Diy 20l aio

[CrazyZoa]

So after much consideration I have decide on a 20L AIO verses the 10G AIO. I figured for not a whole lot more effort on the build I could double the tank size. I drew up the AIO fuge' wall at work and CNC machined it out yesterday afternoon. The chamber dividers are tongue and groove and not just butt joints. I made it 3 chambers after a couple other members thought that it would work better. With the fuge' wall siliconed into the tank it still leaves me with 25" of display tank length. I am going to make up a drop in media basket for the overflow chamber for filter floss and use the center chamber for growing Chaeto. Pump will be a MJ900 to start with. On order is an AquaStyles 24 LED dimmable DIY kit with a 7.5" wide heatsink vs the stock part.. My plan is to make a custom splash shield and cover for it.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/20LFuge2.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/20LFuge1.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/20LTop.jpg

[mpongrac]

Are you planning on having the sump area towards the back of the tank or the side?

[CrazyZoa]

With a little luck and some spare time I hope to have it up and cycling within a week. I got the fuge wall siliconed into the tank over the weekend. Today I made up a one piece end wrap to go around the end of the tank to cover the fuge and it's inner workings. I also filled it with water for a leak test/flow test. All seems like a go so far.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/Water_Flow_Full.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/Water_flow.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/End_Wrap.jpg

[CrazyZoa]

Are you planning on having the sump area towards the back of the tank or the side?

On this build I am mounting the fuge at the end of the tank. My other design was to be mounted on the back wall in the center though.

[CrazyZoa]

I made the cover for the fuge' today before I left work. It really adds a lot to the overall look of the tank. Now I just need to come up with an underwater light for Chaeto!

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/Covers_Off.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/With_Cover.jpg

[reefscape15]

nice! I really like the covers for the sump section. wondering about light for a fuge section though if you plan to go that route???

[lauremf2002]

lol, I just finished the exact same setup only I put the pump in the middle section and have overflows on either side of it with a fuge on one side and a drop in media basket on the other. I was also planning on making a cover for my sump and using a little suction cup underwater LED for the chaeto. Here is a link to my thread if you want to see it
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2132962

[prjct92eh2]

subscribed! probably going to do this with my spare 20L, thought i'm sure it won't be as pretty since I lack access to a CNC machine. Any reason you chose for flow to go under the wall next to the pump instead of over?

[CrazyZoa]

My package from AquaStyles showed up on Friday. I bought the 24 LED dimmable kit. I was able to get the LED's mounted and the 10K whites powered last night. I spent more time figuring out spacing than I did cutting the wire and soldering them up. I mocked the driver and pot up so I could at least power them up. All I can say is they seem to do the trick!!!! I am thinking about options to be able to unplug the completed fixture from the power cords if needed. I was playing with the idea of putting the two drivers, pots and a cooling fan in an enclosure and running the 2 power cables via USB cables up to the fixture. I don't know if it really makes any sense to be able to unplug them from the fixture though. Maybe I am just over thinking this thing. I would like to have this tank filled and cycling by Thursday.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/LED_Openbox.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/LED_Star.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/LED_Heatsink.jpg

[CrazyZoa]

Kate and I gathered up sand and a couple pieces of rock yesterday and last night filled the tank. She is so excited over it it's not even funny. She's only 10 yrs old and wants to know all of the proper names for the corals and what we need to feed them etc. It's awesome!

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/Wired_LEDS.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/Filled_20L3.jpg

[kaxt]

Looking good. What do you plan to stock? And where did you get that black acrylic?

[AFRobert568]

The AIO looks really clean. I once attempted a 2L AIO, but whatever I had planned was going to look ghetto so I canceled it. The LEDs are going to look great on this.

[CrazyZoa]

Any black material on my builds is not acrylic but rather it's ABS, It's strong and is reef safe.

I took at few minutes yesterday at lunch made these up in SolidWorks and machined them out of 3mm acrylic. I have magnets for them and hope to get them resin cast and on these frag racks this weekend.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/Frag_rack3plugs.jpg

[thienlong88]

I absolutely want to try and build one of these. Nice work. The tank looks awesome.

[CrazyZoa]

I absolutely want to try and build one of these. Nice work. The tank looks awesome.


Thanks ....I just enjoy being able to make my own parts and build a tank the way I want and not be stuck with commercialized products.

