I've been wanting to have a new bigger experiment setup for my shrimp breeding project.
It's a work in progress but I came up with a plan and wanted to get some input from R2R.
The system is not meant for corals or fish but for my invert (mainly shrimps) breeding projects and the tanks will serve as the broodstock, isolation, and grow-out areas.
Due to its purpose, I've had some specific requirements and wants for the system. There could be more but this is what comes to my mind for the time being.
What I need/want from the system and other thoughts.
1. I need (at least) two separate tanks and a sump. MUST
2. The placement of the tanks must be LOW for easy access (much lower than most typical tank stand). MUST
3. Front or back, at least one long side of the display tank glass must be clear of things (ex. things hanging or sticking out). MUST
4. Wanted to try out cryptic zone. It doesn't matter if it doesn't contribute to the filtration or becomes a detritus sink even.
5. Don't plan on using filter sock but will be using filter floss.
6. Would much prefer to have the return far away from the overflow.
7. Don't really care about it looking good. Practicality matters though.
8. For most parts, I'll have to make do with the stuff they sell locally (South Korea). Ex. aquarium size etc. Custom-made tanks are also available but they are too pricy.
So this is what I've come up with so far.
The T-shaped setup with 2 shallow display tanks and a sump. The entire setup will be located in the centre of a small room, so they can be accessed on all 4 sides OR one side will be close to/against the wall so the access will be from 3 sides.
Each display tank will hold a little less than 120 liters (about 31.7 gallons) of water. The sump water volume hasn't been worked out but the glass tank used for the sump will hold about 110 liters (about 29 gallons) when full so I would assume it would be around 76 liters (about 20 gallons). So the total water volume would be around 316 liters (83.5 gallons).
To have the display tanks low, I couldn't have the sump directly under the tank (not enough vertical space). I tried drawing up plans with a longer, narrower tank as a sump to have parts of it go below the tank but it was too narrow it didn't really work out.
The pipe/hose from the emergency drain leading to the sump and return pipes are not in the picture but they'll be there. I'm new to the software and it was just too much work.
I plan on using durso or stockman stand pipe overflow. I don't know which to go for at the moment. Is there any reason to prefer one over another? I liked the stockman just by the looks of it but it involves more work to make and also worried about things getting stuck in the gap or holes.
Found a typo there with "leveling feed" which is meant to be "leveling feet".
I tried to learn more about the aluminum t slots online but I'm still new to it so I might have to consult with the seller about how I should put them together, especially the area where the sump will be sitting on. The rest of the stand seems pretty straightforward.
The blue line shows how the water will flow in the sump. Drain -> overflows to filter floss -> skimmer -> overflows to cryptic zone -> overflows to fuge or for other uses -> overflows to return. Have not decided whether to use Fuge or ATS yet. The order can be rearranged but seems this seems ok.
The baffles will be glass. One thing I'm still thinking about is how to block lights around the cryptic zone. The colored glass is very expensive and may have chemicals in them so it's a no no. Two things I can think of are 1. use thin black acrylic sheet to go over the glass walls, 2. use the Plastidip spray on one side of the glass (I hear it's reef safe and they sell them here too). I'm not based in the US so Krylon Fusion is not an option.
The plan is to diy acrylic overflow boxes for the standpipes (the green boxes). The tall acrylic overflow tower box covering two sides, siliconed to the glass could also work I guess. Not sure if there will be a reason to prefer one over another but I hear acrylic doesn't stick to the silicone very well.
There will be thin grooves (had issues with the smaller sexy shrimps getting sucked into the overflow before). I just need to think of how thin and how closely together does grooves need to be for the safety of the shrimps and still have a good flow (clogging risks considered).
I've contacted the glass tank seller to confirm that the tank I'm currently looking to buy is not made of tempered glass on all sides (including the bottom) so they can be drilled.
The emergency overflow will be drilled to the side of the tank and there are 2 versions in mind at the moment. I could just have a pvc elbow facing up above the water level (below the tank height of cause) or diy a low profile acrylic box (without the grooves) to do the same thing. Only when the water level rises and reaches the height of the emergency overflow box (or elbow) it will drain. I'm leaning towards the pvc elbow version just because it'd be CHEAPER & easier.
It's not yet all that organised but thank you for reading thus far. I'm sure there are stuff that I missed. I will add more posts when they come to mind. There's so much to think about but I'm taking things slow. I'm also new to a lot of work involved with this like drilling a glass tank or putting T slots together so it's a little scary but I'm willing to give it a shot.
I want to think it through as much as possible before I actually start buying things.
Any inputs, ideas, suggestions, feedbacks and etc are much appreciated!!
