3 Foot Nano Tank (1 Viewer)

[diermmen]

I'll post a few mockups once I have all of my plumbing pieces. I also plan to fill the tank with water and run the returns inside the tank to see what kind of water movement I get depending on where they are.

I bought 2 of these http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.aspx?idProduct=AZ21461&child=AZ21461

So I need to know how they push the water at different depths etc. I dont want the swirling water to be too high and cause it to spray or splash, yet high enough that it wont siphon my whole tank if something should go wrong with the pump.

If, as was suggested somewhere above, you did make small semi-decorative 'beams' up the side to hide the plumbing, you could create a small acrylic 'cap' or overhang to go above the plumbing fixtures you mentioned to help contain any vertical splashes.

 

[eschulist]

more pics? how is the build coming? get any new parts yet today?

Nothing too exciting to take pictures of, unless you want to see my bag of aragonite sand that was delivered today? It is caribsea Flamingo Reef

All of my fittings were shipped Tues so I probably wont have anything to share til Friday or Monday.

Anyone have sump suggestions? 10 gallon petco tank with a baffle or two? Clearance is only 15" high so it needs to be fairly small. Do most people treat the inside of their stands to cope with evaporation and condensation? Maybe the best option would be a way to enclose the sump as best I could while still having the drains and return lines going through a glass or acrylic lid???

 

[eschulist]

Went to Home Depot today and bought some Muriatic Acid. Cooked my Pukani rock as well as rinsed my substrate many many times.

Tomorrow my plumbing, tubing, and nano spinners come in so I will test out my placement options and then decide if I want to drill the sides of the tank or everything in the back.

 

[RyanTurner]

On my 20 gallon long soft coral tank, I have a 10 gallon sump with one baffle that works great. I run a Bubble Magus NAC3 and it works surprisingly well. It pulls out sludge that is comparable to my $1000 vertex alpha.

 

[eschulist]

I picked up a 10g standard tank and put it in my stand. It fit but was really tight at the top.

A 5.5 was shallow enough for me to easily get my hand inside and fiddle around. With 1 baffle in the middle everything will fit. I will just have to use the Slim Skim Nano or the Tunze 9002 which have a small footprint.

Oh well

I wish I would have shopped around a little more for a stand that didn't have a shelf in the middle. It is really limiting the things I can keep down there. It is however better than the stand that goes for this tank.

http://mraqua.net/products/hardwood-aquarium-stands/mas-730-elm-hardwood-stand/

I dont see how any sump would fit in there.

 

[eschulist]

Plumbing Testing​

Ok so my tubing, elbows, and spinners came in. Here are some rough connections for my drain and return.


Overall I just really like the side placement. Not really sure why but it seems more modern with having the tank unpainted and the tubing showing, similar to downtown lofts with lots of glass and exposed beams and duct work I guess.


This I would refer to as the usual connection that people take. Flange on the inside with the threading in the back. Well it really takes up a ton of space. And if I cut the threading off and installed spigot street 90s they would be permanently attached. There would be no way to removed the nut as the elbow would be cemented in place.

This configuration has the bulkheads flipped. With the threaded flange on the outside, nut and gasket on the inside to create the seal. To also cut down on size I will trim off the excess threading on the back of the bulkhead. My 1" strainer will then be glued to the nut as well as the spinner. So if I wanted to the remove the fitting for whatever reason they will twist off with the nut.

To finish it off the elbow will be painted a gloss black to match the tubing and bulkhead. Now to just find time after work to actually put them in.



Questions though for the experienced plumbers and sump people. Are there any problems with drain lines coming to a Tee and then going into the sump with 1 pipe.

I ask because by main design is basically mimicking the Oceanlife Overflow and Xaqua InOut. Each of them use 1" drains and 1/2" returns. I am using 2 drains and 2 returns, but the returns will be coming from a single 1260 pump going to a Tee and splitting the flow in half. My thinking is that joining the drains together will limit the amount that drains similar to that of only 1. I am using 2 so I have a back up in case something covers or gets caught in my bulkhead screen. And putting a valve and cutting each of their flow in half has the problem that if one gets covered now one drain only has the flow of 1/2" and my display will overflow.

My main concern that I can think of is that once the water flowing comes to the tee all the air inside will be trapped and will cause a lot of noise. Or maybe it will eventually stabilize and there wont be a problem.

 

[Reefer Sutherland]

If you dont mind me asking, where in DT MPLS do you work? I would love to come check out your office tank once this thing is set-up!

 

[eschulist]

I work at Pixel Farm. We do visual effects, editing, and music for commercials and other content. A lot of our work is Target, Best Buy, JCPenny, Gerber, Smirnoff, Samsung, Vizio, etc. Me and a few of my co-workers were responsible for 90% of the graphics at the new Twins Stadium.


Pixelfarm.com - you can browse the company - people - artist section and find me and the commercials I've done on the left.

