (no more weekly haircuts to keep the zoos from being choked out).
Oh yea and for thebiggster type [welcome ] without that last space to get the cool bubbly welcome mat .

[flipsideleo]

Hey Rusty,
Thanks! As far as it goes with the "critters..." Man, I have no idea at this point. I have a couple of fish in there now, but they won't be staying in this tank. I'd like to set up a reef in this corner tank but I really have a lot of research to do before I do that.

I use a Mag 9.5 for water changes, and it mixes my salt up too. I also use a couple of MJ 900's with Ecotech mods to help mix it up. I haven't had any algae outbreaks, but I don't have any lighting right now. Just some cheapo garage light. LOL As far as media reactors go... I have no idea how they work, what they do, or how to set them up. Total newb to this stuff...

I skimped on my skimmer... I know... big no-no, but I got a CSS 220 in my wet/dry (acting as a sump). The cup cracked on it, so I had to put my CSS 65's cup on it. It fits, but it looks goofy. I wasn't getting good skimmate (low bioload, any way) so I did the fishline mod to it today. It makes more bubbles now, but my load is pretty low. We'll see how it works for a few months. With Xmas coming, I won't be doing anything pricey on the tank for awhile. I may start on a canopy and skinning the frame here soon though.

[Rustylugnuts]

All the media reactors do is gently pump water up from the bottom of the reactor into the tank. Its the Ca reactors that I've yet to figure out. Plain ol media reactors are pretty simple and are an excellent target for DIY. It's nothin fancy (so don't drop too much cheese on em) but I noticed a huge difference, my algae (plural in my case) went from outta control down to a muted roar that my snails can for the most part keep up with. Oh yea this reminds me, I need to check on about 25 lbs of rock that I have cooking!

I skimped worse than you did on the skimmer and I've paid for it in algae. Some have had luck with it but in my case the sea clone was worthless I believe you'll have better luck with your CSS. I recently got ahold of an OCTO DNW-150 and lo and behold its too big to fit! I have enough height to cram the skimmer in if i drain the sump and pull it out to install it but there isn't enough clearance b/w the top of my 30g sump and the bottom of the stand to pull out the collection cup (this sucks!). My options seem to be either throw a spare skimmer sump together (but where do I put it?) or downgrade to a 20L for a sump (which for a 40g really shouldn't be a big deal) to give me the clearance i need and keep everything in the stand.

As for lookin goofy, if it works and ya didn't have to throw money at it then all the better .

[Michael]

looks like a very good start, wish i fitted a rectangular sump before i started my 92 corner, nice stand and a good DIY job, well done

[flipsideleo]

Rusty,

I just read through your build up! Wow! That's all I can say about that. Luckily for me, I had no livestock when Hurricane Ike made it's way through here. We were w/o power for 2 weeks. I ended up buying a generator, just in case this happens again...

Yeah, I read about them Seaclones. Ugh! I'm sorry to hear your Octo NW 150 doesn't fit, as well. If it were me, and after reading about those skimmers, I'd probably build another stand. But, that's just me. Does it have to be setup as an in-sump? Can you temporarily run some PVC to it, on the outside of the stand?

Michael!

Hey there comrade from across the pond!! I remember seeing your tank and commenting on one of your pics in your gallery. In regards to my sump, I actually want to piece together a better one, that nearly fills my stand. That'll take some time though. Thank you for the comments as your tank was one of the few inspirations for my build.

[MiataBernie]

I've got the same tank, I also found it pretty interesting to work with when it came to lighting.

What I ended up doing was a single 250W MH over the center of the tank. I'm mostly softies with a couple of LPS, so the 250 is throwing out enough par for everyone to be happy.

Now finding a good skimmer to fit the original low stand was a PITA. Settled on an eBay beckett skimmer that I constantly have to fiddle with, but that is what commercials are for...

[Michael]

Originally posted by flipsideleo



Michael!

Hey there comrade from across the pond!! I remember seeing your tank and commenting on one of your pics in your gallery. In regards to my sump, I actually want to piece together a better one, that nearly fills my stand. That'll take some time though. Thank you for the comments as your tank was one of the few inspirations for my build.

thanks pal i appreciate your comments, i need to update those photos too, its changed a bit, whilst im on (flow) i have had nightmares getting mine right and think ive finally found the right flow and the right amount of phs, i started with 2 and then chucked them i then got different types and kept moving them etc, i have a large xenia colony now and a huge toadstool, they have kicked up a gear in the last couple of months, basically i found i needed 5 phs to get my flow right, 2 at the back of the reef wall pointing quite low, 1 at the back but pointing at the surface a 1 each side pointing across the front, as well as this i have a 300 gal per hr return, ive just about got it right now, hope this helps you, any questions just ask, if anything ive learnt in the last year owning a corner helps you then id be delighted

[chem-e]

I had a 92 gal corner bow for my previous tank and I thought it was great as it filled up an empty corner I had and it also had nice depth. However, it does have it's limitations as you found out.

