best FTS before breaking down:

This thread is a journal of my ADA 30c, which originally started as a custom 10" starphire cube. I scrapped the cube, and decided to go with a very custom setup involving absolutely no visible equipment. This setup has been slightly successful, but I have also had a few problems getting it all to work right.

The ADA 30c was completed and filled on January 28th, 2010. It had a few lbs of live rock transferred in from a 10 gallon I had brewing with a few pieces of coral, so there was a very minimal soft cycle.

Equipment List:
-ADA 30c custom drilled for bottom overflow/return
-Custom black painted wood stand
-Custom acrylic sump built by Sammy113
-Vortech MP10 Pump
-FishNeedIt 150w Metal Halide with FNI 20k bulb, and custom mounted moonlights
-Reefkeeper Lite Controller
-Tunze 9002 Protein Skimmer
-Ice Probe Chiller
-Taam Rio+ 1400 Return Pump
-2x Hydor Stealth 50w Heaters

Stocking List:

Fish:
-Ocellaris clown fish (Johntherealtor - February 28th, 2010)
-Slight mis bar ocellaris clown fish (Johntherealtor - February 28th, 2010)

SPS:
-"Tyree Ponape" Birdsnest (World Wide Corals - February 16th, 2010)
-"ORA Chips" Acropora (MitchReef - February 21st, 2010)
-"ORA Hyacinth" Birdsnest (MitchReef - February 21st, 2010)
-"Chesterfield" Acropora (MitchReef - February 21st, 2010)
-"Pink Lemonade" Acropora (Sea in the City - March 5th, 2010)
-Blue and green Acropora (March 5th, 2010)
-Teal Acropora (March 5th, 2010)
-"Tricolor" Acropora Valida (MitchReef - March 8th, 2010)
-"Sumperman" Montipora (MitchReef - March 8th, 2010)
-"Rainbow" Montipora (MitchReef - March 8th, 2010)
-"ORA Marshall Island Blue Bottlebrush" Acropora (MitchReef - March 8th, 2010)
-"Purple Slimer" Acropora (MitchReef - March 8th, 2010)
-"ORA Rose" Acropora Millepora (MitchReef - March 8th, 2010)
-Red Montipora cap (MitchReef - April 21st, 2010)

LPS:
-Mini Frogspawn (Aquarium Fanatics - August 23rd, 2009)
-Green and pink chalice (World Wide Corals - February 16th, 2010)
-"Ruby Glow" Blastomussa (Sea in the City - February 27th, 2010)
-Orange Rainbow Acanthastrea Rotundoflora (World Wide Corals - March 6th, 2010)
-"Juicy Corals Aussie Rainbow Ultra grade" Acanthastrea lord (MitchReef - March 8th, 2010)

Zoanthids:
-"Kedd's Red" Zoanthid (World Wide Corals - August 28th, 2009)
-"Eagle Eye" Zoanthid (racechase - September 28th, 2009)
-"Lemon Lime" Zoanthid (racechase - September 28th, 2009)
-"African Blue Steel" Zoanthid (World Wide Corals - October 26th, 2009)
-"Blue Ice" Zoanthid (Aquarium Fanatics - February 13th, 2010)
-"Horizon" Zoanthid (Aquarium Fanatics - February 13th, 2010)
-"007 Golden Eye" Zoanthid (World Wide Corals - March 2nd, 2010)
-Purple and green Zoanthid (MitchReef - March 8th, 2010)
-Red and blue Zoanthid (Sea in the City - March 8th, 2010)
-"Purple Heart"? Zoanthid (Sea in the City - March 18th, 2010)
-"Blue Shuriken"? Zoanthid (sageblade24 - March 19th, 2010)
-"Fruit Loops" Zoanthid (sageblade24 - March 19th, 2010)
-Neon pink Zoanthid (World Wide Corals - April 2nd, 2010)
-"Green Bay Packers" Zoanthid (Aquarium Fanatics - April 14th, 2010)
-"Spiderman" Zoanthid (Aquarium Fanatics - April 14th, 2010)
-"Mitch's Pinwheel" Zoanthid (MitchReef - April 21st, 2010)
-"King Midas" Zoanthid (Aquarium Fanatics - April 24th, 2010)

