Blitzkragz' 12ft 375g rimless peninsula with rotary drum filter build

[tgp4274]

wow......
awesome job

 

[vetteguy53081]

Intense work and planning

 

[blitzkragz]

This project has a great vision! Everything looks awesome. What overflow did you end up using? 12 feet looks amazing but I feel like the flow challenges seem daunting without a closed loop or any power heads on the main viewing panels other than that gyre. How is the aquarium progressing at this point?

Progress is slow but steady -- had a few weeks of work stuff but my favorite thing to do when I find the time is working on the system. Most of my time lately has been spent on QT, more on that later.

I ended up with the 20" Synergy Reef Overflow. I have it configured bean animal style. I like it, but there are some modifications I think I am going to make. Namely, the ebb and flow of the gyres causes the water level to raise and lower in the overflow, causing noise in the secondary drain. The solution I think is to add one or two more secondary drain lines to the external box, which the 20" is nice and roomy and has the space for that. With extra secondary drains, my thought is the noise a single one makes when there is a rush of water into the box will be mitigated by additional secondaries.

You ask a great question when it comes to flow. At first, I had an xf350 on each end of the tank. They would go back and forth, but no matter what there was this kind of invisible barrier near the middle of the tank. I would put some thawed mysis in there and watch it move, and water from one side would not make it 12' to the other side.

What I did then was add two more gyres for two on each end (a total of 4 in the tank), and I alternated them in the pattern below. This works great! Water makes a complete circuit across the entire 12' of tank. It is tricky though, I have to start the controller of two of them, wait 3 minutes, then start the other one. I hope to get one of the new Hydros WaveEngines to make it easier to custom control all 4 https://www.coralvue.com/hydros-waveengine-3537

I am convinced I can mill some sort custom plastic baffles for the xf350s so that I can place them at the very top of the water line. Until then, this is about as high as I can get them without drawing a vortex.

Still no fish in the tank, they are all in QT. Hopefully in 2 weeks. But I did call WWC and asked just for some coraline algae. I think they thought I was crazy. But they sent some anyway, and I put some pieces in the tank hoping it will spread hehe.

 

[Antics]

Thanks for the response! A shallow long peninsula tank sounds amazing but I've always been apprehensive because of the flow challenges.

I've always used Vortechs on my personal aquariums so I don't have much personal experience with Gyres. However, I have seen how great a gyre can be at creating flow in a 4 foot tank.

Whenever I thought about solving the flow issue in a long peninsula the only solid idea I've seen was either a closed loop through the bottom or clever routing of return heads through a canopy down the length of the tank. Not really feasible or aesthetically pleasing with a rimless aquarium though.

I'll be sure to follow your build and see how the gyres handle the flow issue. The quality of your build so far suggests your solutions may show some ingenuity!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looking good

 

[crusso1993]

Any updates?

 

[Jon Fishman]

Following. WOW

 

[dantimdad]

I am glad you solved the flow issue but hate that you had to put something on the visible end of the tank.

If I do a peninsula I will do a closed loop in the bottom. Way easier to hide.

 

[Feet4Fish]

I am glad you solved the flow issue but hate that you had to put something on the visible end of the tank.

If I do a peninsula I will do a closed loop in the bottom. Way easier to hide.

I agree. I was dead set with my peninsula to mount nothing on a viewing panel. So I did both a closed loop and a return loop.

 

[blitzkragz]

I am glad you solved the flow issue but hate that you had to put something on the visible end of the tank.

If I do a peninsula I will do a closed loop in the bottom. Way easier to hide.

Recently I put the two on the end vertically, and it is much less obstructive, they kind of almost blend into the black silicone of the corners. But I am going to have to agree with you, I hate it too. I am not afraid to drill the tank. But coming up with a solution that would give equivalent flow to the gyres would take some serious planning.

 

[blitzkragz]

Any updates?

Lots of gadetry going on, I will try to post some updates this weekend! Most of my recent time has been spent on the qt side of things.

 

[dantimdad]

Recently I put the two on the end vertically, and it is much less obstructive, they kind of almost blend into the black silicone of the corners. But I am going to have to agree with you, I hate it too. I am not afraid to drill the tank. But coming up with a solution that would give equivalent flow to the gyres would take some serious planning.

I almost suggested vertical but didn't know if it would work or not. Pic?

 

[Jon Fishman]

I would be terrified to drill it..... you are fearless!

 

[dantimdad]

After about 100 tanks, it doesn't matter, drilling is drilling. You get used to it.

 

[blitzkragz]

I almost suggested vertical but didn't know if it would work or not. Pic?

 

[asting]

Looks great! Is moisture going to be an issue? If you had a massive sump you could drill it from the bottom and plumb up?

 

[dantimdad]

That is much better!

I like it!

 

[hatfielj]

Beautiful set up! But, I gotta say, I do not envy all the glass cleaning you have to keep up with That’s gonna take some serious time to stay on top of.

 

[blitzkragz]

Beautiful set up! But, I gotta say, I do not envy all the glass cleaning you have to keep up with That’s gonna take some serious time to stay on top of.

I had the same thought before taking the plunge! But in practice, it only takes a couple minutes. I have a Tunze Care Strong+ ready at the business end on each side, and sliding them back and forth the entire length is surprisingly quick.

Although this being a dream build, I would totally pull the trigger on a pair of MOAI's if they turn out to actually work as advertised. I would want to know if it is immune to sand scratching the glass when the bot goes low. With Care Magnet, there is no fear of that, I go fast even at the bottom and no sand scratches.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Any updates?

Looks like you are watching them big tanks. . . LOL