UFO8MyCow
New member
I guess it is time to start showing off what I have been working on for a couple months now. I was given a free marineland 60 gallon cube and nice handmade wood stand and a wet dry bio-ball filter and have since spent way too much time and money getting everything the way I want it and I still don't even have livestock yet.
Before I started I knew that there was some requirements. the first was that I am lazy so it needs to be as hands off as possible. I knew I would be getting an apex so I could automate as much as possible. the most important thing I wanted was automatic water changes. I also wanted an auto top off and a drain built in to the stand and a fish room in the basement to keep everything as open as possible under the stand.
To start with it had the crappy low profile center overflow that you can't get the fittings out of so I cut that out and built a new acrylic overflow box and used both the original holes to set up a herbie overflow and drilled another hole for the return
Since I knew that the original sump wouldn't be any good for me I started looking into what I could fit in the stand and when it came down to only being able to use a 10 gallon because of the way the stand was built i decided to build a new stand. I went with 1" stainless square tube and 1" angle iron and have wood panels sit just inside the tube and velcro to the angle iron.
The stand is 24-1/4" inside so that the tank would actually sit 1" inside the stand and so that I would be able to fit a 20 high diy sump underneath. and be tall enough to easily see into without bending over. I decided on 40" tall and have the sump sitting 7" up on a shelf so that any leaks could be dealt with easily and I could also have a place to store towels and anything else I wanted under it.
The sump is a DIY 20 high with 2 filter socks. 11x12 skimmer area, three wall bubble trap and a 5x12 return section. There are 4 float switches in the return section
low water
shuts off the return pump to prevent damage from running dry
ATO
for the auto top off
skimmer off
to shut the skimmer off before the water level rises too much and overflows the skimmer cup. Also acts as a backup switch for the ATO
sump high
will set off email alarm and turn on a small pump for 1 min that will go directly to the drain in the stand if the water level gets so high that the sump would overflow if the return shut off. Will also stop the ATO and water change until I reset them.
My equipment for the tank itself is
Neptune Apex Gold with exta EB8 and 2 DIY breakout boxes
sicce 3.0 return pump
Vertex omega 130 skimmer
2 Eheim Jager 100 watt glass heaters
Vortech Mp40 wireless powerhead
The adjustable float switch setup I got the idea from someone on reefcentral and used some ¾ thick pvc sheet with a groove cut in the side and some ¼” sch 80 pvc pipe with the switches screwed into it and some prescription bottles I got off amazon for slosh/snail guards.
The probe holder is ¾”and ¼” acrylic attached to the sump with double hook velcro and the probes are held in with ¼-20 nylon screws
the ATO/AWC/dosing tube holder is made with ¾ acrylic with a groove cut across the back and has ¼-20 nylon screws to hold it to the tank rim and hold in the ¼ and ⅜ tubes
In the basement I have 2 35 gallon leg tanks for water storage. The top is for RODI and is automatically filled by the apex and solenoid valves hooked onto my BRS 75 gpd RO DI unit
When the ATO has used about 10 gallons the bottom float switch opens and starts the fill sequence
Flush the membrane for 1 min then 1 min every hour.
Dump high TDS RO water before the DI stage for 4 Min
Open the fill valve until the top float switch is closed
There is also a float valve that will stop the fill if the solenoid doesn't for some reason.
The bottom tank is for NSW and has a low float switch that will open with about 10 gallons left to stop the auto water change and send me an email letting me know I need to make new water.
to make new salt water the tank is filled by a 1" ball valve that drains the top RODI tank in about 2 minutes. Then after I add the salt and hit a reset switch a power head and a heater inside will turn on to mix the water for 12 hours. Only then will the auto water changes start again.
The automatic water change is controlled by the apex and is done with a variable speed double head masterflex pump that moves between 3 and 30 gallons per hour it will take NSW from the basement storage tank and run it through of 3/8 poly tubing running through 6 feet of drop ceiling in my basement then up through a hvac vent directly under my tank and into the sump. The supply goes into the skimmer area and the drain comes from the return pump section. I have the drain setup so that I can switch it from going directly into the sink or into the quarantine tank on the shelf which will overflow into the sink. if the salinity or any of the safety float switches in the sump go off the water changes will be stopped and I will get an email and
The auto top off is handled by a knight peristaltic pump that moves about 10 gallons per hour from the RODI tank in the basement directly to the sump via 10' of 3/8 poly tubing
The top shelf has the auto topoff and water change pumps on it and will hold the 4 head dosing pump and containers that has not been setup yet but I have ran all the 1/4' tubes for that in the ceiling as well
the middle shelf will be for general storage
The bottom shelf holds the old acrylic bio ball sump that I cut the baffels out and drilled a overflow hole in and am using as a quarantine tank
Before I started I knew that there was some requirements. the first was that I am lazy so it needs to be as hands off as possible. I knew I would be getting an apex so I could automate as much as possible. the most important thing I wanted was automatic water changes. I also wanted an auto top off and a drain built in to the stand and a fish room in the basement to keep everything as open as possible under the stand.
