Scott26's 90 Gallon Wave Front Build
- Thread starter scott26
- Start date
Sorry there havent been any update I was finally able to get the other door finished and it was a process let me tell you.
I started with putting the door together with an extra piece to fill in the middle hole using a 5 degree bevel to get a curve out of the door well that wasn't enough so I had to cut it off.
Then I redid it and tried another 5 degree on the other side as well still wasn't enough so I cut it off again even after plaining it some it just didn't fit right.
I finally got the magic bevel degree and at 7 degrees on each side it curves just right.
I stil have to add more glue to it since I was not able to clamp it in place because of the curve I need more glue to renforce it. Then I can sand sand and more sand then fill with wood filler and then sand some more!! then I can put my siding on and go to the next phase of more final sanding.
I started with putting the door together with an extra piece to fill in the middle hole using a 5 degree bevel to get a curve out of the door well that wasn't enough so I had to cut it off.
Then I redid it and tried another 5 degree on the other side as well still wasn't enough so I cut it off again even after plaining it some it just didn't fit right.
I finally got the magic bevel degree and at 7 degrees on each side it curves just right.
I stil have to add more glue to it since I was not able to clamp it in place because of the curve I need more glue to renforce it. Then I can sand sand and more sand then fill with wood filler and then sand some more!! then I can put my siding on and go to the next phase of more final sanding.
Update
Update
Well I finally have something to update about... been long enough.
I have finally got my 20 gallon QT tank set up in my office to house any sick critters. It was a little unexpected since I did have my fish that were left over from my 55 gallon in my 10 gallon in the garage. However a nice heat wave came through and toasted one of the two remaining clownfish so I grabbed the last one and all the crabs that I have in there and put them in my 20 gallon that had been running for about 2 months now.
Next I finally got an oportunity to finish up the last plank on the left side door since I didn't use enough wood when I fiberglassed the back of it. The only thing that worked in the end was to just cut the right bevel I went with a 7 degree and then just glued it on. Took a while but now it is looking finished at least the doors. I still need to trim the tops so that they are all flush and so that there is a about a 1/16 inch gap on top and bottom so the doors close smooth. I got to sanded them down a bit as well to get the glue off.
I was also sick of having all my spare parts laying around in my sump and around the display tank so I got a storage cabniet from wal-mart. Worked out pretty well might need to get a bigger one later depending on how many more chemicals I will need to put in there.
If you can't tell this aquarium is rather tall about 6'6" over all so it is a litte tough even for me at 6'2" to get into the aquarium. So I got a step stool from Costco in order for me to be able to reach the bottom from now on.
And this is what it looked like since we last left off.
Update
Well I finally have something to update about... been long enough.
I have finally got my 20 gallon QT tank set up in my office to house any sick critters. It was a little unexpected since I did have my fish that were left over from my 55 gallon in my 10 gallon in the garage. However a nice heat wave came through and toasted one of the two remaining clownfish so I grabbed the last one and all the crabs that I have in there and put them in my 20 gallon that had been running for about 2 months now.
Next I finally got an oportunity to finish up the last plank on the left side door since I didn't use enough wood when I fiberglassed the back of it. The only thing that worked in the end was to just cut the right bevel I went with a 7 degree and then just glued it on. Took a while but now it is looking finished at least the doors. I still need to trim the tops so that they are all flush and so that there is a about a 1/16 inch gap on top and bottom so the doors close smooth. I got to sanded them down a bit as well to get the glue off.
I was also sick of having all my spare parts laying around in my sump and around the display tank so I got a storage cabniet from wal-mart. Worked out pretty well might need to get a bigger one later depending on how many more chemicals I will need to put in there.
If you can't tell this aquarium is rather tall about 6'6" over all so it is a litte tough even for me at 6'2" to get into the aquarium. So I got a step stool from Costco in order for me to be able to reach the bottom from now on.
And this is what it looked like since we last left off.
