Spare parts, free time, and a 6 pack = Hurgoth's 10g drilled build thread.

Hurgoth

Active member
I have been wanting to jump back in since my tank crashed earlier this year, but decided to wait until our baby was born. Well, now a month has passed and this baby business is a piece of cake (since I'm not the one breast feeding ;) ). This weekend I went into the garage to take inventory of what I have. I've had this drilled 10 gallon tank for about 2 years and I never got around to setting it up. Since I am trying to trade my other two tanks for another setup, I decided to move forward with the 10 gallon.

10Gallon.jpg



The goal of this project is to not spend any money and set something up using the spare parts and materials laying around in the garage. I see this stool collecting dust. I popped off the top, gave it a quick sanding, and sprayed some primer. Ignore the mess I made on the garage floor.

Stool.jpg



The tank is obviously larger than the stand, but I think it gives it a neat "overhang" effect. I decide to put some wood underneath the tank for support. The tank is now the perfect height to be next to the couch. I never liked our end tables anyway (don't tell the Mrs).

So far so good. But what can I get to fit in this stand?

Pretzel containers from Costco! I knew I was saving these for a reason. I am going to use one to hold some live rock for biological filtration, and the bottom one for the return pump.

Pretzel1.jpg




One container fits perfectly on the bottom shelf of the stool, but the top shelf is a little short. Time to cut.

Pretzel2.jpg




I grab some spare bulkheads and do some drilling.

Pretzel3.jpg




Next, I finish building the middle shelf, make a quick overflow for the live rock tank, and get this:

Pretzel4.jpg


Pretzel5.jpg


What I find amusing is that the San Fransisco Pretzel company is located here in San Clemente. Random.
 
I decided to hook everything up and give the plumbing a test run:

WaterTest.jpg


WaterTest2.jpg


WaterTest3.jpg



I wonder if the Eheim return pump is enough flow for the tank? I'd like to not put any powerheads in if possible.
 
Hey I got a 30 pack how bout you come over and build me a 50 gallon ;)! Nice work! Wish I had your motivation and no how.
 
I was wrong, the pump is the 1250 model which is 317 gph. Anyone think that is enough flow?

My next task is to build the hood. I am torn between using my dual 55w PC lamps, or my 175w MH.

I am also considering replacing on of the pretzel containers with a rectangular rubbermaid.
 
hey hurgoth, nice build.

What LFS's do you like? I'm in laguna niguel... I only know of two around here, Oceans in Aliso Viejo and The Sandbar in Mission.

Have you tried collectin sea water from anywhere local?
 
Im diggin this little build. I think the answer to how much flow and which light would depend on your livestock plans.
 
I love the use of the pretzel containers for the sump...I'm thinking pretzel container propagation system? Pretzel container refugium?
 
I would worry about Micro bubbles coming from the return the way you have it setup.... Other than that it looks awesome for a 10gal and very original!
 
thebanker: There was the Reef Room in Dana Point but they closed down. Otherwise I head to Coral Oasis in Irvine or the countless others up north. The only time I have put NSW in one of my tanks was from the Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory in Newport Beach. They do sea urchin research and filter the water.

jbird69: I am not sure what my livestock plans are. Depends on which way I end up going with the lighting.

I don't know if I should just fill the middle container with live rock, or turn it into a refugium.
 
The bubbles are not as bad as in the pictures. This was just to see if the overflow could keep up with the pump. I tested it afterwards with the outflow of the overflows under the water lines and the bubbles were significantly reduced.
 
Cool build thread. It nice when you can make something out of spare parts without spending any or little money.
 
wow, thats a sweet little project.. not sure what you might need but i have a crapton of extras laying around and we are in the same city :)
 
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