80g Setup, remodeled and perfect

DRC Archive Member Tanks
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By january i will have moved my tank. my parents plan to redo the family room, and now its my shot to get a sump and get everything off the back of the tank. some are my plans are listed below:

The stand, in order to have more space i think the stand is going to be around 5’x2’ and i cant decide on a hight i’m thinking around 3ft. I want to have doors that either slide, or open on hinges, but then a button can release the hinge to take the door off. i think i have a relative design for how the stand will be, but i don’t know how to skin it. I was thinking to use something thats black. If anyone has any ideas, or knows a thing or 2 about woodworking and finishing please contribute i’m in the dark here and need everyones advice.

On to within the stand. I plan on doing a 20g sump, and a 10g refug. Though, if i can get bigger things under the stand i will. Here is the 20g i have right now, it is already drilled in one side but at the top:

I was thinking i could gravity feed this right into the refug, then put the return external to the 10g. To do this i would have to drill the 10g tank. Heres the 10g:

I dunno if it is tempered, and i don’t want to drill myself. These tanks are like candy though, i can get another for 10 bucks, or maybe get another 20. I have a place to get as many 20’s as i want for 5 bucks, so wait epiphany, why don’t i upgrade to a 20g sump. The only problem with that is room, i wont have space. So back to the 20g. I was also thinking about adding another 10g (frag tank) right next to the first and splitting the return out of the 20 and then merging the 2 10g back before the return pump. I need to build a stand big enough for what i want in it, and i can always add stuff to take up excess room on top (ie books, plants, ect). back to the drilling, if you guys want to do a drilling demo you could gladly use the 2 ten gallons ( :think) YahoO). Also for baffles i dont wanna skrew up, so if anyone wants to do a baffle demo ( YahoO :think)) you can use all three of these tanks too.

Now to the equipment part. I want to get a canister filter, Phosphate media reactor, carbon reactor, and a possibly a calc reactor if i were to need it. But for sure phosphate and carbon. I was looking at the TLF reactor as a hob style for the sump. I need suggestions on good filters, and how to hook up and get everything running. I am going to keep the PC lights for now as T-5 just arent in the budget if im doing all of this remodling, and i need to get a smaller PC to grow frags in the 10g frag tank.

Other than those few additions everything will remain the same. Unless you guys feel im missing something…

i REALLY Really REALLY need everyones imput and advice here, because i have around 50 days to get a plan and pitch it to the parents for funds (xmas present). THANKS everyone in advance and i will keep you guys updated.

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Give up on getting a 10g drilled now. I drilled several of them in the past. If you can get them drilled with out them shattering then just attaching the bulk head might put enough strain on it to break it. If you get the bulk head attached then when you go to glue your plumbing it might break. Speaking from experience here, I wouldn’t bother with a 10g tank being drilled. That being said you could hook up an external pump with out drilling it if you run the plumbing carefully and you could also consider an internal, but maintenance would have to be regular if you have a fuge light right on it.

[quote=“Marchingbandjs, post:1, topic:2332”]
I want to get a canister filter[/quote]

You mean a nitrate producer? I wouldn’t recommend one for a small nano.

[quote=“Marchingbandjs, post:1, topic:2332”]
Phosphate media reactor, carbon reactor, and a possibly a calc reactor if i were to need it.[/quote]

Good idea on the first two media reactors, but to begin with I think it may be best for you to just dose calc if it is ever required. I don’t think it will be any time soon though. Also if T5s aren’t in the budget then neither is a calc reactor.

I personally really like the TLF reactors. I own two of the small ones and one of the really really ridiculously big ones. They aren’t too much. If you have time on your hands Shawn may be able to give some instruction on how to build a DIYS media reactor that would work for either Carbon or Phosban. It is going to take you some time to build and you need to be careful how you do so especially if it will be HOB so it is not a leak risk. Personally I think if you add the cost of materials plus man hour or two you might as well buy a really nice pretty looking see through TLF reactor made by the pros, but that is my opinion.

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[quote=“Gordonious, post:2, topic:2332”]
Give up on getting a 10g drilled now. I drilled several of them in the past. If you can get them drilled with out them shattering then just attaching the bulk head might put enough strain on it to break it. If you get the bulk head attached then when you go to glue your plumbing it might break. Speaking from experience here, I wouldn’t bother with a 10g tank being drilled. That being said you could hook up an external pump with out drilling it if you run the plumbing carefully and you could also consider an internal, but maintenance would have to be regular if you have a fuge light right on it. [/quote]

how would i go about plumbing it externally…? and do you think a mag 7 will have enough kick at around 5 ft of head to be able to split and make 2 returns?

