Picked up Acrylic All-in-one!

[coachfraley]

I posted a while back about designing an acrylic all-in-one tank, and I finally picked it up today. It is an apx. 10g display and 6g fuge/sump. The dimensions are 14x14x20. The guy who built it used 1/2" acrylic, so he didn't need to brace the top. I am a little worried that the teeth on the intake might not go down far enough, so I am going to water test it this weekend. I might end up having to dremell the teeth a little bit deeper. I included some pics, and I will take more once I start to transfer everything over from my 10g.

Front:
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Back:
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Fuge/Sump Plans:
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[jbeining75]

Sweet two for.... Hope everything holds for you.....Good luck...

[spudbuds]

That's going to be awesome. Congrats!

[Drumachine09]

Ive never seen that species of LR before. Where did you get it?



lol



I am still jealous of that tank.


How wide is it?



Edit: Nevermind. I'm an idiot. I just saw it.



You don't happen to have some plans for that tank do you? Like, schematics?


I am curious about it, and I would like to see how much it would take to get made locally. It is 20" long, so I could use my same lighting, but the extra space would be awesome.

[coachfraley]

I'm glad you guys like the looks of it!

I got a really good deal on that LR, especially considering the amount of fire-engine red corraline it has on itthumbs2:

Here are the only drawings I sent the builder. I ended up scrapping the hood, because we didn't use bracing. I had to give him a few extra specs, like the height of the sump walls, but that was it.

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[cocoa_pleco]

wicked!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Drumachine09]

You don't mind if I take those plans to get the acrylic/labor priced, do you?




Is there room for a nano fission skimmer?



Also, how much did it cost you to have it done?


And what is the red/white ring at the bottom?

[Nautilus29]

Great looking tank! I bet it feels pretty good to have designed you own tank, and then actually have it made.

[coachfraley]

Great looking tank! I bet it feels pretty good to have designed you own tank, and then actually have it made.

Well, I will be happy after I know it works, lol!

Drum, I don't mind at all if you use my design. If I did it over again, I would make the tank a little bigger (maybe 20L X16Wx 14H), but I love the size of the sump. It is luxuriously big compared to most all-in-ones.

I think you could run a nano skimmer in the first chamber no problem. The size of the chamber is 4x4x14, there is a lot of room.

I traded this tank (and a 24g still to come) for some web design work, so I didn't pay anything for it. He told me he would normally charge around $175-200 for a tank like mine.

The red and white thing is plumbers tape that I was using to fit my intake plumbing.

[Fenix]

Thats so wicked!! Glad its all working out.

[sailor]

What a great tank, can't wait to see it up and running.

[Halelorf]

that is a awesome tank, have fun with it!

[Drumachine09]

Haha, I thought that looked like a roll of teflon tape, lol.




How high are your sump walls?

[coachfraley]

They are 11" high. I am going to water test it on Monday, and I should be able to give you a better idea of any design flaws.

[Drumachine09]

Sounds cool. I'm looking in the yellowpages as we speak for companys that do acrylic work.


Also, can you send me a blank PM? My inbox has glitched, and I think gettting a PM will help.

[Tigerbarb]

So your setting up another nano? Good to hear! Be sure to post some pix when you get it set up!

[coachfraley]

Well, I got the tank up and running today. The only real problem I ran into was that the 250 gph pump was too much for the sump. I an not exactly sure why, but after running a while, the sump would start to drop, and the display started to overflow.

I have a backup pump in there right now, but I bought a mini-jet 606 (160 pgh) and I am going to drop that in tomorrow. They are very reliable pumps, and the gph should be perfect. I think I am also going to dremmel down the inlet just a little more as well.

Would it be a really bad idea to dremmel with my livestock still in the tank? I was thinking of just draining the water level down about a third of the way, and just doing the work above the water line. I really don't want to strip the whole tank down again.

Overall, I am VERY happy with the way the tank looks. The acrylic tank looks SO much nicer that the all glass tank. I will post some comparison pics tomorrow.

