ElZesto
Active Member
Hey Reef2Reef,
I recently started my first SW tank, a IM NUVO 20 and really enjoy it. Unfortunately that tank has had a disaster due to being delivered a bag of amphipods that was basically pure ammonia water, and only my fire shrimp is the only guy left standing. I’m very sad about my little guys everytime I think about it, but I'm determined to try again since it feels like a bit of a freak incident. Before that tank went, I was already scheming how I could get a larger tank to give the lil’ fellas some more room, so I'm taking this low livestock opportunity to build a better home for them.
The Design Idea:
In short, an AIO 40g peninsula style tank. 40g is the max water I'm able to reasonably maintain, and I really like the look of the peninsula tank with lots of horizontal room for diverse rocks, fish, inverts, and coral. I got a Aqueon 40g breeder from PetCo for $65, internal measurements are 36"L X 17 7/16" W X 15 5/8" H (this is to just under black rim lip). The plan is the build an AIO sump very similar to the fiji cube drop in, except it will actually be made to fit because the fiji cube measurements are over an inch too short on width, which would leave a nasty gap for detritus to collect which is unacceptable to me.
Parts List:
Aqueon 40g Breeder
Jebao DCP-2500 Return Pump (660ghp, adjustable with memory function in case of power outage)
200w heater of some kind
SMATFARM G5 95W Full Spectrum LED Light (may add a second if needed later)
Jebao ELW-3 Powerhead (may add a second if needed)
DIY Parts List:
Overture Black PETG
Black Self Adhesive Vinyl
Aqueon Silicone Sealant
3/16" or 1/4" Black acrylic panel for the AIO (undecided on thickness yet, I'll update what I go with)
AIO "Sump" Volume:
17.4375 (Internal width) X 15.625 (Internal height) = 272.46092"
1gal = 231in3
272.46092" X 5" (depth of AIO chamber) = 1,362.30453" / 231 = 5.8974gl
Or we could do much simpler math and say 36"L = 40gl
40g/(36"/5") = ~5.555gl in a 5" section
Regardless, I think accounting for the air space of where the water level in the AIO section is means the actual water volume in the AIO chamber will be about 5gl. So essentially I'm creating a 5gl sump inside the 40gl breeder.
The alternative is do a 20g long tank converted to a sump underneath, but the added complexity of the external return system and more importantly IMO the added water volume to the system of doing this makes it not appealing to me. I do not have a RODI system and I'm not willing to put one in my house because I have roommates and don’t want to open the can of worms of how that impacts the water bill. So that means buckets from the LFS, and a <40g system reaches my self-imposed max acceptable water change of 25% which would be 2 5g buckets. Easy enough to carry up and down the stairs.
The Weirs:
According to some random info I found on forums and "the king of DIY" on youtube (I can find the video if anyone cares), a weir slot of .25" X .25" flows about 30gph. So .25"W X 1.5" H = 180gph for each weir, my selected return pump is 660 gph max, and I'd like the water to be 1/3 to 1/2 way up my weirs, so I want my weir max flow rate to be somewhere around 1200-1800, but I want to play with this which means my weirs need to be adjustable…
The Walls in the AIO:
I see some AIO chambers use the 'bubble trap' walls where it's basically two walls staggered ~1/4 apart to create a tighter space to… eliminate bubbles I think? I'm not really sure what these do, and they seem like an absolute nightmare to clean if something ever got in there, so I don’t plan on building them. I plan on just a single sheet of plastic for the walls. The primary wall will have an overflow cutout on the top in case the weir gets clogged. The weir section of the wall will just be a cutout in the acrylic and then the weir will be a 3d printed insert. I’m doing this to ease manufacturing and also because it enables me to play with different designs to optimize the flow.
The Construction Plan:
So the basic requirements I have are:
A primary AIO wall of 17 7/16"w X 15 5/8"h
Adjustable weirs
A 5" X 13 5/8" for wall #1 This leave 2"X5" of flow under the wall, a lot of flow, too much maybe? And ~3" from the top of tank to water level. This means the space for a mechanical filter chamber is ~5"W X 5" Deep X 10"H
A 5 " X 12 3/8" for wall #2 This will be bonded 4" from the other side of the aquarium, making the chamber for my return pump/heater 4"W X 5"Deep X 13 1/8" tall.
The middle chamber will therefore be 8" W (depending on material thickness I use) X 5" W X 12.3/8" This should be plenty of space for eventually a drop in protein skimmer, some filter media, or whatever else is needed. Or a super small 2.14gl refugium, probably too small to be worth it. We'll see how it goes.
Visual Aids (Tank rim not modeled and return system not modeled):
Iso
View of the AIO assembled
Dimensioned Drawings of Acrylic Parts
I’m open to feedback on any of this. I’m no professional or expert so totally open to feedback or questions I haven’t thought of.
Also sorry for the word vomit, but I'm also using this as somewhere to have my thought written down to stay organized(ish) lol.
