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zooman72's 15g column rebirth/ rebuild - everything old is new again!


zooman72

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Hello again, and welcome to another one of my several tanks - this time not a "new" build per se, but rather an extensive "update" of an existing build, with only the contents being "reused"...

I have had my original 15g All-Glass column aquarium for over 20 years, and it started out life as a freshwater angelfish tank for my mother. After she had a serious accident and could no longer look after it, I took possession of it and converted it to a spider gecko terrarium. It was then converted to a reef aquarium when we moved to our new home, and had remained such until I noticed a problem - there appeared to be a leak that had developed, and it was destroying the bottom of the stand, constructed of pressed wood product.

I decided I had to take action, and since I have always liked the non-traditional appearance of this aquarium, I decided to purchase a new one since they are being made again under the Aqueon label. I also decided that I wanted to have a sump inside the stand instead of outside the stand as I had originally done, and which did not look good. The only issue was the very limited space inside the stand for a sump - less than 12" x 12", which meant I could not use the preferred 12" 7.5g rimless cube I wanted as a sump - the $30 Deep Blue model.

I then happened upon the $60 Fluval Chi 5g, which measures 10x10x12", the same as an Ecoxotic Eco Pico, but less $$$ - didn't need any equipment of course, just the tank. I also decided to update the equipment from what I had been using, which would fix some flaws with the original setup.

Equipment:

  • Aqueon 15g column aquarium with matching stand (all from local Petco sale)
  • Fluval Chi 5g sump with single glass baffle at 8" height
  • Eshopps Nano Overflow (reused)
  • CPR 4" Sock-It filter sock holder, with 4"x8" 200 micron felt sock
  • Tunze 9002 skimmer with airline mod (reused)
  • Hydor 75W glass heater (reused)
  • Original Ledtric "zooman72" Par38 lamp, hung by cord (coming out of retirement)
  • Coralife 1W moonlight (reused)
  • Custom glass top - fits inside factory top trim
  • Pair of Hydor Koralia 425gph water pumps
  • Rio Hyperflow 6HF return pump (reused) - Sicce Syncra 1.5
  • Tunze Nano ATO

Livestock:

  • 30+ lbs. live rock (reused)
  • florescent green Nepthea coral
  • Caulastrea trumpet corals - 3 different species/ colors
  • Grube's gorgonian (Pinnagorgia sp.)
  • Pair of open brain corals (Trachyphyllia sp.)
  • Small "Tyree" florescent green toadstool leather coral (Sarcophyton sp.) - never grows!
  • Random brown mushrooms (Discosoma sp.) - started out green years ago...
  • Banggai cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) - picked up a months ago as tiny juvie...
  • Red firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) - also picked up months ago, was "paired"...
  • Purple firefish (Nemateleotris decora) - purchased recently after 3 months at LFS...
  • Common clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) - purchased over 1 year ago, once part of trio...
  • Pair of small blue leg hermit crabs (Clibanarius tricolor)

On to the pics:

Damage I found after moving exterior sump to clean on original tank stand...
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Interior of old stand - notice stain on bottom and trickle down left wall...
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What the old girl looked like right before the teardown...
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Getting ready for the "switch" - so much work ahead of me...
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More to come shortly - stay tuned.... ;)

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Ok, I could not wait to post more pics, plus I thought I would break it up, so here goes...

 

Drilled a pair of 2.5" holes for the drain line and return line...

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Reinforced the two side panels with an additional countersunk screw - the stand only has fasteners at the top and bottom...

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Hinges on the stand door are rather nice and sturdy, with a quick detach clip...

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Stand comes with a single cord grommet at the bottom...

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Sump was easy to fabricate - one piece of glass divides it into two sections - 6"x8"x10" drain/ skimmer section, and 4"x7.5"x10" return section...

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Fits like a glove...

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Have to remove this thin plastic strip that mates to the factory top so that the overflow will slide in easily - out comes the Dremel...

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More to come...

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Old tank emptied - note the MiniJet 606 I had behind the rocks for additional flow - ran for almost 7 years without a hiccup...

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Used a spare 20L filled with a mix of new and old water to hold all of the rock, and most of this water will go in the new tank...

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The corals and fish hanging out in a 5g bucket waiting to go in the new tank...

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New tank in place, and it looks so much brighter already with the Par38 - was using a BoostLED Par30 on the old tank...

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The sump plumbed to the tank - piece of cake, just using flex line and black vinyl...

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Starting the base rocks - using a similar layout to the previous, but going to see if I can open it up a bit to improve flow and give fishes more "choice" for movement...

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Placing the pair of Koralia 425's in the corner behind the base rocks to counter flow from the return...

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Plenty of room, and this should improve flow over the original...

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Building the stack, and keeping the shelf I had in the previous version, but already have used two less rocks...

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Not a bad bit of "real estate" for such a tall and relatively narrow tank...

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Only the finish to come...

 

Too bad I don't have the camera skills (or camera!), tank-building skills, and "suspense-building" gift of others on here, such as Rehype, but I guess this is more of a record of my efforts for myself to look back on, and for others to use as needed for their own constructions later...