Palythoas:
-"Purple Death" Palythoa (World Wide Corals - February 17th, 2010)
-"Lord of the Rings" morph Palythoa (World Wide Corals - March 2nd, 2010)
-"Green Implosion" Palythoa (World Wide Corals - March 2nd, 2010)
-"Magicians" Palythoa (Aquarium Fanatics - March 14th, 2010)
-"Valentines Day Massacre" Palythoa (sageblade24 - March 19th, 2010)
-"Pink Elephant"? Palythoa (sageblade24 - March 19th, 2010)
-"Mohawk" Palythoa (Aquarium Fanatics - May 12th, 2010)

Soft Coral:
-Blue Mushroom (MitchReef - April 21st, 2010)
-Pulsing Xenia (Aquarium Fanatics - May 12th, 2010)

Invertebrates:
-Dwarf Cerith snails (ReefCleaners - August 18th, 2009)
-Florida Cerith snails (ReefCleaners - August 18th, 2009)
-Dwarf Nassarius snail (ReefCleaners - August 18th, 2009)
-Micro Brittle Starfish (MitchReef - March 8th, 2010)
-Blue Porcelain Crab (Sea in the City - March 18th, 2010)

Skip to page 4 for progress after the sale of the 10" cube.

Skip to page 13 for thread after the tank is filled.

looks like you have a good plan
can't wait to see it progress

Thanks!

The tank will be shipping out tomorrow, but I don't know when I'll be able to get any of the parts for it.


I will at least start taking it apart and cleaning it up, not sure what I'm going to go with for seaming it yet (was thinking about attempting the Elos look.)

cool idea hope it works for you! i ran out of money lol

here is the best idea I have seen for drilling one hole for a overflow/return
it all uses one hole, very efficient use of space
http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=20020

hope it helps

ps.
you could do two returns to create more turbulent flow

Hmm, some good ideas in there. I'm still not sure exactly what I'm doing as far as the drains/returns go (kind of hard to perfectly envision things without the tank being in hand). I know for sure I want everything total (including the stand and tank) to be no higher than 24" tall. Whatever I end up going with is going in a space that will be 10.2"x10.2"x24", and I will have absolutely NO visible equipment in the tank itself.

This may end up being the biggest PITA ever, but with a starfire pico, you kind of have to go all or nothing

Got the tank in today. It definitely needs some work, but I can tell it is going to turn out great! It really feels like a solid little tank, and having it in my hands will speed my plans along. I still need to gather equipment (which is going to be a slow process it seems...) but tonight I will start taking it apart to re-silicone it.

I'm unsure as to wether I wan't to stick with black silicone, or go clear. Anyone have any quick input before I go pick some up?

Current FTS:

4 Gallon Rimless shot on September 4th, 2009

I'd go clear for the seamless look, but that's just me

I would stay with the black silicone but you should definitely clean it up casue it looks kindav messy, but other than that it looks good.

11:15PM, it's a baby boy!



Obviously I decided to go with the black silicone again, I taped it off this time so it will be a bit cleaner (oops, smudged a spot), and moved the chipped piece to a spot that will be hidden and hold up well.

The bad news is that the middle pieces were cut a LITTLE too short, so there is a 1/8" lip on the "front" piece (found out midway in) and because of this, my taping ended up being a bit off too. Some seams will be shorter than others, but honestly I'm not going to stress 1/8" problems.

My heatsink and LEDs should be here early this week, but on the wifes orders I'm not spending anymore money on this tank for a bit. It's an extra project, and I have to treat is as such BUT, I think I have some extra bulkheads laying around so once I find my diamond bit, I can work on the plumbing!

Better pictures of the tank tomorrow.

Okay, still need to clean it up a bit (need to redo the seams on the inside a little bit) but overall I think it's looking good!

Current FTS:

4 Gallon Rimless shot on September 6th, 2009

I'm getting very excited about this project, I think it is going to look goooood.

looks fantastic! glad it got their in one piece.

question: did you take it apart? or did you just strip it and go over it?

Thanks! I took it apart and flipped the chipped piece. The tank will be viewable from all sides so I wanted to make it nice and clean

this is what I want to do for my next pico, a starphire cube with LEDs. I'll be interested to see how you handle keeping the filtration hidden, and might steal some ideas

Did you make sure to silicone in between the glass panels as well? Only doing the inner fillets is usually not enough for good structural integrity...

how hard was it to take apart? and how did you? I was having trouble with it when i was still going forward with it.