Update 2.0
Update 2.0
Now for the good NEWS! I got a skimmer a rather nice one too I think especially for the price. I was going to go for a Coarlife Super Skimmer since I had one in the past on my 55 gallon but have been hearing alot of negative things about them. Then I was going to go with a Eshoppes until I got offered a ASM G2 Skimmer from a Flomojo on centralcoastreefkeepers.com. I ended up with the skimmer that has a Sedra 5000 pump, at least that is what we think it is but the sticker has been taken off so we can't be to sure, it also has a mesh mod done to it. I also got a spare pump a Sedra 3500 almost brand new since it was switched out for the 5000 orginally. Not only that but it also came with two spare propeller shafts as well as a spare needle wheel impeller. All this for $125 bucks I think I made out pretty well on this deal . I am going to be doing the Gate Valve mod to this skimmer once I get the valve and plumbing parts since it will greatly improve the way to adjust the skintamite. Any way pictures now.
Some in the sump shot this is where is will sit.
And finally some full tank shots.
Update 2.0
Now for the good NEWS! I got a skimmer a rather nice one too I think especially for the price. I was going to go for a Coarlife Super Skimmer since I had one in the past on my 55 gallon but have been hearing alot of negative things about them. Then I was going to go with a Eshoppes until I got offered a ASM G2 Skimmer from a Flomojo on centralcoastreefkeepers.com. I ended up with the skimmer that has a Sedra 5000 pump, at least that is what we think it is but the sticker has been taken off so we can't be to sure, it also has a mesh mod done to it. I also got a spare pump a Sedra 3500 almost brand new since it was switched out for the 5000 orginally. Not only that but it also came with two spare propeller shafts as well as a spare needle wheel impeller. All this for $125 bucks I think I made out pretty well on this deal . I am going to be doing the Gate Valve mod to this skimmer once I get the valve and plumbing parts since it will greatly improve the way to adjust the skintamite. Any way pictures now.
Some in the sump shot this is where is will sit.
And finally some full tank shots.
Well I was able to get some more stuff done on the aquarium this weekend.
I went to the Home Depot and picked up a sheet of 1/2" birch plywood for my sides since it looks pretty similar to the poplar. I also picked up a sheet of 1/16" of door skin for the back of the doors to hide all that fiberglass material.
I cut the siding out of the full sheet and have enough left over to redo the back of the aquarium stand since I don't really like the scrap plywood that is on there now.
Siding
I then put the door skins on and screwed them in place with some small wood screws I think I am going to have to come up with another idea to hold down the door skin because the screws are pretty noticeable at least they are not as bad as the fiber glass that was there.
Left Side Door
Right Side Door
I also picked up a gate valve, an elbow, a tee, and a foot of 1 1/4" pvc for a gate valve mod on my ASM G2 Skimmer. Also since OSH was having a no sales tax event I saved some cash.
Gate Valve Set Up
Before Valve
After Valve
And this is about it for this weekend I am going to get a dremel and notch out some wood on the bottom panel so I can get the side panels on next.
I went to the Home Depot and picked up a sheet of 1/2" birch plywood for my sides since it looks pretty similar to the poplar. I also picked up a sheet of 1/16" of door skin for the back of the doors to hide all that fiberglass material.
I cut the siding out of the full sheet and have enough left over to redo the back of the aquarium stand since I don't really like the scrap plywood that is on there now.
Siding
I then put the door skins on and screwed them in place with some small wood screws I think I am going to have to come up with another idea to hold down the door skin because the screws are pretty noticeable at least they are not as bad as the fiber glass that was there.
Left Side Door
Right Side Door
I also picked up a gate valve, an elbow, a tee, and a foot of 1 1/4" pvc for a gate valve mod on my ASM G2 Skimmer. Also since OSH was having a no sales tax event I saved some cash.
Gate Valve Set Up
Before Valve
After Valve
And this is about it for this weekend I am going to get a dremel and notch out some wood on the bottom panel so I can get the side panels on next.
I have been working on some of the final touches of getting the siding on the 90 gallon. I will post pictures of that up later since I don't have any of those right now. But I was able to snap a few pics of some other things I was doing.
I will start off with an sort of off topic pic of my 20 gallon QT tank that I have set up now with my clownfish and a assortment of crabs in it. They are all looking really good and I added that other Korallia Nano to the tank yesterday to give it some more flow as you can see by the sand being blown up a little bit.
I also was able to trim the front of the wave on top it was hanging over since we installed it and since I was able to barrow a dremel I got it cut off and sanded it down to follow the curve through.
I still have more sanding to do!
(I am getting really tired of sanding)
And finally I had to sand down the side of the top 2x4's in order to make the siding sit flush against the top piece. It was off by about 1/16 of an inch so it took a while to sand down but now that it is done the sides fit on perfect and all the uglyness will be covered up by the sides. I also had a little bit of help from the dremel here as well.
