Funktastic Wint Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 what sort of suction type pumps are even available? aside from the ones that come in the HOB filters already? and are there any you could just plop into the water without mounting externally? Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 You can use a maxi jet with a u tube to suck in. I used the old HOB because I want it to look nice too. Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 Got to do a little more work tonight after cleaning up more snow. Plows pushed another 2.5 ft of that white junk on my driveway. So for the chaeto area I went and picked up a piece of black acrylic. This way the light for the chaeto wont get into the media and LR area and create unwanted algae. Not going to bore you with long write up's, just post some pics. Got all the baffle cut. Just had to think hard to figure out all the correct baffle heights. I will go into it toward the end of this post as to why its so important. Here I figured out my correct height placements and started cutting them, OK here's a side shot that I will explain the flow and why baffle height is so important. Water flows in on the far right. and goes through the filter floss. It then flows over the first baffle. Now first baffle height has to be high enough to keep water over pump to keep it primed. But not too high otherwise water will flow back over intake area back into tank. This I also designed this way in case the filter floss gets clogged up. Water will flow back into tank and not over edge and on the floor. Water will flow down the LR rubble (and possible skimmer in this area) Flow under second wall, and up through Chaeto. It will then flow over the last black wall to the left. This will be set at same height as first baffle. If this were taller, the water level near intake would be high and overflow back into tank. It will then flow down through the last chamber where Ill have my chemical media. Carbon, GFO. or what ever I want to put in there. It will flow down and under a 4th wall that you can not see toward the face of the fuge. Flow up and then over flow back into tank. This wall is also slightly higher than the output back into tank but slightly lower than wall 3. This is so when the water flows down the media area, if that area becomes clogged the water can then flow over the 4th wall and make it to the tank. Should not have any risks of flooding. Hope that makes sense. Any questions please feel free to ask. If you want pictures from a different angle I will gladly take them. I will also take some pics of the complete finished product and draw out better the water flow. Im hoping to have it done and running on the tank by Sunday. Link to comment
Funktastic Wint Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 this is awesome! i feel inspired. do u need a special blade for the table saw to cut the acrylic? what thickness of acrylic are u using? more info on tools would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 Actually Im using farly cheap basic tools to do this. Yes some nice tools will yield better results. Like a router. Just a basic table saw with a fence. (need this for straight cuts) The blade I will have to check on. the blade was I believe made for plastic. Ill get more info on that tomorrow. Blade in table saw set kind of high. You want the teeth as they rip through the acrylic to go through it at almost a 90 degree angle. Any less and it melts the plastic rather than cutting it. A jig saw with a 12 teeth per inch blade made for wood. Hand held metal file. Finer teeth Some 100 grit sand paper for imperfections, or if you want to make the edge smoother. The smoother and straighter you make your cuts the cleaner and clearer the seams wil be when welded together. Weld on #3 and #16 for gaps Applicator for weld on #3 I'm using 1/4 inch thick acrylic. Combination of cast and extruded. It what I had laying around. Cast is better as the thickness is more consistent and clearer. All my seams are just ripped with table saw then welded together. For a project this small it works. If you were building a big sump or DT tank then some other welding methods would be needed. Most of the seams I dont even clamp. Square it up. Apply #3 with applicator, it wicks into seam, I apply a little pressure and hold it for a minute or so. It sets up very fast at 70 Degrees F but at 50 like it is in my garage with the heat going it take a bit longer. Hope this helps. BTW your avatar pic creeps me out. Link to comment
mtnstream Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Actually Im using farly cheap basic tools to do this. Yes some nice tools will yield better results. Like a router. Just a basic table saw with a fence. (need this for straight cuts) The blade I will have to check on. the blade was I believe made for plastic. Ill get more info on that tomorrow. Blade in table saw set kind of high. You want the teeth as they rip through the acrylic to go through it at almost a 90 degree angle. Any less and it melts the plastic rather than cutting it. A jig saw with a 12 teeth per inch blade made for wood. Hand held metal file. Finer teeth Some 100 grit sand paper for imperfections, or if you want to make the edge smoother. The smoother and straighter you make your cuts the cleaner and clearer the seams wil be when welded together. Weld on #3 and #16 for gaps Applicator for weld on #3 I'm using 1/4 inch thick acrylic. Combination of cast and extruded. It what I had laying around. Cast is better as the thickness is more consistent and clearer. All my seams are just ripped with table saw then welded together. For a project this small it works. If you were building a big sump or DT tank then some other welding methods would be needed. Most of the seams I dont even clamp. Square it up. Apply #3 with applicator, it wicks into seam, I apply a little pressure and hold it for a minute or so. It sets up very fast at 70 Degrees F but at 50 like it is in my garage with the heat going it take a bit longer. Hope this helps. BTW your avatar pic creeps me out. Good work! Thanks for the details, its just what I was looking for. Do you plan on adding baffle tabs so that they are removeable? Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 I did on the last one. I have never removed them since. The new one is big enough for me to fit my hands in there so I dont think its necessary. Link to comment
