ML's 14 IM Peninsula

[ml86743]

2 hours ago, ryans.salty.crew said:

I'm using Eshopps Eclipse S overflow box. It came with a template hole and a drill bit to that template hole. It's crazy for the price they have it at. I haven't gotten it wet yet but I've heard good reviews

 

It's also so small! So I'm able to put it as a peninsula tank

That was my first choice but after researching a bit I like the modular marine 1200gph.  I'll figure it out.  What about your return? I was looking at the varios. 

[ryans.salty.crew]

2 hours ago, ml86743 said:

That was my first choice but after researching a bit I like the modular marine 1200gph.

Modular marine 1200 looks very low profile inside the tank. The only down side might be having to drill two holes instead of one.

 

2 hours ago, ml86743 said:

What about your return? I was looking at the varios. 

Regretfully I haven't ordered a return yet. I should've ordered one last week 🤣 but I have procrastinated because there are many options with different perks and prices. 

 

I've liked the "Nautilus DC900 Return Pump (900 GPH)". Since my pump is going to be in the farthest part of my sump, going with something rated a bit stronger and for the price (below $200)....... JUICY!!!! Every pump has negative reviews 🤦‍♂️

[ml86743]

4 hours ago, ryans.salty.crew said:

Modular marine 1200 looks very low profile inside the tank. The only down side might be having to drill two holes instead of one.

 

Regretfully I haven't ordered a return yet. I should've ordered one last week 🤣 but I have procrastinated because there are many options with different perks and prices. 

 

I've liked the "Nautilus DC900 Return Pump (900 GPH)". Since my pump is going to be in the farthest part of my sump, going with something rated a bit stronger and for the price (below $200)....... JUICY!!!! Every pump has negative reviews 🤦‍♂️

I like where your heads at. MM has an 800 gph too which is what I would probably opt for..I just don’t love the 8 inch dimension.   That’s what’s so appealing about the eclipse.  Makes me think I’d have to put the return on the opposite end.

 

here’s a shot of the glued sump.  Don’t make fun of my silicone, I did the best I could…I’ll throw an obligatory shot of the current tank up too

 

[ml86743]

Skeleton is up!  Gotta figure out how I’m gonna trim this thing out.   Probably going to go with a magnetic pull off door.  
 

the sump space is gonna be real tight..I’ll have to figure out how an ATO is gonna fit plus all the wiring stuff..I was considering overbuilding the stand but I like the flush look, plus the spot where it’ll sit doesn’t have tons of room. 

[ml86743]

Just popping in with a top down 🙂 need to ditch these frags on the rack…. Somebody take emmmmmm

[Justind823]

Sump and stand look great! What are you thinking of skinning it with? I like the idea with the magnetic pull off door.

[ml86743]

3 hours ago, Justind823 said:

Sump and stand look great! What are you thinking of skinning it with? I like the idea with the magnetic pull off door.

Dude I have literally no clue, I’m such a noob.  Any ideas/pointers would help haha.  
 

this tank is gorgeous just sitting there..when I first saw it in person i was like dayummmmm

 

 

UPDATE:  I did order the overflow today, I ended up going back to the original plan and picked up the eshoppes eclipse s.  It really came down to size and this one has the smallest footprint.  I really love the modular marine overflows but I don’t think I can get away with it with this narrow of a tank. 

[Justind823]

19 hours ago, ml86743 said:

Dude I have literally no clue, I’m such a noob.  Any ideas/pointers would help haha.  
 

this tank is gorgeous just sitting there..when I first saw it in person i was like dayummmmm

 

 

UPDATE:  I did order the overflow today, I ended up going back to the original plan and picked up the eshoppes eclipse s.  It really came down to size and this one has the smallest footprint.  I really love the modular marine overflows but I don’t think I can get away with it with this narrow of a tank. 

Haha! For my stand I used 3/4" ply but that was mostly because a lot of it is structural. With your 2x4 skeleton you can use thin stuff. 1/4" for all the sides but maybe 1/2" would be nicer for the doors as far as rigidity goes when you remove them. I would use cabinet grade ply if you're planning on staining it but with a little more work you can skim cheaper ply smooth, sand and paint it. Just depends on the look you're trying to achieve! That said... are you going for a clean line look like their stands or are you thinkin about moulding?

 

I love the tank too! UNS does a damn fine job at assembling a beautiful tank.

[ml86743]

5 hours ago, Justind823 said:

Haha! For my stand I used 3/4" ply but that was mostly because a lot of it is structural. With your 2x4 skeleton you can use thin stuff. 1/4" for all the sides but maybe 1/2" would be nicer for the doors as far as rigidity goes when you remove them. I would use cabinet grade ply if you're planning on staining it but with a little more work you can skim cheaper ply smooth, sand and paint it. Just depends on the look you're trying to achieve! That said... are you going for a clean line look like their stands or are you thinkin about moulding?

 

I love the tank too! UNS does a damn fine job at assembling a beautiful tank.

Thanks for the info - I did get some 3/4 ply and made the top haven’t done anything with the sides yet.  
 

I was thinking of trimming everything with some hardwood boards.  Nice and simple ya know.
 

I’m thinking I’ll go 1.5 inch ply on the sides and door like you said.  I really have no clue how to even go about the door yet.  I’ve seen a few different ideas on how to get the magnets in.  My favorite so far was  recessing them with epoxy into the stand.  Gotta get a beat on some saltwater proof magnets.

 

i would like to figure out a way to build a control board to the inside.  After the sump goes in I’ll only have like 10-14 inches of space so I need to make it count.  Did you just make your little control board section out of plywood?  