Cheers!
I recently started my first SW tank, a IM NUVO 20 and really enjoy it. Unfortunately that tank has had a disaster due to being delivered a bag of amphipods that was basically pure ammonia water, and only my fire shrimp is the only guy left standing. I’m very sad about my little guys everytime I think about it, but I'm determined to try again since it feels like a bit of a freak incident. Before that tank went, I was already scheming how I could get a larger tank to give the lil’ fellas some more room, so I'm taking this low livestock opportunity to build a better home for them.
The Design Idea:
In short, an AIO 40g peninsula style tank. 40g is the max water I'm able to reasonably maintain, and I really like the look of the peninsula tank with lots of horizontal room for diverse rocks, fish, inverts, and coral. I got a Aqueon 40g breeder from PetCo for $65, internal measurements are 36"L X 17 7/16" W X 15 5/8" H (this is to just under black rim lip). The plan is the build an AIO sump very similar to the fiji cube drop in, except it will actually be made to fit because the fiji cube measurements are over an inch too short on width, which would leave a nasty gap for detritus to collect which is unacceptable to me.
Parts List:
Aqueon 40g Breeder
Jebao DCP-2500 Return Pump (660ghp, adjustable with memory function in case of power outage)
200w heater of some kind
SMATFARM G5 95W Full Spectrum LED Light (may add a second if needed later)
Jebao ELW-3 Powerhead (may add a second if needed)
DIY Parts List:
Overture Black PETG
Black Self Adhesive Vinyl
Aqueon Silicone Sealant
3/16" or 1/4" Black acrylic panel for the AIO (undecided on thickness yet, I'll update what I go with)
AIO "Sump" Volume:
17.4375 (Internal width) X 15.625 (Internal height) = 272.46092"
1gal = 231in3
272.46092" X 5" (depth of AIO chamber) = 1,362.30453" / 231 = 5.8974gl
Or we could do much simpler math and say 36"L = 40gl
40g/(36"/5") = ~5.555gl in a 5" section
Regardless, I think accounting for the air space of where the water level in the AIO section is means the actual water volume in the AIO chamber will be about 5gl. So essentially I'm creating a 5gl sump inside the 40gl breeder.
The alternative is do a 20g long tank converted to a sump underneath, but the added complexity of the external return system and more importantly IMO the added water volume to the system of doing this makes it not appealing to me. I do not have a RODI system and I'm not willing to put one in my house because I have roommates and don’t want to open the can of worms of how that impacts the water bill. So that means buckets from the LFS, and a <40g system reaches my self-imposed max acceptable water change of 25% which would be 2 5g buckets. Easy enough to carry up and down the stairs.
The Weirs:
According to some random info I found on forums and "the king of DIY" on youtube (I can find the video if anyone cares), a weir slot of .25" X .25" flows about 30gph. So .25"W X 1.5" H = 180gph for each weir, my selected return pump is 660 gph max, and I'd like the water to be 1/3 to 1/2 way up my weirs, so I want my weir max flow rate to be somewhere around 1200-1800, but I want to play with this which means my weirs need to be adjustable…
The Walls in the AIO:
I see some AIO chambers use the 'bubble trap' walls where it's basically two walls staggered ~1/4 apart to create a tighter space to… eliminate bubbles I think? I'm not really sure what these do, and they seem like an absolute nightmare to clean if something ever got in there, so I don’t plan on building them. I plan on just a single sheet of plastic for the walls. The primary wall will have an overflow cutout on the top in case the weir gets clogged. The weir section of the wall will just be a cutout in the acrylic and then the weir will be a 3d printed insert. I’m doing this to ease manufacturing and also because it enables me to play with different designs to optimize the flow.
The Construction Plan:
So the basic requirements I have are:
A primary AIO wall of 17 7/16"w X 15 5/8"h
Adjustable weirs
A 5" X 13 5/8" for wall #1 This leave 2"X5" of flow under the wall, a lot of flow, too much maybe? And ~3" from the top of tank to water level. This means the space for a mechanical filter chamber is ~5"W X 5" Deep X 10"H
A 5 " X 12 3/8" for wall #2 This will be bonded 4" from the other side of the aquarium, making the chamber for my return pump/heater 4"W X 5"Deep X 13 1/8" tall.
The middle chamber will therefore be 8" W (depending on material thickness I use) X 5" W X 12.3/8" This should be plenty of space for eventually a drop in protein skimmer, some filter media, or whatever else is needed. Or a super small 2.14gl refugium, probably too small to be worth it. We'll see how it goes.
Visual Aids (Tank rim not modeled and return system not modeled):
Iso
View of the AIO assembled
Dimensioned Drawings of Acrylic Parts
I’m open to feedback on any of this. I’m no professional or expert so totally open to feedback or questions I haven’t thought of.
Also sorry for the word vomit, but I'm also using this as somewhere to have my thought written down to stay organized(ish) lol.
Cheers!