To start with it had the crappy low profile center overflow that you can't get the fittings out of so I cut that out and built a new acrylic overflow box and used both the original holes to set up a herbie overflow and drilled another hole for the return
Since I knew that the original sump wouldn't be any good for me I started looking into what I could fit in the stand and when it came down to only being able to use a 10 gallon because of the way the stand was built i decided to build a new stand. I went with 1" stainless square tube and 1" angle iron and have wood panels sit just inside the tube and velcro to the angle iron.
The stand is 24-1/4" inside so that the tank would actually sit 1" inside the stand and so that I would be able to fit a 20 high diy sump underneath. and be tall enough to easily see into without bending over. I decided on 40" tall and have the sump sitting 7" up on a shelf so that any leaks could be dealt with easily and I could also have a place to store towels and anything else I wanted under it.
The sump is a DIY 20 high with 2 filter socks. 11x12 skimmer area, three wall bubble trap and a 5x12 return section. There are 4 float switches in the return section
low water
shuts off the return pump to prevent damage from running dry
ATO
for the auto top off
skimmer off
to shut the skimmer off before the water level rises too much and overflows the skimmer cup. Also acts as a backup switch for the ATO
sump high
will set off email alarm and turn on a small pump for 1 min that will go directly to the drain in the stand if the water level gets so high that the sump would overflow if the return shut off. Will also stop the ATO and water change until I reset them.
My equipment for the tank itself is
Neptune Apex Gold with exta EB8 and 2 DIY breakout boxes
sicce 3.0 return pump
Vertex omega 130 skimmer
2 Eheim Jager 100 watt glass heaters
Vortech Mp40 wireless powerhead
The adjustable float switch setup I got the idea from someone on reefcentral and used some ¾ thick pvc sheet with a groove cut in the side and some ¼” sch 80 pvc pipe with the switches screwed into it and some prescription bottles I got off amazon for slosh/snail guards.
The probe holder is ¾”and ¼” acrylic attached to the sump with double hook velcro and the probes are held in with ¼-20 nylon screws
the ATO/AWC/dosing tube holder is made with ¾ acrylic with a groove cut across the back and has ¼-20 nylon screws to hold it to the tank rim and hold in the ¼ and ⅜ tubes
In the basement I have 2 35 gallon leg tanks for water storage. The top is for RODI and is automatically filled by the apex and solenoid valves hooked onto my BRS 75 gpd RO DI unit
When the ATO has used about 10 gallons the bottom float switch opens and starts the fill sequence
Flush the membrane for 1 min then 1 min every hour.
Dump high TDS RO water before the DI stage for 4 Min
Open the fill valve until the top float switch is closed
There is also a float valve that will stop the fill if the solenoid doesn't for some reason.
The bottom tank is for NSW and has a low float switch that will open with about 10 gallons left to stop the auto water change and send me an email letting me know I need to make new water.
to make new salt water the tank is filled by a 1" ball valve that drains the top RODI tank in about 2 minutes. Then after I add the salt and hit a reset switch a power head and a heater inside will turn on to mix the water for 12 hours. Only then will the auto water changes start again.
The automatic water change is controlled by the apex and is done with a variable speed double head masterflex pump that moves between 3 and 30 gallons per hour it will take NSW from the basement storage tank and run it through of 3/8 poly tubing running through 6 feet of drop ceiling in my basement then up through a hvac vent directly under my tank and into the sump. The supply goes into the skimmer area and the drain comes from the return pump section. I have the drain setup so that I can switch it from going directly into the sink or into the quarantine tank on the shelf which will overflow into the sink. if the salinity or any of the safety float switches in the sump go off the water changes will be stopped and I will get an email and
The auto top off is handled by a knight peristaltic pump that moves about 10 gallons per hour from the RODI tank in the basement directly to the sump via 10' of 3/8 poly tubing
The top shelf has the auto topoff and water change pumps on it and will hold the 4 head dosing pump and containers that has not been setup yet but I have ran all the 1/4' tubes for that in the ceiling as well
the middle shelf will be for general storage
The bottom shelf holds the old acrylic bio ball sump that I cut the baffels out and drilled a overflow hole in and am using as a quarantine tank
How difficult was it to remove the overflow on it? I have the same tank that I've had setup for 3 years. I'm moving soon and I may take the opportunity to junk that piece of crap slimline over flow and make something else.
