Ankle Deep Reef~ Filterless 12.5 Gal

[derf9h]

Updated fts (8/9/19)

 

 

 

Stay tuned....

 

~12.5 gallon custom acrylic tank

36” x 9” x 10” deep

(2) black box LED 30w lighting

10 gal sump w/ fuge

custom stand 

 

My tank is being built now. I should have it in the next week or so. This will be my first journal so bear with me. I started the stand skeleton tonight. 

 

This tank will most likely be bare bottom. I just need to get the flow testing started so I can confirm I won’t have crap finding dead spots in a 36” long tank. 

 

I’ll post more details, pictures, and background info when I get the tank in. 

Just wanted to get this started so only a teaser pic of the tank design and the stand so far. Also the sump is temporarily set up on the counter cycling my rock. I’ll use some of this and some from my established tank. 

 

 

[derf9h]

Couple more side notes

 

- the sump is currently seeded with a filter pad I had in my established tank and to help with the cycle. 

 

- Every pane of glass I bought to make the baffles in the sump broke before I got home. Now, I understand the people who take the time to create perfect sump set ups and straight silicone lines etc etc, I’m just not one of those people. I used some scrap glass to silicone the broken pieces back together enough to make my baffles. Half of them aren’t even straight in the sump, but the flow works. 

 

- My two cents: don’t overthink things. My sump was thrown together but it works just fine. Probably the 9th or 10th sump I’ve built over the last 20 years because I can’t justify spending a lot for something that sits under my tank. Maybe someday but not now. 

 

More to follow...

 

[TatorTaco]

This should be exciting!

 

I agree with you on the sump. No need to overthink it.

[derf9h]

I got my return pump yesterday. It’s rated at 200gph at 4’ of head. I think I’ll be closer to 3’ so it’ll probably work out to 15-25x turnover per hour. I am doing all the plumbing in tubing for now and will tee off the return line to control my flow into the main tank. 

 

 

[frahny]

I dig it!

[derf9h]

Got the stand innards painted with the first coat. None of this wood will be seen once the trim is on so I’m just making sure to cover all the bare wood and screw heads. I’ll put a second coat on tomorrow night. 

 

I still need to make the bottom shelf pieces that the sump will sit on, hopefully get to those this weekend. 

 

My 3 bulkheads came in so I picked up some plumbing goodies. Also got a nice roll of black drawer liner for under the tank. 

 

Getting anxious to pick up my tank. 

 

Im not sure what you call this type of overflow piping that I’m doing, but I’ve used it quite a bit in the past and it’s worked great along with being quiet. 

[derf9h]

Also wanted to note that I’m moving in 11 months so that’s why I’m doing my plumbing in tubing for now. I want the ability to modify it over the next few months to create the flows I want. Once I move and get settled, plumbing will be redone for a permanent system. 

 

Im just going to paint the pvc you see in the pics black for now 

[derf9h]

Glued up the 2 drains tonight. These will be painted black. The return will be tubing right up to the elbow going into the bulkhead for now. The pvc is not glued into the bulkhead, I just put them on for reference. I will drill holes in the top caps once I get my water flowing. All the tubing will be 3/4” OD x 5/8” ID. My return pump came with adapters to use anything from 1/2” to 3/4” tubing. I can’t find my 8,000 rolls of Teflon tape I have somewhere so I’ll pick some up tomorrow for all the MIP x barb adapters. 

 

Also, the top caps you see in the pic are not glued. I want to be able to see down the pipe so I just glued in a really short piece of pvc into the caps and then just slide them into the top of the tee fittings. I maybe leave them off all together if the sound isn’t bad. 

 

My plan for the inside of the tank is to use the old street elbow directly into the bulkhead plan and adjust them for surface skimming. Again, I’ve used this method for a previous 12” cube and it worked beautifully. Just need to figure out some type of screen to put over the elbows this time.

 

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I can paint the street elbows that are going inside the tank with black as well. I believe Krylon spray paint can be used inside a tank.

 

[derf9h]

I started thinking about my rock scaping plan for this tank. I have plenty of live rock and live rock rubble so I may do 3 “island” type formations by gluing together rubble. I really need my tank before I start gluing rock together though. 

 

I guess I could build a mock up of the tank out of cardboard and start laying out rock ideas. We will see, plenty of other things to do right now. 

