Building a 90gal Marine tank on a $1500.00 budget.

[LowKey]

Finally, some pics:

-The Base Frame
-Wire feed  
-Installation

Note: the room I have choosen to place the aquarium will undergo massive renovation throughout the year.  Kiss all that 70's stuff goodbye!

[LowKey]

The Sump

A little dirty but she will clean up nice.

Not bad for less than $40

[DARKPHREAK]

I want that sump! Looking very good.

[LowKey]

The Canopy

[LowKey]

The Tank

Reef Ready!  One hole 2.5" for a 1.5" bulkhead with DIY overflow.

Tank will be viewed from both sides so the overflow was placed in the centre.

[LowKey]

Top-Up float and pump set-up

[LowKey]

Plumbing
-Return 1"
-Drain   1.5"

[Nelson]

Plumbing
-Return 1"
-Drain   1.5"

LowKey I'm devastated...I spotted duct tape in your "SKIM FUGE PLUMBING" photo :wink:  

OVAS'ers: I had the pleasure of seeing LowKey's project during a recent purchase pick-up and I was extremely impressed with the meticulous manner in which he's approached this task.  It's going to be a very impressive and efficient system.  As others have, I encouraged him to keep us informed of his progress which it appears he will do....thanks LowKey.

[LowKey]

Tonight will be the first full system water test.

How long do you think I should run fresh water through the system (to remove dirt + Chems) before adding fresh salt water?

Nelson: tape will be replaced shortly. :lol:  Just playing with a smaller diameter exit for noise reduction.  Thanks for te kind words. :wink:

[DARKPHREAK]

To be on the safe side I'd run fresh water for a few weeks, changing water every few days. Just to be sure that toxins and such(glues) would be released in wasteable water and not in the reef.

[PuddingTime]

Yes I agree with Nelson I have been there as well and it is going to be very nice.  I do think you should keep the carpet though (start Shaft theme song here)  But you did say the "C" word that ryhmes with yopper in a SW thread.  Good thing you are not on ReefCentral or you would get spammed with hate mail.  

[LowKey]

Yes I agree with Nelson I have been there as well and it is going to be very nice.  I do think you should keep the carpet though (start Shaft theme song here)  But you did say the "C" word that ryhmes with yopper in a SW thread.  Good thing you are not on ReefCentral or you would get spammed with hate mail.  

OOPs.  Lets refer to it as "a metal like substance in the form of a tube".  

A side note for those who don't know what Pudding time is refering to:  Never expose your seawater to copper EVAR!  No matter what your setup entails.

[dannypd]

Again, I really think this should be published, in FULL detail..

Post a pdf or printable version...even though I wont be building this anytime soon, I'd love to read up on this in order!!

[Toss]

Hi Lowkey

I notice you use piano hinge for the canopy. I purchased 70 gal reef tank with custom canopy and stand from solid pine and kitchen cabinet quality workmanship. The owner had it for a couple years. The hinge is completely gone. Maybe the carpenter used the wrong type, it was rusted beyond recognition. My two cents.

[LowKey]

Hi Lowkey

I notice you use piano hinge for the canopy. I purchased 70 gal reef tank with custom canopy and stand from solid pine and kitchen cabinet quality workmanship. The owner had it for a couple years. The hinge is completely gone. Maybe the carpenter used the wrong type, it was rusted beyond recognition. My two cents.

Yep they do rust.  But theyre cheeep and easy to replace.  You should get a good 5 years out of them if you keep the moister to around 35% within the canopy.  IE cover water with glass lids or through the use of fans.  

If your hinges are rusting that quick I suggest that you look into finding a way to reduce the moister level as it will also reduce the lifespan of your lighting etc etc.

[Nelson]

How did the water test go LowKey?  Well I'm sure :wink:

[LowKey]

How did the water test go LowKey?  Well I'm sure :wink:

It went great Nelson.   No water on the floor, the sump water levels are as planned, and the tank is sitting nicely with all the extra weight.  :wink:

But with all divers projects comes the small problems.  The drain pipe is a little noisey, discovered a tiny leak in between a sump baffle and the bottom corner beed, and I just might make some minor changes to the drain plumbing to fine tune the skimmer and sump returns.

I picked some Chaeto for the fuge a few weeks back (Pics below)

And the first batch of live rock has been in the dark for 2 weeks and is ready to go (Pics below)

[Nelson]

Good stuff...I'm not surprised it went off without a hitch

[LowKey]

The project was completed May 21.   So far everything looks great!  The system needed a lot of fine-tuning to reduce the noise level.  But once I equalized the flow between the drain and return, the air lock was broken making the system super silent.

SUMPS RULE!!!!!!  If you don't have one on your salt water tank, GET ONE!  Soooo nice to work with.  The top-up system is a nice complement as well.    

The skimmer started producing last night.  It took 3 days to brake itself in.  The EV-120 from AQUA C is mint.  So easy to adjust, it's silent, and efficient.  

Everybody lived!!!!!  Tang, Tomato clowns, True Clowns, Fire Hawk, Shrimp, and clean up crew seem to be really please with all the extra space.

I will post pics shortly...

[Nelson]

The project was completed May 21.   So far everything looks great!  The system needed a lot of fine-tuning to reduce the noise level.  But once I equalized the flow between the drain and return, the air lock was broken making the system super silent.

SUMPS RULE!!!!!!  If you don't have one on your salt water tank, GET ONE!  Soooo nice to work with.  The top-up system is a nice complement as well.    

The skimmer started producing last night.  It took 3 days to brake itself in.  The EV-120 from AQUA C is mint.  So easy to adjust, it's silent, and efficient.  

Everybody lived!!!!!  Tang, Tomato clowns, True Clowns, Fire Hawk, Shrimp, and clean up crew seem to be really please with all the extra space.

I will post pics shortly...

OUTSTANDING   Can't wait for pics :wink: