izzy123's 40G build on a super tight budget

[izzy123]

Hello to all that joined the ride,

My name is Ivan, I live in Belgium (a small spec in Europe).
I started this thread per request of sisterlimonpot, who thought it would be a great idea.

Let me start of by thanking all the reefers on RC who helped me over the past few months, without their help I wouldn't even know where to begin.... from my heart.... THANK YOU!!

Now, lets get this party started!! First of, I am not a millionair, so I needed to build on a budget. My initial plan was to convert a 30 G freshwater tank I had laying around, but on inspection, there were too many scratches on the glass.
So, plan "B"... I ordered a new 40G DT that I had drilled with a 1 1/4 inch overflow and and used my old 30G as a sump.
In order to keep my wife happy, I had to build a stand that wasn't an eyesoar, so I started on that

here it is


I added some grooves to the side to give it a "plank" look


Dont know if you see it, but there's also a metal frame in there to add extra strenght to the stand.


The stand is about 4 inch deeper than the actual tank, I did that to hide the wires for the lighting and also to have a channel for air to pass from the bottom of the stand to the top.

[serpentman]

Very cool! Keep us posted on your progress.

[greech]

Nice looking stand. Simple and functional. Good luck with the build.

[Sisterlimonpot]

awesome, are you going to use that scratched 30 gallon as the sump/fuge? Are you going to paint the stand or stain it?

[izzy123]

Originally Posted by Sisterlimonpot

awesome, are you going to use that scratched 30 gallon as the sump/fuge? Are you going to paint the stand or stain it?

aha, I already did..... hold on, I'll show you

[izzy123]

So, after I built this, I needed to paint it. I used MDF wood to build the stand,because it is easy to work with, but as you probably know, it's not the best wood for use in moist places.......

so, I couldn't use any old paint, no, I went all out and used automotive 2 component paint!
I hear you think , where's the budget in that? Because this stuff is expensive. But, as luck would have it, I spraypaint cars for a living.... and sometimes we have leftovers

here's the painted result



and one more with the tank in place



sorry for the quality, I took these pics with my cellphone (an old one! )



next, I placed an aluminium box ( about 2 inches high) on the lid for the light fixtures, I wanted to create an "airtunnel" for extraction of exess heat.
don't know if it's clear on this picture.



and there you have it.... my aquarium stand

More to follow....

[geaux xman]

that stand looks awesome man!

now it looks like you have a professional in-wall aquarium.

[Conrad25]

Very nice looking tank setup. Its better than atleast half of the premade ones out and about in the world.. Going to be a reef tank I'm guessing and not a fowler?

Conrad

[izzy123]

oh, and here's that old scrathed up 30G tank that I built into a sump.... I'm not very good with silicone tho......




the compartment on the left is the first (overflow from DT and place for the skimmer)....
middle compartment should become a fuge... although I'm not certain of that.... I'm looking in to BP pellets as an alternative....

and the last is for the return pump with a bubble trap.......

[Conrad25]

Your first compartment seems weird to me. Typically we put one piece of glass from the bottom to typically 3/4 as high as the tank itself. Not sure if that would cause issues, but I have not built them enough to know for sure, just curious and I will let other chime in on that if there are any thoughts on issues with it.......

Conrad

[izzy123]

Originally Posted by Conrad25

Your first compartment seems weird to me. Typically we put one piece of glass from the bottom to typically 3/4 as high as the tank itself. Not sure if that would cause issues, but I have not built them enough to know for sure, just curious and I will let other chime in on that if there are any thoughts on issues with it.......

Conrad

And that's why I posted them....... the pro's can give their opinion...... I was trying to create some sort of bubble trap. It was my hope that the bubbles coming out of the overflow pipe and the skimmer would rise to the surface while the water flows slowlyto the fuge thru the slot...... don't know how it will work, but any thoughts are always welcome

[Sisterlimonpot]

The paint job looks good, I'm curious to what the purpose of the gap on the left side of the sump is.

