10 gallon braceless acrylic with a 600 gal. sump BUILD

[reefkoi]

O.K. I have been planning this build for a few days and its now well underway, we should have corals and water in it within a week.
The Concept: an acrylic 9.3 gallon tank hanging on the wall tied into the 600 gallon reefs filtration system.
The Goal. To keep clams, maybe high quality ricordea together with the only maintainance being cleaning the surface of the tank from algae. no water changes, no temp swings and no calcium additives. I want to view them topdown.

The tank is being built as we speak by Eric Drew in colorado springs (Calvin415)
It is made from 1/2 cell cast acrylic, no top bracing whatsoever.
15x15x12 outside dimensions. no overflow box just a bulkhead overflow.
I want to drill 2 bulks on each back corner and do a squid on them with maybe a small submersible pump pushing around 200-300 gph for a turnover of 20-30x's per hour. Lighting will be provided by a 250 watt D.E. Phoenix 14K pendant suspended above the water by small stainless cable.

I will now put up some renderings eric did on his computer showing the basic ideas. Then followed by some photos of the tank being welded together, then a couple photos of the hole I cut in the wall (dont tell my wife) .

I am building the "stand" out of 1/4" thick steel!
I think it will be strong.
I am heading out the door to go cut and weld the stand right now.
Chris

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this is kind of what the bracket will look like
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[jamynsdad]

This should be interesting

[SugarFox03]

My thoughts exactly....looks pretty interesting. Post more pics when you can.

[GDid]

Right on! Excited to see this one!

-Grant

[reefkoi]

o.k. I got the stand built tonight, its got 1/4" thick side brackets and the main plate is 5/16" hardend steel. I will attach it to the studwall with 6 3/8" bolts, hopefully it will be sturdy.
I am going to paint tomorrow and hopefully install by friday, Eric says we should have the tank on the stand late saturday.
I wonder if 200-300 g.p.h. will be too much? I havent ever built a tank this small so its going to be a learning process.
Chris
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[reefkoi]

what do you guys think about the 250 watt MH? with a tank of on 12" deep. Should I start it 12" above water to be safe? I dont know if its too much, but then again if I do croceas I guess they can use all the light I can give.
I am going to go get wire tomorrow and maybe hang the pendant I'll post some pictures of it, I think it will look good hanging over the tank, hopefully it will be the right light choice

[sir_dudeguy]

all i have to say is that all of us reefers sure come up with some crazy ideas!

[oddiseus]

At first I looked at the sketch up like HUH?? I thought there was a glitch and the base was left out but then I see its a suspended tank. Really cool concept. Cant wait to see the tank on it.
Calvin's work rocks so this should be good.

[reefkoi]

Calvins work is impressive and he has some great ideas, he has really made this build happen, without him I wouldnt have done it! Literally!

O.K. heres a couple pictures Eric took tonight, looks like she's just about ready to go!
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and here it is complete. Just needs routering and the hard part........sanding and polishing, I'm glad I dont have to do that part!
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[syrinx]

I had to laugh when i read the text about heading out the door to weld, and then scrolling down the drawings and seeing the guy there "getting ready to head out the door" I guess! Looks like a fun plan- may as well use the 250 rather than want to upgrade later. You can choose a bulb with lower efficiency or raise the fixture if its more than you need.

[Reet15]

That looks like a fun tank Chris. Where are you going to put it?

[reefkoi]

well its on the wall about 5 feet from the 600, not next to it but around the corner, I really looked at the placement. I didn't want it too close or it wouldn't look right. But it had to be mounted near the sump so the pipes could pass through the wall and hit the sump easily.
When i get the bracket installed I will do a far away shot so you can see where it is in relation to the large tank

[calvin415]

Love the thread Chris, everything looks great (especially those pictures and renderings ) I can't wait to test the shelf/bracket... Figure it will only need to hold about 100lbs (tank and water) so we should be good to go! Tank will be done soon and once it's water tested we'll get it done, I think Saturday evening would be a very good ETA.

[oddiseus]

This question is for Calvin415, Do you cut the acrylic longer than needed, and then route the excess off? If so do you use a bit with the bearing?

[calvin415]

Yes and Yes.

[kase]

this tank is going to be HOT!!....

[LarryW]

this looks really sweet... I can't wait to see it up and running.

[reefkoi]

o.k. I got the bracket painted and installed, drilled 6 - 3/8" bolts into the studs and tightened that all up. The light is hung and working, although I am not used to having an exposed light, I have always had enclosed hoods. It literally lights up the room. So I may have to have eric fab up something to shield it a bit, we'll see once the tank is on there.
I load tested it with 80 lbs which is what it all should weigh, its dead on level. I did install it with about an 1/8" of slope towards the back to compensate for a little bit of sag which worked just great!
Next I need to select a pump, I'm thinking eheim, I want something reliable, are there anyother suggestions for a return pump with around 200-300 gph? the head height would be about 4 feet.

Also The ballast is humming a bit for the quiet room, do you think it would look o.k. to drill a hole in the wall to pass the cord through to the back? it woul have to be a 1" hole to get the plug through, unless I want to re-wire it or maybe there is some kind of bushing the would fit into the 1" hole?

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[murfman]

Chris, I can't beleive you made that mess in your downstairs like that. Your wife is going to have your a$$.

That looks very nice, can't wait to see it in person. Love the sump too!!!!

[reefkoi]

LOL she hasn't gone down there yet :O I hope the tank is in place and running before she sees what's going on, I told here there would be no holes in the wall! well technically its a "slot" not a hole

[murfman]

Originally posted by reefkoi
LOL she hasn't gone down there yet :O I hope the tank is in place and running before she sees what's going on, I told here there would be no holes in the wall! well technically its a "slot" not a hole

LOL I like the way you think, do you give lessons?

[reefkoi]

I think it is something you are born with. Sometimes its a curse maybe, but it can be fun

[calvin415]

Chris I love it! Just perfect! I just got home and going to get changed so I can finish up your tank tonight. I'll then water test it so it will be ready tomorrow night. Of course you'll be out of town but we'll have it finished w/ water in 2 hours on Saturday.

This has to be some kind of record, from concept to filled with corals in less than 7 days!!!

[reefkoi]

yeah I know pretty cool huh?
I will try to get a pump tomorrow so we can maybe get it all plumbed saturday afternoon!
Are you going to bring that sqwid with you? I'd like to buy it off you or try it anyway.
All my bright rics are going in as soon as we get it filled and running. And I have a really nice crocea to start with. I'll add more later, I think I know of someone that may want to unload a few nice croceas

[ILoveLlamas]

Oooh! That is really really cool! I can't wait to see it with water!