Pictures of my tank... FINALLY!
- Thread starter ek9vboi
- Start date
Yup, the hangers were incorporated into to the stand. I have to give the credit to the previous owner who had built the stand, my cousin who was on here. A majority of it was his idea but he wasn't able to finish it. I just took over and finished things up as well as used my ideas to make it better and more efficient. I purchased the tank, sump, stand, lights, and a few other things from him.
It's never too late to get the legs now! Only problem would be if you had a screen top. I love the way I have it set up, the top just lays over the tank. When I need to access the tank, I can just slide it enough to feed or take water from it. Simple, really no need to use other things to secure it as fish (IMO) are not smart enough to keep jumping at the net to move it enough to find a hole out.
My tank dimensions are 36x20x18, so yes I have the 36" ATI Powermodule. The standard 55 is 48" wide. Currently I am running (front to back):
KZ Figi Purple
ATI Actinic
ATI Blues Plus
KZ Figi Purple
ATI Blues Plus
ATI Blues Plus
I have my next set of bulbs already and will be changing them out in June/July. All ATI bulbs: 4 blues plus, purple plus, & aquablue special. That should give me excellent growth.
Currently my fixture is hanging about 8 or so inches from the waterline, I plan to move it down a few more inches before I start to bring up the photo period. They say the 6 bulb ATI fixture can grow anything, we'll see once I get a clam. I currently had it on a 5 hr for the initial first two set of bulbs and then the four for 3 hrs. I'm getting very good growth but once the photo period is where I want them to be, I should have a forest by next year. lol
The return pump is an Eheim 1262, a bit strong for its needs currently but I plan to tee it off more or redo some of the piping so that it can sort of put less flow into the DT.
As for the drains, if you refer to the last two images. One pipe has a gate valve, that one is fully submerged under water with a full siphon. The emergency is wide open and is dry at all times in case of the one with the full siphon gets clogged some how. My trigger system sump has two or rather three drain inlets. I used the two on the right side, the full siphon ran with a sock before the water enters the skimmer area. For my refugium, I have it tee'd off from the return to feed it. It helps dial down the flow to the DT without putting any back pressure on the return pump.
Hopefully I answered everything, if you have more questions then feel free to ask away.
Will do, I have plans to move a few more things and add a few others. A majority of the tank is done for now and currently, I feel it is very stable.
jbliss
New member
How did you get the cables for the pump in the ottoman to fit without making the holes bigger?
Do you feel that your first time working with acrylic was a challenge because I am in need of a ATO system but am afraid to build a tank due to my zero experience with it?
If you plan to move the lights down a few more inches before you start to bring up the photo period. Whats is the final height you are planning for?
Do you feel that your first time working with acrylic was a challenge because I am in need of a ATO system but am afraid to build a tank due to my zero experience with it?
If you plan to move the lights down a few more inches before you start to bring up the photo period. Whats is the final height you are planning for?
I'll take some pictures of how I made it work with the ottoman. For now, I'll do my best to explain it. The inside of the ottoman is about 10.5"x10.5"x10.5" so that didn't leave much room to work with. I decided to go with a 10"x10"x10" in 1/4" thickness, a basic cube. That left a marginal amount of space on the side as well as the top without having to worry about kinking any of the hoses and wires. Matt (MrX66699) had drill bits that were made to drill acrylic/plastics so I had him help with that. I've drilled acrylic before using regular bits and it wasn't pretty when it cracked. lol. On the ottoman, at the bottom I drilled or tried to drill at an angle so the hoses wouldn't kink. The other reason why I did this was so that the hose would make a nice and clean transition out of the ottoman without it looking like a mess.
Check out the BRS video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej8aFrqipfc
Working with acrylic or rather gluing it together isn't as hard as it seems. Cutting them to fit perfectly is the hard part IMO. I might have paid a little more to have Prospect Plastics cut them out but well worth it. Another 10-20 bucks on an ATO container isn't going to kill anyone. I believe it was around $50 for the parts including the solvent to bond the parts together (Weld-on 4 I believe.) In this hobby, nothing is cheap expect for your own labor. The container holds a little under 4 gallons which should last me about a week. I don't force my tank to evaporate too much since I have a chiller hooked up to it. If you need help, I'm willing to help you do it. Matt is always willing to help others with acrylic building as well, he is the guru when it comes to working on acrylic projects.
My finishing height will be around 4-6" from the water line, depends on how I like the look. I want a balance between the hangers and the tank itself, that or if the hangers are too high I'll have to cut them down to size to achieve the look I am going after.
Thank you! Member since 09 and under 100 post leaving a post always says sonething.