[ml86743]

Also - can I plumb a 1inch return and 1inch drain .  I’ll be using the eclipse s which is herbie style..I literally have no clue what I’m doing 🙂

 

What bulkhead do I get for the return hah!  Too many options, slipxslip threadxslip.  I understand the terminology I just don’t know which one is best or if “best” is even a thing.  
 

thank youuuu:)

 

one pic 🙂 anacros are the best sps change my mind.

 

 

[ml86743]

Skinned! It’s not perfect but whatever 🙂

hope she holds!!  I have an idea on how I want to do the door..we’ll see.  Gotta put in a bottom for the sump to sit on too.  

[ml86743]

Lil tank looked good today 🙂

taking a break from shooting the wedding rn lol, everyone’s eating so I’ll post about the tank hah! 

[Crawford_T]

New tank looks clean! Looking forward to seeing it set up. 

[ml86743]

6 hours ago, Crawford_T said:

New tank looks clean! Looking forward to seeing it set up. 

Thanks!! Can’t wait to get some stuff transferred over.

[ml86743]

Bottom board is in!

[ml86743]

Ooh I forgot to mention I leak tested the sump - had a little tiny leak on one of the corner seams.  No biggie.  I’ll add some silicone when it dries out 

[geekreef_05]

Nice. Looking forward to seeing this come together. 

[ml86743]

34 minutes ago, geekreef_05 said:

Nice. Looking forward to seeing this come together. 

Me too! As long as my first iteration for a DIY stand holds I think it’ll turn out okay!

 

I shoulda used finishing nails or some smaller screws for the outside ply..but you live and you learn haha.  Might go back and replace them in the next few days and just wood putty the holes.

[ml86743]

Eyyyyy whadya know the diy rookie got away with one!! Doesn’t look to shabby. 
 

[Crawford_T]

Nice job! It’s all coming together. Also, love the pup pics. We have a 2 year old lab named Waylon, had him since he was a 2 months old. 

[ml86743]

3 hours ago, Crawford_T said:

Nice job! It’s all coming together. Also, love the pup pics. We have a 2 year old lab named Waylon, had him since he was a 2 months old. 

So far so good.  I love labs.. probably gonna get another down the road.  That is Lou! He’s shy on camera lol…

[Justind823]

Awesome! I've always gone with 1/2" returns. Plenty for the size pumps we use on nanos

[ml86743]

24 minutes ago, Justind823 said:

Awesome! I've always gone with 1/2" returns. Plenty for the size pumps we use on nanos

This would make my life much easier.  I'm having a hard time planning out this plumbing.  I could certainly fit 1/2 inch though the small space of 2x4.  What return did you opt for?

 

My biggest issue is how I'm going to run the drains.  I'd like to run them right through the side, through the 1.25 inch 2x4 gap of the stand, but I'm not entirely sure how I'll be able to stack them on top of one another to pass through that gap. It would be a mess of elbows to run them through the back, which I'm not sure is a good thing when It comes to the drains.   Any insight there?

 

I thought I read somewhere in the rocket engineers stand plans that the outside supports are optional, although they do provide some small support.  Wonder if I could just sawzall a section out for the pipes lol. 

 

I could also run the emergency with soft tubing if need be I guess.

[Justind823]

I'm using an Octo Varios-2 and it's been going strong for many years now. A DC return with variable flow would definitely be the best choice when it comes to dialing everything in. 

 

If you can stick to 45° bends and in addition use flex PVC then you should have an easier time with it. The flex pvc will also help reduce noise from water hitting the bends and instead just following the sloped route. Are you trying to put the return on the same side as the overflow? If so, just watch your spacing with the holes. I believe the general rule is, the distance from the edge of the hole you're cutting out to any edge of the glass (including the edge of other bulkhead holes) should be at minimum the size of the hole you're cutting. Worth double checking that, it's been a while since i drilled a tank.

 

Since you did a 90° of 2x4 at the corners you shouldn't worry about needing to trim a little out to accommodate the plumbing. You could stand a car on top of your stand and it would hold. 2x4s can hold a lot of weight the way you laid them out.

 

 

[ml86743]

4 hours ago, Justind823 said:

I'm using an Octo Varios-2 and it's been going strong for many years now. A DC return with variable flow would definitely be the best choice when it comes to dialing everything in. 

 

If you can stick to 45° bends and in addition use flex PVC then you should have an easier time with it. The flex pvc will also help reduce noise from water hitting the bends and instead just following the sloped route. Are you trying to put the return on the same side as the overflow? If so, just watch your spacing with the holes. I believe the general rule is, the distance from the edge of the hole you're cutting out to any edge of the glass (including the edge of other bulkhead holes) should be at minimum the size of the hole you're cutting. Worth double checking that, it's been a while since i drilled a tank.

 

Since you did a 90° of 2x4 at the corners you shouldn't worry about needing to trim a little out to accommodate the plumbing. You could stand a car on top of your stand and it would hold. 2x4s can hold a lot of weight the way you laid them out.

 

 

Return will be on the opposite side.  I’ll probably go with .5 inch return after what you mentioned. I think that hole saw bit is cheaper too lol 

 

maybe I will end up cutting a section out..it’s either that or have a drain run with a bunch of 90’s around the back, I’d prefer to hard plumb it all the way.  As far as looks I wouldn’t mind that - I just can’t get a solid answer.   Some people say you NEED a straight run to the sump, others have 5 90’s and say it works great lol..any input there?

 

I was planning on using the varios 2 myself.  Thanks for all your help.