Help with island tank design!

[dragoneggs]

I have already built my solid wood stand intended for a 60 x 24 x 24 (150gal) island acrylic tank. I will attempt to post some pics soon. I am now thinking (girlfriend's input) that the tank should be taller, at 30in for better viewing.

My main concerns now are with the tank design are; noise, flow, and aquascaping so I can hide as much of the plumbing as possible from all four sides. This is my first SW tank and my first custom.

I want to do it right but the more I read and research on this forum, I wonder if this project is doable.

Please let me know if what you all think about the design and any concerns you have. The thought is to have one overflow in the center of the tank with a dry conduit for the lighting. I am completely clueless on the closed loop design that would not be an eyesore since it will be an island.

I am assuming all of the plumbing will have to go through the bottom but can I come up with a design that will work amongst the LR?

Fire away!

 

[Maxx]

If NASA can put a man on the moon and launch a monkey into orbit, you can do this.

The major hurdle is your design criteria which will be tied to your budget. If money is no object, anything is possible. Since you're asking for assistance, I'm assuming you dont have NASA's budget....


First things first, what do you want to keep in the tank?

Fish only
Soft coral reef
Large Polyp Stoney Reef
Small Polyp Stoney Reef

Best bet is to determine that and build upwards from there, as the requirements for keeping them are similar, but increasingly more detail oriented as you go...

I would personally stick with the 24 inch depth for a couple of reasons.

1...you will need to stick your hand in to get something from the bottom of the tank sometime....why make it harder on yourself.
2...shallower depth means easier light penetration for reef tanks, means you wont need more powerful lights to reach the bottom, which means you will use less energy, which means less expense monthly...

This hobby is plenty expensive on its own, no need to make this worse.

Closed Loop and flow will be determined easier by what you decide you want to keep in the tank.

Nick

 

[Scooterman]

Post some Picks I'd like to see what your working with, up-front design does pay off as I'm building my new stand it is a pain because I didn't think I needed to put that much into the design. I think it is doable but need some thinking caps for this one.

 

[NaH2O]

Here is an old thread that might be helpful. This tank was going to be a room divider: Plumbing ideas for a Room Divider.

Other than having all the plumbing coming up from the bottom, I don't know how to incorporate a closed loop. You could have the closed loop intakes come up from the bottom (not in the overflow box), and cover them with some kind of acrylic blinds. Here is another thread I thought of for you. It is from RC, and although not an "island" tank, the thread starter has small closed loop outputs in the front bottom corners. If you click over to the last page, you will see another cube tank that has all the plumbing in the middle. 240 Gallon Cube Tank Photo Diary. Hope the images help spark some thoughts in your head...especially the tank on the last page.

 

[dragoneggs]

Post some Picks I'd like to see what your working with, up-front design does pay off as I'm building my new stand it is a pain because I didn't think I needed to put that much into the design. I think it is doable but need some thinking caps for this one.

Hi Scooterman,

Bear with me as this is the first attempt at posting pics. This first one is actually my 3D model of my stand. I will post some actual photos of the construction later today. The stand is approx 36in high and little over 5ft long and 2ft wide with a lip around the tank. The wood is solid honduran mahagony (beautiful!). More info in a bit... I hope this works...

 

[dragoneggs]

Nick you are probably right, this is not rocket science. I am an engineer in the aerospace industry, unfortunately not a pro athlete or movie star so the budget is decent but not unlimited.

I want to plumb for anything but my plan is to eventually have SPS/LPS corals and a nice selection of fish but not so much as to have too big a bioload and maintenance nightmare.

My arms are pretty long but I can see where 30in might become a stretch. It just seems that the increased viewing area would be worth it. I am more concerned about the stacking the LR steep enough to allow space on both sides of the 24in width without too much risk of avalanches!

 

[Maxx]

Okay....
With the SPS and a few LPS preferences in mind we can start going over the planning. If you're willing to risk swimming everytime you reach into the tank, go for the added depth of the tank.

For your closed loop you have a couple of options.

The most commonly used are:

Powerheads of some sort, (Maxi jets, Seio's, Tunze's, Vortech, etc)
Oceans Motions type devices
Motorized ball valves
Manifolds of some sort

Easiest for you to use will be the powerhead type devices. Since this is an island style tank, the Vortechs are kinda out. They mount partially outside the tank w/ magnests, and the impression I'm getting is that you want the appearance of the tank to be "clean" meaning no visible plumbing etc...

Powerheads are easy because they dont require drilling of tanks. ALot of them now have pretty good mounting devices which allows them to be placed almost anywhere. But they are typically unsightly and add some heat to the tank, (Just like any submersible pump.) However theTunze Streams are able to placed inside a decorative rock that hides the body of the unit. So its not all bad...

OM units and MBV's require a dedicated pump and DIY plumbing to set up. The work well, but require space to run all the plumbing. Thye also occasionally need servicing so you need to account for this when designing them and placing them.

Manifolds require a dedicated pump and can be unsightly depending on how designed.

Here are some links for you to read over....

Short take on Manifolds

http://www.oceansmotions.com

Will your stand house everything for the tank, or will you be able to locate your sump and other items remotely?

Nick

 

[Slickdonkey]

Nick you are probably right, this is not rocket science. I am an engineer in the aerospace industry, unfortunately not a pro athlete or movie star so the budget is decent but not unlimited.

My field too... let's see, are you Honeywell, Boeing, or Universal Avionics?

