DIY 3D Printed Aquarium Upgrades

[Alex114]

The mesh is just sandwiched between the two rims. I use a decent amount of gorilla glue gel and that stuff is incredibly strong especially on that plastic. I can't remember if I mentioned it before but I tried prying two small rims apart before and the plastic broke before the glue bond. I am printing a new lid now though that will have teeth that will slide up through the mesh but that will be more to keep it tight rather then keep it sandwiched between the rims


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Alex114]

So I was really busy the past 6 weeks but finally was able to finish another lid. This is for I believe a 360 gallon tank with two 35x23" openings. There was no rim to place the lid in so the bottom frame is 0.7" and the top frame is 1.2". This allows the bottom frame to sit in the openings and the top frame has a half inch of room to sit on the tank. These were also printed with "œteeth" that the mesh was stretched around to try and get it as tight as possible. To make things easier I also made a feeding hatch on one of the corners. In the first pic the top lid is actually split into two separate lids per request

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Raoul5Duke]

Alex did the above for my tank, fit great and he went out of his way to drop them off for me. Would def recommend him for mesh tops and other ideas. Tks.

 

[mav3rick478]

Nice work and I love how each version gets better and better. I might be interested in having one made, would it be able to ship?

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Alex114]

It would depend on tank size. I'm confident it would be ok in shipping (excluding the box somehow being destroyed/crushed lol) but I've never shipped something like that. A small one would be easy to find a box that works but I'm not sure how hard it would be to safely ship a large lid like the one I just made. Has anyone shipped something like that before?

 

[FullBoreReefer]

It would depend on tank size. I'm confident it would be ok in shipping (excluding the box somehow being destroyed/crushed lol) but I've never shipped something like that. A small one would be easy to find a box that works but I'm not sure how hard it would be to safely ship a large lid like the one I just made. Has anyone shipped something like that before?

I just got my lid from Artfully Acrylic/Clearview. It's large, all they did was wrap the lid in a thin foam and then sandwiched it between two pieces of cardboard.

 

[Alex114]

That is a really good idea actually. That would probably work really well

 

[Alex114]

Arduino controlled temperature monitor

While this is not exactly 3D printed it is something that's been on my mind for a few weeks. Since we're getting into the warmer months I was reminded of how quickly the temperature in our aquarium can change. If the room temp exceeds your tank temp the tank temp will obviously rise. In my aquarium I have a decent heater with a temperature controller displaying the temp. But I won't know the temp has risen above what I want it to be at until I look at the controller. I would like to know exactly when the temperature exceeds a set point. Yes this would be done with an apex or other similar controller but those are expensive and I haven't gotten around to getting one yet. So my plan is to use an arduino circuit with a temperature probe that will send a text message to my phone when the temperature is beyond let's say 80°. That way I have a cheap effective alarm system in place in case my heater ever fails or the room heats the tank too much.

For those who have never heard of arduinos, they are essentially a build your own programmable circuit that are usually very cheap and extremely customizable. I have a strong circuit building background, a pretty good coding background, and have worked with them before. They're actually a lot of fun to mess around with. I wanted to know if anyone had any other ideas for what could be monitored in the aquarium besides temp. As long as I can get a probe for it, I can code the arduino to monitor that parameter. I may look into a light sensor as I have accidentally left the lights on all night, a sump/display level overflow sensor, and maybe a leak detector on the floor of the stand? I'm not sure how viable each option is but I'd like the keep the entire thing under 50$, if possible. Please let me know if anyone has any ideas or if this is overkill and not worth the time lol.

 

[greg10]

Having a backup monitor is a great idea

some other monitoring ideas:
room humidity
ambient light level
leak detector
motion sensor
camera

 

[FullBoreReefer]

I love Arduino’s! I used one to propose to my wife haha. I built a “reverse geocache”. I also have one running a keypad and magnetic lock on my man cave door haha Also built one for temp and humidity monitoring for when we hatched chicks for our hobby farm.

