Fellow Reefers, lend me your minds!
I have decided to embark on a rather unconventional mission, though I have some doubts as to how successful such a system will be. As such, I thought it wise to consult the community for additional ideas.
The primary goal for this build is to create a nano reef system without any visible plumbing in the display. Placing plumbing in the bottom of the tank isn't a new idea, but creating a system with a fully closed loop which includes a refugium/frag tank hasn't been done as far as my research shows. If anyone can find research on a similar build, I would love to see it. I would then epoxy rock rubble around the plumbing. Both 45 returns will be heated and flattened to spread out the flow to the width of the tank as well as being disguised with rock rubble. Overall, I think the display portion of the build to be the most straight forward and should look nice when complete.
As for the rest of the system, I started with a simple "plumbing only" design with ports for reactors (media, algae, additional volume, calcium reactor). This design seems the most reasonable as it mimics a closed loop system commonly used in large aquaria and it would allow maximum flexibility for components. I also chose to utilize two pumps so I could vary the flow from one side of the tank to the other.
And with the potential equipment and reservoirs. From left to right (top to bottom): Custom Nanobox Fixture (ships on Monday), GHL system, ATO and dosing reservoirs, 2.5lbs CO2 tank, aquamaxx reactor, aquamaxx nano calcium reactor, Pax Bellum N18 algae reactor, and dual chamber auto water change reservoir.
After a lot of thought and messing around, I decided to do something a little different and eliminate as much plumbing as possible. Same design for the display, but a little different below.
This design utilizes a sealed sump design to keep with the closed loop and reduces the number of connections substantially, reducing the risk of a leak. Yes, it's a little unorthodox, but I don't see any reason this won't work. I haven't added the additional equipment yet as I wanted as much input before putting all that work into the design.
I'm open to suggestions/ideas!
I have decided to embark on a rather unconventional mission, though I have some doubts as to how successful such a system will be. As such, I thought it wise to consult the community for additional ideas.
The primary goal for this build is to create a nano reef system without any visible plumbing in the display. Placing plumbing in the bottom of the tank isn't a new idea, but creating a system with a fully closed loop which includes a refugium/frag tank hasn't been done as far as my research shows. If anyone can find research on a similar build, I would love to see it. I would then epoxy rock rubble around the plumbing. Both 45 returns will be heated and flattened to spread out the flow to the width of the tank as well as being disguised with rock rubble. Overall, I think the display portion of the build to be the most straight forward and should look nice when complete.
As for the rest of the system, I started with a simple "plumbing only" design with ports for reactors (media, algae, additional volume, calcium reactor). This design seems the most reasonable as it mimics a closed loop system commonly used in large aquaria and it would allow maximum flexibility for components. I also chose to utilize two pumps so I could vary the flow from one side of the tank to the other.
And with the potential equipment and reservoirs. From left to right (top to bottom): Custom Nanobox Fixture (ships on Monday), GHL system, ATO and dosing reservoirs, 2.5lbs CO2 tank, aquamaxx reactor, aquamaxx nano calcium reactor, Pax Bellum N18 algae reactor, and dual chamber auto water change reservoir.
After a lot of thought and messing around, I decided to do something a little different and eliminate as much plumbing as possible. Same design for the display, but a little different below.
This design utilizes a sealed sump design to keep with the closed loop and reduces the number of connections substantially, reducing the risk of a leak. Yes, it's a little unorthodox, but I don't see any reason this won't work. I haven't added the additional equipment yet as I wanted as much input before putting all that work into the design.
I'm open to suggestions/ideas!