Myka's 69 SPS Tank 2015
 

I'll play! Mine is only in the concept stage (pun intended) - still working on the details. :D

36 x 24 x 21"

- False back wall made of black glass making display 36 x 21 x 21"
- Full weir overflow
- Black vinyl wrap around the overflow
- (2) 1" holes for Herbie drain
- (1) 1" hole for return (will use a 3/4" reducer bulkhead)
- Eurobraced with trim on the top edge only and black silicone
- All vertical edges on the front are beveled and polished

Might use low-iron glass, might not. Might leave out the trim. The tank will have a canopy "wrap" so the trim won't even be viewable, but it's nice for making a screen top. I might puts mounts for the screen on the edge of the eurobracing so the screen sits flush with the eurobracing which makes the trim a moot point. Not sure yet...

Don't blame Concept Aquariums for the newb 3D drawing - I did it myself. :lol:

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...uarterView.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...BackCorner.jpg

What type of tank would you make it? Reef etc?

SPS dominant. :dance:

Here's the plan for the sump... 24x20x16". Very large skimmer compartment for a very large skimmer... ;)

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...9SumpFront.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4.../69SumpTop.jpg

What are you going to do for nutrients export?!

I would guess a very large skimmer?

What he ^ said. The total volume of the system without displacement is 105 gallons, the display area is 69 gallons without displacement. I have a SWC 180 Cone that I will use for now, but I specifically made the compartment big enough to fit something bigger and badder...depends what I can find available. :twised:

I have lots of goodies at my disposal should I need them, but a good skimmer and some elbow grease goes a long way. I might plumb up a manifold for reactors, but I will have limited area under the tank with the dosing equipment there, so I'll have to get creative.

Here's sump V2.0 - the bubble trap needs to be wider (no point in that blank space), and I don't think the flow is real good in this version. I like sump V1.0 (above) better so far. I made a V1.1 too which I think is superior to both of these, but I'm still tweaking. I'm trying to cram the sump as small as possible so that I can have space for dosing equipment and pump controllers.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...S/69SumpV2.jpg

That will be an interesting build

hmmm like the sump layout , maybe I should incorporate a auto top off this time around for my tank . I usually stay away from gadgets and do everything manually .

I'm really liking your 69 Mindy! Hoping to see more of this 69 as it plays out.

:redface:

Thanks, I hope so!

ATO is the bomb, same with automated dosing. These two things are MUST HAVE gadgets as far as I'm concerned, and I'm a KISS method person.

There will be lots of action! :wink:

First of all love the dimensions and volume, giggity... Wondering about you weir gap though, gigggity. Have you decided what you wanna use for power heads? If they create a wave then I have a concern you won't have consistent surface skimming through the overflow. I tried a 3/8 gap once like that, giggggity and the wave maker caused the water to pulse and kind of vapour lock. You might wanna add some vertical slots, or a bunch of them, just a thought. Or make the gap wide enough, ummmmm :neutral:, so to avoid this but not too big for snails to get lost in the back?.
Also, does the eurobrace cover the back overflow section or would there be access? I see a detritus trap down there

Following along

Quagmire

Volume is a nice round number eh? :D

Tunze 6055s....no wave. You do raise a good point though...I'll keep it in mind.

The eurobrace does not cover the back area...it goes around the display part only. The standpipes will be removable for water changes...sump holds the full volume.

What's in the bag?? Attachment 14053

Well that would be a bubble king.

Sideways too. Haha, I can never get Tapatalk to do what I want. :lol:

Here's sump version 3.0!!! Now we're playing with fire...

The two cylinders at the back represent the Herbie drains, and the two cylinders near the front represent reactors. The grey mesh looking stuff represents egg crate to hold a filter pad. There is enough space in the sump so that if the ATO gets stuck on the sump will hold that volume (4 gallons of RO/DI), and then if the power fails at the same time and the overflow chamber of the tank drains (it shouldn't anyway) it will hold that volume (9 gallons) as well with about 1 1/2 gallons to spare.

