...... do you ever find yourself getting into something and then you get told off by the good lady because you have been sat at a computer for 7 hours!!!!!

I did just that and decided to CAD out my new 60 Gal rimless tank and setup im going to build. Have a look and let me know if you can see any improvements i could make.

Cube and DIY Stand:



Herbie drains and 1" SQWD return:



Aquarium upstairs, sump downstairs in the 'Man Cave':



Sump, Frag Tank and Salt mix reservoir:



Sump is middle return style, Skimmer on right, fuge on left:



Manifold style return:



Let me know what you think!!

VR

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TOTALLY AWESOME!

PS what program do you use to draw that stuff up?

Google Sketch-up. Have a look at the tutorial videos and then have a play. It takes abit of getting used to it but once you get the hang of it its wicked!!!! Next, im trying to get it rendered so it looks like a photo.

Software just blows me away with what it can do now-a-days!!!











Enjoy!!


VR

Sounds great... but it would get annoying to run up and downstairs

OMG!



Elevator?

THATS ####ING AWESOME!!!!! OGMGOMGOMOGMOMG I WISHH I COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!!

you deff deserved to spend the whole 7 hours on your comp.. and a little bit more to produce that thing of BEAUTYY. do you have any of that set up yet??? thats going to be an awesome build to watch!!

good luck with everything man

That setup would be awesome! Great design.

A dream setup ! Totally awesome. You really gonna build this? (hope she knows the real thing's gonna take more than 7 hours !!!)

Vancouver.... That's badass.... Glass looks a little thick in places, but I like the overall setup.

Is there a specific reason you're keeping the scwd recirculation system inside the tank rather than outside?

well thought out, you have drawn what i have been planning in my head for a long time minus the 2 story situation. one thing to consider is what are you going to frag since zoas and sps have diffrent needs that would dictate where in your system the frag tank is. just a thought

The system being on 2 levels is not going to be a problem. I maintain many high end systems on split levels and the fact that my Aquatroller will have it all automated will mean i can do everything i need from either level.

As for the SQWD i placed it in the back as its submersible and i hat seeing equipment in the display. I put it on unions for easy removal for cleaning and modifying!!!

The glass is a little thick in places. I just kept it to 1/2" for ease for drawing.

As for the frag tank, this is just a first thought. My aim is to have an SPS dominated tank and ill adjust my frag tanks and system to suit further down the line once i look into fragging alot deeper. I also left a valve at the far left of the manifold for system expansion etc.

DONT LIE TO ME!
Your a CGI professional animator arn't you?!?!?!

Serously im not. Ive spent the last 2 days figuring out google skethup and then i knew it could be rendered so i did some googling, downloaded a program, opened up my drawing into it, zoomed into the bits i wanted to see and hit 'Render'.


I have a good knack of picking up how things work. I just got to learn how to make a nice internet interface for my Aquatroller.

I am blown away i always wanted to 2 level setup, I cant wait till isee this thing set up

Holy SH1T! you got skills. That is suweeeeet! Cant wait to see it get built......

Awesome drawings, love the rendered look.

One concern, you might consider legs in the middle of your sump stand, to keep it from sagging.

Ok so a change of plan. Im going away from the SQWD idea and will be using an OM of some sort. Either build my own or buy one. So i have 2 designs to pick from for tank layout:

Option1:
Rear overflow box, im concerned about the depth of the box not being enough and getting a gurgling sound from my herbie???



Option2:
Centre overflow:


Which one would you pick based on cost to manufacture, ease of maintenance and also asthetics ( My main concern!, I hate seeing equipment etc, even outside of the tank ).

Any help would be much appreciated

VR

I would go with an external, no questions asked. I have a 40G cube right now with a center internal overflow and can not wait to get a new tank early next year with an external.

...................and you know i couldnt resist!!!!!

That is some amazing work with google's sketch up.... I am still trying to get the hang of it.

It looks so real

Cant wait to see this get built... your skillz are amazing!... Glad to see another Canadian!

Am I having browser problems or are the pichers gone?

Ok so after lots of great input from many people here is what ive come up with for the final design:



The Tank:

1.5" return from sump, splits at the TEE into 1" to go into the top of the tank. 2 elbows direct the water toward the base to start the rotation of the water.

