New Tank, new build...decisions decisions

[MrZ2u]

The snowpocalypse of Feb 2021 nuked my little Fusion Lagoon.  I had been thinking of drilling it and removing all the AIO partitions so this gave me that opportunity.  I had several projects in front of rebuilding this so I thought I would put the whole thing on Craigslist for a healthy price and see if someone might take it all off my hands before I got to the project.  Didnt really expect that to happen but it did so I get to start from scratch.

Already bought the new display tank, 24x24 12in deep...slightly larger than the Fusion Lagoon which suits my space a little better. 
https://sevenports.com/product/symbolic-45-degree-30-gal-aquarium-24-x-24-x-12-with-mat/

I also bought a Fiji Cube overflow box.  More flow than it needed to be but as small as I could get with a bean animal option.  I did want the wider skimmer box as well so I ended up with this one.
https://www.fijicube.com/collections/overflow-box/products/low-profile-external-overflow-box-1200pgh 

The first of probably several opinions requested...

I plan to center the overflow.  Pros and cons for two vs one return...and how close to the overflow

 

 

[jservedio]

2 hours ago, MrZ2u said:

The snowpocalypse of Feb 2021 nuked my little Fusion Lagoon.  I had been thinking of drilling it and removing all the AIO partitions so this gave me that opportunity.  I had several projects in front of rebuilding this so I thought I would put the whole thing on Craigslist for a healthy price and see if someone might take it all off my hands before I got to the project.  Didnt really expect that to happen but it did so I get to start from scratch.

Already bought the new display tank, 24x24 12in deep...slightly larger than the Fusion Lagoon which suits my space a little better. 
https://sevenports.com/product/symbolic-45-degree-30-gal-aquarium-24-x-24-x-12-with-mat/

I also bought a Fiji Cube overflow box.  More flow than it needed to be but as small as I could get with a bean animal option.  I did want the wider skimmer box as well so I ended up with this one.
https://www.fijicube.com/collections/overflow-box/products/low-profile-external-overflow-box-1200pgh 

The first of probably several opinions requested...

I plan to center the overflow.  Pros and cons for two vs one return...and how close to the overflow

 

 

It's totally up to you, but a single return would be more than adequate. I've got a single Sicce Silence 2.0 on my 50g lagoon (30x24x16) through a single return line and I'm glad it's all that's on the tank to free up more space in the DT and less shadowing.

 

Shallow tanks are a pain in the ass to get good flow in, so the extra return could provide an extra source of flow, but with a 2x2 footprint it's going to be minimal at best. Gyre type powerheads work really well in shallow tanks and with a gyre, I don't rely on the return pump at all for flow.

 

Where you place the return hole is also up to you, but you will want to drill the hole as high as possible to minimize the backflow when you turn the pump off. If the bottom of the hole for your return is below the weir of your overflow, it's going to drain a ton of water and you'll need a bigger sump. Before placing your overflow, consider roughly scaping the tank and determining exactly where it is going to go in the room - instead of just placing it in the center because it'll look good there, consider placing where it'll be the most out of the way and cause the least amount of interference with your coral, flow, and lighting.

[MrZ2u]

Where it will go in the room...do you mean where the tank is going to go?  

If so its going where this one was...

[jservedio]

7 minutes ago, MrZ2u said:

If so its going where this one was...

That's exactly what I was asking. Since your tank is really only viewable on two sides, you might want to consider putting the overflow on the left side and the return just to the right of it. With the external overflow you linked, the tank is going to be sitting at least 4.25" from the wall (plus any extra space for unions) so you can definitely see a lot of the plumbing with how far it sticks out from the wall. By burying the plumbing in the corner where the tank isn't going to be viewed from will hide at least some of the plumbing since the stair railings will obscure it a bit.

 

I see you have the floor molding cut so your stand can push all the way back against the wall, so at least you can run the plumbing through the top of the stand instead of behind and it'll look neater. Definitely go with colored Schedule 80 pipe so you don't have to look at nasty white printed PVC!

[MrZ2u]

Its actually viewed a lot from the stairs...if anything its the right side that doesnt get a lot of action.

Actually its the stand thats cut to go over the molding...I am glad you noticed that cause it was very intentional.  This entire tank and stand are gone though.  I didnt build that stand with a sump in mind so the sump I wanted to build wouldnt fit under it.  

I built a stand a long time ago for a 200gal tank and I built it as a steel stand with a removable three sided wood shell.  I am going to do something like that for this one to make servicing the sump a lot simpler.  

Right now the tank is all clear and I am going to either paint the back black or put a piece of mirror plexi back there to make the tank look larger.  Plan to build something to hide the pipe works from the sides...just havent figured out how I want to do that yet.  Considering something like the smaller tank pic seen here that also houses the light.

[MrZ2u]

I did accommodate for things running down behind this stand as well...you can pretty much see that here.  The side door felt like a good idea but it never really worked out like I thought I wanted it to.  

[jservedio]

You've clearly got some skill doing woodworking and an eye for serious details if you spent the time coping the stand around the floor molding. Honestly, I think you may end up being disappointed with the external overflow for a tank in that location - especially with how far it pokes out and a rimless tank doesn't really lend itself to building a box on the back for the overflow since you are losing the clean lines. And that's coming from someone with an external overflow!

 

Have you considered building an internal overflow on the tank? A central pillar style overflow looks pretty good and if you have a local glass shop that can cut angles, you can do a trapezoid overflow which looks fantastic. Skin it up in black acrylic to build the weir and you will probably end up spending less than the cost of the external overflow. With the woodworking you do, I'd wager you've got a plunge router and building a jig to cut a weir is really simple.

 

If my tank were anywhere except in a corner, I'd have went with the internal overflow. It just doesn't look good when you have to see it from behind or on the sides - no matter how much time and money you spend doing really, really neat plumbing.

 

I went nuts doing my plumbing and wiring- spent a couple hundred for color matched heavy duty pipe and fittings, masked every single joint so there was no spill, and spent a good 3 days on it and I still wouldn't want to look at it from the side:

 

[MrZ2u]

Stay tuned for pics as it develops...I think you are picturing something different than I have in mind ;)