[izzy123]

FWIW I got the idea from a bubble tower by the way..... this is my idea of combining the two

[izzy123]

Originally Posted by Sisterlimonpot

The paint job looks good, I'm curious to what the purpose of the gap on the left side of the sump is.

too slow sisterlimonpot.............

[Sisterlimonpot]

oh, so how is it going to be set up? the drain on the left or right? and where's the return going to be?

[Conrad25]

If you are planning on putting your skimmer on the left compartment. I know that you will have issues with your skimmer most likely as average height is in between 8-12" of water depth for skimmers.

Conrad

[izzy123]

Originally Posted by Sisterlimonpot

oh, so how is it going to be set up? the drain on the left or right? and where's the return going to be?

You guys are making me doubt myself........
but hey, that's why I'm here.... to learn .... left side is where the water enters from the DT and is also the place where I want the skimmer to go.

Middle section should become the fuge, that's why I tryd to avoid the water cascading over a baffle, to minimise the turbulence

right side is the return pump section.

Please, if you think this is no good, tell me, it's a simple fix now...... when it's filled it's a hassle

[izzy123]

Originally Posted by Conrad25

If you are planning on putting your skimmer on the left compartment. I know that you will have issues with your skimmer most likely as average height is in between 8-12" of water depth for skimmers.

Conrad

Hi conrad, well, that is an easy fix.... I'll put the skimmer on a plexiglas stand.....
by the way, I'm trying to build a diy skimmer so I'll adapt the design to the sump I guess

[Sisterlimonpot]

That's exactly how I would do it. I just wanted to make sure that's what you were planning as well. and yes putting the skimmer on a stand to raise it up out of the water is definitely the way to go. That first baffle on the left isn't a big deal I just never seen it that way. it'll help remove some bubbles to the fuge section but not all of them. the main concern is having a bubble trap on the right side to keep the micro bubbles out of the display.

[izzy123]

Originally Posted by Sisterlimonpot

That's exactly how I would do it. I just wanted to make sure that's what you were planning as well. and yes putting the skimmer on a stand to raise it up out of the water is definitely the way to go. That first baffle on the left isn't a big deal I just never seen it that way. it'll help remove some bubbles to the fuge section but not all of them. the main concern is having a bubble trap on the right side to keep the micro bubbles out of the display.

About that bubble trap, I put the baffles 1 inch apart ( yes, I asked RC ) but when I did a testrun with freshwater, I saw some bubbles clinging to the baffles and some going thru the bubbletrap......
So, is there a difference when you use saltwater? and can I improve on the design?

Greetings

Ivan

[tntneon]

hey izzy ,

looks good man , will be tagging along man

greetingzz tntneon

[izzy123]

Originally Posted by tntneon

hey izzy ,

looks good man , will be tagging along man

greetingzz tntneon

aha, here's the guy who started me to doubt to use a fuge... the BP pelletman!!

thanks a lot, I'll keep updating as I go along.... I still have some issues to tackle!!

[izzy123]

Originally Posted by geaux xman

that stand looks awesome man!

now it looks like you have a professional in-wall aquarium.

thanks, I had to do something to keep the wife happy

[izzy123]

Originally Posted by Conrad25

Very nice looking tank setup. Its better than atleast half of the premade ones out and about in the world.. Going to be a reef tank I'm guessing and not a fowler?

Conrad

yes Conrad.... at least that's my plan... going to start of on the easy stuff tho

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by izzy123

About that bubble trap, I put the baffles 1 inch apart ( yes, I asked RC ) but when I did a testrun with freshwater, I saw some bubbles clinging to the baffles and some going thru the bubbletrap......
So, is there a difference when you use saltwater? and can I improve on the design?

Greetings

Ivan

Yes 1 inch in between the baffles is about the standard. Bubbles are going to act way different in salt water then fresh water, if you had the skimmer running in there it wouldn't work until you added salt to the mix. As for bubbles getting past the trap, I think that a lot has to do with the amount of flow that you have running through the sump, when you get the tank running with salt water you'll be able to dial in the flow and keep the micro bubbles out of the display tank.

And as for the bubbles clinging, they will do that with salt water until the tank has ran for a couple week and developed that thin film (slime coat) on everything and it will go away.