 

Here is one of my first tanks ever (maybe like 3rd tank). It was a 75 gallon with overflow and sump set up. I drilled all the rock and put pvc in for support, then filled in the gaps with spray foam (trimmed with a knife to make it look more natural) and threw them in the tank. After awhile you couldn’t even see the foam and it all looked like rock. But what I really liked about this tank was the open layout/feel. Trying to shoot for this idea on a micro level with the new tank. I could do pillars of zoas with a GSP grass look on the bare bottom....might be cool. 

[derf9h]

Full sketchup view. 

[derf9h]

So here’s the question. I am not sure if I want a black bottom tank or a white one. My current nano is black bare bottom and it shows everything little speck. Never had a white bottom. If I just use the black drawer liner as shown in the pic, I think it would be cool. Or I can find white liner. Might be one of the few things I’m undecided on. 

 

 

[Vhexxen]

I feel like a white bottom could really combine the aesthetics of a sand layer with the pragmatism of bare bottom, plus bonus points for trying a road less travelled 🙂

[derf9h]

I’ll try and find some pure white drawer liner or substitute. The drawer liner stuff is nice because it provides some cushion. That way once I get my tank I can see how both look. White would be cool, I’ve seen a lot of bare bottoms with the white starboard and it looks good. 

 

Didn’t get a lot done tonight, just put a second coat of paint on the inside of the stand and the top. Texted my tank guy but haven’t heard back. 

 

Ordering my second light in a bit along with a gyre wave pump. Also need to pick up a filter sock for the sump intake and figure out a way to mount it. 

[Elizabeth94]

Very cool dimensions on this tank! Regarding on if you should make the bottom white or not, that's a tough decision. I took sand out of my fusion 10 and had the black bottom. I also put a sheet of white acrylic on the bottom my my fusion 20. I liked both looks to be honest. But the detritus showed up more on the white bottom. Not such a bad thing if you can push it all to a corner using flow. 

 

Either way this tank will rock!

[derf9h]

Thanks!

 

Yeah my current nano’s flow has been perfected to collect in about a 1” circle lol. 

 

Anyone have any experience with the Icecap 1K gyre pump? One of these can do from 250-1000gph. But the reviews online are really mixed. I really don’t want huge power heads in this tank. I want to mount it or them in the end of the tank where my black wall is and have them push waves along the entire bottom, hit the far wall, and come back across the top to the drains. Maybe my expectations of how this flow is going to work are exceeding reality. Any input on flow ideas are welcome at this point! Keep in mind my return from the sump will be adding around 10-20x turnover. 

 

 

 

[derf9h]

Got some of the back trim on and some LED rope light mounted inside. Moving slowly this week. Had some people come look at my ‘67 Beetle I’m selling. Should be able to make some more progress this weekend. 

[A.m.P]

The icecap and masspect move ALLOT of water, my 12g atoll literally had rockwork move in the back-cycle on the lowest settings, I don't think I would recommend them for anything smaller than a 20g.
Even with your huge span I think the lack of depth might be a pretty serious issue with that pump, that said you could try to mount it vertically near your intake (or the opposite wall) and create a big circular-flow pattern around the walls of your tank. (But it's 8.8 inches in length so you might draw air unless you only run it with one gyre prop...)

[derf9h]

Thanks for the info Amp. I may have to rethink my flow plans now. If I could get my mother$&&)!&)?! tank, I would be able to try things out! Although I just remembered today he said 2 weeks and that was only like 8 days ago lol. So impatient. I found some white drawer liner so now I’ll be able to test which color I like better under the clear bottom. 

[derf9h]

Somebody got his new tank today...

[Vhexxen]

Nice!

[Elizabeth94]

Wow that is SHARP! 

[derf9h]

Thanks! Plan on drilling holes tonight and start flow testing tomorrow. 

[derf9h]

Oh and I also ordered my second light, an IM wavelink set up, and a power strip with on/off switches for each outlet. That should all be here tomorrow. I ordered some egg crate too so I can make a shelf for my filter floss to sit on in the sump 

[derf9h]

Well that was quick and easy. 

[derf9h]

Test fitting plumbing. All the pvc needs painted black but that’ll come after I get my flows decent.