I am going to do some more work later today which will involve finishing putting the sides on then filling the cracks where the top and sides meet and also fill any other holes I can find.
I will start off with an sort of off topic pic of my 20 gallon QT tank that I have set up now with my clownfish and a assortment of crabs in it. They are all looking really good and I added that other Korallia Nano to the tank yesterday to give it some more flow as you can see by the sand being blown up a little bit.
I also was able to trim the front of the wave on top it was hanging over since we installed it and since I was able to barrow a dremel I got it cut off and sanded it down to follow the curve through.
I still have more sanding to do!
(I am getting really tired of sanding)And finally I had to sand down the side of the top 2x4's in order to make the siding sit flush against the top piece. It was off by about 1/16 of an inch so it took a while to sand down but now that it is done the sides fit on perfect and all the uglyness will be covered up by the sides. I also had a little bit of help from the dremel here as well.
I am going to do some more work later today which will involve finishing putting the sides on then filling the cracks where the top and sides meet and also fill any other holes I can find.
drstratton
New member
That is looking fantastic. Thanks for all of the pictures. I was sorry to hear about your clown fish, I'm glad you were able to save the other. I sympathise with you, I also hate sanding, but it is totally worth it in the end. Hang in there!!! 
That is looking fantastic. Thanks for all of the pictures. I was sorry to hear about your clown fish, I'm glad you were able to save the other. I sympathise with you, I also hate sanding, but it is totally worth it in the end. Hang in there!!!
Yea I have more work to do today the bottom peice of wood that the doors rest on is not hanging out far enough so I am going to kerf another piece of poplar to make it wide enough and to make it have a nice finishing touch.
lgreeeeeen
New member
wow...awesome stand!
I am not sure on the pump part from what I have heard it does do a great imporvement. But if you look at the pictures of the two pumps you will see they are the same I think that they are both 3500's because the 500 has a handle on it so yea... and the gate valve mod was about 13 dollars you need a 1 1/4 tee, 1 1/4 gate valve, 1 1/4 elbow and about 1 foot of pipe.
Brandon1652
New member
I have had the ASM G2 with the 3500 and currently run the G3 which has the 5000. I think the 5000 is a much better pump.
Another modification you might consider for your skimmer is the recirc mod. You can then feed the skimmer directly from the overflow. I just did this to mine to get ready for my new build (had been wanting to do it but put it off) and it skims much better now, wish I hadn't waited. Best mod I have ever done.
Great build so far, and those are some awesome equipment deals you have found.
Update
Update
Well I was able to get some more done on the stand over the past few days and it has turned out pretty well. When I was putting the siding on the stand I noticed that the bottom piece of wood that the doors would rest on would not be wide enough for them seems like I missed a calculation somewhere. So Since I still needed to come up with an idea on how to cover up the bottom to make it look good I brought the kerfing technique back into the picture to get the job done. This way I am able to extended the bottom piece of wood far enough out for the doors and make it look good all at the same time.
So I went out and got a piece of poplar wood to get started I got a 1x4 from ace hardware.
The panel up front for the wood to be added too.
This is what it looked like before the cutting began.
And this is what it looked like after the kerfing technique.
I have gotten pretty good at this technique and can now say I am a kerfing expert!
So after that I got the piece set up to be glued to the bottom panel. Supplies were needed I need lots of glue and lots of wood clamps ranging in size, as you can see it set up.
Poplar set up and ready to go.
Glue added and clamps on!
Looks good doesn't it well here is some bad new remember how I said that I had gotten 1x4 wood well my thinking was that I need to get a piece that was 4 1/4" in order to make it fit perfect but I though that a 4" would be enough and we wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Well since I didn't measure the piece of wood I later found out that at ace they go by another method of measuring wood so it is only a 3 1/2" piece of wood. Since it is that small it won't work so after I relized this I took all the clamps off and got the wood off before the glue dried. So I went back out to Home Depot this time with a measuring tape to be sure to get the right piece of wood. When I got there I look at their way of measuring and it is accurate (why can't they all be on the same page) well I got a 5 1/2" piece and I will trim it the size on a table saw.
