Jamie's 13.3G Custom
 

I've got a new project that I'm going to be sinking myself into and doing a lot of "custom" work with. I'm really missing my last not-so-nano tank, so its time to once again start over, just smaller. So without further a due let me introduce you to the four-walled beauty that will house the masterpiece and bring to life the inner working and creations of my imagination.

This is my new Mr. Aqua 13.3 gallon bowfront. She measures in at 23'1/2" long by 11'3/8" tall, by 9'1/2" at the outside edge and 11'1/2" at the middle of the bowfront

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2473.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2474.jpg



My plans for this tank are fairly extensive so ill break it all up like this.

The Display Tank
- Cut and drilled to accommodate an external overflow and single return
- Drilled for a second addition to the back wall of the tank that will house a tunze pump and controller

The Sump
- 4 chambers, 1st will be the inflow and bubble trap to the filter sock, 2nd skimmer and reactor, 3rd Macro algea / live rock rubble, 4th return pump.
- Separate ATO box and pump

The Scape
- The scape will be dry rock and foam creating a bunch of negative space in the front of the tank, it won't cover the full back of the tank just create more space by using up the un-used debris catching areas thats usually don't get flow

The Equipment

Lights
-DT, Kessil A150w
-Sump, Panorama Strips

Pumps
-Return, Tunze Silence 1073.xxx
-Tunze 6202.200 Massacred Nano Wavebox
-DT, if needed EcoTech MP10

Skimmer
-SWC 120 or BubbleMagus NAC 3.5

Reactors
-BRS Deluxe Reactors

Controller
-Neptune Systems APEX
-PM2 Salinity Monitor/Control
-WEM Wireless Expansion Module (For EcoTech if needed)
-Breakout Box (DIY Breakout Box)

Auto Top Off
-DIY 2 Float Switches, and Pump to APEX Breakout Box


So thats all I've got for you guys right now, I have a bunch of figuring, measuring, cutting and constructing to do, so stay tuned for the updates and don't worry I love my camera as much as I love my fish!

Look what I picked up today! along with a few diamond hole saws. Ill be starting to cut and drill the tank this afternoon! ill post more pictures of how it all went, stay tuned!!


http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2488.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2486.jpg

So i finally got the hole cut and the bulkhead in, man oh man was it nerve racking but its done and now its time to put the box on it then water test it this after noon!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2491.jpg

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The wave box is on now, i water tested it and it looks solid to me, im going to let it sit over night with the wave running just to see if it builds slowly on itself and causes it to spill over the sides, if im all good then ill start to cut and drill the overflow, but i need to know the height of the water that i can get in the tank and still have a wave

Heres the progress so far!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2519.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2518.jpg

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Wow, very cool build! I love these little tanks.

That frikin wave looks huge!

Looks great, but didn't I already see thus on nanoreef? ;) did you post the link to the YouTube vid if the wave? Or am I just having flash from the past here? :lol:

hahaha thats cus its a bowfront, its really only about an inch or so

yes this is the tank that is on nanoreef, i just decided to start posting the build on here too, I can also link the video to the wave!

Here is a video of the tank right now, enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWhgEZJQ6cQ...eature=youtu.be

I got the return line drilled and the overflow weir is cut into the tank so here you go!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2562.jpg

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Hey how did you cut out your overflow, I see you drilled 2 holes then did you just use a glass etch to go between or did you use the drem with a bit to cut it out? Details as I'm in the process of building a Nano and I am scratching my head how I'm going to create the overflow.

I drilled two holes with a glass hole saw only because i wanted smooth corners and it think it looks better, then i used my dremel with glass cutting wheel to slowly cut out the over flow from the holes, you can see in one of the pictures im cutting the overflow into the back.

Im going to post the rest of the overflow right now so read on to see what i did

So I decided to drill the holes for my overflow and put together the plumbing for it, after some thinking and some cutting to make it all work in a small space, this is what i have so far

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2603.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2608.jpg

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http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2611.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2616.jpg

Today I got quite a bit of stuff done, I got the glass for the overflow cut and put together, I picked up a peice of black acrylic to put inside the tank as a background to cover everyything up and i got the plumbing all together for the backside of the tank

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2617.jpg

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More to come as it all goes together tonight

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2622.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2623.jpg


Can you spot the snooper??
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2626.jpg

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This tanks putting the space shuttle to shame , it is a fancy piece of kit. Looks like youve been thinking about this for a while , its going to be epic.

hahaha thank you very much! I have been mauling it over now for about 5 months as to how im going to do things, the wave box was a big stumper for how i was going to get it to work and work well

That's pretty cool, good luck with the rest of the build!

I did some more work today and got the wavebox covered up

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2636.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2637.jpg



Then i couldnt wait any longer and the minute i had finished my overflow I get it all wet to see how it would work and let me tell you, it went just swimmingly!! take a look


http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2639.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2641.jpg

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and last but not least...VIDEO PROOF THAT IS REALLY HAPPENED

Very cool tank! Nice work on the DIY too. :biggrin:

Thanks very much, I think i like building and designing the tank and seeing it all come together and work more haha

Awesome setup so far and that wave is crazy in that little tank.

The wave box is awesome (what kind of pump did you use for that) and do you find that it gets noisy with the water flowing into overflow as the wave hits it?

