Seabass1's 20H Build

[seabass1]

I have been a member of NR for several years, but really do not do much posting. So, I decided to start posting about my new build. I started out with a min-bow 7 three years ago, that i drilled and had plumbed to a 5.5 sump. My cat Rocky destroyed it by deciding to an assassin's leap of faith off of it one day. Luckily I was home and quickly was able to move the entire tank contents into a hd bucket. I ran out and purchased a 10g and drilled it and put my stock into it. It has been a year and 1/2 since this tragedy, and I have decided to completely rebuild and upgrade.

 

New setup will be a 20H drilled, plumbed to a 15L sump/refuge/ato reservoir. I have built my own custom stand. At this point, I have the two tanks, and am just finishing the stand. I expect to be done completely with the stand in two more weeks. I need to sand and apply finish, as well as make the front doors.

 

 

The stand dimensions are 36.5Hx15.75Dx30L. It has two shelves and a full table top. The Bottom section will contain the the sump and is 24" in height and will have doors. The top shelve will remain open and used for storage.

 

The entire cabinet is made from poplar and birch. The stand legs are 1.5x1.5x36 poplar, framing is 1x2 poplar. shelves and table top are 1/2 birch. stand skin is 1/4 birch. The total weight of the stand is only 40lbs.

 

As I move forward, I will continue to update and post pics. Comments welcome.

 

Front without top or trim. 90 yr old opa, he is the shop foreman.

 

Shot of table top and trim.

 

Side with trim.

 

front with trim

[seabass1]

so, one thing led to another, and I am finally ready to get the system running. It has taken me quite a bit longer than I thought, new job, and moving because of the new job everything was put on hold

 

I have done a full water test of the system using faucet water. Found one leak in my plumbing, where the return connects to the bulkhead. I used teflon, but i believe because the bulkhead is not pvc like the pipe, that there might be inconsistency in threads. I will drain the system tonight, and while it is empty, remove the teflon tape and use pipe dope instead. I will post pics of the system tomorrow. I really like that the only equipment in the display is two nano korillas and a thermometer. The fuge/sump/ato reservoir is working out better than expected.

[JoelRHale]

Looking forward to pictures! Maybe even some ones of the previous system? Following it is nice to get things out of the tank, I was excited when I got the heater out and that the surface skimmer is black.

 

Any reason you made the stand 30"? Is it for the possibility of upgrading to a 20L or 29 in the future or did you just want some space around the tank?

[seabass1]

The 30" wide measurement resulted from making sure i could pull the 15L sump in and out of the front cabinet doors easily, without having to do any weird cabinet construction in regards to the frame. I do like having some cabinet top showing around the tank, it makes a good spot to set things on while doing maintenance and what not. I never thought of putting a 29 on it, but now you have me thinking! maybe a future upgrade?

 

I think I have some pics of the mini-bow 7 setup, but not sure if I have any of the 10g setup. I will take a pic of what my 10g looks like now. It is in a state of limbo with just a heater and powerhead running in it.

 

The minibow was drilled in the back for a outside durso and return. The durso went to a 5.5g sump(no longer in action, temporarily using a 10g plastic tub for the 10g tank).

 

Current new 20H system has a weir with a durso and return drilled in the bottom of tank. Two korilla nanos and a thermometer only equipment in display. For lighting the display i have a current usa nova extreme sundial 4x24w t5 setup. The sump/refugium/ato reservoir has a 100w aqueon pro heater, rio 1400 return pump, lighting for the refugium is a current 12" pc 2X18w fixture. the ato just uses a hydor min-pump with two float switches(have not assembled yet, one of the original float switches i had did not work, so i have to order another one).

 

lessons learned so far. not having a water tight weir is bad news. I had a small leak somewhere which would cause the display tank to drop 2" to equalize with the drain height. This would take over 24 hours to happen with the return pump off. My sump would hold it, but that is not how it should work, i wanted to just loose about an inch of water in the weir with the pump off. I have since re-sealed the weir and the issue has been corrected.

[Deleted User 6]

i came here for a new seabass build, lol.

 

impostor!