I had a relatively simple setup. It was an all Oceanic setup (tank, stand, and canopy) and I used a 15 high as a sump. It fit well into the stand, so that's why I liked it. For a return pump, I used a Mag 9.5, but I wish I had something smaller (less flow) and more efficient like the Eheim I'm using now. I was also able to fit an ATO under the stand, which also supplied my kalk. For lights, I used a T5 fixture, but I think a nice big MH fixture would have been a little better to distribute lighting.

You did a nice job on the stand. I wish I did the same, but the Oceanic stand is pretty well built as I had the tank running for several years before taking it down. Are you planning to reuse the plastic Oceanic skin for the front of the stand?

[Rustylugnuts]

I'm not sure about running externally I got the look of death from my wife when I suggested it. I also got an ixnay on any new ojectprays since these student loans are starting to kick in so the new stand will have to go slowly. I'm going to try to dry fit the 20 long and skimmer this weekend to see if thats even an option.

I have some family and friends in and near Houston. My uncle loaded his meatwagon (a big new chevy van he usually sells meat out of) with 3 or 4 gen sets and drove through Ike when it was inland as a tropical storm to drop em off. One went to my cousin in porter another to some friends in katy and the 3 rd to one of his best customers who then bought several generators herself for him to deliver all over gods creation. Funny thing about my situation was that I could have drove 5 minutes to my dads storge shed and snagged his coleman generator and saved my xenia and my fridge full of food. I didn't even think of it until after the water was chest deep! Ah well hindsight, Igot lucky since everything was in a 20L with no sandbed (nice surface area:volume ratio and not too many O2 suckin bacteria to start the nuking).

[WinnipegDragon]

You have fish in already?

[flipsideleo]

Originally posted by Michael
thanks pal i appreciate your comments, i need to update those photos too, its changed a bit, whilst im on (flow) i have had nightmares getting mine right and think ive finally found the right flow and the right amount of phs, i started with 2 and then chucked them i then got different types and kept moving them etc, i have a large xenia colony now and a huge toadstool, they have kicked up a gear in the last couple of months, basically i found i needed 5 phs to get my flow right, 2 at the back of the reef wall pointing quite low, 1 at the back but pointing at the surface a 1 each side pointing across the front, as well as this i have a 300 gal per hr return, ive just about got it right now, hope this helps you, any questions just ask, if anything ive learnt in the last year owning a corner helps you then id be delighted

You're very welcome, sir. I feel like I'm going to have to do something similar with my flow, too. I'm sure I'll be hittin' ya' up. My return is similar, I believe. I used the needlewheel pump off of my CSS 65 for now. It works pretty well, actually.

[flipsideleo]

Originally posted by chem-e
I had a 92 gal corner bow for my previous tank and I thought it was great as it filled up an empty corner I had and it also had nice depth. However, it does have it's limitations as you found out.

I had a relatively simple setup. It was an all Oceanic setup (tank, stand, and canopy) and I used a 15 high as a sump. It fit well into the stand, so that's why I liked it. For a return pump, I used a Mag 9.5, but I wish I had something smaller (less flow) and more efficient like the Eheim I'm using now. I was also able to fit an ATO under the stand, which also supplied my kalk. For lights, I used a T5 fixture, but I think a nice big MH fixture would have been a little better to distribute lighting.

You did a nice job on the stand. I wish I did the same, but the Oceanic stand is pretty well built as I had the tank running for several years before taking it down. Are you planning to reuse the plastic Oceanic skin for the front of the stand?

I had a Mag 9.5 as my return too, but it was way too fast! I don't use a sock, so it was splashing like crazy even with a vent on top of the pipe I put in there. It was nasty flow, but the return wasn't that powerful. Would've been great if I knew how to keep find a happy medium for it... ah well... the Mag is great for water changes.

I was going to use that part of the stand, but I went taller on the one I built. I don't want it to look too ghetto.

[flipsideleo]

Originally posted by Rustylugnuts
I'm not sure about running externally I got the look of death from my wife when I suggested it. I also got an ixnay on any new ojectprays since these student loans are starting to kick in so the new stand will have to go slowly. I'm going to try to dry fit the 20 long and skimmer this weekend to see if thats even an option.

I have some family and friends in and near Houston. My uncle loaded his meatwagon (a big new chevy van he usually sells meat out of) with 3 or 4 gen sets and drove through Ike when it was inland as a tropical storm to drop em off. One went to my cousin in porter another to some friends in katy and the 3 rd to one of his best customers who then bought several generators herself for him to deliver all over gods creation. Funny thing about my situation was that I could have drove 5 minutes to my dads storge shed and snagged his coleman generator and saved my xenia and my fridge full of food. I didn't even think of it until after the water was chest deep! Ah well hindsight, Igot lucky since everything was in a 20L with no sandbed (nice surface area:volume ratio and not too many O2 suckin bacteria to start the nuking).

I'm glad I still remember some pig latin. You're uncle is the man for doing that! I had to drive all over Texas to find a generator. Finally found one in Austin. Like you said... hindsight..