IPv6Freely Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 After careful consideration, I've decided that the huge filing cabinet in my office full of crap from the previous net admin is going to get moved out, and in the space I am going to put an aquarium. I measured the space in the wall, and it was about 38" wide, and about 13" deep. I decided that a standard AGA 30 gal tank would be a perfect fit. The AGA 30gal is 36x12x16 and considering the plumbing at the back of the tank, will likely stick out about 2-3" from the face of the wall, which is fine by me, considering the filing cabinet currently in that space is about 18" deep. Right now I'm looking for suggestions as far as lighting and filtration. Do I drill? Closed loop? Dual corner overflows? This is my biggest tank yet, and I plan to probably have another 20g sump in the aquarium cabinet. I'm totally open for suggestions, but please keep in mind, I'm trying to keep it as low cost as possible (aren't we all? lol!) Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 Alright, I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering the AGA tank from my LFS. 30 gallon, black silicone, predrilled with their cornerflow or whatever it's called. I decided to build the stand myself, so ive been working on plans for that as well. canopy.pdf Link to comment
firstimereefer Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Alright, I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering the AGA tank from my LFS. 30 gallon, black silicone, predrilled with their cornerflow or whatever it's called. I decided to build the stand myself, so ive been working on plans for that as well. Wait until that new JBJ i believe 27G comes out with the built in MH, protein skimmer and i beleive dual pump Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 Wait until that new JBJ i believe 27G comes out with the built in MH is it 36" wide by 12" deep? If I went ahead and got the 45 gallon, it would be 36 x 12 x 22 instead of 36 x 12 x 16. Do you think 175w halides would be enough to reach the bottom of the tank? Or should I stick with the 30g that is 16" tall? Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 no^ no to which part? Link to comment
Mrseptember15 Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 I thought the AGA was 30x12x18 (LxWxH) Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 I thought the AGA was 30x12x18 (LxWxH) That's a 29 gallon. http://www.all-glass.com/products/aquariums/standard.shtml Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted January 20, 2007 Author Share Posted January 20, 2007 Okay, I finally settled on a tank and ordered it. AGA 38g. 36x12x18. Stand will be custom, as I dont want it to be only 30" from the floor. Canopy will also be custom. Link to comment
Fishfreak218 Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 no to which part? the dimensions of the 28g. NC being 36x12 Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted January 27, 2007 Author Share Posted January 27, 2007 Alright, 38g AGA tank is here! Now, to drill. This will be my first time, im thinking of getting some scrap glass and practicing. I need some suggestions as far as return pump and closed loop pump sizes (in gph) for a tank of this size. Return is likely going to be in a 20g sump, and the closed loop will be using a OM Squirt. Any suggestions? Link to comment
purebullet417 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 sounds good maby use a mag 5 for a return pump and 2x 175w or 250w for lighting. for a closed loop i would use a 4 way instead of a squirt just more flow and also for a pump maby get a panworld/blueline pump because there realy quite and put out little to no heat espically with the mod or use anohter mag maby a 9 Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted January 27, 2007 Author Share Posted January 27, 2007 4 way is out of the question. It costs too much, and I doubt I'll be going over 1000gph anyway. Lighting has already been decided on. I found somebody selling two 250w halide retro kits, with 15000K XM bulbs (my favourite) that have under 10 hours on them, plus two 36" VHO actinics, all for $225 shipped. I just need to know what a good gph is for a 38g overflow/return so I can design my overflow box. Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted February 2, 2007 Author Share Posted February 2, 2007 Alright, so I've been working on the planning of my plumbing and such. Heres a picture of my proposed plumbing (looking at it from the back). All of the holes will be fitted with 3/4" bulkheads except the drain, which will be 1". I plan on running a closed loop with an OM Squirt. Both the closed loop and the return will use Rainbow Lifegard Quiet One Aquarium Pump 3000's, which have 780gph. The one thing I need is my overflow box made. I don't really have any experience with acrylic... do you guys know of anywhere I could get a simple box made? This is kind of what I have in mind: Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 Order some black acrylic sheet from TAP plastics online http://www.tapplastics.com/. When you order your acrylic, order some weld-on for gluing it together. Find an undergrad machine shop at the school and talk to the shop supervisor about milling the teeth in the top and mitreing the corners. Either he will arrange training for you to do it yourself, or just do it for you, depending on how your school handles things. Even better would be if your school has a shop with a CNC mill at your disposal. Bring them a drawing the the right format, and it'll spit out the finished product for you. If you're not able to procure the services of a shop at school, you can always build it yourself. The result won't be quite as good though. Try the score 'n snap method for cutting the peices to size, then use a dremel to cut the slots in the top and to mitre the gluing edges. If you don't want to DIY, then you might be able to find a plastics shop in your area who will custom build something like that for you. I know we have one around here that will do that sort of thing. You might have to take a drive up to Kansas City to find one in your area. If you go this route, you may as well buy the acrylic from them as well. Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted February 3, 2007 Author Share Posted February 3, 2007 I was figuring it would probably be stronger if it was just one piece of acrylic that had been molded into that shape, rather then 3 seperate pieces. I'll see what I can find I guess. Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted February 4, 2007 Author Share Posted February 4, 2007 Definitely hard to get comments and suggestions around here! lol Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted February 14, 2007 Author Share Posted February 14, 2007 I've sort of designed my stand. I want it to look something like with a few mods. first, the tank is only 12" deep, but with plumbing will be about 18". So I may as well have the stand made to be 18" deep to fit more underneath. Second, I want a drawer hidden behind the doors. And finally, I'm thinking of having a flip down panel on the front that I can put rocker switches like this in, which will control all of my equipment manually: I may not do that though, because I'd like to get a controller to do all that. Who knows. Anyway, heres kind of my idea: Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted February 14, 2007 Author Share Posted February 14, 2007 It's been suggested to me that 7 holes is too many for a 40gal. What do you guys think? Link to comment
lgoins Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 too many... will look like swiss cheese Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I wouldn't do it. I am no glass drilling expert, but fewer holes = better, IMO. Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted February 14, 2007 Author Share Posted February 14, 2007 I wouldn't do it. I am no glass drilling expert, but fewer holes = better, IMO. Well that's pretty much common sense. NO holes is best. But is 7 holes in a 40g too much? I'm not sure how else to have a drain, a return, and an intake connected to an OM Squirt without having 7 holes... Link to comment
IPv6Freely Posted February 16, 2007 Author Share Posted February 16, 2007 Well, I finally got some pictures. My lighting - 2x250w halides with 15000K XM bulbs, and two VHO actinics. Hell of a deal I picked up... $225 shipped! (I don't really need the frame he has them in, but it was definitely better for shipping!): The tank itself - 38g AGA (36x12x20): The Ballast: Warming up: Getting ready to drill... and man am I worried about screwing up.... Link to comment
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