(Another) New 90 Gallon Build

[sleevasteve]

Well for the last month or so I have been in the works of putting together a 90 gallon setup for my office (it initially started as a 75). I built the stand and canopy so that is what took so long, my friends dad has a workshop in his basement where I would work on it, but I could only get over there so much. So in the midst of building I was planning and ordering/buying all of the things I would need.
I have:
-AGA Megaflow RR 90g
-AGA Megaflow Model 2 sump
-Euroreef CS89 PS
-Quiet One 4000 pump for return
-6 48" 54W T5s
-Aquacontroller Jr w/ DC8 and PH probe
-90lbs of Lalo Live Rock
-Algae Free Hammerhead Float Magnet ScraperD Included that cause it was friggin expensive, but very strong and is black on the inside )

On the way:
-2 Phosban Reactors (2nd one for carbon)
-Seperate Ecosystem 100 Refugium w/ Rio 2000(?) Pump

And I need to figure out this AC Jr, its confusing...

I brought my stand and canopy in Thursday. The tank was delivered Friday along with the lr. So got the tank painted Friday and set in place on the stand. Saturday morning got up and did my sand, aquascaped, water in, and got the plumbing done on the sump and protein skimmer. Sunday was my birthday, so Monday (today) I put in the lights. I still need to hinge the doors and canopy, I just set them in for the pic. Anybody know where to get the hinges AGA uses in their canopies now?? They are awesome!! Anyway, hope you like it so far. Here are the pics from the build:

 

[sleevasteve]

After putting the rock in:

With the lights in:

Another Full Shot (All 6 lights):

I think this is all 4 actinic bulbs

I think this is just the front 2 actinic bulbs

 

[chip721]

Good job on the stand. I like your aquascaping and bet your creatures will too. Keep us posted with your progress. It looks good now. Should really be nice when stocked.

 

[sleevasteve]

Thank you. I need to get a better pic of the stand, cuz you can't really see it in the one where its done, and the pics on my first post were after 2 coats of stain; finished everything had 3 coats of stain, and 2 coats of poly. I still have a nice trim piece for the bottom border of the tank.

I haven't really had any 2nd thoughts on the aquascaping, I think it looks nice, but I just put it in 2 days ago, so things may change. But I have the right side slope down because from my office door you see the side of the tank, so I wanted it to look open from that side.

 

[DarthBaiter]

That stand looks solid. Great job.
Where did you get those rocks. Looks like you got some nice large pieces. The stack does a nice job of concealing the overflow, I like it, too.
Also, how much sand and what kind did you use?

 

[sleevasteve]

Ya my buddy keeps givin me trouble saying the stand could hold a bus, but I sleep better at night! Thanks! It is Lalo lr from liveaquaria.com. The sand was Caribsea's Arag-Alive: West Caribbean Reef, I got 60 lbs. I think I'm going to get another 20 lb bag. It's just looks a little shallow. They are selling it for like $25 a bag until the end of tomorrow...or today, its 1 in the mornin.

 

[rkelman]

Looks good I like the stand. Good to know if there is ever an earthquake your tank will still be standing

 

[stereomandan]

Excellent job so far!

You'll probably want to get some flow behind the rockwork if you haven't already done so.

What is your bulb combo for the T5's and how do you like that combo?

Dan

 

[sleevasteve]

Thanks alot! I was thinking about running a powerhead down the side of the overflow and behind the rock, and put a splitter to seperate the flow. What kind of powerhead would you suggest? And would one be enough? I don't want a bunch of stuff in my tank if I can help it. This is my bulb combo, and so far yes I do like it:

Front:
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Super Actinic
UVL Aquasun
UVL Actinic White
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Super Actinic

 

[sleevasteve]

The water is also pretty cloudy still, so once everything is settled, and lights get broken in a bit, I will update.

 

[InvaderJim]

Looking good so far. I'm going to follow this for some inspiration for my 90g RR.

 

[sleevasteve]

Thank you. After looking around there are alot of 90s that are very inspiring, but the thread I followed that inspired me initially to get a 90 (instead of a 75) was stereomandan's: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=921848&perpage=25&pagenumber=3 and what inspired me to even do a 75 was makoJ's:http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...perpage=25&highlight=aquascaping&pagenumber=1

 

[Trigeek]

Great job! Your stand came out great. Where did you find the stain?

 

[110galreef]

Stand and tank look great. I like the openess of the rockwork!

 

[sleevasteve]

Stain came from home depot or lowes I can't remember. The color is red mahogany. Thank you for the compliments on the stand, it was my first "wood building" project.

 

[sleevasteve]

So some of the wood on my canopy is warping really bad. I have no choice but to buy a canopy. This really sucks because I built that canopy and I put alot of time and effort into it. I had never done any kind of woodworking like that though. On the upside, the canopy I want to get is that AGA cherry, and I really like them. On the downside, it is definately not a perfect match in color. My stand is very dark, and the AGA canopy is dark, but has a very distinct cherry tone. Also the AGA is open back, which is good, but I didn't want the light shining off the wall. I'm sure it is worth it though to have it open. Last but not least I won't be able to fit all 6 lights on the back section of my hood, I'll have to do 4 on the back part and 2 on the front. Is it a big deal if I don't put plexiglass in to protect my lights?

 

[synthesis]

Did you seal the wood to protect it from water damage. Best way to do this is to paint the inside of the canopy with exterior acrylic primer. This will prevent/slow the water damage. I would recommend as many coats of primer as you can possibly handle.

FWIW.

 

[sleevasteve]

Yes I put 2 coats, maybe needed more...too late now.

 

[synthesis]

Interesting. Why is it to late now? Cant you pull it off and paint the inside again with a few more coats?. It could prevent the wood from warping even further.

 

[synthesis]

Your aquascaping looks great btw!. I only have one concern. Are your small pieces at the top only placed there or are the glued down. Reason I ask is that you might be facing a potential rock slide once you get some critters in there. FWIW.