JamesWebb Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 My little project is a 20 gallon long that I bought during petco's one dollar a gallon sale that I want to build into an all in one; with a single overflow built into the back wall and return via spin stream. I am planning on doing a basic under-over type divide in the return chamber, with some type of filtration similar to my nuvo cube, which will lead to a single large chamber that I will keep small pieces of life rock in and also house my return pump and ATO. I have a large sheet of 1/4 inch acrylic that was given to me by a buddy that I can use but after looking to cutting it I may just go to a glass shop and see what they would charge for the three pieces I need. The plan is to build the tank into a mini peninsula style tank with the rock scape resembling an peninsula and the tank being viewed from three sides. I plan on housing mostly acan/lps corals and a few small reef fish/inverts. I will be getting a custom LED set up built by build my LED. Questions: 1) for the return pump, how large ie how many gph should I be looking for to enable me to only use the spin stream for water movement? is this large enough? http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/pumps/submersible-pumps/eheim-300-compact-aquarium-pump-40-80gph.html or would i be better off going with http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/pumps/submersible-pumps/eheim-600-compact-aquarium-pump-40-160gph.html 2) for the overflow/return, how much lower should the return be drilled below the overflow or does it not make a difference? also will the size/number of slots cut into the overflow make a huge difference? In the pics I had two overflows but decided to just go with one, so ignore the other one. I made templates from cardboard to get an idea of what I would be working with, that's what the pics are. Thanks for any input/suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Just curious why you chose spin stream over a hydro deflector or something? Builds looking good. I've never used spins stream so I dont know what pump size is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesWebb Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 I am thinking spin stream just because I like the random style flow it gives without taking up really any space, I haven't looked into many other options than the spin stream and the traditional flare nozzle return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesWebb Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 After looking into your recommendation it appears to be almost identical for half the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Ya that's what I was hitting at... With the hydro flo any pump will work as long as its above 100 gph. If you want it to turn faster get a bigger pump. Also they are super easy to clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesWebb Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 i just ordered two, one for my current nuvo cube and one for this. I also got the pump and tubing/plumbing ordered. I found a guy on another forum who built a system exactly like the one I am thinking. Did it on a CNC machine at his work, I'm going to see if he will sell me the pieces already cut the same way his were that way I can just silicone them together and be good to go. The plan is to use base rock to build a rockscape, have it all epoxy together and then seed with live rock rubble and let the tank cycle for a while. No rush on this one because I have my other tank up and running to keep me busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesWebb Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 So after looking into a bunch of places and doing all the digging I could and finally having my plan together to get the acrylic pieces made, I found a guy who makes a kit. Yeah my DIY has become a DI with help from a kit. I couldn't pass up the price or the quality of the product. It ended up being cheaper and looking better than I could have hoped to have made. Met the guy on another forum, got his page, bought it. without further adieu http://www.badfishreefsystems.com/index.html had exactly what I was going to make, just better. In his he also has a really sweet acrylic light fixture rack, which I am going to try to convince him to make to fit the Build My LED fixture, this will give the tank a super clean look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesWebb Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 I got my insert, top cover and rear cover in the mail today. Looks awesome. I have it clamped into the tank and have the area where the front bead of silicone will be taped off. I've left about 1/4 inch between the insert and the tape, that should be enough surface area for the silicone to hold correct? Also, for the baffles its going to be about impossible to get silicone down between the bubble trap so they will only be siliconed on one side, shouldn't be an issue right? I'm hoping to get this thing siliconed today so it can cure up and hopefully have water this upcoming weekend. Advice on silicone technique for putting this thing in? I got a tube of GE 1, and plan on only cutting a very small tip off of it and taking it nice and slow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesWebb Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 Got the insert siliconed in and it looks real good, lets just hope it holds water! Pictures will be up tomorrow, I took plenty. I also ordered my build my led light fixture and live sand/base rock. Everything is coming together hope to have it cycling by the weekend!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesWebb Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 Water tested the silicone job today, the front main seal held great but I had a small leak in the base of one of the sump partitions. Just added a bunch of silicone to see if I can't patch her up right. Good thing it's all covered because getting good looking silicone into those small chambers would be impossible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesWebb Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 Question; my return is a locline fitting that screws into a 90 degree elbow joint on the other side of the partition wall, should I use silicone to make sure it's water tight or get some rubber washers or use nothing at all. The fitting fits snug into the hole with almost no wiggle room. I'm afraid of over tightening and cracking the acrylic wall. Also this thing is nearly impossible to tighten all the way, in seriously wrenching on it and afraid I'm going to break the 90, any thread lubes I can use that are reef safe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 I'd give nothing a shot first and see how it goes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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