The overflow chamber holds 9 gallons, and I will design the plumbing so I can pull the Herbie emergency standpipe, the overflow will drain to the sump, and I can use the return pump (with a tee to a hose to a bucket) to pump that 9 gallons out for easy water changes. A little smaller than I'd like, but maybe I can figure something out to get a few more gallons down to the sump. The skimmer area is 15 x 12" and would probably hold something even bigger if it fits in there at an angle.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...69SumpV3.0.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...umpV3.0Top.jpg

The only drawback I can see to this design (so far) is that I don't think I could fit my Reef Dynamics biopellet reactor into the sump anywhere (footprint is 10 x 4"). I don't think I will want to run biopellets, but it's a nice option. I could always just buy the external pump for the BP reactor, so the option isn't completely ruled out.

The other thing I'm weighing right now is if I want to move the bulkheads in the overflow. Maybe I want them all in the middle. You see Vancity?? You did make me think about the possibility of waves, but not so much for the weir, but the drains. I'm not going to have a "wavebox" type wave, but obviously in a high flow tank there will be random waves. Hmm...

Next up, decide what to do for the stand...and build it. Tank won't be here for a month at least I'm thinking - gotta wait for enough tanks to be on the order.

I'm thinking about a new sump for myself and one of my ideas may help you out ... if you have the space.

I want the ability to perform a WC of larger volume, and the only way I can see myself doing it is to 'T' the drain lines to the return section and sock/pre-skimmer section.

I see having a pair of valves on the drains. One valve shuts off the flow to the socks/whatever, and the other valve would then open the flow to the return pump section.
Now, whenever I want to perform a WC, I close off the flow to the socks/etc and open the flow to the return chamber. Now I can utilize all of the volume contained in the sock/skimmer chamber for a WC. And all without turning off the return pump :wink:

I'm still working on it for my new sump, but thought I may as well throw it out there for you Mindy, and everyone else :biggrin:

You're thinkin like I'm thinkin, but I think my version is better because I think yours is more complicated than it needs to be. :p Mine's simpler. All I gotta do is pull the emergency standpipe out and 9 gallons will flow into the sump. Tee off the return and the return pump pumps it out to a bucket.

I don't think you'll be able to empty the skimmer section would you? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding something. That's a good thought though - to be able to pull the volume from the skimmer section. Actually, I could put a hole of some sort in the partition that separates the return chamber from the skimmer chamber, with some sort of blocking mechanism too, and then my return pump can pull the volume from there too.

Hmm...

Well, this is why I posted my idea. To get you thinking ... :wink:

Mine will work for me as all I'll have to do is use a small pump to empty the big chamber and BAM big WC will happen. BUT my new sump will not be under my tank as I have a sump room and can pretty much build whatever I want.

Just thought I'd throw it out there for you as you started me off in this hobby and anything I can send your way is payback :mrgreen:

I'm jealous you have a sump/fish room. Mine has to be free standing. :(

I have a 3/4" Uniseal kicking around. I can put a plug in it that's super easy to remove. Now with this mod (thanks greg...good thinkin!!) I can remove a little over 10 more gallons from the system, so I could do about a 19 gallon water change without sucking on any hoses (yeck).

The black circle represents the Uniseal.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...3.0uniseal.jpg

Well, helps to own a house. And have a wife who is very forgiving.
Anytime with the help :wink:

I'm likin' how your build is going :biggrin:

We own our house, and I am the wife. :lol: We don't have a basement though, and the master bedroom closet is the only room adjacent to the livingroom. There's no way I'm cutting into the master bedroom walk-in closet (because I am the wife!). So the tank is actually placed on an exterior wall.

Still, I got you thinkin' ...

