My DIY AIO tank!

[Uzair Aiman]

Hello reefers! Im new to this hobby and Im thinking up of making a DIY AIO tank! Ill be attaching the design below and Id ask for your suggestions and comments. All dimensions and equipment I want to use will be listed also

PARAMETERS
Glass - 8mm thick (the whole exterior build)
Acrylic - 6mm thick (For partition and baffles)

DIMENSIONS
Glass:
Exterior - (516x636x358)mm
Interior display - (500x500x350)mm

Acrylic:
Interior back compartment - (120x500x350)mm
Baffle length - 300mm
The return pump hole will be designed soon as Im not sure of what size pipe and exit joint I will use (any recommendations? I cant seem to find the exit valve(?) and how to install it)

EQUIPMENT PLAN TO USE
First compartment:
Filter floss
Carbon
GFO (Any recommendations? cause I never used GFO before)
Bio media (maybe put into the second compartment)

Second compartment:
A Bubble Magus QQ protein skimmer (with these dimensions will it fit? cause it says the width is 120mm, will it exactly fit in the second compartment?)

Third compartment:
Sobo return pump (1200LPH)


Any comments and suggestions is welcomed! I need help to ensure that my design is enough to use my equipments
Please ask any questions if you do have any!

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

Looks like a good plan to me. I always use bulk reef supply for my dry goods, including GFO when I used it. I personally wouldn't waste sump space on bio media. There should be enough surface area in the display tank to reduce or eliminate any benefit of bio media.

Where are you going to put a heater? My other suggestion would be to add an auto top off of some kind. The water level of the return pump chamber is going to fluctuate a lot. All of the evaporation of the tank is going to change the water level in that last chamber only. I would guess you will have to add water every 2-3 days minimum or the evaporation will lower the water level enough to run your return pump dry. An auto top off system will reduce the amount of times you have to add water to the tank. Even a 1 liter bottle slowing dripping water into the tank is better than nothing.

 

[Uzair Aiman]

Looks like a good plan to me. I always use bulk reef supply for my dry goods, including GFO when I used it. I personally wouldn't waste sump space on bio media. There should be enough surface area in the display tank to reduce or eliminate any benefit of bio media.

Where are you going to put a heater? My other suggestion would be to add an auto top off of some kind. The water level of the return pump chamber is going to fluctuate a lot. All of the evaporation of the tank is going to change the water level in that last chamber only. I would guess you will have to add water every 2-3 days minimum or the evaporation will lower the water level enough to run your return pump dry. An auto top off system will reduce the amount of times you have to add water to the tank. Even a 1 liter bottle slowing dripping water into the tank is better than nothing.

I found that my LFS said that I dont need a heater cause I live in Malaysia and the temperatures here are quite high. getting BRS s equipment will be a burden to me cause I dont think it would ship here. How do I know my tank would be sufficient enough so that I dont need any biomedia? any way I could figure it out? And Ill consider the auto top off then. I dont mind not having one cause having one really will affect my budget. Im quite tight on cash cause Im just a student haha. But anyways thanks for the reply!!

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

The only purpose for biomedia is to give the bacteria that create the nitrogen cycle in fish tanks a place to live and grow.

There is no consensus on how much media/rock/surface area is required for biological filtration. However, in normal circumstances, you almost never see anyone complaining they can't control ammonia or nitrite. The most common problem is high nitrate and phosphate. Neither of those can be effectively removed with increased surface area.

In my quarantine tank I have ~1/2 liter of cycled rocks that will keep a fish or two just fine for as long as I want to quarantine them. I also keep a ball of cheato algae that consumes nitrate and phosphate as well as give the fish a safe hiding place.

You'll also notice the sump on the right only has 1 rock in it, and no other biological media. That rock is so I can start another quarantine tank or give it away as a cycled live rock.

My tank is pretty low on rock in general and it's been working for me 3+ years and counting. In my opinion, all biomedia is a waste of money.

 

[Uzair Aiman]

The only purpose for biomedia is to give the bacteria that create the nitrogen cycle in fish tanks a place to live and grow.

There is no consensus on how much media/rock/surface area is required for biological filtration. However, in normal circumstances, you almost never see anyone complaining they can't control ammonia or nitrite. The most common problem is high nitrate and phosphate. Neither of those can be effectively removed with increased surface area.

In my quarantine tank I have ~1/2 liter of cycled rocks that will keep a fish or two just fine for as long as I want to quarantine them. I also keep a ball of cheato algae that consumes nitrate and phosphate as well as give the fish a safe hiding place.

You'll also notice the sump on the right only has 1 rock in it, and no other biological media. That rock is so I can start another quarantine tank or give it away as a cycled live rock.

My tank is pretty low on rock in general and it's been working for me 3+ years and counting. In my opinion, all biomedia is a waste of money.

dang, I aspire to have a tank like you, giving me goosebumps ahha. thanks for the info! but having too much biological media wouldnt be a problem right? Just trying to be safe here cause I really dont wanna ruin my tank so I think Id still add some bio media at the back

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

but having too much biological media wouldnt be a problem right?

As long as the media doesn’t become a trap for detritus or some other kind of waste that needs to be cleaned/removed, then bio media will not harm the tank.