90 gallon diy budget build.

[KBlue]

I started the work on my 90 gallon budget build today. I’ve spent the last few months getting the tank, parts and pieces, and supplies. Still more to get but this will get me going and keep me busy. I’ve always wanted my own salt water aquarium and now is the time. Unfortunately I don’t have the finances to just go out and buy everything new right off the shelf. So I’ve had to resort to used items or searching the interweb to find the best deals. I’m very DIY minded and feel with some creativity and elbow grease I can end up with a pretty good looking aquarium on a relatively tight budget.
I started this journey with a used 75 gallon bow front with stand that I picked up for $90, but once I got it home, and really started looking at it and trying to figure out what I wanted to doI realized there was a lot of work that needed to be done to it (resealing, scratched glass, the stand really couldn’t fit a sump). All wasn’t a total loss. I
parted out the setup and ended up doubling my money. I soon found a great deal ($250) on a 90 gallon tank with stand and canopy. Now I know canopies are a little dated as compared to the sleeker more modern look of the rimless, but this is a budget build and a rimless tank isn’t in the budget. Also I’m still trying to get my wife to warm up to the idea of having an aquarium. The style of my tank better fits our rustic farmhouse style. And the tank setup has more of a furniture feel. I like that I will be able to conceal the lighting and if she wants to add a planted pot to the top she can. Lol.
Todays work was to begin modifying the canopy to hold two Vipraspectra 165w lights, that of course I found used but in really great shape. In fact I got 3 of them for $200. So I have an extra if one ever goes bad. I also had to modify the lights so they can be mounted to the canopy and not suspended by cables like they were intended. This meant removing the threaded studs and replacing them with screws to mount to the canopy. While I had the lights apart I removed the 90* lenses to help with the spread as I’m only going to be able to have the lights about 8-9” above the water. I will also be adding some trim to raise the canopy.
There is plenty to do with this build. I’ll be painting the canopy and base a gray color, drilling the tank for overflow and return, building the 5 chamber sump using a 29 gallon tank, plumbing, building and RO/DI water filtration setup, aquascaping with base rock, and acquiring more supplies and equipment. Oh and at some point finally adding fish and coral.
Please feel free to add your ideas, comments, and suggestions. I’ve always been one to take a little bit from whatever people tell me and make it work for me. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this ends up. Welcome to my journey!

 

[blaxsun]

Looks like a great spring-summer project!

 

[bradreef]

Tons of budget options for your tank. You are off to a good start. Any idea what your long term goal is for the tank? What you want to keep?

 

[KBlue]

Tons of budget options for your tank. You are off to a good start. Any idea what your long term goal is for the tank? What you want to keep?

Hi Brad! Long term is to have a healthy thriving coral tank lol. But really, I’m going to start with SPS and soft corals, and the beginner utility fish, clowns, tangs and others. Eventually as I build experience, knowledge, and finances I’ll upgrade to better equipment, filtration, and more challenging corals and fish.

 

[bradreef]

I have a 75 with mostly sps and on a budget. Your lighting will grow anything. You are off to a great start. My thoughts on equipment that would work and save $

if you want to keep SPS

Budget flow
Jebao
Hygger 3400gph x2.


Return pump
Jebao return is solid 3000 or 3500 would work perfectly.


rock
i am a big fan of seeding with some live rock, However, i think breaking dry rock into small pieces and making structures allows for better placement for corals, customer structures for looks, more hiding spaces, better flow throughout the tank, and is awesome. I personally like to use super glue and baking soda and then cover with super glue and rock dust. It is amazing how strong super glue and baking soda are.

Filtration
I would recommend starting wtih a refugium in your sump and adding a skimmer later. It really helps to build the bio diversity at the start of a tank vs heavy nutrient removal.

 

[KBlue]

I have a 75 with mostly sps and on a budget. Your lighting will grow anything. You are off to a great start. My thoughts on equipment that would work and save $

if you want to keep SPS

Budget flow
Jebao
Hygger 3400gph x2.


Return pump
Jebao return is solid 3000 or 3500 would work perfectly.


rock
i am a big fan of seeding with some live rock, However, i think breaking dry rock into small pieces and making structures allows for better placement for corals, customer structures for looks, more hiding spaces, better flow throughout the tank, and is awesome. I personally like to use super glue and baking soda and then cover with super glue and rock dust. It is amazing how strong super glue and baking soda are.

Filtration
I would recommend starting wtih a refugium in your sump and adding a skimmer later. It really helps to build the bio diversity at the start of a tank vs heavy nutrient removal.