Update
Well I was able to get some more done on the stand over the past few days and it has turned out pretty well. When I was putting the siding on the stand I noticed that the bottom piece of wood that the doors would rest on would not be wide enough for them seems like I missed a calculation somewhere. So Since I still needed to come up with an idea on how to cover up the bottom to make it look good I brought the kerfing technique back into the picture to get the job done. This way I am able to extended the bottom piece of wood far enough out for the doors and make it look good all at the same time.
So I went out and got a piece of poplar wood to get started I got a 1x4 from ace hardware.
The panel up front for the wood to be added too.
This is what it looked like before the cutting began.
And this is what it looked like after the kerfing technique.
I have gotten pretty good at this technique and can now say I am a kerfing expert!
So after that I got the piece set up to be glued to the bottom panel. Supplies were needed I need lots of glue and lots of wood clamps ranging in size, as you can see it set up.
Poplar set up and ready to go.
Glue added and clamps on!
Looks good doesn't it well here is some bad new remember how I said that I had gotten 1x4 wood well my thinking was that I need to get a piece that was 4 1/4" in order to make it fit perfect but I though that a 4" would be enough and we wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Well since I didn't measure the piece of wood I later found out that at ace they go by another method of measuring wood so it is only a 3 1/2" piece of wood. Since it is that small it won't work so after I relized this I took all the clamps off and got the wood off before the glue dried. So I went back out to Home Depot this time with a measuring tape to be sure to get the right piece of wood. When I got there I look at their way of measuring and it is accurate (why can't they all be on the same page) well I got a 5 1/2" piece and I will trim it the size on a table saw.
Update
Update
All trimmed the process begins again.
Half way done.
Close up shot every 1/4"
Clamped on!
Okay while that was drying me and my wife were able to rearrange the living room to get the aquarium to really fit in. I have been spending all this money on the system and want to be able to enjoy one of the main reasons we moved was to have a larger living room. So we are going to set it up in the corner next to the TV I will be angled so that we can see it from both couches and even the kitchen. I am going to leave enough room on the right side of it to be able to get the back of the aquarium just in case anything springs a leak in the rear plumbing.
New living room set up.
Update
All trimmed the process begins again.
Half way done.
Close up shot every 1/4"
Clamped on!
Okay while that was drying me and my wife were able to rearrange the living room to get the aquarium to really fit in. I have been spending all this money on the system and want to be able to enjoy one of the main reasons we moved was to have a larger living room. So we are going to set it up in the corner next to the TV I will be angled so that we can see it from both couches and even the kitchen. I am going to leave enough room on the right side of it to be able to get the back of the aquarium just in case anything springs a leak in the rear plumbing.
New living room set up.
Update
Update
Now that we got that all done 3 hours later. I guess moving all the electrical was a little more involved then my wife thought I like it to be tidy so zip ties and wire hold downs are a must for me. So after the stand got to dry overnight to really let it dry here are some pics without the clamps.
Front Shot.
Side Shot.
You can see the each side of the wave is hanging over by about 6" I left it that way so that I can just dremel it off to be a perfect fit instead of trying to figure out the exact measurement.
After that was all done I got some nails out and renforced the bottom wave piece. Unfortunalty pictures are lacking in this process I will get some up later today probably. I did how ever get out the wood filler and filled all the notches left behind from the kerfing process. Lot of wood filler, with more sanding to come.
Filler!
More Filler!
Final shot you can see how I trimmed the sides off with the dremel here to make it fit really well.
Well that is all that I have been up this is quite an update hope you enjoy!
Update
Now that we got that all done 3 hours later. I guess moving all the electrical was a little more involved then my wife thought
I like it to be tidy so zip ties and wire hold downs are a must for me. So after the stand got to dry overnight to really let it dry here are some pics without the clamps.Front Shot.
Side Shot.
You can see the each side of the wave is hanging over by about 6" I left it that way so that I can just dremel it off to be a perfect fit instead of trying to figure out the exact measurement.
After that was all done I got some nails out and renforced the bottom wave piece. Unfortunalty pictures are lacking in this process I will get some up later today probably. I did how ever get out the wood filler and filled all the notches left behind from the kerfing process. Lot of wood filler, with more sanding to come.
Filler!
More Filler!
Final shot you can see how I trimmed the sides off with the dremel here to make it fit really well.
Well that is all that I have been up this is quite an update hope you enjoy!