[quote=“Gordonious, post:2, topic:2332”]
Good idea on the first two media reactors, but to begin with I think it may be best for you to just dose calc if it is ever required. I don’t think it will be any time soon though. Also if T5s aren’t in the budget then neither is a calc reactor.

I personally really like the TLF reactors. I own two of the small ones and one of the really really ridiculously big ones. They aren’t too much. If you have time on your hands Shawn may be able to give some instruction on how to build a DIYS media reactor that would work for either Carbon or Phosban. It is going to take you some time to build and you need to be careful how you do so especially if it will be HOB so it is not a leak risk. Personally I think if you add the cost of materials plus man hour or two you might as well buy a really nice pretty looking see through TLF reactor made by the pros, but that is my opinion. [/quote]

Prob dont need the calc reactor your right… I might end up adding t-5 to the budget, we will see… The TLF isnt much at all, and i would rather be safe then sorry…

I just dont get how you get water in and out? call me stupid its ok…

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you just have to pump water into the water in, and set up where you want the water out to go…

im getting more into the DIY aspect of the hobby and im attempting to build my own phosphate reactor.
i believe you want the flow to be fairly slow, the TLF model is my blueprint.

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im getting more into the DIY aspect of the hobby and im attempting to build my own phosphate reactor.

two words: tap it!!!

after building and rebuilding more models and versions than i care to remember, quite possibly the best thing ive started to do when building these things is to tap the pvc and use threaded connectors whenever possible. it will save you a LOT of headaches. with that said, ive got a 3/8" and 1/2" if you need to borrow it or i could take a minute and do it for you at a meeting.

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ummmmm… ummmmmm was that directed towards me…

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hey, i need a 1/2 in tap for my kalk reactor :smiley: where did u get it? ive been looking for them locally but cant find.

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any plumbing supply house should carry them. i have from 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch

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i have from 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch

Glen. Are your bigger ones for the hole size or for the pipe size?

You can buy a larger 3 piece set of taps at the DIY heaven harbor freight but they are pricey or just buy they size you need. Let me know what you find price wise locally, the best i could find was 3/8" $8 1/2" $16 3/4" $20 1" $32 online. Just keep in mind that they typically dont sell them based on the size of the pipe and it can be a little confusing to know which one you need so be sure to ask someone if your not sure.

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make the stand tall enough for the skimmer and room to remove the cup. Thats the tallest thing in the sump. i made one 33 tall, with a 2x4 bottom frame and 1 inch melamine bottom plate, i still have 28 inches for the skimmer. seems good.

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Thanks,

anyone have any ideas on structural layouts for the stand?

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Well with no comments on what to do i went up and drafted up some quick models…

took a little while cause i suck at this program, but all measurments are exact and i know eactly what i need, i think its a little over kill on the legs, but o well…

side and back

front

top

final

i went up to a 5x3x3 stand. this way i will have enough room for 2 20g underneath. I am going to need to drill one, so if anyone wouldn’t mind hooking me up, i could give you some money, or you can do it as a demo…

i will post a pick of what the inside of the stand will look like when get more time, till next time.

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the doors wont be dimond they will be black but i wanted to show where they were…

you think a dark gray would look better?

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two words…obscenely overkill!!!

that stand has about 4X the amount of supports as my 265g stand ;D also, as strong as your stand looks, its structurally flawed. i dont have the time to whip up a fancy drawing, but if you want, at the meeting i can take a few minutes to sketch out for you the “community standard” for stand construction. also, stay away from 4X4s and use all 2X4s.

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like i said i didnt really i have any basis, where is it flawed, and ya def bring some to the meeting if you can and we can chat…

lol i have no idea… ahh…

why no 4x4 just wondering

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because 4X4 are for outdoor construction. indoor construction utilizes 2 2X4s if needed.

the flaw is that you dont have any load bearing beams. your design requires that the entire load be supported by the fastners that you would use to connect your vertial beams to your horizontal frame.

ya def bring some to the meeting
im not sure what you mean, i didnt offer to bring anything ;D
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ahh i see that, so everything is resting on the fastners… put a load bearing beam…

Lol, and i meant bring your knowledge i dunno why i said bring some lol… i meant something along the lines of ya that would be great if you could show me some stuff at the meeting, but i was prob tired and i stil am tired

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So i think i figured it out…

I lowered the side supports 2 inches, and layed the 2x4 on that, so then the supports and the side are splitting the weight…

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no. unless im missing something, structurally nothing has changed. all of those cross supports at the top will not do a lot to support the load unless your tank is rimless. the weight on a standard tank is distrubted along the perimeter where the rim sits on a surface. my posts have been a little long winded lately, so im going to skip the engineering lecture but ideally you want 4 load bearing vertical beams for a stand this size. i can show you at the meeting.

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ok…