[fpv930]

Great build thread! I def will be following. Having access to the machines CNC machines makes a huge impact on your build. It looks very professional. Incorporating the sump/fuge inside the DT is awesome. Additionally, as you are building the system, you don't have to work around the limitations of a pre-built system like a biocube.

[CrazyZoa]

Here are a couple of new pictures. One of the little frag rack with it's magnets bonded on. I am going to look up and order a couple different sizes of magnets to handle thicker glass as I feel the current ones are only good for 1/4".
The other picture is of a little refugium light I put together quickly last night. It's just one of the extra LED stars I had left over from my tank light. I wired it up to a simple spare power adapter I had laying around and potted it along with a magnet into polyester resin. It looks ok and is crazy bright so it should work well.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/FragRack_Magnets.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/Fuge_Light.jpg

[chrismayu]

Looks great!!

Where did you get the polyester resin?

Thanks

[CrazyZoa]

Looks great!!

Where did you get the polyester resin?

Thanks


I bought it from my local craft store. I believe it was Hobby Lobby.

[TundraGuy]

hey Crazy how much Cash do you got into one of those drop in wasewalls you made cus you really should sell thouse to guys that can't get into an AIO but would love to buy one from you that they could glue in.

[CrazyZoa]

hey Crazy how much Cash do you got into one of those drop in wasewalls you made cus you really should sell thouse to guys that can't get into an AIO but would love to buy one from you that they could glue in.

There is not a ton of material cost in it but the cost really is in the time and equipment used to make it. A $60,000.00 CNC router isn't cheap after all! I have thought about making a couple of extras and offering them for sale though.
As for the tank I have added 3 zebra turbo snails to help clean up the hair algae that is cropping up and they are making quick work of mowing it down like hungry cows. I have moved all of the live stock out of my 3 yr old 5.5 AIO and everything seems to really like this new tank and the LEDs a lot. My Superman monti is getting the nice blue base color back and some zoas that had been giving me issues on the little tanks seem to be happier so far in this one. I changed the design a little on my little mini frag racks and made a couple and I really like them.Perfect for getting a couple frags up off the sand bed!

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/Mini-Rack.jpg

[skunkmere]

nice work!!! Hows the single led holding up?

[CrazyZoa]

The single LED for the Chaeto is oging strong. I have had it on 24/7 so far. I would like to string together another Chaeto light with 2 or 3 LEDS for more light for it.

[sponger0]

Thats is a really nice DIY sump. Looking good. How about some FTS? :D

[Outlets710]

Tank looks fantastic. Im about to take on the same project however I'm not very handy. I have zero experience working/cutting acrylic however I do have a grt glass guy not too far from hear. What are your thoughts on the sump/ filtration dividers being made out of glass?than I can find anything to conceal the sides. Are you going to be posting any more pics?

[CrazyZoa]

Tank looks fantastic. Im about to take on the same project however I'm not very handy. I have zero experience working/cutting acrylic however I do have a grt glass guy not too far from hear. What are your thoughts on the sump/ filtration dividers being made out of glass?than I can find anything to conceal the sides. Are you going to be posting any more pics?


Thanks I am glad you like the tank. What size tank are you building?

[CrazyZoa]

Here is a bad FTS of the 20L. The sand bed is littered with frags that I will move to my 5.5 AIO that will become my "frag tank" ran by my 10 yr old daughter.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/FTS_4-2012.jpg

[Outlets710]

Thanks I am glad you like the tank. What size tank are you building?

I'm either doing a custom 30x13x16 or 36 long if wife will go for it. It's going on the counter,, how many inches did you have to give up, 4?
yea I agree blk wraparound you did looks phenomenal. I was thinking of doing my filtration something like this and letting the Lfs cut it for me out of acrylic.
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q582/outlets710/th_06efd253.jpg (http://s1165.photobucket.com/albums/q582/outlets710/?action=view&current=06efd253.jpg)

However I am digging what you did tens times better. You should build those out and sell them, he'll, I would be your first buyer.

[Outlets710]

[QUOTE=CrazyZoa;20008382]
The other picture is of a little refugium light I put together quickly last night. It's just one of the extra LED stars I had left over from my tank light. I wired it up to a simple spare power adapter I had laying around and potted it along with a magnet into polyester resin. It looks ok and is crazy bright so it should work well.


What makes your setup so impressive to me is how clean it looks, how are you going to station the led. Drop it in and run plug through inserts w others?
Also you get message I sent you?

[CrazyZoa]

Outlets710,

NO I did not receive a message from you. Try sending it again.

