New Member - getting back into the waters. Lots of questions!

[Steve Burton]

Glass to glass:
29-5/16" width
11-1/2" depth

Bottom glass to black frame:
17-3/4" height

Just be aware that the added height of the 29 over the 20L wil give you less room in the cabinet if it is going underneath unless you go with a higher than normal stand. And I'll tell you that I made the baffles in mine too high, if I did it again I'd be sure to make the highest about 3 or 4" below the top to reduce salt creep.

 

[ZapataInc]

So here is a quick CAD draw up before i drew it up in 3D in Solidworks. Looks like a refugium is not likely with this tank.



The red indicates baffles and the arrows indicate water flow. If you see any discrepancies let me know.

 

[ZapataInc]

The tallest baffles are 15" but can be any height. And they are 4" filter socks.

 

[bzb]

Just be aware that the added height of the 29 over the 20L wil give you less room in the cabinet if it is going underneath unless you go with a higher than normal stand. And I'll tell you that I made the baffles in mine too high, if I did it again I'd be sure to make the highest about 3 or 4" below the top to reduce salt creep.

Yup, we're good. It's a custom stand that's 36" high. I just picked up the 1/4" BB to skin it, then will work on the doors this weekend (hopefully). Crazy enough, the 29G fits exactly between the studs on the sides, but those will be covered. The legs are 1/4" too short for me to get it in sideways, so it'll go into the top before I put the 90G on. It won't be fun getting the tank back out if I need to... should I consider that?

So here is a quick CAD draw up before i drew it up in 3D in Solidworks. Looks like a refugium is not likely with this tank.

The red indicates baffles and the arrows indicate water flow. If you see any discrepancies let me know.

Nice quick work! I did it in Illustrator, so wrong tool but I think I came up with the same result haha!

4" smaller footprint on the other skimmer isn't going to give me any further room for a fuge, so I guess I'm going sump only on this go-round. Not a dealbreaker for me. What would the slots look like on each divider/baffle?

 

[bzb]

Here's stand progress with the new 29 inside.

 

[ZapataInc]

Here's stand progress with the new 29 inside.

I'm going build my stand for my new 90g this weekend.

 

[ZapataInc]

Yup, we're good. It's a custom stand that's 36" high. I just picked up the 1/4" BB to skin it, then will work on the doors this weekend (hopefully). Crazy enough, the 29G fits exactly between the studs on the sides, but those will be covered. The legs are 1/4" too short for me to get it in sideways, so it'll go into the top before I put the 90G on. It won't be fun getting the tank back out if I need to... should I consider that?



Nice quick work! I did it in Illustrator, so wrong tool but I think I came up with the same result haha!

4" smaller footprint on the other skimmer isn't going to give me any further room for a fuge, so I guess I'm going sump only on this go-round. Not a dealbreaker for me. What would the slots look like on each divider/baffle?

I was going to "reverse engineer" this baffle system.

https://www.exoticmarinesystems.com/

 

[bzb]

That looks like a solid design! Let me know

For my stand, I slightly modified the "Rocket" design from reefcentral, using 1.5x1.5 bracing on the sides instead of a full 2x4. Ripped the top and bottom at 3.25" then again at 3" to get them flat and trim off those rounded edges of the 2x4 stock.

It's skinned in 1/4" Baltic Birch ply from Suwanee Lumber. Everything will be painted white.

I'm just doing shaker-style doors for the front, so there will be four of them to mimic our built-in cabinetry throughout the house. They're only going to be 24" tall, so I'll glue faux drawer fronts above each door to make it look finished. Trim TBD at this time, but using standard corner mould for the edges to cover the plywood ends.

 

[ZapataInc]

That looks like a solid design! Let me know

For my stand, I slightly modified the "Rocket" design from reefcentral, using 1.5x1.5 bracing on the sides instead of a full 2x4. Ripped the top and bottom at 3.25" then again at 3" to get them flat and trim off those rounded edges of the 2x4 stock.

It's skinned in 1/4" Baltic Birch ply from Suwanee Lumber. Everything will be painted white.

I'm just doing shaker-style doors for the front, so there will be four of them to mimic our built-in cabinetry throughout the house. They're only going to be 24" tall, so I'll glue faux drawer fronts above each door to make it look finished. Trim TBD at this time, but using standard corner mould for the edges to cover the plywood ends.

I've built something like a stand before... It was a laundry basket holder with doors that came out on a piano hinge.
So the stand will be easy. And watching some of King of DIY videos on YouTube I'm going to go with what he does for his stands.