I have a 75 with mostly sps and on a budget. Your lighting will grow anything. You are off to a great start. My thoughts on equipment that would work and save $

if you want to keep SPS

Budget flow
Jebao
Hygger 3400gph x2.


Return pump
Jebao return is solid 3000 or 3500 would work perfectly.


rock
i am a big fan of seeding with some live rock, However, i think breaking dry rock into small pieces and making structures allows for better placement for corals, customer structures for looks, more hiding spaces, better flow throughout the tank, and is awesome. I personally like to use super glue and baking soda and then cover with super glue and rock dust. It is amazing how strong super glue and baking soda are.

Filtration
I would recommend starting wtih a refugium in your sump and adding a skimmer later. It really helps to build the bio diversity at the start of a tank vs heavy nutrient removal.

Hey thanks for the input. Funny but you and I are on the same wavelength. Probably because we are budget minded. I’ll be using a Jebao 4000 return pump that I actually got for free while picking up 2 koralia flow pumps with a hydor controller. The guy just kept throwing in things for free. All in great condition.
I’m also going the dry rock way and building the aquascape. I haven’t heard of the baking soda and superglue idea. I was going to use the rock dust and superglue. You fill the joint with dust then add thin superglue. Seems to hold very well also.
Looks like the refugium is the way to go. I planned on that also. I picked up a nearly new 29 gallon standard tank ($25) to use as my sump. I will be buying a new 5 chamber refugium sump kit to add to the tank.
Later on I will get the skimmer.

 

[KBlue]

I just picked up 110lbs of rock/coral and I’m not sure what road to take for the aquascape. Stack it or glue it. What would you do if you had this to work with? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[bradreef]

Break it and glue it. Think about what coral and where you want it to grow. Flow, space, and light.

Sculpting DIY Rock

Hi, its been a couple of years since I was able to have a reef tank, but I am looking to start. I want to make a DIY bonsai reef aquascape because I don't want to get a second mortgage to buy live rock. I have most of my plans figured out in terms of the skeleton of the build. I was wondering if...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[KBlue]

Today’s little California rainy day project was building the mixing station. Fortunately I have a 3rd bathroom off my garage that never gets used so I figured this would be a great place for the mixing station and tank room.
I started with finding a deal (or course) on a food grade 55 gallon drum ($35) that will be for saltwater. From my past beer making hobby I had a 6.5 gallon bucket that I will use for RO/DI water storage for top offs and whatever… I installed float vales in both the barrel and bucket. I added a water level sight tube that I will mark-off in 5-10 gallon levels later.
For water filtration I first got a 4 stage 50gpd RO/DI system but realized it wasn’t really going to work for me so I stepped up to the AquaticLife 4 stage 100gpd. I did pay more for this system than I wanted to but Amazon was offering a $125 gift card if you sign up for a credit card. So I signed up, got the gift card, and will never use the credit card. After applying the gift card I only had to make up the difference of $40. This system seams well made and solid. And just because I had it lying around I added an extra inline filter. Overall installation was pretty straightforward and since I had previously set up the 50gpd unit the learning curve was eliminated.
I ran it through its flushing process and now it’s ready to make RO/DI water.
On to the next project…

 

[KBlue]

I thought I’d only have time for one build project today but I ended up finishing another. My wife has been very patient with this build and hobby of mine. It’s been a surprise. Lol. Anyways I moved on to building the 29 gallon refugium sump.
Several weeks ago I found a used 29 gallon tank in excellent condition, still had the Aqueon labels on it. Picked it up for $25. I bought a DIY baffle kit from Marine Biosystems (https://www.ebay.com/str/marinebios...uid=-ylx2hwutis&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY) and I have to admit it was the best quality product I have run across. The pieces were engineered and precision cut perfectly. It’s a very professional looking product. Pretty straightforward design which made assembly easy. A half tube of silicone and a few hours later and it was done.
On to the next project…

 

[McCarrick]

Following!

 

[KBlue]

