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Need all in one inspiration/suggestions


LarryD

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so I am thinking it is time to move to a slightly larger tank, don't get me wrong I love my picotope and probably will set it up again sometime in the future. My thoughts were that I have three other larger tanks that I could easily make into an all in one so why not do that.

Here are the options for tanks

20 gallon tall

10 gallon

5 gallon

The five gallon is probably out of the question because after I mod it to be an aio I would not have anymore room than with my picotope.

I am actually leaning towards the ten gallon since it still gives me plenty of room after I add a false wall and it plays a little nicer with the AI prime I have already, however I would listen to reasons I should consider the 20.

As for the actual filtration section I know nothing other than I really want to go with 3 sections instead of the two that seems common.

So if anyone has in suggestions/hints that might help me in some final decisions I would welcome and appreciate them.

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So I have decide to work with the ten gallon but I was wondering if anyone new how big of a chamber I would need to fit a MJ 1200, also where does everyone get their black acrylic or could I just paint clear acrylic and have it be safe?

Here is a rough drawing of what I am thinking, I might tweak some dimensions a little bit but other than that I am keeping this basic idea.

post-4015-0-70507000-1435155101_thumb.jp

Worst case scenario I would continue the box across the whole back wall which would still leave me with roughly 7.5 gallons.

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So I think I have settled on an ehiem compact 1000 as my return pump instead of the mj1200, now I just need to find a good source for black acrylic in town. I have also heard of people using Delrin for the sump does anyone around here have experience with that?

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Eheim is a good choice for the pump. I can't help you on the acrylic question though ...

Do you have any experience in how high I should make the gap below the baffles?

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No, I've never worked with an all-in-one design before. Sorry :(

Oh well, I guess it is time to get the fluid dynamics book out and try and calculate the optimal spacing.

Does anyone know the head loss coefficients for live rock and macro algae?

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I don't do fluid dynamics books or know what head loss coefficients of rocks are but I can tell you that pvc valves rock. You can put it on your return just in case your math don't work right. Also you can paint pvc black with krylon fusion spray paint. I paint my returns and over flows on every tank. It always looks good and is reef safe. I'm sure you can use the same paint for the acrylic.

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I don't do fluid dynamics books or know what head loss coefficients of rocks are but I can tell you that pvc valves rock. You can put it on your return just in case your math don't work right. Also you can paint pvc black with krylon fusion spray paint. I paint my returns and over flows on every tank. It always looks good and is reef safe. I'm sure you can use the same paint for the acrylic.

Thanks for the info, I have actually decided to use, and ordered a hob refugium instead of the all in one design just because I was not really thrilled with the thought of losing a third of a reasonable small tank. I started a biuld thread for the tank but at this time I am waiting for the parts to come in (hopefully by Thursday).

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Sorry for not replying sooner, I've been away for a few months.

For acrylic if you happen to need it or could use it in the future, I found Regal Plastics off Metric be really good for pricing and amazing service. However they recently upped the minimum to $50/order last I heard.

ordered a hob refugium instead of the all in one design just because I was not really thrilled with the thought of losing a third of a reasonable small tank

This is why I always enjoy the 20g long :)

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Sorry for not replying sooner, I've been away for a few months.

For acrylic if you happen to need it or could use it in the future, I found Regal Plastics off Metric be really good for pricing and amazing service. However they recently upped the minimum to $50/order last I heard.

ordered a hob refugium instead of the all in one design just because I was not really thrilled with the thought of losing a third of a reasonable small tank

This is why I always enjoy the 20g long :)

Ya I have a twenty tall I could have played with but with the hob refugium I can always move over to it with very little trouble.
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Interstate Plastics online cuts to order and ships at very reasonable rates

Thanks for the info but I went with a hang on the back refugium instead, I have a build thread for it.

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