Jay and Amy's 90 gallon build thread

[Vaiodude]

Well we were not really looking to upgrade but our 3 year old 55 gallon mixed reef was getting very full. Last Friday morning Amy called me at work and asked if I saw Franky's for sale thread of his 75 gallon setup. It is a Marineland Monterey Cherry Stand, Canopy, Reef Ready Tank, and ATI 48" 6 bulb dimmable T5 fixture with added moonlight led strips.

I had and I knew it was a steal but wasn't sure if it would look right where I would want the tank. We ruled it out and just agreed it was probably too big.

When I got home from work it was still on my mind so I decided to put down the dimensions with painters tape on the floor to get an idea of how it might look.

After a lot of consideration we decided to go for it and PM'd Franky. We picked it up the next day and moved it into our basement for cleaning.

After a bit of TLC the setup looks brand new!

 

[Vaiodude]

So after doing some research I found out that the stand was made for a 75,90, or 110 setup. I decided to go with a 90 gallon Marineland RR.

In the meantime I have been researching equipment like crazy. I finally decided on a Trigger Systems Emerald 34 Sump.

I will be using the Coral Box D500 skimmer that I just bought at FFM.

For a return pump I will most likely go with a Deepwater Aquatics BLDC 5 pump. I was considering the extra $ to get the Exotech Vectra M1 pump, but some of the reviews mentioned that they run warm and saw a 4 degree increase in water temp. I will not be running a chiller so that will not be good. The Deepwater pump seems like the best value for DC pumps but is out of stock in many places.

 

[DarkTang]

Following

 

[Brewman1987]

Looking forward to this

 

[fastest302]

Following this

 

[Masedaddy]

Awesome Sauce!!!

 

[KorL]

Nice find. Like the stand and canopy

 

[Vaiodude]

Can't wait the sump arrives today! Who would have ever thought we could get so excited about a plastic box lol!

 

[Brewman1987]

Which sump did you end up going with? I'm currently thinking of upgrading to a bigger sump,my current water level in the 20l isn't cutting it and would like to have a designated filter sock area.

Edit: nevermind just scrolled up a few post lol. Post some close up shots of the sump when you get it.

 

[Vaiodude]

Which sump did you end up going with? I'm currently thinking of upgrading to a bigger sump,my current water level in the 20l isn't cutting it and would like to have a designated filter sock area.

Edit: nevermind just scrolled up a few post lol. Post some close up shots of the sump when you get it.

I will get some pics of it up later. Everything I have read/heard leads me to believe I will be very happy with it.

 

[booth2010]

Can't wait the sump arrives today! Who would have ever thought we could get so excited about a plastic box lol!

I have the same sump but I went custom with blue acrylic instead of green, you will like it.

 

[Vaiodude]

I got home from work this afternoon and the sump had arrived!!

Of coarse the first thing I had to do was un-package it!! I was really impressed with the packaging that Trigger Systems uses.

It looks awesome in the stand.

Kudos to Trigger Systems, this really looks like a well made product!

Now I just need to finish the inside of the stand. I will be adding a new floor to the stand as it was used with a basement sump and there is a square cut in the bottom. I want to seal the entire base up and paint it black to waterproof in case of a leak somewhere down the line.

 

[Brewman1987]

Looks like a real nice piece of equipment

 

[Masedaddy]

Do you plan on an in-sump fuge? If so what light are you considering?

 

[Vaiodude]

Do you plan on an in-sump fuge? If so what light are you considering?

Definitely planing an in sump fuge. Thinking about using the second chamber split between the skimmer and an egg crate box with cheato. I like like reefbreeders gooseneck fuge light. This would leave the fist Chamber to be a frag area with a Kessil A150 over it.

Still have a lot of decisions to make.....

 

[Brewman1987]

Jay I have the good neck fuge light, the gooseneck is massive and the light is a champ at growing chaeto.

 

[Frankyrivera]

Nice sump. Sorry bout the cut out lol never thought to save the piece I cut out lol. Thank god you didn't have that center brace huh. That thing fits nicely in there

 

[Vaiodude]

Nice sump. Sorry bout the cut out lol never thought to save the piece I cut out lol. Thank god you didn't have that center brace huh. That thing fits nicely in there

No problem,it's all part of the build! I seriously considered a basement sump, but I couldn't really determine a good spot to put the sump area.

I picked up the 90 gallon today everything is coming together smoothly!

 

[Vaiodude]

My plan for the sump is to make the first chamber a frag area with a tunze nano wave maker and a kessil A150 for lighting. The frag rack will be black egg crate. The second chamber is where I plan to put the skimmer and behind the skimmer I am going to make an open top cube of black egg crate to put macro algae with a gooseneck fuge light over it. For a return pump I'm about 90% sure I am going with the Deepwater BLDC5.

 

[Vaiodude]

The stand is coming along:

Removed the old floor with the basement sump cutout.

Stopped by Home Depot today and got a new price of birch plywood to replace the old floor. Cut to fit and installed using silicone and screws to make it watertight in the event of a leak.

First coat of Kilz down with one to go. Then I plan on two coats of Rustoleum White appliance enamel.