I have had a lot of fellow reefers comment on the clean look on my 20L build. I am glad others like the results that I got from my tank. Part of what I was aiming for when I started this tank was an AIO tank without the DIY look.

[Outlets710]

Check your email

[Outlets710]

I don't know what's going on with this if you don't mind shoot me an email and I will respond that way. Outlets710@aol.com

Thanks
George

[Outlets710]

Have you seen this before ? Same exact thing you did and im trying to do ,You can adjust waterline. Too bad they don't make bigger.




http://www.picoaquariums.com/SHOP/ridge/24-ridge.html

[Tron87]

That sh!t . . . that sh!t is legit.

[Outlets710]

That sh!t . . . that sh!t is legit.


Referring to what exactly

[Tron87]

Referring to what exactly

The OPs tank of course.

[Outlets710]

The OPs tank of course.

Do you personally have a tank from Pico Aquariums? I have heard nothing but good and it is from people that actually own thier tanks and not just reading reviews and looking at pics. filtration alone is far superior than any other AIO I have seen, the only thing they could step up is there thickness in glass, I would like to see it made out of 3/8 especially going rimless.

[new2sw776784]

What are you doing for top off?

[CrazyZoa]

As for right now I am doing manual top offs!! I just need to order up the parts to build a ATO system.

As for an update I added a Court Jester Goby to the tank a couple of weeks ago. He is rather shy but is coming out more and more. I built a drop in media basket last week and placed it in the tank with some filter floss. This week I have to get a fixture built for the LED heatsink as I am tired of looking at it in it's current unfinished state!

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/MediaBasket.jpg

[lauremf2002]

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/MediaBasket.jpg

this is pretty dope for something no one sees. Mine is made out of eggcrate and zip ties but is exactly the same set up as this. It puts mine to shame. Now I want to throw it away...

[CrazyZoa]

After being away from home for a while here is a small update. The tank is crazy right. Has not had a water change in 3'ish months. I made a light mount a few months ago and here is a couple of pictures....

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/LightStand2_zpsf3aa670c.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/LightStand_zps4de4ab6a.jpg

[hackney]

How's the aquastyle kit holding up? I've been going back and forth in regards to ordering from them or not... I have a buddy in my local reef club that can also get an additional 20% off their kits so that's really got me leaning towards them

[CrazyZoa]

After a good bit of time looking at what was already out there both DIY and commercial options for a nano skimmer I came up with this one over the weekend. It's a semi counter current skimmer. Powered via a simple wooden airstone and a Petco brand airpump. The incoming water enters towards the top just below the handing mount. The water comes in through the overflow and meets the rising bubbles adding a little dwell time. It's about 12" tall by 1.5"x1.25". The airflow, airstone height and skimmate cup height are all adjustable. After less than 12 hrs I collected what you see in the picture below....

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/Skimmer1.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/SkimmerCup.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/First_Night.jpg

[CrazyZoa]

I couldn't resist making a sexy red version....

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/ReefRocketFull.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/ReefRocketTop.jpg

[CrazyZoa]

Again it has been a long time since a update. I made a larger version of the Reef Rocket skimmer. It really pulls some gunk. I am going to redo my lights. The AquaStyles have done well but after being dropped into the tank 2 or 3 times now it has lost a couple of LED stars. I have had a lot of people ask about me making a Typhon LED Controller box so I did and will use a Typhon to control my next set up.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ssk97xfk1hk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g76/TimWiltse/Orange_zpsb74b7983.jpg (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/TimWiltse/media/Orange_zpsb74b7983.jpg.html)

[csammis]

That skimmer is neat! Do you have a SketchUp or plans describing its design?

[Knd107]

hey, nice typhon enclosure. I was thinking about doing the same thing. Does it just sit inside of the enclosure or is it fasten in place?

[CrazyZoa]

That skimmer is neat! Do you have a SketchUp or plans describing its design?


It's built around my 20L AIO kit. Basically it pulls water in from the top through the overflow. This "powers" the skimmer without needing another pump. The also makes it a counter current type skimmer. I made a couple prototypes without this feature and they are more or less useless and pull very little skimmate compared to the version in the video.

[CrazyZoa]

hey, nice typhon enclosure. I was thinking about doing the same thing. Does it just sit inside of the enclosure or is it fasten in place?

My board is held between the top and bottom of the enclosure as there is no mounting holes on the Typhon board(the BoostLED version uses little plastic connectors to hold the screen on).

[10reefman]

Nice built I like it.