[Drumachine09]

I would at least put a layer of newspaper over the water on both sides to prevent shavings from getting in.


I think I found someone to do the work for me too!

[coachfraley]

I would at least put a layer of newspaper over the water on both sides to prevent shavings from getting in.

lol, I was actually just thinking of a way to do that. I was going to suspend some construction paper about an inch over the water using some strips of paper and some tape.

That is cool you found someone Drum, I hope you can get a good deal thumbs2:

[coachfraley]

Here are some shots of the tank. The corals are still a little upset from the move. Hopefully they will open up later today. First is a before (with my old 10g AGA):

Before:
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After:
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Top of chambers:
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Side of Chamber 1, showing media:
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[Rue]

..I'm impressed!:thumb: Makes me more eager to get my frag tank too!

[digital3]

Man Coach! That is impressive. If I ever take the SW plunge, you're going to be the guy I'm going to talk to! This thread's been an enjoyable read.

[coachfraley]

Thank you for the compliments!

[spudbuds]

Looking great coach! Putting the rock in the same spot really gave a good comparison for how much more room you'll have. Are you planning on adding anymore rock?

Looks great! Keep us posted.

[cocoa_pleco]

awesome!!!!!!!

[Fenix]

Thats so cool. Whats the point of a refugium?

[cocoa_pleco]

Thats so cool. Whats the point of a refugium?

to keep the levels stable, most fuges have some LR, chaeto, and maybe a few crabs

[coachfraley]

Oops, double

[coachfraley]

to keep the levels stable, most fuges have some LR, chaeto, and maybe a few crabs

Cocoa is right. The macroalgae that you grow in your fuge "eats" nitrates in your tank, it also helps to keep the PH steady if you run the fuge light at night. Fuges are also a nice spot to hide equipment like heaters and thermometers, to help give your tank a cleaner look.

Along with that, they are a good place to isolate creatures that you want to take out of your display (like injured fish, or some of those funky things you found in your tank Fenix).

To answer your question Bill, I think I am going to get around 3 more lbs. of LR. I am going to re-stack the rock pile on the left, and see if I can fit the rock there.

I have GSP on that rock, but it is not doing to well. I think I am going to get rid of it, and just grow zoas out on the rock instead. The zoas in that tank are doing really well, so they should spread pretty quick.

[spudbuds]

I think that will look really nice with the extra rock. Your current rock looks lonely in their new bigger home, but I also love the look of all that swimming space for the fish. A bit more rock will be just the right balance I think.

[coachfraley]

Well I got an extra 2 lbs. today and re-stacked my rocks. I ended up making a nice little shrimp cave in the rock pile on the left. I also took out most of the GSP and attached my zoas.

I think it is still a little light on rock, so I will probably get 2 more lbs. next week.

I'll try to get more pics up tonight.

[coachfraley]

Here are the pics:

Tank, not much of a difference:
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Left side with cave:
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Cave with chromis:
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[spudbuds]

Looking great coach! Keep us posted.

[squirt_12]

Awesome coach!!

[coachfraley]

I posted my query on another thread, but I was having trouble figuring out my fuge lighting situation. They didn't have the bulb that Bill had suggested at HDepot, so I went to Target and I found the perfect solution. They had a screw in 15 watt, 6500k flor. bulb that fit into a red 2.5g pico hood that I had lying around. I velcroed the hood to the back of the tank and it seems to be working really nice. We will see if the chaeto likes it. The cheap red hood creates a nice light effect at night:

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[spudbuds]

That should work just fine coach. That night effect is pretty cool. I'd like to see more pics of the setup. Sounds like you hit the jackpot for your fuge light.

[squirt_12]

I like the effect that the light gives off. It looks really cool.

What are your stocking plans for this tank coach?? Like coral and fish wise??

[coachfraley]

What are your stocking plans for this tank coach?? Like coral and fish wise??

Right now I have a pair of clowns, a green chromis, and a skunk shrimp. I am ashamed to say that I lost my royal gramma around the time I transfered from my old tank to my new one. He was missing for a few days, and then I found some royal gramma jerky on the floor.

