Stand and Sump Plan (pictures)

[jc8745]

Ok, so there most likely has been 100's of stand and sump plans posted at various times. So here's mine. I'm still in the paper stages (drawing things up) so i'm looking for lots of feed back so i can possibly avoid complications.

Real quick what i have.
55g reef tank, with sump and wet dry system (softies). (1 1/2 yr)
220g SA Cichlid Tank, with canisters and hob's. (1 yr)
150g Midas Breeding tank with canister and hob's. (3 yr)
55g (qty 2) spare (used) tanks sitting in garage

Here is the deal, the 150g is 48x24x30. It has a stand that came with it. What i want is to turn this into a reef tank and start collecting sps and some lps corals. I will use one of the spare 55g's for the sump. I also want to eventually setup a frag tank, so that needs to be in the plan.

Problem with the current stand is that a 55g wont fit under it. So building a new one is part of the plan too.

Things to consider, 150g is from petsmart, and i dont beleive that it can be drilled. I have a freind that owns a wood shop, so i will only have wood cost for the new stand. I cant think of anything else right off the bat.

So here it is, my first drafts of things, fire away.

My Fish Room
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/jc8745/Fish/JCFishRoomPlanDec2007.jpg

System Plan
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/jc8745/Fish/JCReefSystemLayout.jpg

Sump Plan
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/jc8745/Fish/JCSumpLayout.jpg

Tank Stand Front View
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/jc8745/Fish/JCTankStandFrontView.jpg

Tank Stand Side View
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/jc8745/Fish/JCTankStandSideView.jpg

[EWC88]

Looks like a good set-up/ fish room to me...can't wait to see this build and when its all up and running

[jc8745]

I have a mag 12 running a diy canister on the 150 right now.

I am hoping i can use it for the return out of the sump.
I'm thinking i will use a cpr cs100 over flow.

I will use 1" pvc on the drain lines, and 3/4" pvc on the returns.

Does all this sound about right so far ?

[hebygb]

Nice drawings and layout... anxious to see the build and the working system.

My personal preference is a U-tube overflow... The debate will go on forever, but I will gladly report that I have never had a failure with a U-tube in 2 years. I have used 2 different brands on two different tanks (Eshoppes and Lifereef), no noise, no issues, at all. My problem with CPR brand is that you have to use an aqualifter to keep it working in the case of a power outage. Yikes... one more variable for a failure. I am not bashing CPR as a company... I own several of their products.

[miwoodar]

Is the 150 tempered? I would be surprised if it is. You can call the manufacturer for advice or give it the polarized lense test. You can easily tell if a piece of glass has been tempered or not by using 2 polar lenses (ie. a camera polar lens and a polarized lens from a pair of cheap sunglasses). I paraphrased this from another site - 'Place a lens on each side of the glass and rotate one while looking through it. If the glass is tempered you will notice a distinctive pattern that shows as you rotate the lens that was formed when the glass was tempered. If it isn't tempered, it will just look clear. Try it out on an automobile window that is marked as safety glass to see what the pattern is like that you are looking for.'

If not, you can buy a THK bit (mine was $13 after shipping) and drill it for bulkheads and it will be roughly the same price as an overflow for a single tank. If you're drilling a bunch of tanks and saving yourself multiple U-tube overflows, it will probably end up costing less.

[jc8745]

One of the local fish stores told me that the 48x30x24 tanks from petsmart are tempered.

I will buy some cheap sun glasses and do this test,after i get the new stand built.

I will then break down the tank as is, and move it to the garage so i can do all the plumbing out there, once i get things the way i want it and not leaking, i will move everything into the fishroom.

[jc8745]

I met with the cabinet maker / wood shop owner today.

We are starting our list of materials. Depending on cost, production may start the first of the year.

[Otto2]

I dont know if fax machines are good pumps to use.

[jc8745]

"I dont know if fax machines are good pumps to use"

Caught that did you lol
That's the closest thing i could find in visio that looked remotely like a pump when scaled down. I looked all over trying to find visio templates for aquarium stuff.