40Gal Drop Off Tank

[LAMBrose1994]

Hello Everyone,

Ive been in the shadows on the forum watching everyones DIY Aquarium projects and I've been inspired, I'm currently in the design stages for a 40Gal Drop-Off tank, My RR94 is due an upgrade as its pretty limiting on skimmers, cabinet room for and additional sump. so what better reason to build a custom tank :rollface:

Ive been sketching up some designs and I've added 1 x 1" Overflow and 1" Emergency Overflow, Ive yet got to add a 3/4" Return however I'm a bit unsure where to place it for the best circulation i was thinking of blacking it on the side on the lower level.. Whats everyone opinions on the best place to put the return? :hmm2:

Im going to play it safe use 10mm thick glass for this build, Any pointers or information anyone could give would be a huge help. I've been learning as much i can.

Thanks All,

 

[muttley000]

Love the drop off tanks! I am of the opinion that the return location is not critical in regards to flow because it likely will provide such a small percentage of the total. This job is better handled by powerheads or some other method. You just want to make sure the return water is not going strait down the overflow again.

 

[LAMBrose1994]

Thank You, my thoughts for putting it on the side of the slower section is to hopefully keep any detritus from stinging on the bottom of the sand bed. but like you mentioned the power heads will be doing the majority of the flow.

 

[wolfblue]

I love the drop off tanks and wish I could have one. But they spook me. I have built many aquariums in glass and plastic for almost 30 years and I don't know if I would try even a small one. And I would really have to trust a builder to make one for me. I don't think this is for somebody that has not built many tanks. I'm also not sure 10mm is playing it all that safe at 600mm deep even for a normal build. And this could have stresses beyond normal. Plus the stand has to be perfect for this.

 

[LAMBrose1994]

I'm also not sure 10mm is playing it all that safe at 600mm deep even for a normal build. And this could have stresses beyond normal. Plus the stand has to be perfect for this.

Thats worth noting, Now you mention that i'd consider getting it made by a specialist as they would have experience making aquariums (more than my rookie self ). I have kept the ratio to 50-50 on both the width and height as i have heard this would reduce the amount of pressure on either side.

Thank you for your input please keep them coming :thumbsup:

 

[wolfblue]

This would be a great looking tank. You must have drawn it for uncluttered appearance with no seam on the L shaped window and no bracing shown. It would be expensive for someone to build it for you. Not sure what 50-50 ratio means, I just go by depth and the long window to figure glass.

 

[LAMBrose1994]

The guy at the LFS said that it's less pressure on the tank if it's 400mm shallow Section to 400mm Deep Section compared to something like 200mm Shallow Section to 600mm Deep Section

Make Sense? Sorry for my unclear explanation

 

[uncleof6]

Hello Everyone,

Ive been in the shadows on the forum watching everyones DIY Aquarium projects and I've been inspired, I'm currently in the design stages for a 40Gal Drop-Off tank, My RR94 is due an upgrade as its pretty limiting on skimmers, cabinet room for and additional sump. so what better reason to build a custom tank :rollface:

Ive been sketching up some designs and I've added 1 x 1" Overflow and 1" Emergency Overflow, Ive yet got to add a 3/4" Return however I'm a bit unsure where to place it for the best circulation i was thinking of blacking it on the side on the lower level.. Whats everyone opinions on the best place to put the return? :hmm2:

Im going to play it safe use 10mm thick glass for this build, Any pointers or information anyone could give would be a huge help. I've been learning as much i can.

Thanks All,

You will need 15mm glass for this build, for it to be rimless. 10mm, would not qualify for a fully euro-braced tank, rather just above a full rimmed tank.

Single return and the placement is not very important, but not for reasons that have been stated however. Power heads do NOT add to the return flow, (they do two completely different jobs) and therefore should not be the majority of the flow, nor necessarily the minority of the flow, rather an adjunctive aid to vertical mixing, which is the intended purpose despite common thought. The heart of an aquarium has always been and remains to be the main return pump.

By far the even larger issue is if you have never built a tank before, this is not the place to start the learning process. Although this is not a large tank, (close) there are technical issues with building a drop off tank, and tanks in general. Information available on the internet is very sketchy at best, and downright severely lacking worst case and most commonly. With no experience, it is safer to build small rectangular 20 gallonish tanks, to become familiar with what it really takes, and the materials.

 

[simo2004]

hi is this tank going im looking to build similar but need some help on the design and the rad needed on the front and back pane of glass where the L shape is

also it looks like the 4 walls go around the base glass? not like just traditional tanks where the 4 walls sat on top of the base