29 gallon tank design

garretsoccer2

New member
As I'm in the proccess of upgrading my display from a 75 to 110 I came across a pretty good deal for a 29 which I plan on setting up as a nano reef or seahorse tank or dwarf lion tank. I have the ability to drill the glass to incorporate a fuge directly below the tank. What I wanted to know is, should I drill a hole in the bottom for a standpipe and another in the opposite corner as a return. Or should I drill two holes on the back? Mix and Match maybe? What have other poeple tried, or what would everyone suggest?

*I know for sure that the tank can be drilled


Thanks!
-Garret
 
I am building a 29g right now. I have drilled one in the bottom with a durso standpipe. Built an internal overflow, drilled the back for a closed loop with scwd wavemaker and return also. Closed loop is in place. I plan to post pics very soon.
 
i would drill the top and glue in a horizontile overflow. have the returns come up and over the back and put a couple hydor flows on them for good (cheap) random flow. that is just me.
 
Seahorses do better with more vertical distance. I'm going to set up a 30G Extra Tall for seahorses, somewhat similar to what you are proposing. If you go with dwarves that might be a good enough size (assuming it's a standard 29G).

The 'fuge would be better above the tank than below it, so critters could flow naturally downstream rather than being potentially crushed by the impeller of a pump. Most smaller critters would survive, but lots of mysids and amphipods will be killed or prevented from crossing by the pump pre-filter.

But that isn't always possible...

I solicited feedback also on my setup. There wasn't really a consensus but I think I may bring the return over the lip of the tank; if the return is below the water line you will empty the tank if the pump fails, which is not good. You could use a check valve but I don't like to trust just one safety measure.

I plan to run the return down and bring it up from around the center to produce random flow around the top of the sand bed, and cloak the return elbows with rock.

I may do the overflow in the middle or off to one side, behind a 3" or 4" PVC tube. It might look clean enough to be unassuming (a single white/coralline-encrusted column seems potentially more elegant than a box on one side or the other), and it could be decorated with rock or coral frags. Still pondering the possibilities.

Good luck. Ultimately, we can't go wrong with all the abundance of possibilities...

Brad
 
Closed-Loop on the 29 build so far

Closed-Loop on the 29 build so far

This is a shot of the back of the build so far. I used Spaflex pvc to allow for some flexibility. You can see the SCWD in the middle to adjust the flow side to side. This is powered by a Mag7.

IM000613.jpg
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Forgot to mention this is just the mock up...you can see it hasn't been glued yet. The inside of the tank is Loc-line fittings and a handmade acrylic overflow and durso standpipe. I haven't decided if I want the return from the sump to go through the bottom or back. ONE more hole to drill.
 
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