Pirate's Reef

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Anonymous

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I posted a few of these pics in another thread as answers to a question about building a tank. Wanted to start my own thread for this project. So, here goes.

I am currently setting up two systems to replace the ones I lost this past hurricane season. I am seriously upgrading both. The 75 is being replaced with a 140 and the old nano with this one. The 140 project has hit a snag because of wait time for some custom made parts that I am waiting on. So, while the creative juices are flowing and the fact that I am ready for a reef to be up and running in my house after a six month absence, this little system has started to evolve.

This is like a nano on steroids. While I realize that it deviates some from the usual nano technique, I thought it would be fun to see if I could just downsize a regular system. I was inspired to do this by an article I read years ago where a reefer had an entire fish room (like those you see for 200-300 gallon systems) devoted to a 29 gallon tank. This won't be that extreme, but wanted a small tank with big tank features. Don't know how well it will work out, but it has been fun putting it together.

The tank is made from scratch of 1/4" plate glass. It will have no powerheads, pipe, heaters or any other equipment visible in the viewing area. Only a few bulkheads and a small overflow. The tank will be housed inside of a DIY cabinet to hide everything, except the front viewing pane of glass.

The tank will be lighted by a Coralife 96 watt fixture. It will have a sump and will incorporate a closed loop with a SCWD for better flow. The small sump will have a 1.5 gallon refugium with it's own Coralife 18 watt light fixture. Two Mag 3 pumps will be used. One for return from sump and the other will run the closed loop.

Since I am posting this in the DIY section, this thread will start at the beginning. So, here goes...

Prior to assembly, the tank walls were drilled for all of the bulkheads that will be needed for returns and closed loop.



1/2" bulkheads were installed and then the five glass panels were all siliconed together. Tank dimensions: 20"x9"x10" high.



I set the Coralife fixture on the tank for the pic. Perfect fit.


One of the configurations for the plumbing on the back of the tank. None of this is glued up yet and could change.


Then I started to put the sump together. Shown are the bubble tower, where water will enter the sump, the bubble trap and media tray for carbon, Pura pad, Polyfilter, etc.




Mini-bubble trap before it was installed.


Added refugium & plumbing. Dimension: 12"x5"x6" high.


 
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sadielynn

New Member
wow that is sweet .....I absolutely envy anyone who can do these kinds of diy cant wait to see it as you stock it .I am sorry if I missed it but how many gallons will this be ? :shock: :mrgreen:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
sadielynn said:
wow that is sweet .....I absolutely envy anyone who can do these kinds of diy cant wait to see it as you stock it .I am sorry if I missed it but how many gallons will this be ? :shock: :mrgreen:
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Thanks Sadielyn. The tank will hold roughly 7.5 gallons. I guess I forgot to include that in my post. It's not really that hard to do. Like anything else, having the right tools makes the difference. I have had that glass drill for years and I also have some special glass pliers to help make the glass cuts. A diamond cutting wheel on my Dremel was also very helpful.
 
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sadielynn

New Member
What it boils down to is that I am too dumb to do diys like these . I would love to have a 7 gallon like that one ..... with out the sump ect ..... one question tho when you silicone it how do you keep it together just curious ...... I know that is a real stupid question but then hey most of mine are :mrgreen:
 
skipm

skipm

Moderator
Staff member
Looks great, it appears that alot of thought went into the design of both the plumbing system and the sump. I look forward to further posts on this project.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
sadielynn said:
What it boils down to is that I am too dumb to do diys like these . I would love to have a 7 gallon like that one ..... with out the sump ect ..... one question tho when you silicone it how do you keep it together just curious ...... I know that is a real stupid question but then hey most of mine are :mrgreen:
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Well Sadielyn, that is what is good about these forums and people sharing ideas. You can learn a lot by seeing what other people do. If you plan on building your own tank, feel free to ask questions. If I don't know the answer, I am sure someone else here will.

As far as holding the pieces together while you are applying the silicone, they pretty much will stay in place by themselves. I usually will use masking tape or painter's tape to hold the pieces where I want them to stay (silicone won't stick to either kind of tape). It also helps apply pressure to ensure a good bond between the two pieces being joined.
 
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Anonymous

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skipm said:
Looks great, it appears that alot of thought went into the design of both the plumbing system and the sump. I look forward to further posts on this project.
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Thanks. Not as much thought as you might think. :) I started with a plan, but it has evolved during the process. A little more overboard than I intended. :) But, that's the way I am.

Jordan8008 said:
Thats AWSOME it dosent exactly look like this is your first time doing this
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No, it's not. This is the first time I tried something this small though. I have a lot of good DIY'ers around me where I live and I get inspired every now and then to do something different. That article I read in FAMA years ago about the guy who had that elaborate setup for a 29 gallon has always been in the back of my brain. This falls way short of that though. :)
 
Dickie52

Dickie52

New Member
For sure ......a tip of my hat to your workmanship.....

It is always a pleasure to me to see a project come to be.... :razz:
 
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Jordan8008

New Member
I was thinkin about it and now I have a question, that drill that you have there, what makes that different then a drill press if it is and second is that a diamond whole saw, I assume it is but it may not be,,,,, thanks :stonight
 
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drty811

New Member
pirate

that is by far the best DIY sump i have ever seen, keep up the good work.
i also cant wait to see the whole thing up and running........keep us posted
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Dickie52 said:
For sure ......a tip of my hat to your workmanship.....

It is always a pleasure to me to see a project come to be.... Razz
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Thanks, I appreciate that. I have built a number of full size sumps over the years, but never anything this little. It has been a lot of fun - so far. It isn't near finished yet and I still have a lot of opportunities to screw it up. I was hesitant to post pics until I got further along. Oh well, if it goes in the dumper, I at least had fun doing it. :)

Jordan8008 said:
I was thinkin about it and now I have a question, that drill that you have there, what makes that different then a drill press if it is and second is that a diamond whole saw, I assume it is but it may not be,,,,, thanks smiley tonight
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It is essentially a portable drill press - but, it has a large suction cup on the bottom of it to keep it securely in place when in use. A drill press would work fine, if you can get the glass positioned properly underneath it. That particular bit in the photo is not a diamond bit. It is a hollow brass bit that uses a slurry of silicon carbide grain and water to wear through the glass. Makes a very smooth cut, if you don't apply too much pressure and don't try to drill at too fast of a speed. This is old technology. Most people use diamond bits now. I used a diamond bit to drill the holes for 1/2" bulkheads.

drty811 said:
pirate

that is by far the best DIY sump i have ever seen, keep up the good work. i also cant wait to see the whole thing up and running........keep us posted
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Thanks drty811! Like I said before it has been fun putting it together. Hopefully it will be an inspiration to others to build stuff on their own. Most of the nano stuff that I see on line is retrofitting - which is an art all to itself. I just thought it would be interesting to build something from scratch. Wasn't really sure anyone would be interested in the project. I will be sure to keep the thread going.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
reefman23 said:
great job...very clean...not that easy to keep the silicone looking clean like that.

Jesse
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Thanks! Masking tape.... :thumbup:
 
Dickie52

Dickie52

New Member
Masking tape........duh!!!

Why didn't I think of that!!! :razz:

Thanks PR.....every little tip is appreciated!!!
 
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