Making custom improvements to your tank: Have you made any modifications to your aquarium that have proven to be successful?

[Peace River]

Making custom improvements to your tank: Have you made any modifications to your aquarium that have proven to be successful?

Whether it is drilling holes, adding a lid, installing an overflow box, or something else, there are sometimes reasons to make modifications to your aquarium. Some reef keepers even order custom made tanks so that the modifications can be included in the design of the tank. We don’t need to talk about the failed modifications, but have you made any modifications to your aquarium that have proven to be successful? Please share your experiences, pictures, and any tips that others may find useful.

Photo by @redfishbluefish


This QOTD is sponsored by: www.tidalgardens.com

“The goal of Tidal Gardens is to offer the highest quality corals to those seeking a piece of that world without destroying it. We hope to instill a deep appreciation for the natural reefs and help develop a self sustaining hobby that no longer requires the collection of fish and corals.”

 

[Paul B]

Last week I did a temporary, custom modification to my very old DIY skimmer. For some reason my skimmer was making thick foam which wouldn't go down the tube down to the drain so I installed this modification until whatever is in the water is exhausted.

It goes into a 5 gallon bucket.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Yup. I drilled three holes total for a return and overflow. I made sure to research the tank on the manufacturer's website (marineland) before drilling to ensure no tempered glass on the back panel. When drilling, I used plumbers putty around the drilled area, and kept fresh water lubricating and cooling the diamond hole saw.

The technique I used to start it was to angle the saw slightly to start the cut, then go flush to get a clean, straight cut. It was my first and only time doing it, but patience prevailed. It took about 15 minutes per hole on a standard 75 gallon aquarium.

 

[JayM]

Nothing extravagant, but I was battling 2° - 3° daily temp swings. Added fans in the sump and it worked ok, but evaporation went through the roof. I finally ditched the lid on the D/T (of course that meant I had to buy a new light) and replaced with egg crate and ditched the fans. Evaporation significantly reduced and now the temp swing is less than 1° daily.

 

[therootcause]

Dang right, Waterbox 180.5. External sump and frag tank.

 

[Troylee]

I don’t leave anything alone… haha! Just search my name or the diy forum and you’ll see anything you can imagine..

 

[zheka757]

Put a/c unit in fish room, now water is no longer in 82, like use to. ....running metal halides is expensive, But rewarding

 

[fr3n0z]

Internal overflow, the sump, smart skimmer waster collector, automatic filter roller for 4" sock hole.

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

I am currently designing a ****** mesh hood for my tank to prevent jumpers… should be done by the weekend. Pics when I get home.

 

[randomfishdude]

I do monthly modifications. Which consists of puting superglue or silicone in the holes that form when my tank decides to use its auto water change system. Also known as a "leak".

 

[Narideth]

I DIY'd the entire filter chamber build and install for my pico tank. I am super proud that it works!

Today I'm going to cobble together a small rock island with rubble and epoxy putty for plugs so I can start my acan garden.

 

[Dburr1014]

The internal overflow box of many tanks only have two holes. Use one for a full siphon and the other one for an emergency and throw your return over the back of the tank. This makes a tank much safer and more flow.

 

[Projects with Sam]

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[aaron186]

I customized my Reefer 425 xl with custom plumbing to run dual returns and have one of them run to a UV sterilizer. I’m pretty happy with it. Tuning dual returns is a bit more challenging than a single one but I like the redundancy.

 

[blaxsun]

I manually hacked and slashed my Red Sea sump to accommodate the new ReefMat. This was over a year ago but every now and then I'll still find a tiny strip of black silicone... 15 minutes it was not!

 

[Brucealmighty]

Well seeing as I am the only one as of yet who picked other I'll explain a little, I made a hood for my tank the question was kinda directed to the tank itself so I wasn't sure and panicked

 

[Dburr1014]

Well seeing as I am the only one as of yet who picked other I'll explain a little, I made a hood for my tank the question was kinda directed to the tank itself so I wasn't sure and panicked

You can change your vote if needed.

 

[legalizedreefer]

I manually hacked and slashed my Red Sea sump to accommodate the new ReefMat. This was over a year ago but every now and then I'll still find a tiny strip of black silicone... 15 minutes it was not!

Same story here. Although mine included many sleepless nights wondering if the little strip of black silicone was actually from me nicking the display seams with an algae scraper

 

[Bruttall]

Old Oceanic tank bought second hand, 96x24x31 inches. I re-built the overflows using 6 inch PVC with weirs cut in the stop, 1 1/2-inch PVC drains. I have an 18-inch standpipe in one overflow running full siphon by way of a ball valve, other overflow is a 27-inch-tall standpipe emergency overflow that barely trickles. All the plumbing is custom made by me. The tank has 4 holes in it, 3 in the bottom, one on back upper corner for return. I enlarged 2 of the holes in the bottom to accommodate the 1 1/2 bulkheads. One of the bottom holes I use for a Tank Drain, makes water changes really easy since my reservoir is plumbed into my sump, I open 2 ball valves and 60 gal water change takes place. Also since it's an 8 foot tank, I built a wall in front of it.

 

[Someshmuk]

I've had to open up some of the holes the pipes go through so i could push/return more water through my display but that was before the tank was even setup.

But what counts as a modification? If we include equipment...

1. Upgrading my protein skimmer
1. Setting up a dedicated, isolated, and cheap temperature controller because an outlet relay blew out trying to control a heater on my apex jr and I have no plans on doing that again.
2. Replacing my programmable alk/cal dosing with a calcium reactor
3. Plumbing and setting up an ATS

So far... I'll 100% be doing the same things the next time I upgrade/change tanks.