new clam tank project

Just an idea

Just an idea

I noticed that you said you have your oyster garden plumbed in to your 'fudge for the main aquarium; you might have a more consistent flow if you pulled your water from the main aquarium next to it, near or from the bottom of that tank, and then ran it up through your oyster garden, with some sort of ball valve in the middle to control flow, and then a pump running from your drainage tray back to the main aquarium. You could still control your flow, but it would be much more consistent; think of it as a water tower compared to a sole pump.

Only thing you might worry about would be accidentally sucking a fish through and into the clam garden, Finding Nemo style :D But I think you could come up with a clever solution to prevent that, seeing as how you designed the thing from scratch :)
 
well since this tread has come back to life again. i guess i'll post some updated pics. will have them up in a day or so. and fill everyone in on the progress and some mishapps with the tank.


thanks everyone again for the comments.
 
hey szesteve.

thanks for the complement.

if u check the link that incysor posted you'll see more pics
there's 5 max's in there and the rest are crocea's the max's are ultra blues and 4 tear drops.
i'm not to big on squamo's or derasas. they get to big for my tank. i might try a few and as they get bigger trade or sell them.

stay tuned for updated pics.
 
wow...amazing. I've always like clams, and finally got my first one, a derasas. I must say, you have amazing clams, and a very trick tank to boot!

Marc
 
Could you post some new images from across the room to get an idea what it looks like on its stand and with the pendant hanging above it?

Also, do you have any images of the suncorals when fully opened up?
 
That is wild. Nice work.

so what type of check valve did you end up with. My thought was a float switch in the sump and a solidnoid valve that is fail secure. on power outage it would engage or if the sump got to high.
 
melev said:
Reef Cherie had one of those Zero Clearance tanks and the day before MACNA, the pump failed, the check valve failed and here livingroom was flooded, with all of her clams exposed to the air for an unknown period of time. She quickly acclimated them to her reef tank and then left for MACNA.

The problem with the checkvalve was that the gravel substrate was constantly drawn in to the return line each time the pump turned off, because the tank would automatically try to drain. The vacuum of this event drew in the gravel, and thus the valve could not seal.

The concept is great as long as the pump is running non-stop. The checkvalve is the flaw, but I still can't come up with an alternative solution.

I love the pictures in this thread, and the tank looks excellent. I'd make one myself if I could figure out a solution. The only one I can come up with is a tower in the center that breaks the surface unfortunately.
Click to expand...

This is what my husband designed as the solution for my zero-edge clam tank. This is basically a standpipe, but modified in a way that still allows the top to be virtually ripple-free. It isn't as attractive as having no standpipe in the center, but it does the job and doesn't look all that bad.

8840Clam_Tank_Standpipe1.jpg


Cheri
 
Cheri, I just woke up so forgive my lack of comprehension (I'm drinking coffee, I promise!), but how does that solve the problem?

Water comes up the standpipe, comes out the holes, goes down the inverted 'vase' and flows into the tank. When the pump is off, water siphons out the same way, right? What breaks the siphon?
 
melev said:
Cheri, I just woke up so forgive my lack of comprehension (I'm drinking coffee, I promise!), but how does that solve the problem?

Water comes up the standpipe, comes out the holes, goes down the inverted 'vase' and flows into the tank. When the pump is off, water siphons out the same way, right? What breaks the siphon?
Click to expand...

My husband says you are a smart cookie for noticing that something was missing from the explanation. You are absolutely right..... he drilled a very small hole near the top of the outside tube.... facing the back of the tank, pointing down, to reduce the surface disturbance.... which will act as an air release to break siphon if the check valve fails when the pump is turned off.... this hole needs to be cleared every so often, as algae or debris could clog it up...

Cheri
 
Ah. So it wasn't my lack of coffee-intake. :D Thanks for the explanation.

I really wish there was a more elegant solution for this situation, because I'd make one myself. I guess a black acrylic tower in the center could house the anti-siphon solution, merely to hide it. Or to make something on the end to house and hide it, but it would steal one edge or at least ruin the simple symmetry.
 
melev said:
Ah. I really wish there was a more elegant solution for this situation, because I'd make one myself. I guess a black acrylic tower in the center could house the anti-siphon solution, merely to hide it. Or to make something on the end to house and hide it, but it would steal one edge or at least ruin the simple symmetry.
Click to expand...

It gets coralline covered rather quickly. Anything that doesn't come exactly from the center of the tank and allow absolutely balanced flow will result in the surface not being smooth.... which is part of the whole point of such a tank.

Sorry for hijacking the thread...

Cheri
 
no thread jacking if fine with me.. hehe.. i'd like to see more pics of your tank cheri.

i have a check valvue built and used it for a few months. i have since replaced the pump to the clam tank and removed it. still haven't come up with anything great. but i have something i'm trying. i'll post pics of it when i get it finish.

will post pics of the tank soon. swamped with work( haven't had time to clean the glass)
 
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