thoughts on a new tank

[jamielind]

i was thinking about a 4'x 8' tank 24inches tall. i really hate the look of powerheads and dont like the power use of return pumps and closed loops. so would it work to put a black piece of acrylic 1 foot from back wall( making 2 tanks 3'x8' and one behind it 1'X8') using this as sump for skimmer and equipment. then drill holes for maximod like pumps in the black wall mounting them tight so they are intaking from sump area then blowing it out to main tank. maybe even having black wall a 1/2 inch shorter than rest of tank to help surface skimming. not going to do this anytime soon just wondering how it would work.

[DouglasTiede]

tag

[flfirefighter13]

Sure anything can be done, take a look at how the aquapods work and it will give you a good idea, I believe its red seas that makes the cube I recently saw with a skimmer in the back built in. I really dont think you will need a full 1'x8' section to do it, and remeber almost any skimemr is going to stick up above the 24" mark so it will be stuck out the top of the tank. You will also ned quite a few maximods to get the flow you would get from a return pump in that size of tank. Do the math you may be better off going with a Reeflo pump of some sort, many of them have a pretty low power draw comapred to the flow you will get.
Another thing to keep in mind is sealing the holes that the maximods will take to get the "sump/skimmer" section to allow surface skimming of the display tank. Im not sure maximods would ba able to be sealed well enough but maybe someone who has built a wavebox out of them will have a better idea.
Run this question by the guys in the DIY forum if you dont get a few opinions here, you will probally get a few more responses there. I cnat remeber if it was in the DIY forum or the Nano forum but someone recently built a nano with a similar method, Ill keep my eyes open for that post.

[flfirefighter13]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=954718

Here is the build I was thinking about, Its a nano but should work on roughly the same idea.

[elegance coral]

The 1'x8' is great. Have you thought of reversing the pumps? If you had the pumps flowing from the tank(w/good screening over the inlet) to the refuge, then the refuge overflowing into the tank the little criters would servive the trip into the tank. If you cut little slits allong the top of the acrylic on one end and the pumps on the other you would have good flow through the refuge. I like your idea. All your lights could be housed in the same hood. You could get by with much smaller pumps. You would have little or no plumbing. The only possible drawback I can see is that you would have to have access to the back of the tank for maintenance. Sweet idea! I may have to steal it for my next tank build.

[jamielind]

i was also wondering if it would be to much back pressure for a prop type pump to get the surface skimming effect. maybe just making a external type overflow in the sump area directly connected to a skimmer and letting the skimmer pump do the work. then just making slits in the background for water intake. if the maximods pump as much as i hear they do i dont think a external type pump could even come close as far as water movement and price. ive heard up to 2000 gph out of a maximod. but lets just say 1000 u could run 6 of them for the same power draw as 1 dart. and get 6000 gph of movement compared to 3600(w/no head loss) for about they same price assuming u did the mods yourself. then again if they really get 2000 gph it would be 12000 gph for the same watt draw and price. this would work best on an in wall setup(i was thinking 2feet in wall 2 feet out). elegance i think the prop style pumps are easier on the critters too.

[elegance coral]

I like the splitting the tank in 1/2 idea. You would be able to support a much larger bio load. The pumps are going to take some experimenting to get the flow you want. You can't relly go wrong here. I agree that the prop pumps probably are easier on the critters.

[malintner]

I like the idea. It is very similar to the aquapod design, which works. Give some consideration to water changes. Your sump/fuge area should be large enough that water changes only affect that area of the setup. It just makes for happier critters in the display. Also, consider that the volume running through the sump/fuge should be pretty darn slow. Consider a separate closed loop system drawing from the display area. You could hide the pump(s) in the sump area, but the water needs to draw from the display.

[flfirefighter13]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9749789#post9749789 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by malintner
I like the idea. It is very similar to the aquapod design, which works. Give some consideration to water changes. Your sump/fuge area should be large enough that water changes only affect that area of the setup. It just makes for happier critters in the display. Also, consider that the volume running through the sump/fuge should be pretty darn slow. Consider a separate closed loop system drawing from the display area. You could hide the pump(s) in the sump area, but the water needs to draw from the display.

Good point, also consider that if you build it right you could have a wavemaker effect by building pump into a section that is filled off the tank and when the pump turns on it gets pushed into the tank quickly. Do some searching for DIY wavemakers and you will see some good designs that could be easily put into the acrylic back wall and give good flow.

[flfirefighter13]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1007362

heres the wavebox build I was thinking.