 

[mav3rick478]

You should look into the Reef Angel controller, it's Arduino based. I'm running one does what most controllers do minus the ALK monitoring. One thing we were trying to get someone to do was a water level sensor like the eKoral. It uses sonar and it looks like the sensor used can be controlled by Arduino. Someone was trying it a year or 2 ago but it never came to fruition. It be cool to create an ato with that type of sensor and have a controlled relay to power something like a Litermeter pump.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Alex114]

Those are some really good ideas! I didn't even think of an ato. I'll also research the reef angel. I think I'll start by focusing on a temp probe, humidity sensor, water level sensor and ato. It might take a few months but it'll be a fun challenge

 

[codemonkey812]

I made custom probe holders for my sumps. I have made a few for some others.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Alex114]

That looks cool! Do screws hold the probes in those side holes?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[codemonkey812]

DIY 3D Printed Aquarium Upgrades

Yes. I also printed the screws so everything of reef safe. I just modify the height based on sump height and water level. There is also two screw hole in the back to tighten the holder to the sump baffle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Alex114]

I printed this outlet cover overnight. A friend had an outlet that was directly beneath his return plumbing and was afraid that a leak could damage the outlet or worse. At first I printed just the shield and we were going to try and glue it to the original outlet cover but then I figured I could just make a brand new outlet cover with the shield attached. I printed it in 2 pieces, the cover with attached shield and then a small rim to ensure the new cover is flush with the wall. It fits on a standard duplex receptacle outlet perfectly and the top has a slight decline away from the outlet so no water can accumulate. The shield is roughly 2.5 inches out from the wall. Unlike anything in the aquarium I can make this in just about any color since I'm not constrained to just ABS plastic as well

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Alex114]

So I took a long break from making anything. I was fighting bryopsis and ulva in my SPS tank and hair algae in my zoa tank. When I finally got that all under control my senior year started and I got hired by a big company that is moving me to Columbus. So I'll have to start prepping my tanks for the move in 6 months. But nonetheless I did finally get around to making a lid for Great Lakes Fish and Coral in Macedonia. The lid isn't large but I think my current method of construction has little room for improvement at this point and I'm happy with how it came out. It's pictured below, if you're ever at the store it's on their 40 rimless cube (I think?) by the front desk!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BarIzoN]

Hey guys,

What about this ABS Reef Safe filament?

Where can I find it?

I'm about to print a fixture light support for my 55G and it seems the water will be in touch with the part of the piece.

I think I can't go PLA only, but ABS has more durability, but can it release chemicals in the water?

What about PETG? Is all Reef Safe?

Thanks and I printed a Filter Sock support and work like a charm for my basement sump!

 

[Travenous]

Hey guys,

What about this ABS Reef Safe filament?

Where can I find it?

I'm about to print a fixture light support for my 55G and it seems the water will be in touch with the part of the piece.

I think I can't go PLA only, but ABS has more durability, but can it release chemicals in the water?

What about PETG? Is all Reef Safe?

Thanks and I printed a Filter Sock support and work like a charm for my basement sump!

PETG is IMO the best material to print with for reef tanks. It's reef safe and it is the most UV resistant compared to PLA and ABS. Also, ABS makes some nasty fumes when printing and is prone to warping.

PLA is safe from what I've seen as well, but different brands throw a + on the end of it and add different things to the mix. They're probably still safe, but in an overabundance of caution you might want to avoid them.

 

[BarIzoN]

PETG is IMO the best material to print with for reef tanks. It's reef safe and it is the most UV resistant compared to PLA and ABS. Also, ABS makes some nasty fumes when printing and is prone to warping.

PLA is safe from what I've seen as well, but different brands throw a + on the end of it and add different things to the mix. They're probably still safe, but in an overabundance of caution you might want to avoid them.

OK!

I'm with a clear PETG spool in my printer now, and I'm designing the fixture. I may upload it to Thingiverse later on...

Thanks for the explanation!