10 Gallon with frag tank AND sump!

[MakerofThings]

Thought I would put together a little build log and show off my recent build.

Unfortunately my business has basically ground to a halt due to covid. This has left me with 2 things... 1. Too much time. 2. Lots of acrylic a 3D printing time.

Thankfully I actually had a need for a second tank and now I have time! I needed a place to store and grow out frags, and I wanted a spot to put potentially badly behaving fish away from my 30 gallon in our living room.

The idea was actually my wife's, to find a way to have a frag tank but also a pretty tank and stand next to our bed.

The challenge was to work out a plumbing system that could allow me to circulate the system water through everything and still have functional emergency drains. This wasn't the easiest thing to do but also had the added challenge of having a limited space that EVERYTHING can fit in. I've never built a sump, or used one... so I got to work in CAD which I feel much better about.

I put together some basic ideas for what size of plumbing I could fit, how big the sump and frag tank could be, and if this would even work...

I then got to work on the cabinet, for this I used a sheet of 18mm hardwood ply. I managed to fit the entire build into a single 4x8 sheet.

Some hinges, some holes and a lot of screws later and I had a very solid build! The middle shelf is supported by screws in from the back and that front support post, as well as an angled 2x2 pine support underneath. Its more than strong enough for those curious.

The tank its self is our old 10g shrimp tank. Its a petco special that I de-rimmed on the top and drilled out.

I then hung the light, a completely rewired and new LED freshwater light I had laying around that I've converted, I'll go more into that in the future. The light for the frag and fuge are the same sort of thing too. I also drilled a tank for the first time ever which was terrifying.

A coat of paint (or 7 to meet the wife's requirements) later and its starting to look like something!

Started adding wires, the sump, and frag tank. I was also amazingly lucky and recently won a Sicce powerhead so I got to use that in this system.

Dosing containers are also custom out of spare acrylic.

I skipped taking photos for a while and before I knew the system was up and running.
I took a couple of stabs at the plumbing but in the end its working great! Emergencies work exactly as intended and there is plenty of room in the sump for water to drain back down to.

I also spent a few hours breaking up and gluing together 20 bits of rock until i had something that I enjoyed and would look good from all sides of the room.

Here is the system currently. Next I need to clean a few little things up, wash off the marks off of the plumbing, add media and start a cycle, and add a heater, skimmer (maybe) and media reactors. and YES I need to replace some of the orange 3D printed parts with black, Unfortunately I can't get my hands on any black ABS right now, but no big rush.

I hope this inspires some more people to do crazy things! I can't wait to have a bunch of nice softies in this tank and enjoy it for its mechanical design and function!

 

[vtshadow]

Nice project! Looks super slick.

 

[BlackLabelCorals]

Very cool!

 

[MakerofThings]

I was finally able to get some black filament so I printed a couple of black frag racks. Also have a few frags in the system now and they're doing great!

Space was extremely limited but I finally managed to design and install an ATO container ALSO inside the cabinet.

Only holds about a gallon, but the system doesn't use too much so won't be too big of a deal to top it up each week.

I'll add some more photos tomorrow!
Also had to rebuild the sump for some extra room and add more features.

Last thing to do will be the cabinet lighting and an exhaust fan to help with heat and humidity.

 

[El_Guapo13]

Nice. Looking forward to future updates on this build.

 

[MakerofThings]

ATO Tank installed! Tight fit, but I cut the acrylic to JUST fit in this space, its the most room I had left inside the tank and it has the added benefit of providing a slightly shaded area on the frag rack. (Need to get a PAR meter asap)

The tank its self is mounted on a set of 3D printed brackets/stands that hold it in place against the frag tank its self. The mounts are also designed in such a way that the tank sits at a slight angle backwards towards the outlet and allos me to get the most out of it. It was really hard to get a good photo. Here you can also see the very powerful exhaust fan I installed. I had it laying in my parts bin and boy does it move some air! But its also dead silent.

The inside of the whole enclosure was getting a little too warm for my liking, but this has helped massively. I also printed a little port hole exhaust vent and inlayed some stainless steel mesh to make it look tidy.

I am very pleased with how it blends into the entire cabinet.

While I was making some fixes, I also installed this simple little cabinet light so I never have to struggle to see what is going on. No switch, no timer, no light on all the time. Just a switch that's triggered by the door opening and a couple of LED strips on either side of this support post. Its also running of the same plug that powers the fan, but the fan is always on and the LEDs are on the switch. This saves a plug on the power strip.

Hardly noticeable, but important to me was the sump rebuild. The first one was fine, but it was always more of a learning experience than anything. It cost $40 and a couple of hours, and for my first sump I think it was fantastic and I am glad I made it, but it did have some issues.

Firstly I didn't love how high the water got after everything drained with the return pump off. It was ok, but I didn't like it. I extended the length as much as I could, and changed the baffles where I could do overall almost double the amount of free water volume in the sump. Remember, this build is TINY! This sump is about 14x12x10.

