i suck at math..

[CHOMPERS]

Yea, i planned on just going behind the tank and putting it in rather than putting it in through the front cabinet doors. The cabinet doors are around 12" and the back of the tank is about 18-20"

Something to consider...in the event of cleaning, maintenance, or repair you may want to remove the sump from under the stand. Draining the tank will not be much of an option. You will also need clearance at the top so you can work inside of it. By making the sump so that it will fit in through the front, you will also have built in working clearance when it is installed.

Next, I guess I have to be the devils advocate...before we can help you, you are going to have to help us. You need to be WAY MORE precise than "around 12 inches" etc. And the door opening has two dimensions; height and width. When you read a tape measure, if the smaller increments are too confusing just measure to the nearest quarter inch but state that you did. If we assume you were precise and you were not, you might end up building a tank that is a quarter inch too big from going in through the front. You really don't want to drain that thing to make a simple fix to the sump.

Another thing to keep in mind, your max gallonage is 40g with those pieces. Since your tank is 450g that means your sump will be less than 10% of your tank volume. This will be ok if your plans are to do something like my system in terms of a sump filter suplemented by a wet/dry. However, I do not know of a rule of thumb in sizing sump filters so that they act like a septic tank. If the sump is large enough it will "clean" itself. It doesn't really clean itself but it allows for total biological breakdown of the waste before the media gets plugged. This means that you will only have to physically clean the filter once every six months and the other waste removal occures during water changes. Since you are installing a drip system, you can have the best of both worlds.

 

[milkman407]

No one likes to listen to my plan do they, or they just dont understand it. My sump will be 100gallons, I will have the 30-40gallon tank, than there will be a hole drilled in the side of the acrylic sump with pvc that runs all the way to a 70gallon bin full of water. Also we wont have the tank all the way against the wall, I have just enough room to fit behind it.

 

[CHOMPERS]

Ummm...I am falling under the I don't understand it catagory It is easy to have an idea in mind but it is difficult sometimes to accurately put those thought into words so that the reader understands it the way it was intended. ...I hope that made sense... You have been giving us bits of information and we have been having to fill in the blanks. (I think that is part of the reason why some people didn't think you were going to pull off building your tank.) Also, it is good practice to proof read your writing as if you were the reader. I know I sound like an English teacher, but it really does help.

I have the picture in my mind how you want to lay it out, but I am not seeing the big picture of what you are trying to do and why. Is the 30-40 going to be mechanical filtration or wet/dry. Ditto for the 70g tank.

Also, the back of the stand should be closed with plywood or it needs to be braced. Even though it is sturdy now, down the road things can change. Murphy's Law dictates that nothing bad will happen until you move it into the house.

This is what the crystal ball says...Other people have built smaller stands for smaller tanks out of 2x6's and 2x8's. Ever see a 2x4 split at the end after driving nails into it? If your frame splits down the road, it will be too late to beef up the stand.

Here is a lesson in stability. Tape four playing cards together to form a box. How stable is it. What prevents it from forming a parallelogram and then collapsing? Now tape a fifth card to an open end. How stable is it now? Now add a 450 gallon aquarium on top

 

[milkman407]

lol, the 40gallon or w/e the acrylic size will be is all the sponges, there will be a drip plate on the top and the side will have eggcrate so my pvc pipe wont get clogged. than the pvc pipe will lead to the 70gallon that only has 2 pumps in it, 1 for returning the water to the tank. and the other for my bio tower.

No way im proof reeding my stuff i had english today and she yells at me to much

 

[MilitantPotato]

So the acrylic tank (trickle filter) will be higher than the tub, atleast by a foot or two correct?

Keeping the water below the media would be impossable otherwise.

That could be a great plan, but clearance might be a problem if the tub/barrel is narrow and tall, forcing you to raise the tank up hgher.


Your english teacher sounds like my old one, wonder how I passed her class.
This is what I see in my head:

The two large boxes are the tank and stand, my wife said it was confusing.

 

[milkman407]

Nah, i understand it. I planned on doing that, but i would have the acrylic tank proped up on some stones or books with the pvc(hole in acrylic) about at the middle little higher, than it would drain down into the tub.


Or just having it like you put it, but have the pvc a little higher.

 

[Plumber]

agreed...but first say "da math is strong wid Chompahs"

I don't hold a grudge...usually. I have written several things that I later wished I could reword or approach differently. I have also written things when I was in the wrong mind and later regretted it. It happens to everyone every now and then.

In any design application, it is important to know if what you are trying to do is doable. But that was not my goal as much as the trivia behind it. I found it interesting enough to crunch the numbers and I am willing to share. I am also absolutely amazed at the person who had the intuition "that about forty gallons" was the maximum size.

I hear ya man! But what's with the ebonics today?
Last night, after a box of beers, I came to one conclusion...........











And that was the fact that I need more beer......

 

[Plumber]

The way I understand your stand and your sump/filter, the front openings are just too small to be of any use. You could access through the back but you would need to keep it from the wall a good 2-3 feet so you can get down in there to do any work you need to do.

What if you built another cabinet with some nice big doors that matches the style of your stand and put it right next to it to house your sump? You could top it with formica and have a nice little work station too. If you wanna get crazy, you could plumb your own little sink in it for water changes, etc.

Just a thought.

 

[milkman407]

Theres a hose right next to the tank, and i guessed at the size of the cabinet door, I will find out tomorrow how big it is.

 

[CHOMPERS]

and the other for my bio tower.

No way im proof reeding my stuff i had english today and she yells at me to much

So that must mean that you have my highschool english teacher I hope you're not going to Lake Mary HS