Grab a Brewski with Drewski's 90 Gallon Tank! (picture heavy)

[drewski]

Hi Everyone!

So, I started the hobby back in October of 2012 with a 55 gallon just like a good majority of us that scour Craigslist when they first make the dive into our little puddles of water. I immediately got the bug to start growing coral. Bought some lights and grew out of the tank instantly. I began planning on this new build for when I moved out of my apartment. I then heard that Denny's Pet World in Kirkland was having their anniversary sale and were selling tanks at cost. I had just moved into my new apartment, which was a pain.

I purchased the Aqueon 90 gallon Reef Ready tank on August 11, 2013 and began building. Little did I know this journey would take until January 18, 2014 (5 months after tank purchase) to get to a point where progression could be made.

Here's the old 55 gallon.



I might as well introduce myself too I'm Andrew! Here I am waiting for the tank.



And here's me and my future fiancé! Just got the ring!



Here we go! I hope you guys like pictures.

 

[drewski]

Start of the Custom Stand

So, my vision was to not spend hundreds of dollars on the crappy pine stands that came with the tank. So, I sought out to build my own stand and really put some blood sweat and tears into it. I was lucky enough to have a buddy that has a workshop in his garage. So, we went to Lowes (several times) and picked up some base board for the frame and nice oak. With our work schedules all jumbled up, this would later take us 3 months to complete JUST THE STAND! So, let me take you on a 3 month journey in just a few minutes!

Packed the Jeep up and got a new saw.





The first cuts of the frame.











It's starting to take shape.



And she's level.



Gave the tank a test fit! This thing was humungous compared to 55.



A closer look at my cross sections. Maybe overkill, but better safe than sorry.



We needed to take a break haha



Cut and placed the top sheet of plywood for where the tank will sit and the inner panels of the stand.



Typical man in stand pic. This thing was significantly bigger than my previous stand that couldn't even fit a 10 gallon tank underneath.











The start of putting the nice trim up.



Tested the tank out on the stand after all the trim is finished. Also, the 40 breeder fits great underneath for the sump!



I can't believe the sump is almost as big as my previous tank.

 

[drewski]

Staining of the beast!

So, a few months after the build itself was complete, we finally got around to staining the stand and getting the finishing touches up to par.

 

[drewski]

Putting the sump together.

I visited a local glass shop right off Aurora, and they were awesome and affordable. They cut all my pieces to size. This was now plug and play!

From left to right, it'll go Drain/Extra Live Rock/Macroalgae -> Skimmer -> Bubble Trap -> Return.

Everything was packaged extraordinarily.



Those edges were gorgeous!



Placed the first baffle





All finished. The last baffle before the return pump was a pain to keep standing up.

 

[drewski]

FINALLY Clearcoating the Stand.

So, sometime in December, we got around to clearcoating and finishing the stand.











Lined up the holes where the overflow and return will be. (I did this and we never actually fit it until the actual move day to combine the tank and stand. Needless to say I was freaked out)



Taking a look at it together.



Painted the back of the tank black. It started to drip because I was too close when I sprayed, and I freaked out. Luckily, when it dried everything still looked good from the inside. I'll never look on the back until I move it again.



Here's the old 55 and new 90 side by side!

 

[drewski]

Let the plumbing begin!

Now for the fun stuff! I will say I got too close to this stuff and should've worn some kind of protection AND ventilated my living room better.

I have the megaflow system for my overflow. This is super quiet and adjustable. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. The system itself is fairly simple. I have a union right after the bulkhead heading to the sump from the overflow. I have a ball valve following my return pump and another union right before the bulkhead. Having these unions helps tremendously for any maintenance in the future.

After the plumbing was complete, the system was ready to get water in there!



Perfect fit! Overflow and Return!



I was antsy, and leak tested the sump while I was doing the plumbing haha :flame:



Another side by side shot.



Plumbing complete! Having the reef ready tank was amazing!

 

[drewski]

Aquascaping and Filling

I finished the aquascape, which I am not so thrilled about. I'm just going to keep the rock in there until I make time to actually build decent structures. For now, this will do.

Water ready.



Water in the system on November 10, 2013.



All filled with saltwater and super milky! :yuck:



Finally cleared up with some stock lighting. This will sit for 2 months or so until my canopy is built. So, it was like this from before Thanksgiving, until after the new years.

 

[drewski]

After the hiatus, let's get the canopy going!

But first, some inspiration at the Seattle Aquarium!



The frame is built from regular 1x2s







Starting to put some base boards and trim up.













Lots of layers!



It's starting to look beautiful again :eyebrows:









Side view



Built the doors to match the doors from the stand.





Dry fit the side doors.





And they sit for a few weeks.

 

[drewski]

Staining of the canopy!

Everything is finally coming together, and we found a couple days back to back to finish the canopy and get some work done last week! This happened during my birthday week, January 13 lane:





Started to build the structure to hold my lights! 2 IT2040 Evergrows from Barrier Reef. I highly recommend these lights. One of the biggest kickers that really swayed me in this direction was that Barrier takes the warranty in their hands. Sold me right there.





















All mounted in there!







Left the top open and accessible.





The first door is mounted!

 

[drewski]

All done! Time to piece it all together!

And the moment of truth!

Just before we brought the canopy in.



WOOT!





Made shelf out of scrap plywood to hold a few supplies and my electric stuffs. I just used a DJ power strip from Guitar Center.

 

[drewski]

TA DA! January 18, 2014

January 18, 2014. Mark it in your calendar. It is finally all together and ready to go. I can move forward and get that coral going.

I will keep you guys updated on anything else that happens. I hope you've enjoyed this little journey. Enjoy!!

 

[makeme1098]

Looking good. What's your plan for the lights and livestock?

 

[rainydave]

Very nice!

 

[spieszak]

sweet build. even more awesome that it didn't require ME to be patient at all. love the bulk updates.

 

[user 26995]

Wow...that is a sweet build. You did an excellent job. Looks like you all had a lot of fun doing it too.

Yep! Need pics of lights and livestock too. Keep them coming. we love pics

 

[RichV]

Nice looking stand. I liked all the pictures.

 

[ak_reefer]

Great build! Love the look of the stand and canopy Andrew!!! Cant wait to see it full of life!!!!

 

[pandora32]

Looks great andrew!

 

[trido]

Well done on the DIY stand. It came out real nice.

 

[N1Husker]

Looking good, Andrew. Love the woodwork.