93G Cube build/ down-sized from 220g

[Mo-sachi]

1st build thread. please have mercy on me.. I decided to take pictures and document late in the build process. Should you have any questions please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer. Thanks for looking.

Quick history on what led to this build. We moved.......We had a simplistic 220g acrylic aquarium with an 80g sump. Had it running for about 6mths then faced an abrupt move due to landlord selling property.

Anyhoo, I digress.. We are now excited owners of a 93g cube purchased off a fellow reefer on C-list. I must say it is a wonderfully sized "dimensions" tank. [30x30x24]

To start off, my wife and I decided on a DIY stand which is all we will cover on this thread entry. It came with a nice one, but it didn't go with our decor.

So on to DIY: Started on the stand structure.
We decided to have a 32" tall stand (height based on skimmer requirement: Cloud9 Coral box) which I had running in my 220g, and length enough to have an isolated compartment for electronics.
This is the frame: 55Lx37Wx32H

Stand is 55" long providing enough room for all necessary equipment and for optimal space coverage for the wall we are placing it against. The center braces is where the tank would sit on. Since it isn't rimless I opted for not having any board placed on top of stand, which helped immensely with weight reduction.

Reason for 37W although the tank is 30" is to accommodate the external Bean Animal style overflow it has. AWESOMENESS!!! Dead silent, we love it...

So dimensions is as follows: Looking from left to right. (See above pic)
- Left edge to 1st center brace is 12"
- Center brace width is set at 31" so the tank can sit center of 2x4s. The front of the tank will sit on the "front" brace. The rear of the tank will be floating and there is a reason for that, which I will explain with pics later.
- Right center brace to right edge is also 12". Will not be partitioned for anything.

I planned on placing a single piece of plywood no the bottom of stand for the sump area. But had to cut it into two pieces due to the center brace supports at the rear of the stand. (See below pic)

This is it for now. I will paint stand frame white and will update thread once paint is dried and take additional pictures. Thanks again.

 

[truepercs]

I really like your aquascape...

 

[Mo-sachi]

I really like your aquascape...

That was from the 220g we had. Plenty of room to play around with that. I appreciate it.

 

[truepercs]

That was from the 220g we had. Plenty of room to play around with that. I appreciate it.

I am sure you will do a great job on the aquascape with the smaller tank as well!

 

[hostiledriftcrew]

Cant wait to see how it turns out!

 

[Mo-sachi]

Cant wait to see how it turns out!

Thanks! I will certainly continue to document progression with pics.

 

[Mo-sachi]

Update on the build. My apologies for taking so long. Things got busy, other responsibilities, etc.. We've all faced it one time or another.
It's been two weeks (Give or take) since my initial update.

This is what the tank and stand looked like when I purchased it. I really like the tank dimensions and Bean Animal Overflow. I noticed I didn't post a pic upon starting the thread. Temp 250MH fixture. Will be changing to LED.

On to the build, shall we?

The Stand frame has been painted white with Kilz and it is now inside our home.
Pic below shows the white frame and initial layout of the electronics compartment.

The plan was for it to look like this:

SIDE SHOT:
(The glove is there to catch drips from unfinished return line. I have all the plumbing parts but am waiting to finish the sump in order to do it all at one time.)
As for the wiring, I will dress and allocate as required when plumbing is done and equipment in the sump is in its proper place. This will give me the proper length of wiring I will have to dress.

Inside the equipment cabinet:
- Digital Aquatics RKE with 2 RE4s
- The controllers for the Return and Skimmer pumps
- JBJ ATO controller
- Super Luft air pump (to aerate the mater in the sump, which will help with stabilizing PH by minimizing CO2 spikes.) Will be running 2 wooden air stones in the drain area of sump.
- All power supplies for power heads and pumps.

Everything in this cabinet is plugged into the "power strip" module that shows 3.32 amps (displays current usage in real time). It has 10 outlets behind it and uses a 20amp circuit. I replaced the wall outlet to a 20amp GFCI. seen above the tank. The module and LED light are plugged into it. I will be placing a cover on it for protection. Time was of the essence in putting livestock back in tank after draining it and swapping stands. It took 7.5hrs to swap! I had the livestock on a 44g Rubbermaid container with heater, power head and air pump. They did well, I lost my Diamond Goby. Found him in the sump next day. Poor guy. He put in WORK!


My wife and I decided on the color scheme and also the top of the stand surrounding the tank to be a "grounding color". Which I do appreciate, and installed planks to give it a nice rustic feel, but not overboard.
The plan is to have 2 removable panels;
1- Side equipment panel
2- Front Sump access
{Excuse the mess in the sump area, it is a temp sump.} I am working on the custom 40g breeder and when complete will replace current setup.

As far as the aquascaping goes, it is still in work. We haven't decided on the final layout do to how the tank is viewed and angles. This will be covered at a later date. We didn't have a system available to hold our livestock for the duration of this build so we have had to improvise and build around what we have. Which has been challenging, but fun at the same time. I have certainly learned a lot through this process.

The panels will be painted using Rust-oleum: Gloss Smoke Gray and will be trimmed white. This is in keeping with our home décor. (My wife's department, which she does a fantastic job at; being a Certified Make-up Artist and all!) "Insert money for coral here!" In all seriousness, she is awesome!


This is the progress so far. Please let me know of any potential mishaps you might see and also any advice / opinions on the build. Thank you again. have a great day!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Looking good!

 

[Mo-sachi]

Looking good!

Thanks!

 

[Mo-sachi]

last night some more work got done with the stand. Painted panels and trim put on. The panels were drying for 48hrs before trim installed.

Really excited about it. Just a few more pieces of trim for finishing touches, not really noticeable in the front lower portion of tank itself. More of a gap filler.

The panels are sitting on L brackets on bottom side and secured to frame using cabinet door latches. This allows for easy removal. I used door trim on each panel. What do you guys think?