 

[bzb]

That looks great, nice work!

 

[ZapataInc]

Ill just have to add a few pieces for the support when I build the stand of my new tank.

 

[Doberman13]

Great work on the stand. Honestly I think a small refugium is better than none. I'm going to be putting one in my 22g build's sump and it's not much smaller than your sump. It has plenty of room for a large skimmer plus a filter sock. I haven't set up the 'fuge' yet but after running a small one in a HOB I'm sure it'll work
Edit: you can see the design in my thread

 

[bzb]

I'll figure out the fuge later... plus the light will bleed between the doors and I'm not sure I want that, anyway.

I'm liking the sump design @ZapataInc but stupid question: shouldn't the skimmer be placed before the filter socks?

 

[bzb]

Screenshot from the video:

 

[ZapataInc]

That middle section is the skimmer chamber on that picture. The movable baffle will help you determine the water height for your skimmer.

 

[ActiveAngel]

shouldn't the skimmer be placed before the filter socks?

Good question, and this is one of the few that has a simple answer. (skimmer after the socks)

The filter socks should essentially always be the first stage and your sump. They will remove large particles from the water first. Then, your skimmer will help to collect the smaller and dissolved particles.

 

[ZapataInc]

Good question, and this is one of the few that has a simple answer.

The filter socks should essentially always be the first stage and your sump. They will remove large particles from the water first. Then, your skimmer will help to collect the smaller and dissolved particles.

I meant to write that too. lol

 

[bzb]

Makes total sense. The filter sock thing is a new one to me! Are they ever empty? I could swear photos I've seen of those setups there's always some sort of media in them. Or you place whatever media you want in them at any given time?

That middle section is the skimmer chamber on that picture. The movable baffle will help you determine the water height for your skimmer.

That's another spot where I was confused on the video. How does the baffle move in that design?

I'm almost thinking I want to go with the smaller skimmer just so I can have a larger return pump area. I can certainly add an ATO... but probably would want to avoid float valve. Is there something newer to trigger a valve or pump?

 

[ActiveAngel]

Makes total sense. The filter sock thing is a new one to me! Are they ever empty? I could swear photos I've seen of those setups there's always some sort of media in them. Or you place whatever media you want in them at any given time?



That's another spot where I was confused on the video. How does the baffle move in that design?

I'm almost thinking I want to go with the smaller skimmer just so I can have a larger return pump area. I can certainly add an ATO... but probably would want to avoid float valve. Is there something newer to trigger a valve or pump?

Generally, they are empty. Filled socks is more abnormal, but it happens.

Float valves aren’t too bad. I’ll dive in later.

 

[ZapataInc]

Makes total sense. The filter sock thing is a new one to me! Are they ever empty? I could swear photos I've seen of those setups there's always some sort of media in them. Or you place whatever media you want in them at any given time?



That's another spot where I was confused on the video. How does the baffle move in that design?

I'm almost thinking I want to go with the smaller skimmer just so I can have a larger return pump area. I can certainly add an ATO... but probably would want to avoid float valve. Is there something newer to trigger a valve or pump?

The filter socks that ive seen and use fill with water but the large particulate matter gets trapped on and in the sock as the water passes through. The socks will "clog" so its harder for water to pass through and will overflow. Thats when I change out my filter sock with a clean one. Right now for my AIO i have two. So when i take out the dirty one i go a head and clean it out of the debris and let it dry until I need to change it out again. Some people have many more socks than 2 and just wait until they have enough to fill a washing machine and do a wash cycle with bleach but with no detergent. This design uses 4" filter socks. For your setup it would use 2 socks.

The movable baffle is able to move because it has a slot where a screw will go through and you tighten the screw where you want the baffle height to be. So the head of the thumb screw and stationary baffle would sandwitch the movable baffle. I looked up some screws that i would get from amazon for this setup.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PVP4FQ...colid=5GOAZA3OVN8L&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I wouldnt use the metal piece. The permanent baffle that the moveable baffle attaches to would be tapped for the thumb screw.

This is what i use for my ATO.

https://www.amazon.com/XP-Aqua-Dual...rds=smart+ato&qid=1565804671&s=gateway&sr=8-4

I have a 5 gallon bucket sitting next to my stand with the pump in it. It has duel sensors one for level then the second one is a fail safe so if the water rises above that then it shuts off. Also it has another fail safe in that it remembers how long the first fill was and if following fills last longer than that it shuts off. It also has audible alarms.