# Limeyman's 90gallon Reef Ready wooden stand



## Limeyman (Dec 25, 2010)

Like many of us, I started with a small freshwater tank and stand, before moving to a salty system and added all the extras as funds came up and the needs arose. The one item that always irked me was the quality of most of the commercially (AKA Petsmart MDF) supplied stands, unless we wanted to spend a lot more money on a high quality plywood or metal stand. I saw that lots of people had designed and built there own so decided to go this way. As they say on Top Gear 'How hard can it be?". Actually with careful planning, the correct tools, and a modicum of skill, it wasn't too hard, so here is my version.










I had been planning on upgrading from the existing 75g Bowfront for a while, and found a steal on an Aqueon 90g, bought it and started planning the stand. I wanted to use as much of the existing equipment as possible. The 75 was not drilled and used a Lifereef overflow. This would not be needed with the new system

The stand was to be 49" X 19" X 33" with enough room for Aqueon 3 sump and Avast Marine CS1 skimmer. The sump is 30" long so the opening had to be 31" wide. Should it be plywood or 2 X 4 construction? I decided to combine both for strength and rigidity. I had recently reinforced the flooring so had a 12' 2 X 10 left over which worked out perfectly when halved to 5" for the base and top (also saved money). 2 X 4's were used for the verticals which were doubled up to 4 X4 by gluing and screwing together. You can see the way they were used in joining the top and bottom pictures










I have to give credit to BUTASKA of Aquatic Plant Central for the ides of the upright's

The top and bottom were 47.5" X 18" skinned with 3/4" plywood which was screwed and glued. I allowed 3/4" extra on each side. Why did I select a design with plywood under the base? Because the stand would sit on a carpet floor, and I wanted to make the base a spill/overflow reservoir, just in case of a skimmer overflow. I had used a stand with similar design some time ago and it worked fine when sealed. After each stage, squaring and leveling was checked










I forgot to take pics of the top and bottom on the uprights prior to skinning, but you can see the idea on the pic with the sealing in place










What about the door?. I decided against having hinges and 2 doors, and took the same way as Glasscages does with their stands. I marked the front panel and used a jigsaw to cut out the one piece panel which is completely removeable. It is actually held in place in the stand using magnets. Front vertical supports were then added to the stand once the skin was in place










The stand was skinned with 3/4" ply on the front and 1/2" on the ends. Once it was all glued and screwed together all edges were routed smooth. Trim pieces were 1 X 2 and this was also used on the door.










The base was fully sealed with acrylic caulking to the level of the door. I was not worried about using aquarium grade silicon as any liquid in there would be removed and discarded. The inside was painted with Bulls Eye 123 primer, something I had used in bathrooms in the past with great success. It is quite thick, and fills pores, minute cracks and Oopsies very well. The outside was sealed with spray on Rustoleum Grey Primer, sanded, Primered again and sanded again. Top coat was Rustoleum Painters Touch semi gloss black, and sanded between the 3 top coats




























I hope you like the stand, yes it is overbuilt deliberately. The last picture shows the tank and stand in use. It has been in place for 3 weeks now. I was really lucky in the switch over and did not loose any livestock, but it did give me chance to cut back on the GSP's and 1 BTA which have new homes. The cabinet to the right holds the power supply and The DA Elite controller. Yes those are 2 Chinese LED's 120w, dimmable, full spectrum and are supplemented by 2 27W 14K LED spot lights.


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

Nice job on the stand and tank, I also have a 90 gallon reef tank and I built in my stand on one end of my living room, my system is 18 months old and I still have not finished the final painting, apparently my wife thinks I should get it finished. I keep telling her it's still in the planning stages :lol:!


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