3/4" closed loop system utilising a 2 way Oceans Motion. It draws water from just under the overflow, through the OM and then directs the water acorss the sand bed from back to front to keep detritus from settling on the bed and send it up towards the overflow.

Herbie style overflow



The Sump:

Central return with skimmer section and fuge on either side. Drains placed side by side for more room for a skimmer and addition of a filter sock.

Return manifold feeding frag tank with expansion for future additions.


The program im using to render the drawings is called Hypershot. I downloaded a trial copy and when the render was done i just hit the screen print key and then copied into Picasa.

Let me know what you think!!

VR

looks amazing... you have just inspired me to download sketchup....

me too! Downloaded a week ago and cant stop playing with it! awesome program

I like it.

is that a gate valve on your main drain? its a must have for herbies. I used all gate valve on my tank, I hate ball valves.

How wide are the overflow teeth openings? make sure you match that surface area to the drain flow. I originally made mine too narrow thus the water sprayed into the overflow box instead of flowing into. I had to dremel them wider.

On the main drain, I probably wouldnt put a extension inside the overflow box. Just leave the bulkhead as it is. the increased height distance between main drain and the emergency drain will make dialing in much easier. On the plus side, when you shut the system down for maintenance is will suck any gunk in the overflow down into your sump. you could also put a piece of eggcrate into the bulkhead (divide the opening into quarters). That would break up the flow into the bulkhead and help prevent a vortex from forming. although I dont know how much that might impede flow.

are you going to leave the tank open top?
if not, you could build up the stand to connect to canopy and run to the wall. That would hide the back of the tank. 'course then you'll have to move the valves on your return.

The Gate valve is for setting up the Herbie. I like the idea of no standpipe in the overflow allowing for all detritus to drain down into the sump. Ill have to incorporate that!!

As for the overflow teeth i have scrapped that idea. Im now going with just and rounded lip to allow for laminar flow, then ill block off the overflow with some black egg crate to stop the critters.



As for hiding the pipes, i will be having some black acrylic sheets cut to size to fit down each side and over the overflow. These will be secured and be removable as needed. The pipes for the OM will be dropped down and the valves turned into the cabinet so they can be accessed though the front door.

For lighting i will be retrofitting a light pendant similar to the solana with LED's so i can keep the clean, crisp look:

Ohhh, I like the black acrylic side idea.

Might want to rethink the eggcrate teeth bit. you dont want a lip over the inside of the overflow box, that would create a waterfall and negate the quietness of herbies.
If you put the eggcrate so the back is flush with the inside of the overflow box it "might" solve that problem.

The egg crate is just a first idea. I will play around with different materials until i find one that will work silently. I work for an aquarium maintenance company and have seen MANY ways of how not to do things with aquariums and setups etc.

Ill be sure to post my findings once i work it out!

VR

wow. those are great 3d drawings.

Awesome job with sketchup!

You should totally go into business designing people's sump/system plans for them.

Gimmie your specs of what you want, $50 via paypal and ill design you anything you like. I spend most of my days installing systems anyways!!! Ive seen alot of CRAP designs and installations out there!!!!

I might just do that in the near future. Right now I don't need any planning/rendering of my 20g with eventual 10g sump as most of it is sitting right next to me. I'm still learning this hobby as I go and I love it. I'm in the midst of finishing my basement right now and when it's done it'll contain a 120 gallon reef tank with plumbing running back through the wall behind it into my laundry room where the sump and equipment will be. I'm thinking it'll be rather helpful to see that all planned in advance. I'll PM you when I'm ready and take you up on that offer perhaps.

Sounds good. Just let me know. I have great experiance with what works and what doesnt. Just installed an Aquarium in a $14mil house today. Crazy money being spent there!!!

I just wanted to let you know, your skills are amazing! As i type this I am in drafting class using Auto-CAD, and my teacher saw what you made as was astounded. lol

Your overflow teeth look too deep, IMO.

If you're going to the trouble of an OM squirt...go for the four port. You may need the super squirt to handle your flow, so keep that in mind as well.

