Custom Cabinet for 90g Reef (Build Thread)

[RedEDGE2k1]

Good idea...might do that tonight. Gonna give it some thought, the top is already twice as heavy as I thought it would be. I was hoping it would be light enough for my girl and I to remove it from the tank if needed. She can still move it with me, but it's at her limits.

 

[RumLad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11000630#post11000630 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RedEDGE2k1
I guess I'm biased, but I think my $800 cabinet blows the $3,000 inspiration piece out of the water, in terms of both appearance and functionality.

No doubt about that RE, but at what price would you have to sell it to make a living? IE: how valuable is your time?

Also, how is the inspirational model not as functional, if I amy ask?

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11006572#post11006572 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RumLad
No doubt about that RE, but at what price would you have to sell it to make a living? IE: how valuable is your time?

Also, how is the inspirational model not as functional, if I amy ask?

The canopy door is too small, and with metal halide reflectors inside the door, there is very little room to work.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

I just ordered a Euro-Reef RS135 protein skimmer from Premium Aquatics, since they had 4 in stock and offered free shipping on that item. Marine Depot shows a 4-6wk ship time, I assume they drop-ship their ER skimmers directly from EuroReef.

Last week I ordered a 48" 2x54w T5 retrofit kit with two TRU Actinic 03 bulbs from Hellolights.com to aid my 250w 10k AB halides.

Anywho...two more items to drain my wallet/put a smile on my face.

Now I'm looking into sumps....I'm thinking either a 20L with a seperate 15g sump (already own a 15g drilled acrylic) or a 30g tank with divided skimmer/fuge/return areas. I have lots of room to work with under the tank (34" high x 53" wide) but I want to make sure I have room left over for a topoff reservoir and calc reactor/C02 tank.

Your thougts?

 

[cannarella]

I would go for the 30L combo unit. Put the 15 gal acrylic on top the 30L and use it as gravity topoff to a float valve in the sump.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

Where can I find that float switch? Great idea.

 

[hyperfocal]

Kent makes a simple float valve you could use, but I'm really fond of the Spectrapure LLC-S. The fewer moving parts exposed to salt water the better, in my mind.

 

[cannarella]

I would go with the kent valve. It is simple and reliable especially in a gravity fed operation.

You just need to figure out how you are going to get the RO water in the top off tank. There are several ways of doing that but I haven't seen any water that you can tap into in the area of where your tank will be.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

I'm definitely going to manually fill the reservoir....no way I'm hooking that up to an endless supply of water. My girlfriend just bought the townhouse we live in, and I can't risk any overflows.

I would rather fill it up twice a week by hand than have it on my mind to worry about....but that's just me.

As we speak I'm mounting the cabinet doors. I have the two smaller doors as well as the false drawer fronts on, but I can't do the big doors alone.....so I'm sitting here waiting for my helper to get back from dinner. Boo.

 

[cannarella]

She better be bringing you some food. I am guessing girls night out...

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

Last night I mounted the cabinet doors and false drawer fronts. Everything went smoothly, and was much much easier than mounting the access panel door.

The side doors

False drawer fronts. I mounted these with four screws from the backside.

The sump cabinet doors went on last.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

This plywood divider is held in place by friction only, and is completely removable for unobstructed access to the sump.

Completed doors

I used two hinges on each of the sump doors, but I will be adding two more per door today. As this picture shows, the doors are heavy and sag on only two hinges. This makes lining them up together impossible. Four should do do a better job holding them straight & square with each other.

The cabinet, finally completed.

The following picture shows how accurate and useful SketchUp is for builds such as this. Again, I modeled the entire cabinet in SketchUp before ever buying any wood or making any cuts. All cut measurements came directly from the SketchUp model.

Tonight I'll start sanding and getting ready for primer/paint.

Take care!
Dustin

 

[Kreeger1]

looking good man

 

[CKreef]

This build is awesome!! Great work!! The only thing I may have done different is have the false drawers fold down so I could hide a couple of DJ8 powercenters in there. Great job look foward to seeing it in place with the tank on it.

 

[CKreef]

Also are you going to use anything to waterproof the inside where the sump and tank will be?

 

[lakee911]

Looks good. I like the fold down business for the power centers! You can buy kits for that for like a sink. Would be good to put test kits in, brushes, nets, etc. Then again, one of them as a real drawer would be good too!

Jason

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11013356#post11013356 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CKreef
The only thing I may have done different is have the false drawers fold down so I could hide a couple of DJ8 powercenters in there.

That's a GREAT idea...it would look super-professional, too.

I think I'd put my AquaController Jr there. The only negative is the 2x6 header that sits directly behind the false drawers. To mount the AquaController unit flush with the front panel, and behind the false drawer fronts, I'd just have to use a router and remove a section of the front panel, then drill a hole through the 2x6 to run the wires through. How deep is the AquaController Jr? If it's 3/4" its perfect!

I may very well do this....and it's a great excuse to purchase a router!

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11013812#post11013812 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lakee911
Looks good. I like the fold down business for the power centers! You can buy kits for that for like a sink. Would be good to put test kits in, brushes, nets, etc. Then again, one of them as a real drawer would be good too!

Jason

Definitely no room for that with the 2x6 header. Good thinking, though....I really wish it would work, that would be really convenient.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11013375#post11013375 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CKreef
Also are you going to use anything to waterproof the inside where the sump and tank will be?

I will, but haven't put much thought into it yet. I will caulk the joints, but what is used to waterproof the wood? Epoxy?

 

[lakee911]

Epoxy would be good for holding water if thats what you're concerned about. You could build an acrylic pan for it to sit in the bottom too. For just the occasional splash you wouldn't need to go through that much trouble though.