Our Custom 90

[stephanied]

We bought an Oceanic 90 gallon reef ready tank, and built the stand, canopy and bookcases for it. I didn't have a plan to build by. I envisioned what I wanted it to look like, and scratched down the dimensions on paper. We have some tools in the garage, that helped to make the cuts. The only part that was not made by us, were the doors. We ordered them unfinished by Rockler, and drilled the hinge cup holes ourselves. We used 2x4's for the frame, and 3/4" Red oak plywood and solid stock for the rest. The total width is 8 1/2 feet long, and the tank stands 4 feet from the ground, and with canopy is almost 7ft tall. We wanted to be able to have the tank more at eye level. We had seen several stands at our lfs, and all sat to low for veiwing. We are so happy with the way it turned out, and as soon as I finish sealing the wood, we can start putting the tank together. I can't wait!
Here are a few pictures of the process.

 

[stephanied]

A few more photos

 

[tampausmc]

that's a great setup.....very nice work......wish i was skilled enough to do something like that....

 

[stephanied]

Thanks....
We had originally built it for the office, but decided to move it into our living room.

 

[oceana]

great job. i was not planing to do side parts on mine but now i am. thanks.
but now my wife is mad at you for making me spend more money lol

 

[saltfan]

WOW, now that set up gets the BIG THUMBS UP....

 

[alohami]

BEAUTIFUL!!! :cheer:
That beats any entertainment center I've seen!
Great job, can't wait to see it stocked!

 

[kimc]

Very nice!!!! Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to see your tank set up... How long did it take to build?? Your going to need a ladder to feed your fish!!! My stand is also built high for better viewing... just a pain to feed the tank cuz I have to drag out the step ladder!

 

[lion_crazz]

That is quite nice!! Good job with that, and thank you for sharing.

 

[coachklm]

your hired for my 135...... now if you only lived in montana...huh

 

[supalupa]

Exceptional work! Your very talented.

 

[rainstate6]

wish i would have payed attention i woodshop thats worth tons if you wanted to buy somthing like that great job

 

[crox]

StephanieD
Where are you located? I just love it!!!

 

[rednekreef]

Well done....well done...

 

[jhawk]

Looks great

 

[stephanied]

Thanks for all the great comments. I really appreciate it.

It took about 6 weeks to build. It is definitely the biggest project we have yet to take on.
Funny thing...I visited a LFS this weekend and there in the front they had a new product line by Oceanic, which had bookcases built on the sides of the aquarium. It was very similiar to ours, and it was retailing for $6,499. We built ours for around $1,000. It definitely paid to build it ourselves.
Crox, we live in Texas.
I will definitely post pictures when we finally can stock it.
Thanks again!

 

[ghola5]

wow that looks great already, good luck :cheer:

 

[kzoo]

Looks great but looks hard to get into the tank? :notsure:

 

[stephanied]

Thanks!
The canopy comes off easily. It just sits on top of the tank and sides. This will allow us to retrofit it with MH and VHO. The two doors on the canopy front will allow easy access to feed the fish. We are not sure what corals we plan to have. I do agree that if we had to hand feed corals, then it might be a bit of a challenge. :happyfish