Also to the above poster, i think siliconing the seams only would be enough for a 4 gallon tank. Either way, it would hold IMO.

It probably would, but why take such a risk when it is so simple to do it right the first time now that it is empty? Silicone in between the glass also gives you extra leak protection

Okay to answer the questions:

1) Wasn't too hard to take apart, just took a razor blade and started to pry some of the more loose areas, and pulled carefully.

2) I siliconed in between the panes as well as corner seams, although when I did the first part some areas didn't fill out completely so there are visible spots where silicone is not present (will take pictures later to show)

3) I don't mind people stealing my ideas at all! That is the reason why I post things like this, otherwise I would just post pictures and keep everything to myself


As far as plumbing goes, I decided I am going to do 1" bulkhead for the overflow (which will just be a straight PVC pipe inside the rock, no cap this time, and I will be drilling small holes in the top of the rock) and a 3/4" pvc for the return with a dual outlet hidden inside a rock. I will also be taking my rio mini 200 pump (which really is tiny, almost a 1" square) and trying to hide it inside of a rock as well for more movement.

Leak test tomorrow night once the silicone cures!

Nice idea with the plumbing. The only problem is I suspect it will be very touchy to exactly match the drain and pump rates. If the pump pumps just a tiny bit more than the drain drains, the tank will overflow. But if the drain drains just a little too fast, the display tank will eventually empty and your sump will overflow.

I have the rates matched on my 90g right now like you are thinking of doing it, but I also have safeties for tank overflow and sump overflow hidden in the overflow. Even though I never touch the valves on the plumbing, sometimes the pump pumps just a little bit faster or slower and my overflow safeties kick in. You might want to consider building a black acrylic overflow so that you open up more options for plumbing

Another option: have the drain pipe an inch or so under the water line, so that it cannot drain the whole tank if the pump fails. Also have a float switch in the display so if it gets too full the pump will shut off. That setup would cover both bases . However, if the power went out the water could still drain through the pump into the sump, so you might want to have your pump exit near the water line as well.

Good points, but I am mostly relying on having a large enough space to put a check valve for the pump in case of a power outage. The check valves I have on my 28G are VERY nice, I can turn the pumps on and off all day without having a problem.

I don't think I'll have room for a float switch, but if I do it will probably be for an ATO.

The sump is probably going to end up being 9 1/2" by 5" by 6" to allow for a power strip and access to plumbing.

Check valves are good, but what would stop the tank from overflowing if the drain got blocked or the pump had a fast day?

I'm honestly just hoping that a 1" drainpipe is going to be big enough to drain a 4G fast enough for that to not happen, LOL. I have a 1" drain on my 28G and it really drains quite fast. As for getting blocked, let's just hope that doesn't happen.

Well the thing is you are going to have to match the pump and drain rates exactly for the water to stay suspended, so you'll have to use a pretty powerful pump. If you use a smaller pump the water will just drain down to the level of the drainpipe near the bottom of the display and stay there, since the drain flows faster than the pump.

So if you are going to try to match pump and drain rates exactly, there is obviously a lot that can go wrong being in such a precise situation. If some rubble, a snail, or even some algae make it down your drain pipe, it will change the flow characteristics of the drain, making it flow less, and your pump will overpower the drain, causing an overflow. That's why I suggest an inconspicuous float switch in the upper corner of the tank that will shut off your pump if the water gets too high .

I think I may not have explained my plan correctly. I'm going to be hiding the PVC in a piece of rock as a standpipe, so the water will only drain to where the top of the PVC is until the pump pushes enough back up (which I am planning a small aquaclear pump, so that should be powerful enough to match rates pretty easily)

Here is a really crappy paint image of what I am thinking of:

Ah, perfect then! I was thinking you were going to conceal the drain under a low level rock, like the pump output pipe is. That should work great! Just looking out for ya

Haha no, I'm glad you were making sure I was doing things right. Sometimes I get too into my own ideas and don't notice their faults. I'm going to have to bore out a hole through the whole rock to get the PCV though, so that will probably be my biggest issue.

I would suggest a hole saw if it's deep enough to go all the way through the rocks. LR is very brittle and will shatter if a normal drill bit gets caught. You could also epoxy rocks to the outside of the pipe, if all else fails.

