New Tank and Sump Build

[Avi]

After a mild case of MTS I have decided to join my old 30G as a sump to my 100G

Construction starts this weekend and all plans are below for my malawi set up

Tank as it is now

Proposed Plan for new setup

Proposed plumbing idea

Overflow failsafe 'plan'
If water enteres the tank slower than it leaves (which is aprox 2000GPH with 2 x 1.25" pipes) Then there should be no overflow problem

Plan for stand (note some horzontal braces are missing this is so i can put them where water changes will no be hinderd

And with the tanks

The back of the stand will be securley bolted into the wall as the rear suport, and the sides of the front braces bolted to the cupboard side so they dont slip

Main tank: Lava rock and coral sand
Lower tank: Coral rocks (for buffer) and heaters

Also any tips on what to do with the bottom tank appart from that,

filter is an FX5 so I dont want to make it a proper sump

What do you think?

 

[canufeelme]

Can you use the fx5 this way?

 

[wow]

It look awesome, really want to se some pics when it is setup!

 

[Avi]

Can you use the fx5 this way?

I do not see why not, The reduced intake hight will just help reduce flow to around 2000GPH, its got the umpf to do it, i use it like that to fill the tank after a water change

 

[Avi]

Yah I cant wait either... need some big strong men (aka mum and sister hehe) to help move the tank down so i can spray it and put the stand it, Keep an eye out this weekend for construction pics

 

[Avi]

It has begun!
Sorry I forgot to take pics while making the first part of the stand, got so into it and all
Heres before I began tho...

And then darkness fell apon me, I finished the top and bottom sections, have not joined them, crummy phone pics, they have 1 layer of SILVER spray on them so far (very cool)

So again tomorrow more pics
Then the drilling of the tank... This went surprisingly well, the first hole took me an hour! but thats because i thourt i was breaking through when i was only about half way and slowed down... 2nd time round it was great took me 20 min and perfect

And now... I dropped a bomb in my room and it exploded it MESS
got tanks where bed should be, bed where i should be and half the cupboard on the floor

Tomorrow I get to use an industrial hammer drill to make 16mm holes in my wall (take into account a normal drill wont take a bit size more than 10mm, 16mm is HUGE!)
Have metal anchor bolts to keep the back on, M10 x 90mm!!
like these, but BIGGER!
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9372107&fh_view_size=10&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB&fh_search=anchor+bolt&fh_eds=%c3%9f&fh_refview=search&ts=1240610070648&isSearch=true

 

[The1and only]

I have my 305 plumbed that way and it works great. Should be sweet when it's done

 

[Avi]

Ok, its been a slow day, had to wake up at 7am to get everything out of the RAIN!!! and been quite tired since, but theres nothing a fosters cant fix! Phone bat been low and lost cam charger so pics are scarce but I will bombard this with pics when im a bit more settled with the days progress
So far.. 2 more holes drilled in glass, that makes 4 perfect holes (who said it was dificult)
Stand 75% built,
Bottom section bolted and FIRM!
need to bolt the top piece into the wall so I can fix the vertical support with it all level

Looks like this now, will have stand done today (its much more shiney, have the electrics turned off so i dont drill through a wire so no gleem shows in pic

Next steps: Clean tanks of 'glass dust' from drilling
Then SPRAY PAINT the backs (this has proven to he harder than I thought to get the right thickness)

 

[Avi]

Spraying has begun
Have about 3 coats on there, still wet from the last one, may take another 5 to get it finished taking ages but will look good when finished

 

[Rockydog]

Can't believe your spray painting in your room. Should have used latex paint and a roller, absolutely no mess.