Jump to content
Cultivated Reef

Bill's DIY 10 Gallon AIO


billbug68

Recommended Posts

Hey all! So I've been meaning to start a thread for this tank, and seeing that it's turning out quite well, I've decided to share the build.

 

This tank started out as a standard 10g setup with just an Aquaclear HOB, heater, etc... Well, I decided to move everything over to another tank for a while and started dreaming up a better functioning, easier to care for system.

 

I started by de-rimming and completely disassembling my standard 10 gallon tank, cleaning it all up, reworking the dimensions, and sanding all the edges for a clean rounded off look. Basically, it's a 10 gallon turned on its side, with what used to be the original front panel trimmed and placed where the open top once was, again becoming the new front panel. So the new dimensions of the tank are now 20" long x 12 1/4" wide x 10 1/4" tall. The added space from front to back allowed me to add a false wall 3" away from the back glass while keeping a decent amount of room in the display, creating my new AIO.

 

So far, here is what I have for equipment:

 

Tank: Modified 10 gallon

Tank Mat: Mr Aqua tank mat cut to size

Lighting: 18" Current Orbit Marine LED

Return Pump: Eheim Compact 1000 rated for up to 265 GPH

Skimmer: Tunze 9001

Heater: Aqueon Pro 50w

 

Some pictures and details:

 

0E5123BA-4CC8-46A2-BF0C-B6AD46E3F73F_zps

 

For the return I used a Y and two flat nozzles to hopefully get flow through the whole tank without using a powerhead

 

67F0312C-F44E-4F2B-B453-0424DC9F9E80_zps

 

The result of careful taping prior to silicone.

 

6D5161C2-0CED-4626-9C58-94DAD6E29597_zps

 

Here you can see my back chambers with most of the equipment tucked inside. Dual overflows with removable egg crate for mechanical and chemical filtration to rest on. The center chamber houses the rest of the equipment. Still need to work on my auto top off.

 

AF3DC319-EA3C-43F4-8237-95F3D1EE2433_zps

 

Just a quick top down view.

 

I still have a lot of finish work to button up to give this setup a nice clean finished appearance. I'll definitely keep this updated as work moves a long. I plan on working on the screen top today, so that might get posted later on.

 

I hope you all like it, any advice is welcome as this is my first AIO!

Link to comment
  • Replies 55
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Test fill...

 

4D8E921F-691D-41AB-A481-58DFFDE7F3F9_zps

 

Everything went well, so I went ahead and moved everything over. Still waiting for water to clear up and for my few frags to fully open. So far, I'm pretty happy with the result.

 

9904B625-8FE3-45C8-BCAA-8BA0C057291D_zps

Link to comment
billbug68

Really cool project!

Did you make the false wall yourself too?

Thank you! Yes, I made the false wall, it's 1/4" black acrylic.
Link to comment
reefernanoman

Hey all! So I've been meaning to start a thread for this tank, and seeing that it's turning out quite well, I've decided to share the build.

 

This tank started out as a standard 10g setup with just an Aquaclear HOB, heater, etc... Well, I decided to move everything over to another tank for a while and started dreaming up a better functioning, easier to care for system.

 

I started by de-rimming and completely disassembling my standard 10 gallon tank, cleaning it all up, reworking the dimensions, and sanding all the edges for a clean rounded off look. Basically, it's a 10 gallon turned on its side, with what used to be the original front panel trimmed and placed where the open top once was, again becoming the new front panel. So the new dimensions of the tank are now 20" long x 12 1/4" wide x 10 1/4" tall. The added space from front to back allowed me to add a false wall 3" away from the back glass while keeping a decent amount of room in the display, creating my new AIO.

 

So far, here is what I have for equipment:

 

Tank: Modified 10 gallon

Tank Mat: Mr Aqua tank mat cut to size

Lighting: 18" Current Orbit Marine LED

Return Pump: Eheim Compact 1000 rated for up to 265 GPH

Skimmer: Tunze 9001

Heater: Aqueon Pro 50w

 

Some pictures and details:

 

0E5123BA-4CC8-46A2-BF0C-B6AD46E3F73F_zps

 

For the return I used a Y and two flat nozzles to hopefully get flow through the whole tank without using a powerhead

 

67F0312C-F44E-4F2B-B453-0424DC9F9E80_zps

 

The result of careful taping prior to silicone.

 

6D5161C2-0CED-4626-9C58-94DAD6E29597_zps

 

Here you can see my back chambers with most of the equipment tucked inside. Dual overflows with removable egg crate for mechanical and chemical filtration to rest on. The center chamber houses the rest of the equipment. Still need to work on my auto top off.

 

AF3DC319-EA3C-43F4-8237-95F3D1EE2433_zps

 

Just a quick top down view.

 

I still have a lot of finish work to button up to give this setup a nice clean finished appearance. I'll definitely keep this updated as work moves a long. I plan on working on the screen top today, so that might get posted later on.

 

I hope you all like it, any advice is welcome as this is my first AIO!

That is some nice DIY job there! Looking very nice! Welcome to the forums BTW.

Link to comment
billbug68

Thanks for the compliments everyone! It really makes all the hard work worth it!

 

Still waiting for the skimmer to break in... I've got micro bubbles like cray... :/

 

It's good to be finally posting on this forum. Been lurking here and there for a while but never really had a tank worth posting about...

Link to comment

Well, we've been in the process of selling our house, so I just got the tank set up at my in laws where we'll be staying for a few months until we find a new home. New sand and a few new additions.

 

Here's a quick vid of where the tanks sits now. Kitchen tank! :D

http://youtu.be/0DjfOcAtpBo

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions


×
×
  • Create New...