Funktastic Wint Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 btw your avatar pic creeps me out awww Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 its all good. Link to comment
Funktastic Wint Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 its all good. thats a picture of me lol Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 Dear god I hope you photoshopped the hair and eyes and that you didnt dye your hair that color. Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 Well got it all welded together today. One weld not the best but should work. Going to let it set up over night and do a water test tomorrow and check for leaks. The 4th baffle and final side wall were a little tricky to weld in place. Not easy to get your hands in there to wick in the #3. But all in all it worked out good. Finally assembled. Still need to make the over flow side on the intake side of the fuge. Clean up a few seams and flame polish all the edges. One thing I miss calculated was when removing and installing the pump. It hits the front wall and makes it impossable to remove and install. So I had to modify the pump. You can see in one of the pics where I ground down the pump and exposed the inside encapsulation material. Not a big deal. More to come. I need to make the skin for it and modify the skimmer mount to fit it in the fuge. Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Got to do a water test today. Had 2 minor leaks to address. Not a big deal. The pump was being pressed because of being too close to the front wall and causing a leak. and a pin hole leak on a lower edge. All fixed. I also made the rack to hold the LR rubble away from the skimmer and up off the bottom. Then a made a rack to hold the Chaeto off the bottom. I took a piece of small clear acrylic rod and made a handle. This will allow me to lift the chaeto out and suck out any debri that settles at the bottom. Also had some time today to modify my light fixture and mount it to the stand that the tank sits on. It use to have a big heavy base that sat next to the stand. Was very unstable and didnt look good. Have to make a side piece for the intake side yet to direct water back into the tank in the event the filter floss gets too clogged. Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Wow. This is awesome. Definitely the best HOB fuge Ive seen. Great job and thanks for detailing the process for us! Link to comment
mtnstream Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Good Work! Thanks again for pictures with the details. Can you get a closer picture of how you built skimmer? Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Actually I didnt build the skimmer. thats a Aquaticlife 115 mini skimmer. I bought it used off of here. Havent hooked it up yet to see how well it works. Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Could we possibly get some action shots? With chaeto, the skimmer on, etc? Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 I'm working on it. Last night had to build 2 over flow side pieces to keep water from spilling out as it flows back into tank. Been real busy and hadn't had much time to work on it. Plus its been in single digits here the past few days. Garage has heat but still hard to get it warm enough to work. I'm hoping to do a full water test here possibly tonight. Having it suck water out of a container and pump back in like if it were on the tank. I unfortunately probably wont get it on the tank till next week. Will be out of town this weekend and don't want to put it on unless I can be home to monitor it for at least a few hours. Dont worry I will update this as I go. Im excited to get it functional too but I told myself not to rush it. I want it perfect (or at least as perfect as I can get it) Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 Well update. I was out of town this weekend. Got home this afternoon. Did a water test. Still have a slight leak coming from the pump area. There was a hairline crack where the oring seals up against. I applied some weld on to it and will have to sand it smooth once it dries. Unfortunately will be out of town tomorrow for work and wont get home till late. Hopefully I can get it sealed up and get it on the tank Tuesday or Wednesday. Everywhere else is sealed up nice. Link to comment
blkg35 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Updates please..... This is the sweetest diy fuge i've seen. It's giving me inspiration for a fuge for my 14gal. Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Updates please..... This is the sweetest diy fuge i've seen. It's giving me inspiration for a fuge for my 14gal. +1 Link to comment
GOODgREEF Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hey u should install a surface skimmer. Contact Imagine Gold and see if you can get their surface skimmer and valve control for free. This is what I did with my skimmer and i believe u can install it on your fuge tube. Link to comment
blibo Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hey u should install a surface skimmer. Contact Imagine Gold and see if you can get their surface skimmer and valve control for free. This is what I did with my skimmer and i believe u can install it on your fuge tube. good idea, but I bet you he's going to make one Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Good idea about the surface skimmer. I do have an idea for that too. Finally got HOB V2.0 on and up and running. So far very happy with the flow and how it looks. I will load some pics later tonight so check back. Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 OK so here's a few pics of it up and running on the tank. FTS Top down shot Side shot Side shot 2 The flow through seems to be about right. It keeps the Chaeto in suspension. I still need to make the media rack for the carbon and Phosban. It needs to be a removable style cartridge so to speak. I took a piece of tubing to make the top off input. Glued it to the back of the Fuge. Also need to make a lid and removable side pieces out of black acrylic to cover it all and make it nice looking. The fuge light is held in place with Velcro so I can remove it and service if needed. The skimmer I think will work out real good. Its fairly quiet but the wife is already complaining about the gurgling sound from the air intake. So will need to modify that too. will keep this updated as I make the lid next. Also if anyone has this same tank and wants one built I'm taking orders. Link to comment
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