I also added a spot for my ATO float valve (which I need to relocate slightly) and a handy little removable, 3D printed grate that catches any big bits of crap or any chato that flows out of the refugium.

For the sump I used 4.5mm acrylic all round and it fits like a GLOVE. I wanted it to have a lid, but it just isn't practical here. I am working on a cover that slides in just above the main drain and magnets in place, I will add that this week.

Right now I am absolutely thrilled with this setup. Its been extremely fun to design, build, troubleshoot and improve over the last couple of weeks. I still have a list of things I want to make better and some things to change, but right now its being awesome. I was really lucky to have it as I had a mini crash on my display and was able to transfer some corals into this system and they're already growing. That DIY light seems to be killer. I'm working on getting PAR and spectrum readings from it soon.

Right now the display sits untouched other than a couple of snails and a hermit to control some algae buildup. Still not sure what I intend to do for stocking. This may end up being a bit of an isolation tank for mean fish, or it may be the tank I let my wife pick whatever she wants out for.... Either way I am just happy with my crazy, unique and awesome nano system!

 

[MakerofThings]

Time for an update! This is the last couple of months, so a lot has changed.


The tank has been looking and running wonderfully so far! Some may notice this tank is different... It is. The original tank got smashed in a terrible mess of a day. I don't want to go into it, but after a day of panic, its replaced and running fine... now.

Picked up this adorable little guy recently, hes hard at work making caves!

Printed this fantastic, compact, upright housing for my jaebo dosing pumps. Much more professional than the original housing and I can reach the screen and buttons!

I further modified my electrical "panel", installed a GFCI outlet, and added an acrylic divider to protect from splashes or something somehow falling and landing in the sump.

Dosing pumps and containers are installed and JUST fit... Lucky I 3D modeled all this first! Everything looks at an angle here, but it isn't. Also the sump is much less yellow than that!

Tank is looking amazing if I do say so myself! but holy crap its compact.

Chaotic down here! I'll remind you that this sump is 14x16 inches...

I added a T fitting to my return pump and some hardware store fittings ( I am over trying to make this look nice, I'll redo it in the future) I added all this to run some media reactors off of my return pump!

Of course, I also 3D printed the hardware for a nano reactor! I also made a reducer since home depot was out lol.

This thing works amazingly well! I am running Phosgaurd in here instead of in a bag and I love it.

Aaaaaand just my luck... found a used phosban reactor at my LFS for $8! so I checked the whole daisy changing setup and its working perfectly. I think I'll save this for a bigger tank, but great deal!

Yeah, not a lot of room in here! But everything fits and works.

Topped off the week with some beautiful new frags, a water change, tests and a sit back and relax. Once again, hope everyone enjoys the updates and photos! Not looking forward to moving across the country with this next year, but that's a post for another day!

 

[Skullring]

Very smart setup. Well done.

 

[Everything Aquatics]

Wow this is super cool

 

[MakerofThings]

So thanks to Covid, I've got little to no work... So I decided to design and build some cool nano/pico gear!

Here is my PicoTumble.
Super tiny, simple, cheap, effective.

Went ahead and installed 2 on the DOOR of my tiny reef system. I didn't think it could get more packed in here, but it has... and its working great! I am super thrilled. Been running Phosguard for a few days and already seeing a change.

I don't know why everything looks at a crazy angle here... Kind of annoying because its actually pretty tidy. I installed 2 of my PicoTumble units with snapping wall mounts to the inside of the right cabinet door, ran a T fitting and a ball valve off of the return, and enough hose to still be able to fully open the door. It works amazingly well.

 

[MakerofThings]

Added a new tank member! Whip fin fairy wrasse.

Such an incredible looking little dude.

 

[MakerofThings]

Got some killer coral deals, so had to fill up the frag rack too!

 

[MakerofThings]

And some others...

 

[PicassoClown04]

I LOVE this build!! I thought I was cramming it all in with my nano tank but this is on another level!! It’s amazing!

 

[MakerofThings]

I LOVE this build!! I thought I was cramming it all in with my nano tank but this is on another level!! It’s amazing!

Thanks!! It's a crazy one for sure.

 

[PicassoClown04]

Thanks!! It's a crazy one for sure.

I’ve only got a skimmer in mine, it’s an AIO, almost wishing that I’d just drill it and make a sump so I could put all that cool crazy jazz in mine too but I’m too scared to drill the glass

 

[MakerofThings]

I’ve only got a skimmer in mine, it’s an AIO, almost wishing that I’d just drill it and make a sump so I could put all that cool crazy jazz in mine too but I’m too scared to drill the glass

Yeah, I have an AIO as well and feel the same. Maybe think about running some reactors or something?

I just put mine for sale.

Printed Aqua — Maker of Things Design

makerofthingsdesign.com

 

[noobreefer2]

Any new pics? looks great!

 

[Nigel35]

WOW... talk about using every inch of space! Incredible build!

Nigel

 

[Fernthereefer]

Fantastic work. I am particularly interested in your 3 stage setup, with the frag tank in the middle. You manage to have good lights for it? no humidity buildup that could ruin them?

Well done