40 Breeder AIO

[Mw1981]

Hey All,

My name is Marc, new to the area here. I am getting ready to start another reef tank after 6 years without one. My plan is to turn a 40 breeder into an AIO.
My plan is to basically partition off 7 inches from one side to give room for a skimmer as well as a small fuge and are to hide heater and ATO.
Now onto some questions.
1) What would be the best way to portion this area off? I was thinking to put fuge in corner, skimmer in middle, and then return area.
2) Where would I put the heater?
3) Guessing ATO could go into the return section, as thats how my last tank was set up.
4) Any recommendations on skimmer?

I am looking forward to meeting new folks, and joining the club once the fun of buying equipment is done. LOL.

Thanks,
Marc

 

[paradox_of_reef]

Cut a piece of glass to serve as a baffle to partition your sump area from the main tank. Use aquarium silicon to seal the edges. The standard 40b is 16" front to back you may have trouble finding a skimmer to fit in a 7x16 area. I have the Reef Octopus Classic 110SSS which claims a 5" footprint but in actuality it is 7" so you may need to come out a bit more if you go that route. You will want your ATO in the return/sump area as it should be the only place where the water level fluctuates if your baffle goes to the top of the aquarium that is. As long as the heater is in water it functions just fine so where ever it is out of sight works if that is your goal.

The local reef club is meeting next Saturday and anyone is welcome to come I know everyone enjoys new company and fellow hobbyists. Details about the meeting are in a sticky thread at the top of the local forum page.

Welcome to the area and good luck this is a great town to be in this hobby for sure

 

[Mw1981]

Thanks for the quick response.

If I did a piece of glass, how would I go about the overflow teeth? I was thinking Acrylic, but Black acrylic is not exactly cheap, and unsure of thickness I would need. I was guessing 1/4" since there would be partitions to help stabilize it. I have heard it can be difficult to get it to seal tho with it being glass to acrylic.

 

[paradox_of_reef]

I would avoid acrylic as it does not bond well with silicon sealant which is what you will want to use. I have had acrylic baffles come loose before ruining my project. The overflow teeth is a bit of an issue though and I am not sure what to do about it. Most people do not need to have weir teeth in their baffles. Teeth are not strictly needed though, they are usually there to prefilter large debris before it can get to the actual filtration area.

Someone else may have better advice for you then I do here. Your project is a bit specific in its needs.

Is there a reason you do not want to just do an overflow with sump?

 

[Mw1981]

To be honest, I am a big fan of the AIOs and figured if I place a canopy over it anyway, then everything is still hidden. I can also keep tank closer to the wall with no plumbing behind.

 

[paradox_of_reef]

Have you considered one of the premade AiO tanks on the market such as the Red Sea Max line or the Innovative Marine line?

 

[Mw1981]

Would rather not pay that kind of money for this to be honest. And this way I can customize parts and flow, and set to how I want to run it. I know it sounds like I am being difficult, but have been sorta planning this for a few years now. Just never got into actually making it.

 

[Jjtaylor62083]

My opinion is that a refugium that small is not going to make much of a difference. And at 40 gallon depending how heavy the tank is stocked / fed a skimmer is not completely necessary, you may be able to keep tank on just water changes. If you are dead set on making it a aio then i would do a filter sock, skimmer, then return pump

 

[CrazyEyes]

There is nothing wrong using silicone to bond acrylic to glass when you're doing stuff like adding an overflow, baffles or an AIO section. I've bonded many acrylic things to glass, my 75g had an acrylic overflow siliconed to the back wall and I could pull it on the carpet by the overflow. I wouldn't recommend building a glass and acrylic tank though. Contact a company called plastek industries, best acrylic place in this area. I'd skip the fuge though, probably won't offer an benefits with such a small area. If you're really worried about the silicone pickup some RTV 103 or 108, it's much stronger than the silicone you'd buy at HD or lowes that you'd use for aquarium use.

 

[Mw1981]

I appreciate everyones help. I will contact Plastech about the acrylic....one question I have seen that some used the clear acrylic, and just used plastidip or something similar to blacken it due to cost. Have any of you heard of that?

 

[CrazyEyes]

You're better off paying the $5-$10 more for actual black acrylic opposed to plasti dipping it. Just seems like a hassle considering the price difference between clear and black isn't really that much.

 

[Mw1981]

Ok thanks been a few year since I priced it and was not sure.

 

[richgoose]

I love my Bubble Magus NAC 3.5 - Creative usually has one in stock and the price I paid from them can't hardly be beat online so it was a win-win

 

[Mw1981]

I actually decided I am going to do a sump now. I was looking at that bubble magus also at the sc-301 as I have a few friends with them and they pull well too. Will be doing a Mars Aqua 165 watt to start then will move up to 2 as needed. Sorta like the shadowed areas just using one gives off. Gives me some lower light areas for dendros