 

[bc_slc]

I have a 60" tank that is 30 high and love the dimension. The 24x24 just seemed too boxy.

As far as making it clean. If you plan to set this up as viewable from all 4 sides, then the key is going to be the center overflow. make it oversized and drilled with big holes in the bottom for drain and return. If you make it large enough, then you could potentially use the overflow to plumb a closed loop that goes up to the canopy. It will require a submersible pump, but you can drill an extra hole, lower down in the walls of the overflow box and plumb this into a pump that sits within the overflow. Then run the plumbing out the top of the overflow and distribute it however you like. If you have a decent canopy that overlaps the sides of the tank a bit, you could hide quite a bit.

To get reasonable flow from this in a tank this size, you would need a good sized inlet (maybe 2 that T together inside the overflow). I am honestly not sure if it will provide enough flow + the return pump to keep SPS successfully without some other source of pumps (i.e. powerheads). Depending on the size, you may be able to fit a Mag 24 and get 4 outlets or so out of it, plus the return, but you still may be a bit low on flow.

Another reasonable, low profile idea would be a series of external powerheads like the Global aquarium supply or TOP brand pumps. Lots of water, low profile and very reasonably priced. You may have to get them used as some of the manufacturers have stopped making them.

example of something similar to using the center overflow as a closed loop is below. The drawing clearly shows an overflow against the back wall, but yours would be a column in the center of teh tank.

 

[dragoneggs]

Oh Boy!!! Great info so far everyone... keep it coming. I need to digest this stuff provided so far and I am sure I will start firing specific questions to individuals here.

Jeez... I sure appreciate all the support!!!

Now I already feel that this can be done. Last night it was a huge doubt.

Mark

 

[dragoneggs]

Post some Picks I'd like to see what your working with, up-front design does pay off as I'm building my new stand it is a pain because I didn't think I needed to put that much into the design. I think it is doable but need some thinking caps for this one.

To Scooterman,

As promised I am attaching a few pics of my construction and I will put a few words to help explain.

First, I started with a 3/4in maple veneered plywood for tank support (upper shelf) and sump/equipment support (lower shelf)

I decided to make this a nice piece of furniture because it will be located between my kitchen and living room as a island space divider. I am using 4/4 honduran mahagony. Lucky for me I have a wood shop so this is pretty easy for me.

I planed and jointed the rough sawn wood here...

As far as construction details, I made a full length dado in all the lower and upper rails to support the two shelves.

I used biscuits and exterior wood glue to join the rails and stiles together (size 20 if anyone is curious).

I then made the two long side face frames and clamped the whole bloody thing together.

You can see here that I did a half lap on the ends to hide the would be exposed dados.

 

[dragoneggs]

My field too... let's see, are you Honeywell, Boeing, or Universal Avionics?

Hey Slick,

Well... I was Boeing for 16 years... but I left for more fun with a small company called Click Bond. We make aerospace and marine bonded fastening systems. Actually I see some usage for our products in this hobby/business... I will elaborate on this more later. I would be happy to share some samples, ideas, etc with our products of course all complimentary!

Mark

 

[dragoneggs]

A few more shots of the tank stand construction...

Lots of clamps to keep it square and tight during glueing.

I then built an inner 'lip' that stiffens the frame up nicely and provides a seat for the doors. I don't want a bunch of light seeping through around the door edges and also want the door edges to be flush. A view from one end.

A view of the lower middle detail on the side. I have it clamped and am masking off for inside paint job.

A view of the upper middle detail from the inside.

Okay maybe I am boring you guys with details but what the heck...

 

[dragoneggs]

Okay one more 'finished' shot of the stand without doors but painted with three coats of Kilz premium white primer/sealer on the inside and top shelf and three coats of a deep red/brown (bombay mahagony color) polyurethane oil on the outside.

There is a two inch 'lip' for both the upper and lower shelf. I will seal the joints. The opening on the end is a bit more than 21in so I have room for a nice sized sump!

I guess I better get back now to the intent of this thread to discuss plumbing

 

[Slickdonkey]

Very nice. I like the color!

 

[dragoneggs]

Thanks... the picture is too dark and doesn't do it justice!

 

[jmp21677]

i HAVE A ISLAND TANK AND THE WAY i GOT AROUND HAVING TO MANY POWERHEADS WAS WITH A CLOSED LOOP THAT PULLS FROM MY SUMP AND IS RETURNED BACK INTO THE TANK WITH LOCK LINE THAT IS ON THE OVERFLOW. MY OVERFLOW IS AT ONE END OF THE TANK AND THIS SEEMS TO WORK WELL. I AM HOWEVER GETTING OUT OF THE ISLAND BUSINESS AND GOING WITH A 250 REGULAR TANK WITH CORNER TO CORNER OVERFLOW. IT SEEMS THAT FLOW IS ALWAYS A CONCERN WITH THESE TANKS

 

[moortim]

I envy your shop.
That stand looks awsome!

Tim

 

[Krish]

Looks like a great start so far! You will get all sorted out...No worries. I've always wanted a tank I can walk around, but never gave too much in depth thought as to how it would be a plumbed, but as far as I got into the whole "idea" of it, would be center overflow with return and the "reef"/ rockwork built around it so as to hide everything. I wish you the best man and will follow along and offer any advice or encouragement I can

 

[wrightme43]

Awesome man, thanks for sharing it. Really good work.