Aclman's 9 to 5 Middle School Mayhem - Meet Wasabi!

[aclman88]

Aclman's 9 to 5 Contest Tank - Middle School Mayhem

 

This is going to be a budget build all the way around.  The current plan is to cut down a 10 gallon, turning it into a lagoon peninsula all in one, using an acrylic false wall with glass baffles repurposed from the glass cuttings.  As a back up, I have a 5.5 gallon tank that I can fall back on.  

 

Current Full Tank Shot:

 

Contest Entry Picture

:

 

Equipment:

• Ten Gallon Tank (Cut to 8.5 inches tall - This will create a tank volume of approx. 7-7.3 gallons Aqueon 5.5 Gallon Rimless
• DIY Acrylic False wall with 3.5 in Acrylic Baffles
• Hipargero LED Light
• Repurposed Waterbox 10 Pump (replaced that waterbox pump with a Sicce)
• Aqueon Preset Heater
• Inkbird Temperature Controller
• Manual ATO (To be replaced with DIY ATO using float switches

 

Highlight Links:

• Building False Wall
• Building Canopy
• Painted Canopy and Egg Crate Media Rack
• Aquarium Trim
• DIY Auto Relay ATO
• Meet Wasabi!
• Cyano and Rip Clean

 

Current Livestock:

• Yellowtail Damsel
• Orange Rhodactis
• Green Star Polyps
• Nassarius Snail

 

Livestock Evacuated to Safety:

• Finger Leather Coral
• Long Polyp Leather Coral
• Green Hairy Mushroom
• Xenia
• Sympodium

 

 

 

 

Reefin' 9 to 5, Brought to you by:

  &  

Reserved!

[debbeach13]

Which ever tank you use. Good luck in the contest.

[aclman88]

Time to update this sleepy thread.  I have been chugging along on building a tank, and am still not sure the exact direction to go.  I have decided to stick with a 5.5 gallon aquarium (either standard or rimless) from petco and converting it into an all in one using an acrylic false wall.  I am also in the process of building a wooden canopy for the tank.  This tank is, for me, a side project that I can tinker on during what little freetime I have (new house with projects, young kids, full time job, etc) while trying out new things or buildiong new skills.

 

 

My intial plans to cut down a ten gallon failed miserably, but on the upside I got to get a blowtorch and try my hand at cutting glass (new toy and a new thing to try out.)  The results can be seen below:

 

 

 

[aclman88]

 

Starting tank (unless I swap it for a rimmed version, which might be preferable since a canopy will be sitting on it).

 

 

The next task was to create a false wall.  I had never worked with acrylic before so I was a little apprehensive, but I figured I just needed to do it.  I didn't ahve a router, but I read that most people had good luck using high tooth wood saw blades, so I figured I would use my mitre saw and create a jig for cutting the overflow teeth.  It worked surprisingly well, and I was happy with the outcome for my first attempt at doing anything like it. 

 

 

 

 

 

I followed up with a hole saw to get a 1 1/4 in hole for a 1/2" bulkhead fitting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[A.m.P]

41 minutes ago, aclman88 said:

My intial plans to cut down a ten gallon failed miserably, but on the upside I got to get a blowtorch and try my hand at cutting glass (new toy and a new thing to try out.)  The results can be seen below:

To be real with you, if you take the trim off the top of that aqeon, their glass-cutting work on that edge looks worse than yours lol.
You totally could have just re-trimmed and used this!

[aclman88]

6 minutes ago, A.m.P said:

To be real with you, if you take the trim off the top of that aqeon, their glass-cutting work on that edge looks worse than yours lol.
You totally could have just re-trimmed and used this!

Believe me, I tried a second time, but ended up with peaks and valleys that the rim wouldn't have covered haha.  FIgured best to cut my losses and forge ahead with the 5.5

[kimdawg]

New tank looks nice.  I can't wait to see what you do with it.

[aclman88]

Posted this elsewhere but might as well keep it in my thread...

 

I am not sure how to do the return plumbing.  I have a few options that I want feedback on.

 

Option 1:   +   + (Slip elbow into slip bulkhead, threaded locline)

Benefits -  allows easy removal of elbow if I need to clean or remove pump

 

Option 2:   +       + (Elbow threads into threaded bulkhead and threaded locline)

Benefit -  cheaper by 4-5 bucks and secure elbow fitting

Cons -  difficult to remove elbow fitting or pump since elbow would need to be attached in the tank since its on the sump side of bulkhead.