The tank is 16g (including the sump), so I am not sure if it would be pushing it too much to add another fish. My guess is that my current stocking is very SAFE, but I could probably get away with one more very small fish. For corals, I am just going to go with shrooms and zoas.

I did discover a pretty serious design flaw in my sump today. I pulled out my chaeto to check the growth, and a good portion of it was "melting". It created a lot of debris in the fuge, and I noticed that there was almost no flow going to the bottom of the fuge. I assume that this is why the chaeto was wasting away. This pic. is a rear view of the sump:

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So I cut out a piece of plastic to serve as a temporary baffle (I will make one out a acrylic as soon as I can). I put the new baffle in place and it seemed to improve the flow in the bottom of the fuge. I also put my 250 gph pump back into the sump and cut my course filter sponge in half (to improve flow through the media). Hopefully all of these steps will help the circulation in the sump.

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Pic of rear. The arrows show where I moved some live rock down and moved the chaeto up, so the flow would go through it.

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Baffle from the top:
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[coachfraley]

Here are the pics of my fuge light solution:

Bulb:
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Fixture:
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In place, I adjusted it for the new chaeto position:
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[squirt_12]

Very nice coach!

Yeah your stocking is pretty tight but I didn't know if you could get another fish in there or not.
The zoas in there look cool and it will look cool with some mushrooms in there too. :thumb:

P.S.
Where did you get the red light fixture that you use for your chaeto?? I am looking for something like that but can't find one. Thanks.

[coachfraley]

It is the hood for a 2.5g mini-bow. They are a cheap little betta tank you see at petco. I used it for a hospital tank.

[squirt_12]

It is the hood for a 2.5g mini-bow. They are a cheap little betta tank you see at petco. I used it for a hospital tank.
Ok. Thanks coach! thumbs2:

[spudbuds]

Good solution to your flow problem. When you make the final solution, I'd make the baffle go to within an inch of the bottom. That will force the water down and give you good circulation in your fuge.

Thanks for the light pics. Very nice solution!

[coachfraley]

When you make the final solution, I'd make the baffle go to within an inch of the bottom. That will force the water down and give you good circulation in your fuge.

Good idea. I will probably cut out the acrylic tomorrow.

Got 3 more lbs. of rock today. 1 went in the sump, and 2 in the display.

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[Tigerbarb]

Nice! Glad to see that you got it set up! Do you have a gramma init? is he hiding?

[Fenix]

Wow looks great! So clean!

[coachfraley]

Nice! Glad to see that you got it set up! Do you have a gramma init? is he hiding?

Read post #38:scry:

[jbeining75]

Nice setup coach... Looking good...

[cocoa_pleco]

Read post #38:scry:

I am ashamed to say that I lost my royal gramma around the time I transfered from my old tank to my new one. He was missing for a few days, and then I found some royal gramma jerky on the floor.

that sucks, my royal dottyback jumped alot but i always found him before he died. however i found my pink skunk clown as jerky

[spudbuds]

Looking great coach!

[coachfraley]

I built the baffle today. I got the piece of acrylic from some junk I found in the parking lot of my local supermarket. With the plastic tubing on the ends, I did not need to use any type of fastening device for the baffle, I just wedged it in there:

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[spudbuds]

Clever solution again coach. I would have never thought of that hose idea. Saved you from having to drain your fuge.

My only concern would possible be that the pressure pushing out on the acrylic may cause some bowing of your tank over time. Also, with plexiglass, it expands and contracts with temperature. I'm not sure if the material you found is a plexiglass type of material or if it's acrylic. I assume acrylic doesn't have this issue since tanks are made out of it and it would be a disaster if it was constantly changing size, but I don't know for sure.

EDIT: I just looked at your photo again and it looks like the acrylic used for the tank is pretty thick, so you might not have a problem. Just thought I'd point it out.