Whenever its set up and has something growing or swimming inside of it I would be glad to show some people around the office and the tank after working hours. Nami is downstairs if you are ok with Happy Hour beer and sushi.

 

[Reefer Sutherland]

Beer? :censor: Sushi? :trout2:

But for real, beer is good, so is sushi!

 

[data_loss]

I thought when you flipped bulkheads the gasket went on the outside with the flange. That is the way I'm setup and I never have leaks.

 

[eschulist]

I thought when you flipped bulkheads the gasket went on the outside with the flange. That is the way I'm setup and I never have leaks.

After further research I guess you are right and I am wrong. Thanks data_loss

I figured the gasket went on whatever side was inside the tank with water to prevent leaks, but reef central users keep saying the gasket always goes on the flange side. Water I guess can more easily get in through the treads even with the gasket present so the gasket needs to be with the flat flange to provide a seal.

 

[acharpenter]

Whenever its set up and has something growing or swimming inside of it I would be glad to show some people around the office and the tank after working hours. Nami is downstairs if you are ok with Happy Hour beer and sushi.

I am so in dude!!!!

 

[Shibbs]

The gasket should go on whichever side doesn't spin, as that could potentially crinkle the gasket.

And wow - this tank is going to be very, very cool. I'm excited to see when it's done.

 

[eschulist]

Plumbing starts tomorrow. And if all goes well. The tank will be wet and salty

I trimmed all of the bullheads down and my hoses are all ready. Now to just drill the tank and put it all together. I was all prepared to put the bulkheads in backwards to save space inside the tank and give the outside a cleaner look. Unfortunately the last item for the plumbing was delivered today (The bulkhead screens) and they only go on the flange side. So everything will take up a little more space but I need covers so my fish dont get sucked in.

Anyone know the best place/price for about 20 gallons of RODI?

 

[RyanTurner]

Saltwater empire. 35 cents a gallon.

 

[Kepler]

Ooohhhh look at the cute little baby sump lol Just kidding.

Great build. Where did you get the light?

 

[eschulist]

Ooohhhh look at the cute little baby sump lol Just kidding.

Great build. Where did you get the light?

Baby sump ?? :cry:

Its a 5.5, so its almost 1/2 my display. I tried a 10 gallon down there and it did fit (a 15 long would fit as well) but I ended up exchanging it for the 5.5. There was only about and inch or two of clearance to get my hand in there and bend tubes, take out a skimmer cup etc. If after I get more equipment and I out grow it I will probably order a custom acrylic one from a local reefer so I can keep the shallower size but get more length for goodies.

The light is a Chinese made LED light. I don't think it has a special name. 12 blue/12 white 3 watt Cree LEDS for 75W of SPS nano power!! I was originally going to buy it directly from one of the manufacturers through aliexpress but found a US ebay seller that had them (and cheaper) so I went that route. I really like the design as it fits the size of the tank better than many of the square LED fixtures out there, or the long but lower power Marineland variety.

Saltwater empire. 35 cents a gallon.

Thanks Ryan. Since they don't open til 11 I may go to work for 2-3 hours first and see if I can get a wet test going then if it all works out drive over there and check out the store. I've been to about 5-6 different places so far and haven't seen Saltwater Empire yet

 

[eschulist]

Well everything didn't go as well as planned. About 2-3 holes into my total of 4 my cordless drill died. I tired to put it on the charger for 30mins to an hour but all I would get was maybe 10 seconds of use.

First 2 complete. Smaller return hole is much lower so the spinner stays underneath the water line and doesn't splash.

No!! Only one hole to go and the drill has no juice - no the drill doesn't get power from the outlet. It only pulls power from the battery :rant:

Nothing really productive happened. I ended up switching the 5.5g tank for a 10g. During my undrilled wet test to find out the best placement for my ins and outs I discovered my returns had to be much lower in the tank than I planned. This means if the pump ever shuts off I will lose a lot more water in my display, so I needed a larger volume underneath for it all to go. My hand barely fits inside with only about 2 inches of room. If it gets too annoying a local reefer might be building me a custom sump.

I also ventured to Saltwater Empire and I was blown away. This is the first time I had ever been there. I wasn't expecting the best store I've ever been to. The place was EXTREMELY clean, well laid out, and had beautiful selections of both coral and fish. The prices seemed a little high but quality was really high as well. I will definitely head back there for my water again, as well as new tank mates for my Clownish and corals.

I'm heading back to work tomorrow to finish drilling the last hole and hooking it all together.

 

[Shibbs]

If you need to borrow a drill, I've got a Ryobi that's brand new. 2 batteries.

 

[eschulist]

Thanks Shibbs. I doubt I'll have to borrow a drill. I was just foolish for not charging it on Friday before I left work.

If its not holding a charge tomorrow I will probably be out searching for one though.