Option 3:  +   +  

Benefit -  low profile, could be intersting to try

Con - open, nondirectied flow

 

 

Second question is is there a benefit to having the locline split into two sections using this?  It is a smaller tank, so not sure if it would look ugly having two longer return lines, but it would potentially distribute flow better and allow for using return only for flow.  Planning on using sicce syncra nano (~110gph) for return.

 

[seabass]

1 hour ago, aclman88 said:

is there a benefit to having the locline split into two sections using this?  It is a smaller tank, so not sure if it would look ugly having two longer return lines, but it would potentially distribute flow better and allow for using return only for flow.

Yeah, it splits the flow (essentially giving you two return nozzles from one return line).  In conjunction with Loc-Line nozzles, you will be able to direct flow in two directions (possibly distributing flow more evenly).  However, with it being located on the narrow end of your tank, the advantage is reduced slightly (and the return will be more bulky).

[seabass]

Also, don't forget your entry pic (with the coffee mug, cup, or tumbler inside of your dry empty tank).

[aclman88]

On 10/28/2021 at 11:20 AM, seabass said:

Also, don't forget your entry pic (with the coffee mug, cup, or tumbler inside of your dry empty tank).

Still deciding between a rimless 5.5 and regular. Once I’m set I’ll be sure to post!

[aclman88]

Working on a wooden canopy for the tank. Probably going to paint inside with appliance epoxy. Still deciding what to do with the exterior. 
 

will likely use quarter round trim for the base to cover the black plastic and match the canopy. 
 

[aclman88]

Some more pics of the canopy. It is almost entirely held together by wood glue. I plan on caulking the edges where wood connects to help waterproof and add additional stability. 
 

The light (hipargero) and a cooling fan will sit on a diy shelf that can slide in and out of the canopy. To keep them from sliding I used a dremel to notch depressions in the tray for them to sit on. I also drilled holes (using the hole saw I drilled the bulkhead with) above the led light fan and the cooling fan to help exhaust and keep humidity from building up in the canopy. 
 

still need to install hinges and the lift up front door of the canopy. Also still need to install the all in one insert

 

 

 

 

[Tamberav]

Looks good 🙂 Glad to see everyone taking advantage of these inexpensive tanks. The sale was perfect timing for our contest!

[Cryolath]

That canopy looks great, looking forward to seeing it completed.

[ef4life]

Canopy is looking good. Are you going to stain or paint?

[aclman88]

1 hour ago, ef4life said:

Canopy is looking good. Are you going to stain or paint?

Not sure, but likely paint. I was leaning towards staining but my wife was thinking a gray blue would look nice and be something a little different , which could be cool. Either way, definitely using appliance epoxy on the inside to waterproof since it’s durable and I already have it from when we redid our vanity countertop. 

[aclman88]

@seabass waiting for my entry pic

 

[aclman88]

All in one installation complete.  
 

[aclman88]

Canopy all sealed with caulk and interior has been painted with epoxy paint. 

 

[aclman88]

All in one sump covered with black vinyl. 

 

[aclman88]

Sorry for the lack of updates, but between work and family progress has been a little slow.  I did a leak test and the all in one inster worked, however the overflow gaps between the teeth were far too small and water wouldn't flow through due to cohesion.  I tried taking a drill to widen the teeth but a couple broke so I eventually just dremels them off to create a toothless overflow.  I still have yet to test the sicce nano I bought, but it should work well enough.  The water level in the display is a little higher than I would like, but it isn't the end of the world.

 

I also created a media rack using some leftover egg crate.

 

Laslty, I finished painting the canopy in a light grey color and finished with a satin enamal clear coat to help protect the finish.

 

This tank will be going in my classroom (aka my office), and I was able to set up an RODI unit that Aquatic life was kind enough to donate.  Now I will be able to have top off water ready on hand as well as water to mix salt up.  

 

Currently, I have some rock in a bucket with a heater and water pump that I plan on letting cure over the winter break.  Ideally, I can get the tank set up and wet when we return in the beginning of January.-

[debbeach13]

Looks like real progress to me.

[Maas101]

Very nice work on the lid, gotta love people who DIY as much as possible to make something truly unique 👍

[filefishfinatic]

nice. how is it all joined? do you have any working drawings of it? i would like to build a canopy likethat for my 10 gal tank. i only have some hand tools and a jigsaw at the moment though