DIY Nano AIO tank

[TaliaShepard]

Hi all, 

 

So I have never really done any DIY things in the reef world, but I really want an AIO tank for my room and in an effort to be budget friendly, plus I think it would be fun, I want to try my hand at a diy AIO. I've looked through several threads here and online and I think I'm capable of doing it, but I have a few questions. 

 

My biggest concern in designing the AIO insert is cutting the teeth in the weir and setting the baffles correctly. I saw one youtube video that I know I could do: 

 

 

For those of you who don't want to watch, basically instead of cutting teeth in the weir, this guy has drilled a series of holes to serve as the overflow. He has done the same for the baffles instead of trying to measure them. 

 

I can easily do this and already have all the hardware for it. A run to home depot for the acryllic and finding an inexpensive tank would be the next two steps. 

 

Do you all think this would work for a reef tank? Or should I expand my skill set and try to cut the teeth in. I think my partner has a router laying around somewhere that I could use. 

 

Thanks!

 

P.S. if you are curious, I already have one AIO nano/pico tank of 6 gallons housing sexy shrimp and a green banded goby that's a little over a year old. It has been taken over by pulsing xenia and I'd like to upgrade in size anyway. My partner who is not reef savvy is obsessed with the xenia and gives me hurt looks anytime I refer to it as a pest/try and weed it out. So i'm using him as an excuse to go on with the upgrade. The six gallon (minus my shrimp and fish if I can catch them) will move to his room where he and the xenia can live happily after in pulsing blissfulness. 

 

[Veng]

You will need teeth, not holes.  The difference is surface skimming is quite significant and is why you don't see any commercially available options with holes instead of teeth.

[TaliaShepard]

Thanks. Yes, that was my thought as well. The video claims that the holes would work just as well as teeth for surface skimming, but I was skeptical. This guy does almost solely freshwater so it might be the difference between skimming needs in a fw setup versus a reef setup. 

[Nixperience]

You could always buy the surface skimmer attachment from intank and notch out the overflow instead and glue it to the overflow section. 

 

http://shop.mediabaskets.com/inTank-Universal-Surface-Skimmer-M90SS.htm