Yeah thats what I was wondering too. Do you hear a water trickle every time the water overflows into the overflow section?

(Don't have sound on my comp at work, so not sure if the video you posted had sound lol)

Not really actually, becuase the water level in the tank is above the top of the overflow when the wave comes it just sends a little extra out, there really isn't any noise at all, plus the height of the water in the overflow box is high enough to keep it from spashing or gurgling or anything, the only noise i can hear in that tank is the hum or the pumps


also i used a tunze nano wavebox that i pulled apart to make my wavebox, its just a 6206.200 turnbell pump

Update!

ok so today was pretty good all around however I had a hickup and its set me back some cash and some time but id rather have it happen now then later. It was my own fault I wasnt quite thinking and I went to put the pluming together with the bulkhead tightened up and on the last joint of the last drain this happened

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2649.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2648.jpg


But after a long moment of staring with a blank look of derision and disappointment at my stupidity, i pulled it off the tank and and started to do something I couldnt break haha

I covered the white tube inside my wavebox with some black ORCA marine glue, I used it because that stuff is like tar it sticks to everything in one coat, i put some on my finger and began to smear it around, then i covered the white impeller of the pump too! everything is black now!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2651.jpg

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Then after I had gotten over my newly found irrational fear of plumbing and armed with me new found knowledge of tightened bulkhead is finished up my return line

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2650.jpg

Wow, great build!

That is the smallest bean animal overflow I've ever seen!

hahaha yeah it took a little thinking to make sure it would all fit, i also had to try it out just to see if it was possible with only 1/2" pipe haha but it all works perfectly...now

Alright so I managed to save as much as i could and as a result the ball valves sit just slightly lower but its all good everything is back on track, and i got a thicker piece of glass this time and i think I'm becoming very proficient at drilling glass i knocked out those three holes in 10 minutes haha

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2662.jpg

Sorry to hear about the mishap of the overflow box, although it looks like you're right back on track with the new one.

I also would like to suggest some sort of reinforcement for the three pipes coming down to the sump as those pipes will become something very similar to a crow bar once they are long enough and any tap or accidental light hit might either break the box again or blow out the back glass wall. I find that the easiest way to fix this by cutting a wooden block and attaching it to the back of the stand with the pipes resting and anchored to this block.

I really like that wave maker...

That thing is awesome looking! I might have to hire you to build me something like that in the near future! hahah brilliant work!

Thanks for that Ginu! I was thinking much the same thing about them being a problem but didnt really know how to tackle it! Thanks for the idea Ill have to look into it, im not to sure how I can do it just yet becuase the tank with be sitting on my desk but the wood block sounds great! thanks very much its greatly appreciated

Np, thats why the tank journals are good to document :) (i should start my own thread as well)

I think you have a few options here:
1. if you would like the tank to sit flush with the desk then you need a wood block of the same width as the overflow box and you rest the pipes against it and also you can fabricate a bracket of some sort holding each tube in place taking the possible tension off the overflow box
2. you can bracket the tubes directly to the desk if the tank comes out the length of the desk
3. I've seen people bracket the tubes against the wall which in my opinion is not advisable as maintenance is always required and not being able to move the desk is not a good option.

HELLLLLLOOOOO LABOUR DAY LONG WEEKEND! time to get serious now, i got a bunch of stuff I want to get done and ill start if off with a trip to the hardware store.

I picked up an ikea Gallant rolling filing cabinet that im going to gut and use as my sump stand, its going to match the rest of the desk and blend perfectly take a look

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2675.jpg

Then I gutted it and started to make all the drawer faces one solid door

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2673.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2672.jpg

After that was done I used my dremel to recess the hinges so that the door would be centred again, then i put a magnet lock on it and voila!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2674.jpg

I still need to paint and seal the inside of the cabinet to make the wood water tight but its getting closer!



Then I moved my attention to the desk and how I was going to run my plumbing and this was my solution

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2665.jpg

I think it worked out really well, kept everything nice and clean i think.

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2667.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2670.jpg


Then my ADD kicked in and i put some felt pads on the bottom of my tank cus it wasnt to fun to move around it liked to scratch the table haha

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2669.jpg



More to come tonight!

So the labours of the labour day long weekend are over and here is what i have to show for it!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF2676.jpg

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Still more work to be done, I have to go pick up a 15g long tomorrow and start to plumb and baffle the sump, once that is done i need to paint and seal the inside of the cabinet and run wire for a separate GFI plug that will power the cabinet and the whole tank. Then its on to the wet stuff and aquascaping!

Looks great so far. With the effort you've put in so far I'm looking forward to what the tank will look like stocked

Looks really good, looking forward to the next steps. The stand looks awesome and blends in completely.

Awesome build man, keep up the good work!

I really like this build very detailed and straight up diy, what are you going to use for lights? oh yeah you might wnat to put some egg crate at the overflow, or most of your fish will end up in there lol

Hi

l have a question about your acrylic background. Did you put the bulkhead gasket behind it against the glass or in front of acrylic? I guess siliconing the two layers should make a seal, lm just worried about leaks at the bulkhead with it going through 2 separate layers.

Also, can you recommend where to buy a 20"x20" sheet?

Thanks for any help