# 90 Gallon project - pictures included!



## HappyGrimgore (Dec 4, 2015)

This is a 90g project I've started, I got the tank used and was told it was water-tight, only a couple years old. Looking at it, I can tell it was taken care of and I didn't have much doubt about it - maybe its silly I decided to test it out In the basement though?  half full for a day now, and everything looks good so far!





I've gotten some really great ideas from everyone on this site, I think I've put together a good start here. Backing is painted black acrylic. I've used lighting diffuser in the bottom to help support some weight, And I also used it as a DIY tank topper - I plan on covering the crate with either some thin acrylic, or possibly an opaque plastic florescent lighting cover. I'm also doing a DIY lighting setup with some of the common LED strips you can get on Amazon.



( the blue thing in the tank is just an old filter weighting down the eggcrate)

I added in one feature that I hope to get some use out of, which is a small area at the back of the tank (made from diffuser of course!) that will support a few small flower pots for an aquaponics experiment. I will need to seal off the ends to stop any fishies from getting lost in there.



Next thing to do is get some hardscaping plans.. any ideas?

I will be using black sand, K&E black magic blasting sand - I got 150lbs for $25!


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## Samadhikash (Jun 16, 2015)

Really like what you did as the support for your aquaponics experiments. I've been trying to figure out a better way to wrangle all the pothos and spider plants I have right now. Eggcrate and zip ties = awesome. Thanks for sharing that.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Plant holder is a slick idea.


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## HappyGrimgore (Dec 4, 2015)

Just a quick update - got my filter system in tonight, here's some pics!

Used PEX and a house-filter on this system with, currently, a 5 micron string filter. Next in line is my DIY canister with lava rock as my media inside. Water moves up to a DIY manifold with several water streams.. not very much output on these, so I will likely remove 2 or 3 nozzles.


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

Great idea on the plant pot holder :thumb:


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## HappyGrimgore (Dec 4, 2015)

Update time!

so, for those of you who followed my other thread on my DIY canister filter- i F'd it up, got frustrated and quit like a little baby...... for now. - you can see the remnants under my stand still. 
was time to move on and get this tank going, so i bought an Aquaclear 110 and got on with my day. I added in some rocks i found at the local park, i have no idea what they are but they look good to me! they dont seem to have an effect on the PH - after 3 or 4 days, i did my testing and everything was the same as before i added them in.

I also received my 5050 LEDstrip in the mail, and got to work on a small canopy to house the lights and cover the top up a bit. Just to show how awesome my skills are, i decided to mount the LED strip inside the canopy BEFORE drilling holes.. so you guessed it, I drilled through the LED strip and cut off half of my lights. No worries though, the rest work and i think it looks great - i can still add the other half if i need to down the road with some connectors. I drilled the IR sensor a hole to pop through so wires are hidden inside the canopy.

My only question, is how much moisture will build up here?? should i have the power component of the LED's covered in plastic?? treat the wood to waterproof it??



- This room isn't usually very messy... i'll clean it all up, i swear


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## Aaron S (Apr 4, 2015)

The tank looks pretty good! I really like the choice of hardscape it has decent sized holes for the fish and goes pretty high up in the tank too. I am a really big fan of gorgeous looking wood when I make something so I wouldn't have left it bare like you did. To get at your question about if you need to waterproof the lid wood. If you didn't have the HOB and had the top completely contained with a glass lid then I would say that you do not necessarily need to waterproof it. However, HOB's tend to flick water around and your crossbar is right there in front of it and will get pretty gross quick (I think). Since the wood is so thick it should be able to handle it for a while but I wouldn't trust it. I would atleast coat the top cover with a few coats of teak oil. Many people would polyeurothane it which is fine as long as it never gets chipped - then you are back to completely unprotected. Teak oil soaks into the wood and prevents that issue. Another option would be an outdoor deck stain if you wanted to drastically change the color. For my 125g I power sanded the entire stand, did 4 coats of red mahogany danish oil (the number of coats was to get the color I wanted), and then 5 coats of teak oil. It looks amazing but took an insane amount of work - it is extremely waterproof. When I spill water on it there is no wetting of the wood as it just beads up like water on wax paper waiting for me to wipe up with a towel.

Btw, I think the cat is dreaming of being an olympic diver...


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## HappyGrimgore (Dec 4, 2015)

No worries on the stand, I've done this a bit back asswards, but I am going to be staining the stand, as well as adding doors and siding.

It will be a dark ebony stain, so I think it should contrast with the colours of the LED lighting quite nicely.


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## muid02 (Jan 17, 2018)

Isn't it risky putting so many rocks inside? i have one rock weighs around 5/6 KGs and finding it risky to put in my 60Gallon. I cant even balance the weight through out the tank as i have only 1 big rock. isnt it risky? i have put my aquarium over an iron stand


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