I scored a good deal on this aquarium and couldnt pass it up. It came out of a hospital and it was originally setup as a saltwater. Size is 270 gallons and the dimensions are (72x24x36.5) Its in perfect shape and its an aquarium I plan on having for the next 20 years. Its made by Living Color Aquariums and made of 1" acrylic all around. It came with 3 massive synthetic coral inserts seen in the first picture; which I promptly removed. I never thought Id own another acrylic aquarium after the last tenecor fiasco, but given the stoutness of this one I figured I'd give it a go. I built a pretty standard stand for it with 2x4's and 2x6's. I also constructed a canopy based of member named IndovinaVI. He helped me out quite a bit so thanks go out to him!! Its not finished yet I just have the skeleton constructed. Im still wiring it all up and doing finish work. I am using 3x30W led floodlights and 2 smaller screw in style led spotlights and 2 strips of blue led moonlights also.
This aquarium is drilled on the bottom left and right. The bottom right has one 1.5" bulkhead and the left has 2x 1.25" bulkheads. The coral insert was acting as an overflow and the 1.25" bulkheads were the returns. Since I removed the overflow I was really left with only being able to run a closed loop canister. So I figured Id plumb it to run 2x Fx5's. The 1.5" bulkhead would be the drain for both filters and each 1.25" bulkhead would be 2 separate returns. I didnt post pictures of them but I have 1.5" pvc coming out of the drain bulkhead to keep sand out of the filters. There are also pvc fittings for the return bulkheads to direct the water flow (not pictured).
My idea was to make a sort of P-Trap with the drain line so that sand would not make it to the filter. I have cichlids and they love getting sand everywhere. I know when the tank is up and running that im going to have to remove the fx5 filters from under the stand for routine maintenance, I I wanted to hardline as much of the drain as possible. Iv had bad experiences in the past when any stress is put on the bulkheads, so I wanted to move as much as the fittings away from the bulkheads as possible. I also had to design it so it could easily be removed because the tank is in my garage and at some point it has to be inside the house. The tank cant really be moved with bulkheads or anything else attached. SO I wanted to make it in a way that most of the plumbing can stay attached to the stand when the aquarium is moved.
My problem is that everything is freaking leaking! I dont understand it. I put stops on the 2 returns because the fx5s are not hooked up and filled it with water The pvc fittings that screw together are dripping about 10 drops and hour. My question is, should I scrap my design and just try something simpler? Should I forget about plumbing the aquarium through the bottom? I know I could just drill the top and route lines into and out of it, but I really wanted to keep this tank as clean as possible. I bought the best bulkheads you can buy too and they are leaking. Am I missing something????
I really dont want to use a sump on this tank. I only have about 30 smallish african cichlids for it so a couple fx5s will be plenty. Any feedback good or bad is welcome. Ive had big tank like this before, but never with the bottom drilled. Maybe im making this harder than it has to be.
This aquarium is drilled on the bottom left and right. The bottom right has one 1.5" bulkhead and the left has 2x 1.25" bulkheads. The coral insert was acting as an overflow and the 1.25" bulkheads were the returns. Since I removed the overflow I was really left with only being able to run a closed loop canister. So I figured Id plumb it to run 2x Fx5's. The 1.5" bulkhead would be the drain for both filters and each 1.25" bulkhead would be 2 separate returns. I didnt post pictures of them but I have 1.5" pvc coming out of the drain bulkhead to keep sand out of the filters. There are also pvc fittings for the return bulkheads to direct the water flow (not pictured).
My idea was to make a sort of P-Trap with the drain line so that sand would not make it to the filter. I have cichlids and they love getting sand everywhere. I know when the tank is up and running that im going to have to remove the fx5 filters from under the stand for routine maintenance, I I wanted to hardline as much of the drain as possible. Iv had bad experiences in the past when any stress is put on the bulkheads, so I wanted to move as much as the fittings away from the bulkheads as possible. I also had to design it so it could easily be removed because the tank is in my garage and at some point it has to be inside the house. The tank cant really be moved with bulkheads or anything else attached. SO I wanted to make it in a way that most of the plumbing can stay attached to the stand when the aquarium is moved.
My problem is that everything is freaking leaking! I dont understand it. I put stops on the 2 returns because the fx5s are not hooked up and filled it with water The pvc fittings that screw together are dripping about 10 drops and hour. My question is, should I scrap my design and just try something simpler? Should I forget about plumbing the aquarium through the bottom? I know I could just drill the top and route lines into and out of it, but I really wanted to keep this tank as clean as possible. I bought the best bulkheads you can buy too and they are leaking. Am I missing something????
I really dont want to use a sump on this tank. I only have about 30 smallish african cichlids for it so a couple fx5s will be plenty. Any feedback good or bad is welcome. Ive had big tank like this before, but never with the bottom drilled. Maybe im making this harder than it has to be.
