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Imisky's custom 30g sps tank


imisky

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thanks guys,

 

divecj5- im not sure if i should be reproducing these for sale, the last thing i want is for someone to chase me down due to any patent related issuse... that would be bad. But making this is really not very hard at all a few simple tools will be able to replicate one with ease. The hardware i used for this was

 

heatgun (heating the acrylic tube)

glove (handling the heated tubes)

methlyn chloride (bonding the acrylic together)

dremel (sanding)

electric drill with 1/4" bit (tapping the venturi)

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update time...

 

Well i guess ill start with the bad news..Having tested the overflow and in fw it worked out well...but the venturi was sucking the bubble too slow and was cutting it too close to the rim of the tank before the siphon would start again. So in the process of boring out the acrylic venturi i cracked the whole return pipe... the tube got caught on the bit and cracked..... which sucks big time.. and as a result ive decided to go another route though it would have been nice to get the overflow hooked up as the total cost was $25 for materials.

 

and now the good news, having the overflow crack on me made me kind of see things in new light as a result im doing a semi upgrade to the tank. no more HOB items and going with a sump the way i wanted it. the tank will now be

 

36L x 13.25W x 13H

 

not much of an upgrade in terms of size but it'll give me more play room, ill be gaining a whole 1.75" of working room inside the tank haha... the drain will most likely be an external durso standpipe.

 

So in the end that was a big twist of events... though i still kind of want a mame overflow for the sheer look of them..

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Sounds like it was a little "eventful" with the overflow ;) Sorry that it didn't work out and ended up cracking but as you said, it's made you see things in a new light and take a different, better direction for you and the tank. I'd say that's worth the $25. I'm sure you gained a ton of knowledge putting it together as well.

 

Are you going to do a straight switch to the new tank (same scape, coral, etc) or are you going to try something else?

 

-Adam

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Sounds like it was a little "eventful" with the overflow ;) Sorry that it didn't work out and ended up cracking but as you said, it's made you see things in a new light and take a different, better direction for you and the tank. I'd say that's worth the $25. I'm sure you gained a ton of knowledge putting it together as well.

 

Are you going to do a straight switch to the new tank (same scape, coral, etc) or are you going to try something else?

 

-Adam

 

Ya those were my thoughts exactly.

 

As for the new tank, the plan right now is a straight switch, i might play with the idea of rescaping it a little and trying something different for but with the amount of corals i have its semi hard. The way im seeing this is purely an upgrade on the equipment while the livestock will stay pretty much the same as I like the look of how everything has grown in so far. the possibility is still there though as i cant really see how this is going to come together until i have the actual tank

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instead of starting a new thread i'll just post everything that will happen with the new tank within this thread as its not really an upgrade.

 

So i need some feedback regarding the drain im going with. It is a herbie overflow however I've never seen any done this way and wanted to know if you guys think it will work. In my head this will work out perfectly but i might be missing a factor so let me know, feedback is welcome.

 

some quick renders

plumb.jpg

FTS-1.jpg

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I really like the overall size and layout in the renders. Unfortunately, I have zero experience with overflows/drains so I can't provide any feedback or suggestions there.

 

-Adam

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I really like the overall size and layout in the renders. Unfortunately, I have zero experience with overflows/drains so I can't provide any feedback or suggestions there.

 

-Adam

 

hey adam

 

thanks haha np about the drain/overflow issue. Its weird because Ive done quite a bit of tank builds/drains for friends and they went perfectly except the difference that all their tanks are drilled on the bottom. Ive never worked with a system thats drilled on the back. The principle is the same so i guess i'll just do , if it doesnt work i can always just make it a durso.

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Gosh this tank is wicked! How have I not seen it?! I love the growth and that's a beautiful tang. How big is it? Hard to tell from the picture. I love the dimensions of this thing.

 

Too bad about the mame breaking. I have been considering building one but I wanted it to look good. Yours looked fantastic.

 

Following along.

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Gosh this tank is wicked! How have I not seen it?! I love the growth and that's a beautiful tang. How big is it? Hard to tell from the picture. I love the dimensions of this thing.

 

Too bad about the mame breaking. I have been considering building one but I wanted it to look good. Yours looked fantastic.

 

Following along.

 

The tank is only 36x12x12 and the tang was roughly 1.75" maybe 2" but it soon outgrew the tank and i brought it back to the LFS. As for the mame its really a simple build the part to really focus on is the venturi it has a pipe that goes into the return tube with a V cut out at the end thats what it uses for creating the vaccum.

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and the tank build begins, i received the glass earlier this week and well ive been working on it ever so slowly. The tank is drilled now and the overflow is put in place, i decided that im going to go with clear vinyl or black vinyl piping in this setup due to the sheer ease of everything and having some parts around helped me decide on that. but this is a progress...i know the photo doesnt say much as i shot it wide open with a 50 1.4 lens so 90% of the image is blurred but hope you guys get the idea.

 

IMG_5587.jpg

IMG_5588.jpg

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wont be long until the switch over...im still deciding if i should start a whole new thread on the tank or stick with this one and just keep working away at it. The only thing left now is to get the sump made as well and the day will come where everything gets moved. The black acrylic overflow is being made right now and once i get it i'll be sticking it on and finishing the tank then moving onto making the sump will be the next phase.

 

IMG_5591.jpg

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Looks great!! You sure you weren't a custom tank builder in another life? :) I'd say stick with this thread and just keep updating from there.

 

Can't wait to see how things look once they're switched over.

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Great work! What size glass did you go with?

 

-Dave

 

 

Hey Dave

 

Thanks,I went with 1/4" glass as i dont really like the look of over thick glass and my current tank is also 1/4" with absolutely no bowing.

 

Good luck with everything. New setup looks like it will be pretty sleek.

 

:happy: im looking forward to it hopefully wont run into any issues.

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  • 2 weeks later...

display tank finished. along with sump, all thats left now is wait for the new skimmer to come and ill be swapping this with the old one. Chances are high that ill go with a totally new scape but keep majority of the corals and grow them out as for equipment the following is what I'll be using:

 

Light: 5 XP-G PAR38 spotlights with 60degree optics and driven at 750ma

Skimmer: SWC 160 cone

Return Pump: QO 3000

Power Heads: 2 Vortech MP40WES

MISC: TFL reactor for Biopellets

 

A sad day but i think it'll be for the best to keep things clean, I've decided this will be the last post of this build thread. I will however link it to the new thread so people can back reference and look at the progression of how things evolved.

 

Though this might be confusing please post all the replies on the new thread that will be up in a short while.

 

Meanwhile some photos to keep everyone interested.

 

IMG_5598.jpg

IMG_5599.jpg

IMG_5600.jpg

IMG_5602.jpg

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