It’s been a pretty productive last couple of days. Over the weekend I worked on the mixing station. After I finished setting it up I found that my house water pressure isn’t the best. The gauge on the 100gpd RO/DI system read about 37-40psi which wasn’t going to be enough. I ordered the Aquatec 6800 booster pump to help improve the pressure and it did. I’m now getting about 65-69psi which is perfect. The install was pretty straightforward. I’d suggest watching a few YouTube videos on it and you shouldn’t have any issues. I did need to make some small adjustments to the high pressure switch but after I got it dialed in it was up and running.
Next I started work on the stand. It really didn’t need much, just some cleaning, filling in some holes and nicks. I reinforced a few of the supports just to be sure. I gave it a good scuffing with 400 grit sandpaper and and covered it with 3 coats of Rustoliums 2X Coverage satin black. It turned out pretty good and the black hides the small imperfections. I’ve decided I’m not going to use the canopy I spent a hole weekend on, but once I got done with it I realized it was just to big and bulky and looks like a top hat. So I’m going to make a simple suspended from the ceiling canopy. Disappointed that I wasted all that time but sometimes the best laid plans don’t workout and changes need to be made.
Last night I finally got to the tank. I needed to drill holes for the Modular Marine 1200gph Low Profile Overflow and the two return bulkheads. https://modularmarine.com/collectio...-low-profile-overflow-box-with-removable-weir
So far I’m pretty impressed with the quality of the design and materials. I’ll be adding a bean animal setup to it. The directions were easy to follow and the template for drilling made it nearly fool proof. Just make sure to read the directions thoroughly before you start. With a rimmed tank there is some adjustment needed to the template to make sure the overflow will fit correctly. If you have never drilled through glass watch a few YouTube videos to see how and also confirm you don’t have tempered glass. There are YouTube videos on how to tell if you have tempered glass or not. Just take it slow with the drilling and you will be ok.

 

[KBlue]

It’s been a pretty productive last couple of days. Over the weekend I worked on the mixing station. After I finished setting it up I found that my house water pressure isn’t the best. The gauge on the 100gpd RO/DI system read about 37-40psi which wasn’t going to be enough. I ordered the Aquatec 6800 booster pump to help improve the pressure and it did. I’m now getting about 65-69psi which is perfect. The install was pretty straightforward. I’d suggest watching a few YouTube videos on it and you shouldn’t have any issues. I did need to make some small adjustments to the high pressure switch but after I got it dialed in it was up and running.
Next I started work on the stand. It really didn’t need much, just some cleaning, filling in some holes and nicks. I reinforced a few of the supports just to be sure. I gave it a good scuffing with 400 grit sandpaper and and covered it with 3 coats of Rustoliums 2X Coverage satin black. It turned out pretty good and the black hides the small imperfections. I’ve decided I’m not going to use the canopy I spent a hole weekend on, but once I got done with it I realized it was just to big and bulky and looks like a top hat. So I’m going to make a simple suspended from the ceiling canopy. Disappointed that I wasted all that time but sometimes the best laid plans don’t workout and changes need to be made.
Last night I finally got to the tank. I needed to drill holes for the Modular Marine 1200gph Low Profile Overflow and the two return bulkheads. https://modularmarine.com/collectio...-low-profile-overflow-box-with-removable-weir
So far I’m pretty impressed with the quality of the design and materials. I’ll be adding a bean animal setup to it. The directions were easy to follow and the template for drilling made it nearly fool proof. Just make sure to read the directions thoroughly before you start. With a rimmed tank there is some adjustment needed to the template to make sure the overflow will fit correctly. If you have never drilled through glass watch a few YouTube videos to see how and also confirm you don’t have tempered glass. There are YouTube videos on how to tell if you have tempered glass or not. Just take it slow with the drilling and you will be ok.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Love the way the stand is looking!

 

[jmarina]

Following along, looking awesome!

 

[docforestal]

Looking great, you have done some amazing work for cheap, can't wait to see your system started and develop

 

[McCarrick]

When the build is completed I'd love to see a price break down for how much it was to build this. I'm also wanting to do a similar 90 gallon build and am looking at ways to set it up and yours is the best (and most detailed) I've found so far.

 

[KBlue]

Getting ready for the aquascape build. I think I’m going to go with a hybrid of glue and stack. We’ll see once I actually start. I have 110 lbs of rock and 4’ wide 17” deep and 23” tall area to work with. Let’s see where this goes, stay tuned…

 

[alexageiger0110]

All of the construction build... I love it can you explain why and what you are rebuilding? Just the glass tank itself? Or just the sub tank? Sorry new to the hobby

 

[KBlue]

All of the construction build... I love it can you explain why and what you are rebuilding? Just the glass tank itself? Or just the sub tank? Sorry new to the hobby

Hello. I’m building a 90 gal system that I’m trying to keep budget minded. The tank and stand is used. I was modifying the hood to work with vipraspectra lights. However I realized the hood was going to be to big and bulky. I’m now going to build a “floating” canopy. The sump is a diy kit where you use a standard sized tank, 29 gal Aqueon in my case, and buy a diy baffle sump kit. Saved a ton of money over buying a pre built sump. The last post with the cardboard and blue tape is where I’m going to build the aquascape (coral and rock). The blue tape represents the inside dimensions of the tank so I know where I can go with the rock.