Haven't really though much about the sump and filtration. Overflows, yes, sump, not so much. I was hoping people would begin to throw out ideas as this is a test tank, we ought to have some dicussion about things we can use etc. With the overflow I can have as little or as much flow as i want since I do not need to worry about prime. We could build just about any type of system we want really. IDEAS???? PEOPLE????
Rivermuds Test Tank
- Thread starter Rivermud
- Start date
well you could always do just a standard W/D but that is not much of a test.....
maybe an algae scrubber and W/D with army men as media???
maybe an algae scrubber and W/D with army men as media???
An algea scrubber is intruging. I think however that an algea scrubber and a sump kind of counteract eachother if they are both working right. Algea scrubber is also a bit expensive to run what with all the lighting.. but I am open to the suggestion and ideas on it.. any more suggestions?
Well, I lied. I said I was going to buy teh wood for the stand. I didn't.
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I bought the stuff for the plumbing instead!!!!
So I went to the Dumpster the other day to get the wood. My dad was in town so I brought him along. He was kind of overwhelmed by the idea of making everything yourself.
We decided to price premade stuff first just because he wanted to. Heh, it turned out well because a very good friend of mine pretty much is the do everything guy there and we ended up being led to him. I find this funny because everytime I have some odd idea about this project somehow I always get led to him by some random sales person. He'll look up from whatever he's doing and say "Oh it's Fish again, I knew it." 
Anyway, we decided prebuilt was not the way to go so we went and checked out lumber. I explained my idea to him and my dad, my dad ended up thoroughly confused. I spent the better part of an hour explaining shear properties to him. We both eventually gave up. By then it was late and I had lost a bit of my go get em attitude so we left. I went back yesterday and ended up in the plumbing section.... and here we are. Poor Morgan, (my friend at the Dumpster) he helped me hash out a million ideas before we settled on this one. We even tried to thread pvp pipe with an automatic pipe threader. This DOES NOT WORK. We could do it with shallow threads but being shallow they don't work. Doing threads the correct way causes a beautiful explosion and shards flying evrywhere.
Eventually I decided to try using a kitchen sink sprayer fitting for te countertop (pic later). It's a natural bulkhead fitting. It has issues though, the only thing what will connect to it properly is the nut it came with and a 5/8's flanged end. NOT GOOD. I found some flex PVC that would work with it though hopefully. I also found that a faucet end fits perfectly in the open end thus allowing me to have a screen on the overflow hopefully saving little fish. When I hooked everything up today after drilling I realized my washer was WAY to big so i had to go get a smaller gasket, you'll see it in the pictures.
.
..
...
...
....
....
I bought the stuff for the plumbing instead!!!!
So I went to the Dumpster the other day to get the wood. My dad was in town so I brought him along. He was kind of overwhelmed by the idea of making everything yourself.
We decided to price premade stuff first just because he wanted to. Heh, it turned out well because a very good friend of mine pretty much is the do everything guy there and we ended up being led to him. I find this funny because everytime I have some odd idea about this project somehow I always get led to him by some random sales person. He'll look up from whatever he's doing and say "Oh it's Fish again, I knew it." Anyway, we decided prebuilt was not the way to go so we went and checked out lumber. I explained my idea to him and my dad, my dad ended up thoroughly confused. I spent the better part of an hour explaining shear properties to him. We both eventually gave up. By then it was late and I had lost a bit of my go get em attitude so we left. I went back yesterday and ended up in the plumbing section.... and here we are. Poor Morgan, (my friend at the Dumpster) he helped me hash out a million ideas before we settled on this one. We even tried to thread pvp pipe with an automatic pipe threader. This DOES NOT WORK. We could do it with shallow threads but being shallow they don't work. Doing threads the correct way causes a beautiful explosion and shards flying evrywhere. Eventually I decided to try using a kitchen sink sprayer fitting for te countertop (pic later). It's a natural bulkhead fitting. It has issues though, the only thing what will connect to it properly is the nut it came with and a 5/8's flanged end. NOT GOOD. I found some flex PVC that would work with it though hopefully. I also found that a faucet end fits perfectly in the open end thus allowing me to have a screen on the overflow hopefully saving little fish.
When I hooked everything up today after drilling I realized my washer was WAY to big so i had to go get a smaller gasket, you'll see it in the pictures.
Wow, I finally made it to the end of the thread.
Here's a little lighting present. It's a 100w LED.
http://furuier.en.alibaba.com/product/215548689-200152460/100W_white_high_power_LED.html
I am fairly certain an algae scrubber can be run on LED's (much smaller than 100w). There are LED lighting systems for reef tanks, and LED grow lights.
Here's a little lighting present. It's a 100w LED.
http://furuier.en.alibaba.com/product/215548689-200152460/100W_white_high_power_LED.html
I am fairly certain an algae scrubber can be run on LED's (much smaller than 100w). There are LED lighting systems for reef tanks, and LED grow lights.
Now that's a light lol.
So, I managed to get the overflow built. I'm not happy with having to use the flex pvc but we'll see how it goes. I siliconed the heck out of the seal as well as used Christies Red Hot on it, I'm hoping it seals well. I also changed the design a bit as it was a bit redundant. On to the pictures...
So, I managed to get the overflow built. I'm not happy with having to use the flex pvc but we'll see how it goes. I siliconed the heck out of the seal as well as used Christies Red Hot on it, I'm hoping it seals well. I also changed the design a bit as it was a bit redundant. On to the pictures...
So again, since this is a test tank and it's sole purpose is to test new DIY projects, I am asking for ideas. We already have a test sealant and test overflows. I'm guessing the next possible projects could be tank lighting, background, filtration... etc. who knows??? I may even build that Amphibidome if the tank olds water and runs just because it's a test item for the tank. It'll be a removable one though.
Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that I appreciate the enthusiasm, replies, and ideas. Keep em coming!!
Oh, and remember.. this tank and any of the ideas can fail... that's the whole reason behind the thread to begin with so let's enjoy it.
Thanks again everyone.
Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that I appreciate the enthusiasm, replies, and ideas. Keep em coming!!
Oh, and remember.. this tank and any of the ideas can fail... that's the whole reason behind the thread to begin with so let's enjoy it.
Thanks again everyone.
Now, I'm definitely not top notch on physics, but would you have an issue maintaining air pressure and removing water from the amphibian dome with the air lines running to it. You would have to maintain a high level of air pressure in order to force the water to remain below the bottom of the structure. The air removal line would not allow you to maintain this pressure. My though would be to remove the "out" line and allow the air pump to force the air in a downward motion and bubble out from underneath the structure's opening.
Hopefully this wasn't mentioned and I just missed it.
Hopefully this wasn't mentioned and I just missed it.
The air line would only let air out when the air pressure became high enough to force air down to the line. Both ideas work on the same principal whether you use the air line or not. It isn't a siphoned line, simply an exhaust so when the air in the dome forces the water down far enough, the air escapes through the exhaust. We discussed one possible issue with the exhaust line earlier in that it can work as a water lift so you want the exhaust lines exit to be somewhere you want water returning to. Also, you cannot have the exhaust exit lower than it's intake else you will have created a possible siphon. The only reason for the air line in my design is to prevent the bubble under effect which I think looks horrid in tanks. I'm not a fan of air bubbles.
The plumbing system is very innovative. I had thought of doing something like that using bulkheads or short standpipes, but your way rocks since it keeps everything out of the tank.