- Bill

[coachfraley]

Yeah, I was thinking about that too...I am not really worried about the "outside" of the tank because it is "1/2, but the pressure might force the false wall to separate from the other baffles. I am going to make sure that the makeshift baffle is in there just enough to hold in place.

Thanks Bill!

[coachfraley]

More pics today. Along with my chromis and my skunk shrimp, I am currently hosting several thousand marine velvet dinospores...yeah!

I guess the chromis is immune, but I am going to leave him in there by himself for about a month (3 weeks left), and hopefully all of the dinospores will die off.

I am actually kind of in the air about what to do with my tanks long term. I will be getting a 29g acrylic all-in-one in about a month, and I am seriously considering consolidating everything from my 12 & 16 into that tank. Having a tank at work is kind of a pain in the but when I am on vacation! Anyway, here are the pics:

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skunky:
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I love the color on my LR in this tank:
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[coachfraley]

One more shot:

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[angelcakes]

i do like your pics and fish:19:

[fins_n_fur]

It's looking incredible...really coming along! POTM or TOTM entries made yet?

[Fenix]

wow looks so nice and clean! keep it up!

[spudbuds]

Looking great coach! Especially the different zoas. I can't get enough of looking at those.

Sorry to hear about your velvet problem. Hope it works out for you.

- Bill

[cocoa_pleco]

im amazed at your tanks, you never have any algae or cyano!

[coachfraley]

I use submersible, algae eating robots.

[cocoa_pleco]

I use submersible, algae eating robots.


hmm, i could use some, which brand are yours? Sony? Hitatchi? Sanyo? :hmm3grin2orange:

[coachfraley]

As I stated earlier in this post, I received this tank (plus a 30g) in exchange for some web work. I finally got the website up, so I thought I would show everyone the site:

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Unfortunately, he only does local business on tanks and sumps, but I think he will ship small items.

Thanks for looking!

[spudbuds]

Nice work coach! It's nice to see an elegant useful website. Well done!

I usually stay in Anaheim at least once a year. I have family in Long Beach, but I usually stay in Anaheim because the hotels are cheap near Disneyland. If I'm ever looking for a custom tank, I'll definitely keep this place in mind. They seemed to do a pretty great job with yours.

- Bill

[coachfraley]

Thanks Bill

[Tjones]

i have to agree i have taken my stab at web design and that is really good work and if i was the one making tanks i'd trade for that quality of work in a second!

[Tigerbarb]

Wow! You sure have some amazing web-talent and skill if you made that site! thumbs2:

[sandy_n]

Awesome!!! :18:

[coachfraley]

Thanks! I will be getting the 30g from him in a week or so. I'll post picks of the setup, and the transfer/combination from my 2 tanks.

[cocoa_pleco]

sounds awesome! what are you going to do with the other tanks?

[coachfraley]

I'm going to sell both tanks, and put all of the rock & coral into the 30g. I picked up 7 more lbs. of rock that is curing right now, so I should have about 35 lbs. of rock in the tank.

I want to get rid of my tank at work because it is just too difficult to maintain it during the summer. My summer work schedule is 4 days a week, so it makes it really tough to maintain the tank correctly.

It will also be nice, because I will be able to put all of my resources into one tank.

If I did another tank at work, I would probably just do a FW.

[coachfraley]

So, I think my chaeto is going to take over the world.

Here it is from the top, 5 weeks ago. At this point, the ball is about the size of a baseball.
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Here it is from the top today. It has filled up the void, but it is hard to tell how much it has grown until you pull it out.
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Here is the whole thing. I guess the stuff is doind well in my fuge, lol.
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[spudbuds]

I can't type the words that popped into my head when I saw that last pic. Impressive growth coach!

[Tigerbarb]

OMG! Now that's what I call a plant, lol.

[coachfraley]

yup, I think I made the right choice on that fuge light:c3:

Imagine if that was in the display, it would have taken over!!!

[Halelorf]

hahaha that looks like a green hair wig! Awesome growth, think about how much nitrate that cheato took out.