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Tank filled, with corals and fish back in - water is a bit cloudy (actually rinsed and reused the original substrate!), but will clear in a bit, maybe faster with the filter sock working...

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Getting better after an hour...

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Another hour and almost clear...

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Skimmer already pulling stuff out...

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Just before lights out - all told, this took me a bit over 4 hours, including prep time...

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Gorgonian opened up the next morning, and the fish are already waiting to be fed...

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Morning side view - sorry for the light bleed/ reflection from the window blinds...

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View coming down the stairs in the morning...

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View from my desk...

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Well, that is it - I don't anticipate too many additions (or subtractions!), but of course welcome comments and questions, plus any ideas going forward.

 

Thanks,

Aaron (zooman72)

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Sweet tank! Like to see them used for something other than sea horses. Great aquasacapeing in such a small space.

 

Thanks, very nice of you to comment as such, but they do make nice seahorse tanks too!

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Yes, they do. The wife, just as many others, is always looking at that tank and saying...."you should get this and put some sea horses in it for me" she doesn't realize all the extra time involved in taking care of them. Anyway, great job, beautiful tank.

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Yes, they do. The wife, just as many others, is always looking at that tank and saying...."you should get this and put some sea horses in it for me" she doesn't realize all the extra time involved in taking care of them. Anyway, great job, beautiful tank.

 

Funny, my wife just looks at me after all of this and says "are you crazy, why another tank?!"...

 

I actually used to keep seahorses a long time ago, when I was younger and had more energy and less kids... :wacko:, but never kept them in this tank. I am a big fish guy (i.e. fish = corals), but have to admit - seahorses are a bit boring, cool and unique, but boring... :P

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Funny, my wife just looks at me after all of this and says "are you crazy, why another tank?!"...

 

I actually used to keep seahorses a long time ago, when I was younger and had more energy and less kids... :wacko:, but never kept them in this tank. I am a big fish guy (i.e. fish = corals), but have to admit - seahorses are a bit boring, cool and unique, but boring... :P

 

Yep, I've got three boys now and less time for stuff like sea horses...now, if she would take care of maintenance on my tanks? She is into the whole fish thing, just not the "work" end of it:) check out all the holes in my ceiling from different tanks/lighting....she loves that! I don't get "no" anymore, just the stink eye!

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Yep, I've got three boys now and less time for stuff like sea horses...now, if she would take care of maintenance on my tanks? She is into the whole fish thing, just not the "work" end of it:) check out all the holes in my ceiling from different tanks/lighting....she loves that! I don't get "no" anymore, just the stink eye!

 

:lol:

 

I've got three boys too (better than three girls! :P), and my wife simply tolerates my hobby, but I guess it could be worse... :rant:

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Nice rebuild! I like how you placed the koralias. Looks like you caught the leak in time.

 

BTW seahorses suck IMO. They're very different /unique but yes boring. They look like they're really depressed!

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Nice rebuild! I like how you placed the koralias. Looks like you caught the leak in time.

 

BTW seahorses suck IMO. They're very different /unique but yes boring. They look like they're really depressed!

 

Thanks for the compliment, and I too like the Koralia placement - lots of diffuse flow throughout the tank, not just the top, and no dead space behind the rocks now. I would also say that I caught the leak a little late considering the damage to the old stand... ;)

 

We should probably stop picking on the seahorses before some of the local seahorse lovers catch us... :rant::owned::tears::slap::P

 

Awesome!

 

Thanks!

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Tank looks really nice and I like the two power heads in one corner. You may not have Rehype's suspense building skills, but he doesn't have an LED bulb named after him.

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Tank looks really nice and I like the two power heads in one corner. You may not have Rehype's suspense building skills, but he doesn't have an LED bulb named after him.

 

Ha, thanks, and wow! :lol:

 

 

Please note I meant no offense to Rehype - I am more envious than anything... :happy:

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Who's rehype? :) I love sea horses! There majestic, beautiful creatures with a very charming and endearing quality about them ;) oh and your lamp sucks....I have one!

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Who's rehype? :) I love sea horses! There majestic, beautiful creatures with a very charming and endearing quality about them ;) oh and your lamp sucks....I have one!

 

:lol: Ha!

 

The sarcasm is thick with this one... :naughtydance:

 

Glad you like the light too! :P

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The new equipment came (love new toys!) - here is the Sicce Syncra 1.5 - not much quieter than the Rio Hyperflow 6HF, but it starts up without a hiccup (the Rio had frequent restart issues)...
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Here is the sump with the new return pump and the Tunze Nano ATO...
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Also grabbed a new yellow leather and moved the one trumpet over to the right...
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More closeups to come... :)





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really nice setup! this looks awesome. I love the shrooms and the way you have the scape laid out is amazing. nice work.

 

Thank you very much for the kind words... :)

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I was looking for this thread in the forum and lo and behold it shows up on the home page.

 

Tank is looking good

 

Thanks, I appreciate it!

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