It's a work in progress but I came up with a plan and wanted to get some input from R2R.
The system is not meant for corals or fish but for my invert (mainly shrimps) breeding projects and the tanks will serve as the broodstock, isolation, and grow-out areas.
Due to its purpose, I've had some specific requirements and wants for the system. There could be more but this is what comes to my mind for the time being.
What I need/want from the system and other thoughts.
1. I need (at least) two separate tanks and a sump. MUST
2. The placement of the tanks must be LOW for easy access (much lower than most typical tank stand). MUST
3. Front or back, at least one long side of the display tank glass must be clear of things (ex. things hanging or sticking out). MUST
4. Wanted to try out cryptic zone. It doesn't matter if it doesn't contribute to the filtration or becomes a detritus sink even.
5. Don't plan on using filter sock but will be using filter floss.
6. Would much prefer to have the return far away from the overflow.
7. Don't really care about it looking good. Practicality matters though.
8. For most parts, I'll have to make do with the stuff they sell locally (South Korea). Ex. aquarium size etc. Custom-made tanks are also available but they are too pricy.
So this is what I've come up with so far.
The T-shaped setup with 2 shallow display tanks and a sump. The entire setup will be located in the centre of a small room, so they can be accessed on all 4 sides OR one side will be close to/against the wall so the access will be from 3 sides.
Each display tank will hold a little less than 120 liters (about 31.7 gallons) of water. The sump water volume hasn't been worked out but the glass tank used for the sump will hold about 110 liters (about 29 gallons) when full so I would assume it would be around 76 liters (about 20 gallons). So the total water volume would be around 316 liters (83.5 gallons).
To have the display tanks low, I couldn't have the sump directly under the tank (not enough vertical space). I tried drawing up plans with a longer, narrower tank as a sump to have parts of it go below the tank but it was too narrow it didn't really work out.
The pipe/hose from the emergency drain leading to the sump and return pipes are not in the picture but they'll be there. I'm new to the software and it was just too much work.
I plan on using durso or stockman stand pipe overflow. I don't know which to go for at the moment. Is there any reason to prefer one over another? I liked the stockman just by the looks of it but it involves more work to make and also worried about things getting stuck in the gap or holes.
Found a typo there with "leveling feed" which is meant to be "leveling feet".
I tried to learn more about the aluminum t slots online but I'm still new to it so I might have to consult with the seller about how I should put them together, especially the area where the sump will be sitting on. The rest of the stand seems pretty straightforward.
The blue line shows how the water will flow in the sump. Drain -> overflows to filter floss -> skimmer -> overflows to cryptic zone -> overflows to fuge or for other uses -> overflows to return. Have not decided whether to use Fuge or ATS yet. The order can be rearranged but seems this seems ok.
The baffles will be glass. One thing I'm still thinking about is how to block lights around the cryptic zone. The colored glass is very expensive and may have chemicals in them so it's a no no. Two things I can think of are 1. use thin black acrylic sheet to go over the glass walls, 2. use the Plastidip spray on one side of the glass (I hear it's reef safe and they sell them here too). I'm not based in the US so Krylon Fusion is not an option.
The plan is to diy acrylic overflow boxes for the standpipes (the green boxes). The tall acrylic overflow tower box covering two sides, siliconed to the glass could also work I guess. Not sure if there will be a reason to prefer one over another but I hear acrylic doesn't stick to the silicone very well.
There will be thin grooves (had issues with the smaller sexy shrimps getting sucked into the overflow before). I just need to think of how thin and how closely together does grooves need to be for the safety of the shrimps and still have a good flow (clogging risks considered).
I've contacted the glass tank seller to confirm that the tank I'm currently looking to buy is not made of tempered glass on all sides (including the bottom) so they can be drilled.
The emergency overflow will be drilled to the side of the tank and there are 2 versions in mind at the moment. I could just have a pvc elbow facing up above the water level (below the tank height of cause) or diy a low profile acrylic box (without the grooves) to do the same thing. Only when the water level rises and reaches the height of the emergency overflow box (or elbow) it will drain. I'm leaning towards the pvc elbow version just because it'd be CHEAPER & easier.
It's not yet all that organised but thank you for reading thus far. I'm sure there are stuff that I missed. I will add more posts when they come to mind. There's so much to think about but I'm taking things slow. I'm also new to a lot of work involved with this like drilling a glass tank or putting T slots together so it's a little scary but I'm willing to give it a shot.
I want to think it through as much as possible before I actually start buying things.
Any inputs, ideas, suggestions, feedbacks and etc are much appreciated!!