With the two extra ports, you can bring two pipes to the front corners of the tank, from underneath, to bulkheads in the bottom glass. There, you can install a pair of OM revolutions (V14)





In addition, I would strongly recommend against mounting your closed loop pump inside the stand like that. There are a few reasons - one is noise. It's going to be loud. The vibrations of the pump are going to resonate throughout the wood and it will hum like powerlines in your living room. I've played with various vibration damping in an attempt to do the same thing you're trying, and in the end the easiest way was to just put the damn pump on the floor behind the stand. Even if you can manage to dampen the vibrations, you still have the noise of the fan cooling on the pump, which cannot be dampened. Why not put that noise elsewhere?

Second reason - accessibility. If you install the closed loop pump down in your man-cave, it is accessible for easy removal for regular cleaning. This is not the case for installation inside the stand. Add valves and unions (union valves @ lowes), downstairs, so you can remove, clean, and reinstall the pump without walking up and down the stairs. Keep a second set of unions upstairs, near the bulkheads, so you can move this sucker in the future. You will not lose any head to elevation, as it is a closed loop, and the head loss from some long straight sections of pipe is minimal.


Another suggestion - keep your sump return section large enough to accommodate an entire water change. That way, you can do a water change without turning off your pumps. With a redundant herbie drain, you do not have to worry about a clogged drain incident, so there's no need to minimize your return section volume. This also allows you to set up automatic water changes. Hint. Hint.

The grass is always greener on the other side...

Looking good.

Suggestions:

OM's are LOUD. You're going to hear it buzzing away in the stand. If you haven't listened to one in a quiet room, do so. My old tank had a 4-way in the living room. I had to put a switch on the OM so I could turn it off while watching a movie.

Put in some overflow teeth. I haven't seen anything that works as well or as eloquently as simple teeth. Get a piece big enough to cover the whole back of the tank and silicone it in. Water pressure will hold the piece against the wall, so it doesn't have to be a strong joint- unlike acrylic baffles in a glass sump.

If you can find someone with a CNC or a laser cutter, you could easily just do slots, rather than teeth. That way you won't break up the top edge of the plastic.

B

Pretty sure that if your OM is buzzing that loudly, then there's a problem with it. Have you contacted the guys at ocean's motions about it? They're really awesome at fixing their stuff and making it right.

Ok so a new idea....

Keep the closed loop design or replace it with a Vortech or 2 ?????

I am not a fan of closed loop systems. They do make the tank look nice and clean.
I tend to mess around with my powerheads to get optimum flow and minimal dead spots.

I had a few pieces of LR with some heavy GHA and yesterday I put them in the sump (no light area) to kill algae and keep the goodies alive. Now I see some spots of cyano so I have to adjust my powerheads again.

I'm a fan of closed loops. However, if you've got the cash, the Vortechs are f'n sweet. I'd be tempted.

The advantage of the closed loops is that you can use nozzles to direct your flow in corners, etc, to help lift detritus into the water for mechanical filtration to remove it.

You can't really do that with the wide, broad flow of a vortech.

The vortech is a lot easier to set up and should be quieter than a closed loop/OM. Keep in mind, however, that the only place you can put it on your tank without it looking like crap is on the back. Put it on the sides and it will ruin your nice clean look

In the end it's up to you.

Any new updates on this system/design? I was following along earlier. The computer design work is awesome.

We move into our new house on March 30th, then the installation will begin once i decide on what size and shape of tank will work best. The Aquatroller is coming along and i hope to have that completed in the next few weeks so as soon as something new happens ill be sure to post!

VR

i agree

why sqwd when you can squirt

I'm about to design a 60 cube system, so I love what you've done. Great job, and thanks for posting it.

FWIW:
Because of the 10 foot drop you'll have ,instead of the 3 foot drop if the sump were under your tank, the siphon on the Herbie is going to pull more than three times harder. You'll need to restrict the flow by about 70%% just to compensate for that. That means that the precision of your flow adjustment will be as little as 30% as precise as it would be with a Herbie and a sump right under the tank. It will be hard to get just the right flow rate. You've already said you'll be using a gate valve, if you also us a smaller diameter pipe for the siphon, you will get more precision out of your gate valve.

That is a great looking build! Really nicely done.

On a side note, did you use the follow me tool for all of you pipes? I tried and found out I suck at making pipes. Yours look great though! Figured I would ask.

edit...I think I figured it out. Still doesnt look as nice as yours, but its getting there

for second there i though u got bored and made a 1/10 model out of clay and plastic...
nice software