Yeah, my second option was to cut the rocks in half, and kind of chisel out where the PVC will go then re-connect them around the pipe. This is one of those things that I will have to just look at all the options once I have the materials in hand, and go through a little trial and error.

Very nice, I think I'm going to stick out the bowfront, I might have a few questions for you relating to plumbing :-). Yours is def looking very nice though, keep the updates coming.

Thanks man! Should have some more coral coming on Wed (moneys tight, stocking will be a sloowwww process) so it should look a little nicer soon.

Just PM me any of your questions, I would be glad to help!

Had too many tiny leaks, this time I'm going to have my wife help me. I don't have a steady hand when trying to do everything myself hahah.

Sending the heatsink out to Sammy to build the acrylic tomorrow, and will be tapping an aluminum plate to mount the LEDs to (which will attach to the heatsink)

I'm going to cross post this link because I feel like it isn't going to get a lot of views unless I link it:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=209198

Sorry if that gets annoying!

It's back!



Finished up the silicone (2nd go at this) tonight, will finish cleaning it up tomorrow to even out some of the seams. EVERYTHING is now ordered for the lighting, I have half of my plumbing, I'm about 80% sure what I'm using for return pumps, and I am going to have my glass bit sent down so I can start the plumbing too.


So here is my big dilemma, which honestly just depends on my laziness. My two options are to:

A: Custom build a stand for it, sized perfectly for the tank and finished however I want. This would be great, but would probably limit my sump size and obviously take more effort / money.

B: Buy a brown faux wood cube from Target with a front door on it. This would be cheap, easy, and have enough room to make a pretty big sump, but would not look as clean.

Any input?

As for A, i already had that planned out before i had any thought of selling it!!!



If you want the sketup file let me know!
Here is the actual creation:



Sorry for whoring your thread, lol!

2nd try with the silicone looks great! Nice clean lines, definitely better the second time around. Great job

Ah! I like it! I was thinking something shorter so I could put it on top of a desk or something, but maybe I should go tall to have room for ATO, extra power, etc.

Go ahead and send the sketchup to schgriffith@gmail.com if you'd like, I would love to use it for an example.
And don't worry man, you're still involved in this! lol



Thanks! It still looks a little off, but most of that is just stuff that was on top of the tape and will be cut off tomorrow. A few spots are still off, but as long as it holds water I don't really care.

Leak test:


As long as it works til Sunday, I'm satisfied with the silicone. I also got my power supply today.

One hole tapped, the rest tomorrow. Still waiting on my new fan.

Got a few pictures from my buddy sammy113 of the LED build so far. Since I don't have the proper tools (aka drill press, I live in an apartment) we decided to let him finish the build completely instead of just building me the acrylic box. It's about 80% done (just needs the top and splash guard put on), and he has done all this in the past 2 days!





Enjoy!

looks good!

Very Nice. Will be following this thread.

sweet build, about what I have going on my my pico

Thanks guys! Sammy is great with acrylic, so I knew that I would get exactly what I wanted from him. He's also having a blast building this, so that helps too.


Acrylic apparently is being cut tomorrow, so I should have that to ScooterNerd shortly so he can begin construction of the new tank (not sure if I want to keep it 10" cube or go with a 12" cube). Once I have that, I will build the stand (going to skin it in black to match the light), build the sump, and start the plumbing. This thing is probably at least a month away from even seeing water again, but who knows how things will turn out!

Nice. Good work Sammy113. Looking forward to seeing it over a tank.

Yay, evil likes it. I also want to thank evil for helping me pick out the equipment for this build (I really didn't know anything electrical before starting this) and putting up with my obnoxious PMs. Maybe I should start a list of people to thank for this build...

Thanks Evil!

Hey Sam how are you planning on hanging the light?

Not sure yet. I'm thinking about spacing this kind of close to a wall and hanging it from the wall. But with this being a 4 sided tank, it will be hard to hang this cleanly.

Light is done! Sammy did an amazing job, and has more than exceeded my expectations. We are already working on other ideas for the future of both this tank and my larger tank for acrylic projects.

But words are boring, pictures are fun!











And here are the comparison shots between Sammys 12LED unit with optics, and my 9LED unit without any (although it was built with enough room for optics if I decide to run them).
Sammys:

Mine: