Capture’s 30 Gallon Rimless Build

[RollaJase]

Is that Ken Block's Hoonicorn that I spy above? .

[capture]

Yup! That thing is insane.

[RollaJase]

Sweet! I remember seeing him in person a few years ago in his crazy Fiesta. Would love to see the Hoonicorn up close. That thing is a monster!

[capture]

Got a few goodies over the last week or so. Was hoping to get around to putting them together and on the tank but I've been too busy.

 

Got my overflow box.

 

I would have loved the ghost overflows @sooch had mentioned on page one. I've drilled my tanks before but I'm pretty sure this setup will be somewhat temporary and I'm not sure how I'll use it in the future. Also, and this may seem ridiculous but I bought this overflow box with Amazon points. So I didn't shell out any $ for it.

 

The plan for this build is to grow out my frags, work on my skills and try some different things.

 

Also, got some 24" 24w T5 retrofits from Hellolights. I can't wait to get this stuff going. So much crap going on right now and I just want to chill in my basement and get this going.

 

 

[wow.such.chris]

What the plan for the light? Ghetto? If I were to bet I'd put my money on your building a sleek wooden housing and putting some of those wood working skills to the test. I wish I had a space to do some wood work, trying to build a stand before next Christmas...

[capture]

What the plan for the light? Ghetto? If I were to bet I'd put my money on your building a sleek wooden housing and putting some of those wood working skills to the test. I wish I had a space to do some wood work, trying to build a stand before next Christmas...

 

Sooch, I was going to go nice then I decided no one would see it so I was just going to rig something together. Now with your comment I think I may have to make a nice wooden hood. Dammit all to hell. I was also wondering if a nice open aluminum angle frame would do the job.

The tank is up, running, cycled and contains some inhabitants. Maybe tonight I'll update this bad boy.

[capture]

Got a few goodies over the last few days. Happy Birthday to me! As excited as I might be it means more stuff to do.

 

 

[RollaJase]

Happy birthday to you good sir, nice gifts .

[capture]

I know I teased with the sump and Apex Jr. last week. I hesitated to jump into the sump install cause I had a plan I was working out in my head and on paper. I am constantly stalking system builds on multiple forums and taking ideas that I like and making notes on what I don't. Big builds have the beauty of space and the sumps have plenty of room to move, clean, perform maintenence, etc. What I notice about most nano builds with custom stands or not is lack of space. I couldn't just put the sump in and call it good.

I have been running a standard 10 gallon tank as a sump for the last month or so and I knew it could be better. I saw the Eshopps Nano Cube at my LFS and really liked it. I took measurements and knew it would fit great and leave some room for other things in the stand. With the many compartments though I knew it would be a bear to get to the back to clean/do maintenance and move. So here is my answer to that. Put it on rails!

After measuring and measuring everything again I picked up some heavy duty drawer slides and got to work. They claim 100lbs weight.


I cut all my pieces out


Dry fit


Glued and screwed them all together


May look like overkill here but who wants anything to crap out when 15 cents worth of screws give you a little piece of mind.


I left a 1/4" lip all the way around.


I needed the right rail to have something to mount to


Of course the building inspector stopped through and slowed me down


Here is everything in and testing the fit. The drawer slides were longer than needed but I wanted the sump to pull all the way out when cleaning/doing maintenence and for a 14" sump the 22" rails work perfectly.


I had contemplated painting the bottom of the stand from the get-go so I did. Some primer and exterior grade paint did the trick.


Once dry I reinstalled everything


Rails in




Here it is full of water and at full extension


I hope this gives some folks ideas/inspiration to customize and make your system yours, easier to have a successful system and to show where some planning and daydreaming will get you.

So thats it. Questions and comments welcomed.

 

(Oh, and if you look at the last photo you can see I had a spill. Putting the stand on those feet not only lets me keep things level but it has saved me from a ruined stand.)

[JayPagi]

Very cool, thought of doing a sump on this type of drawer setup too but was worried about the stress on the bulkheads. I think once the hoses are long/flexible enough it should work out. Great build so far.

[capture]

Very cool, thought of doing a sump on this type of drawer setup too but was worried about the stress on the bulkheads. I think once the hoses are long/flexible enough it should work out. Great build so far.

 

 

So when I pull the drawer out I plan to disconnect everything. So there isn't much stress on anything in my setup.

[HarryPotter]

That slide-out sump is VERY cool. I figure every 3 months or so you can just slide it out, even completely remove it to razor it clean and/or remove detritus buildup.

[vlangel]

Such a nice clean sump that is well thought out and functional. You will have to protect the rollers from salt water so they don't corrode.

[capture]

That slide-out sump is VERY cool. I figure every 3 months or so you can just slide it out, even completely remove it to razor it clean and/or remove detritus buildup.

Yup. thats the plan.

 

Such a nice clean sump that is well thought out and functional. You will have to protect the rollers from salt water so they don't corrode.

 

I'm not too worried about the salt corroding the rollers. I know it will over time but the plan is to not make a mess by pulling the sump out and doing work with plenty of room to spare. Also, the slides were $20 so if they get to the point of no return I can replace them. Not my intent but I have the option.

[RollaJase]

Really slick sump install, will make cleaning and maintenance a breeze.