davidian
New member
My fiancee and I had wanted to setup a 150-gallon reef and started collecting the things we'd need, but money is shorter and time faster than we expected, and we have our wedding to pay for in the coming months. So I decided we would start a smaller reef in the meantime. That's my intro. Now, about the
I like the seamlessness of an acrylic tank, but I don't like how easily they scratch. I like the resilience of a glass tank, but I don't like the idea of seams that can leak and will eventually have to be re-sealed. So I got the best of both worlds.--It's the biggest fish bowl I could find. All glass, one single, solid, seamless piece. It's 18" in diameter and by my math should hold around 12 gallons.
I've drilled one hole in the bottom for a 1/2" bulkhead. I'll be drilling a second in the next couple of days. The overflow and return plumbing will both reach right up through the center, and my rockwork will be placed in a column around the plumbing.
I'm using a Danner Mag Drive 1.9 for the return pump and an Aquatic Life Mini 115 skimmer in the 25 gallon plastic sump in the stand below. Speaking of the stand, it's made for a 125-gallon tank, designed so the rim of the stand supports the tank, so there's no top. I installed 2 braces across the middle of the stand, front-to-back, flush with the rim to support the top directly under the fish bowl. I have a piece of OSB and black laminate cut to size which I need to laminate tonight before I trim the excess laminate with a router and drill 2 holes in the center of it for my plumbing to pass through.
The overflow will consist of a funnel feeding into a piece of 1/2" CPVC which connects to one of the bulkheads in the bottom of the bowl. The funnel will have teeth/fins cut all the way around the top about 1/2" tall and will be mostly hidden by the rockwork.
I'll be building a DIY LED light hood which will rest on the rim of the bowl and have 5 separately dimmable channels, controlled by a Jarduino I had already built anticipating my 150-gallon build.
I've taken a few pictures already and will continue documenting the build and post pictures according to my availability to do so.
I thought surely someone has done this already, and as far as I can tell, there has really only been one guy. (Search Jim's Azoox Fish Bowl.) It was only a 16" bowl though. Stay tuned.
I like the seamlessness of an acrylic tank, but I don't like how easily they scratch. I like the resilience of a glass tank, but I don't like the idea of seams that can leak and will eventually have to be re-sealed. So I got the best of both worlds.--It's the biggest fish bowl I could find. All glass, one single, solid, seamless piece. It's 18" in diameter and by my math should hold around 12 gallons.
I've drilled one hole in the bottom for a 1/2" bulkhead. I'll be drilling a second in the next couple of days. The overflow and return plumbing will both reach right up through the center, and my rockwork will be placed in a column around the plumbing.
I'm using a Danner Mag Drive 1.9 for the return pump and an Aquatic Life Mini 115 skimmer in the 25 gallon plastic sump in the stand below. Speaking of the stand, it's made for a 125-gallon tank, designed so the rim of the stand supports the tank, so there's no top. I installed 2 braces across the middle of the stand, front-to-back, flush with the rim to support the top directly under the fish bowl. I have a piece of OSB and black laminate cut to size which I need to laminate tonight before I trim the excess laminate with a router and drill 2 holes in the center of it for my plumbing to pass through.
The overflow will consist of a funnel feeding into a piece of 1/2" CPVC which connects to one of the bulkheads in the bottom of the bowl. The funnel will have teeth/fins cut all the way around the top about 1/2" tall and will be mostly hidden by the rockwork.
I'll be building a DIY LED light hood which will rest on the rim of the bowl and have 5 separately dimmable channels, controlled by a Jarduino I had already built anticipating my 150-gallon build.
I've taken a few pictures already and will continue documenting the build and post pictures according to my availability to do so.
I thought surely someone has done this already, and as far as I can tell, there has really only been one guy. (Search Jim's Azoox Fish Bowl.) It was only a 16" bowl though. Stay tuned.