After I installed the cover, it cut down so much noise that I realized that the only thing making noise were the Vortechs. lol, go for it! Maybe even clear if your use to seeing everything.
It's 36x20x18. I really like the deminsions but mu next tank will have to be wider and deeper... what am I getting myself into now. LOL
rovster
New member
You can buy mine when I'm ready to upgrade....it will be like if your tank just stretched out, LOL!
Really love your dimensions. When you say deeper, how much were you thinking. Just curious, cuz I like shallow tanks, but I still have time to change dimensions if there is something I don't know:crazy1:
Thank you OG. LOL
When I say deeper, I mean LxWxH. Deeper as in width, with a long tank it's nice but the more width you have the more real estate you have to work with. Minimum of 24"... maybe 36"
Gives you plenty of room for clam placement as well as different small islands and so on for zoos. Don't get me wrong, the 20" of width I have now is great but like everyone I WANT MORE!
rovster
New member
Hey Eric, is your tank countersunk into your sand. I cant tell for sure, but in the pic it looks like its not and the foam is painted or taped in black? I'm trying to decide on how much to cover on my tank. Felix recommended 2 inches, but that might make the tank look a bit short. I was thinking 1" to 1.5" to cover the foam and maybe the bottom Pane or part of it at least. Any close-ups of that area?
What is there to upgrade on your tank, you have everything top of the line! The only thing I can imagine is maybe a full on Apex controller with all the bells and whistles....am I warm?
Not top of the line but APEX Lite, it's perfect for what I need since I don't plan to run things like a calcium reactor unless I put a hole in the wall and add additional frag tank, larger sump,... I must stop this insanity! But the APEX Lite will be connected to the web and I'll have the Vortech module as well. Not sure what else I'll get for it, I already have an DC8 from my Aquacontroller Jr. so that should take care of everything.
Nope, not at all. The foam is just regular anti-fatigue foam. No paint or tape. I was considering doing that but jbliss said leave it alone. I'm planning to gloss the sides to give it a nice shiny look. However I might do something with 1/8 or 1/4" acrylic around it to cover the foam. It's a nice separation from the black silicone and stand, we'll see I guess.
Are you planning to do sand? It all depends, if you run sand you have to take it into consideration. I would cover part of the sand as well but keep in mind, do something that would let you remove the trim to clean around that area once in a while. That's my reasoning for the use of acrylic, basically another cover.
Are you planning to cover the sand
rovster
New member
I was planning sand. I don't like the BB look, not that there's anything wrong with it. My thoughts were to cover the foam, the bottom pane, and maybe a 1/4" of sand. I was going to run a shallow sandbed, like I do now with my BC. If I cover everthing, I will be looking at only 16" of glass, which might be too short. As it stands, we set the overall height at 19".
Apex lite huh? When we meet, you need to splain to me why in more detail. I know I'll want a controller at some point. Been researching those now, but there is SOOOO much info on then its confusing.
Apex lite huh? When we meet, you need to splain to me why in more detail. I know I'll want a controller at some point. Been researching those now, but there is SOOOO much info on then its confusing.
Hyperion1337
Active member
ek9vboi, a truly amazing tank, where did you get the smoked acrylic sheet? At HD or glass shop?
Very interesting thought about the sand. I didn't realize the tank was going to be 19" tall but then again my tank is 18" tall. 1/4" isn't much at all, maybe 1" of sand or... a faux sand bed! Have a thin layer of it to make sure you cover the bottom and then add the rest of the sand to make up 1/2"-1", that way it's almost like BB without the BB look. You'll never have a spot without sand! If you that then you could make the trim cover 1/4"-1/2" of the sand bed to give it an illusion of a deep sand bed.
Yup, Apex Lite. Hit me up when you have time, I know you have kids so there goes the time. lol
I bought it cut to size from Prospect Plastics, otherwise it was buy a full size sheet for around 150-200 bucks I believe. I paid $70 I think but all I needed was for the opening. At HD/Lowes they sell a sheet in smoke similar to this size for around $50 but in 1/8". Even if I paid more then I should have, it was worth it because I didn't have to go price hunting or looking around for something that they have on hand and ready to go.
jbliss
New member
After going over to look at this tank in person, I have to say wow. You really sat their for a while, thought long and hard to create this masterpiece. All the components seem like they were perfect for just this project. The one gallon thin additive tank take up no space at all and the Dosing Pump is tucked away nicely on the Dosing Pump Bracket. This tank is true work of art, worthy of to be a museum display on the creativity alone. Again well done and BRAVO!
Thanks JB, it's a working progress. Will I even finish? Who knows, there's plenty of room for improvements. I just can't wait for your new tank to be set up!