"How can I perform a larger WC with the little sump I have ?" :wink:

So I sent some fair bit of mula via EMT to some random dude on Kijiji. I'm hoping to receive an ATB 840 protein skimmer in return. :pray:

I'm interested to see how it compares to the Bubble King that's in the aforementioned Royal Exclusiv bag. I imagine the ATB will end up being my backup skimmer. If the pump ever dies on the Bubble King, I'm probably too cheap to replace it. :lol:

Well, he gave me weight and dimensions for the FedEx shipping label, and I can see he printed it off this morning, so that's a good sign. :D

I'm going to order the glass for the sump today. I actually have never built one from scratch before - I always used a fish tank and put baffles and such in it, so I hope I don't screw up my measurements.

Eek! Well, it sounds like you already knew that you were rolling dice with the kijiji transaction so I will throw a few extra prayers into my prayer reactor for you!

The tank order is going in to Concept Aquariums today! :whoo:

I shipped the ATB skimmer economy - I think it will show up today. It looks like I better get a move on with the stand and sump. I ran out of time on Wednesday and didn't end up getting the glass order in. Life is crazy until after May 1st, so I may not get a lot done in this time.

You are one brave lady...

Though they say fortune favors the brave.

I'm definitely following this one. I sent an email to concept a couple of days ago for almost exactly the same tank.

I hope so! There is a box waiting at FedEx for me to pick up, so I'm excited to see if there is an ATB skimmer in it! :D

Oh ya? Cool! Did you get your quote back yet? Did your order the black glass (rather than black acrylic) too? If so, be ready for sticker shock. The black glass option was more than the Starphire option. I almost pooed my pants, guffawed for a week, then I ordered it anyway. :lol: How does yours differ from mine?

So I got a FedEx box from aforementioned "random Kijiji guy". There better not be a Dell in there! :p
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...S/IMG_2694.jpg

I opened the box, and found this inside:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...S/IMG_2695.jpg



It is an Austrian-made (not US version) ATB 840 Econo Small with Eheim 1260 pump. Compared to the skimmer inside the Royal Exclusiv bag, this ATB doesn't look very impressive - though I can see the design is smart. The very large bubble plate and smooth skimmer body all the way up to the top of the skimmer appears as though is should provide as non-turbulent flow as possible, so this is promising. This is the first ATB skimmer I've ever seen in person and I'm interested to see how it performs as some people claim it rivals the Royal Exclusiv skimmers.

The sump on my 50-gallon tank isn't big enough to accommodate the ATB, so it's having a vinegar bath right now. Maybe I'll haul it down to the shop and put it in one of the FO tanks and see what it does. :D

You'd think the seller could have done that :)

I knew someone would say that. :lol: I'm going to give any "new to me" submersible piece of equipment a vinegar bath because I'm paranoid of contaminants, so it's really no skin off my teeth.

New toy for the 69...

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...0SPS/Doser.jpg



The ATB sure comes apart nicely for cleaning!
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...PS/ATB%202.jpg



Here are a few critters that will be making the transfer into the 69...
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...202015%202.jpg

I made a few modifications and decisions to the final design of the tank. The order is in now, so no going back!

- 3 side low-iron PPG Starphire glass
- trimless
- the 3 bulkheads are grouped in the center of the overflow now rather than the two ends, and decided to have the return drilled for 3/4".

So far, I'm still happy with my sump V3.1 design, but haven't had the time to figure out measurements for the glass. It looks like life has settled down a bit now (I hope!) so I plan to get this ordered up this week and work on the sump this weekend.

I am building new kitchen cabinets for the house this year. The lower kitchen cabinets will be low-gloss slate grey (uppers are gloss white), and I'm building the tank cabinet to match, and will add a drink ledge for beer made of rough sawn walnut to match the flooring. :D

Toys are always kool :wink:

Haahaa I thought you would have avoided GHL like the plague... Didn't get enough of it yet eh?!

This is a quote from Dave on RC. It made me laugh out loud when I read it.

"Scott, you are the only person I recall ever say anything positive about the Profilux or trying to program it. Glad you have it covered."

Glad the tank's in the works now!