a few build questions

[tetraodon]

for starters im designing a stand for my 30 breeder, my stand will be open with easy access to the sump, i would prefer not to use a center brace but i conferred with an old carpenter and he said a 2x4 wouldnt be strong enough, he suggested using either square tube steel or using 4x4 studs. what do you think?

 

next is there any hard and fast rules about sump baffle placements? more specifically the spacing between them?

 

any ideas are welcome, if renderings are required ill draw them up and post them. thanks

[HarryPotter]

Not sure, but here is a free bump for the questions.

 

Im also curious about baffle placement; do they just go according to fit your equipment or is there a deeper "science" to it!

[Lawnman]

You don't need a center brace for a 30 breeder. I had a 36x24x12 1/2 glass which was 45 gallons on a 2x4 stand no center brace.

[righttirefire]

There are plenty of dyi stands on here and the build thread. I'm planing on setting a 40b on 2x4s

 

 

 

 

My sump design is a wide enough first chamber for an over sized skimmer which I don't plan to use plus 1". The center section is my fuge and is set with the third chamber in mind. I planned for dc-6000 which is bigger than the dc-3000 I plan to run. And a 3" media tray ahead of that. With cascading water levels. First section is 10" water level, fuge 9" and my return section will be about 7"

 

Research. There us an awesome dyi section here. It's mostly personal preference at this point once you join the dyi world

[tetraodon]

thanks for the replies, the guy i talked to also said he over builds for safety reasons, my sump design has 8 inches before the first baffle for the skimmer and reactor plus filter mesh, with a 1/2 inch space between the baffles, the middle section is the fuge with another baffle then 2 inches to the next baffle. thats pretty much my design.

 

that stand design is similar to what im going to do, since my tank is drilled on the side i have to have one side longer so i can protect the plumbing.

[ajmckay]

I like to err on the side of safety for stands - but I think in this case you're fine. The primary thing is to try not to rely on the shear strength of screws if you can. Even so a 30b isn't particularly heavy since it's spread out so much.

 

As for sump baffles, there's no particular "science" i'm aware of other than the smaller the baffles are the faster (velocity) the water flows through them. And since the purpose of the baffles are to keep bubbles from moving on it's important to keep the water moving slower.

 

So if you're planning on 3-500gph through your sump then I think you would be fine with 1/2" spacing assuming they will be the width of your sump (12"?). If you're planning more flow than that then you may consider a wider spacing like 3/4 or 1". Either way there will be plenty of capacity it's simply how fast you want the water volume moving through.

[tetraodon]

I like to err on the side of safety for stands - but I think in this case you're fine. The primary thing is to try not to rely on the shear strength of screws if you can. Even so a 30b isn't particularly heavy since it's spread out so much.

 

As for sump baffles, there's no particular "science" i'm aware of other than the smaller the baffles are the faster (velocity) the water flows through them. And since the purpose of the baffles are to keep bubbles from moving on it's important to keep the water moving slower.

 

So if you're planning on 3-500gph through your sump then I think you would be fine with 1/2" spacing assuming they will be the width of your sump (12"?). If you're planning more flow than that then you may consider a wider spacing like 3/4 or 1". Either way there will be plenty of capacity it's simply how fast you want the water volume moving through.

yes the baffle will be straight across, do you think the 2 inch space between the last two baffles will cause an issue? i plan on having a filter pad run the length to prevent any algae and such from getting into the pump. i plan on the total weight of the display at 300 pounds, so ill have to some reading to see what the shear strength is on various fasteners. worst case i use 1/4 lag screws.