Herbieace's "Frankenfrag-Tank"

Herbie

Herbie

Banned
I am going to start documenting this here since I'm getting closer to actual assembly:
I am starting with this 20L drilled tank that I got from a great deal here on CR (along with a ton of other parts) .
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My current 20t "junk and banish" tank may serve as sump/fuge
View attachment 3057
but I have a 29t (currently FW) and a 29 Half Moon (empty) as well, so I may do a double switch and use the 29 so I can add baffles and chambers.

I have a MJ1200 that I can use for the GFO reactor (won on CR, w00t!) but can anyone identify the pump sitting next to that in the top picture? It has a 3/4 threaded output and I ran it once in a 5 gallon buck which it drained very quickly. The drain/overflow is 3/4 and I am not sure if this pump is going to be too much for this set-up. I do have a ball valve for it, but I'm not sure if I'll just have to restrict it too much causing heat and wear.
I've got a thread out for lighting question, but any suggestions on that would be appreciated as well.

Now I need to figure out what sort of stand to build that will hold these differently sized tanks. I think I am going to have the 20L up high for viewing and ease of access. More to come. Any thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated.
 
So I think I am going to want another drain on this so I will be drilling. Anyone up north here have a 1.5inch glass saw handy?

I'm basically copying the sparky-via-fishbeard sump design as well. I have a nice big sheet of 1/4 inch acrylic that I got in my original deal. Can I cut that on my table saw?
 
im returning my 1 1/2 inch bit today if you rent one ask how many holes have been drilled save time on the drilling and table saw might melt the acrylic as you doing it never tries but really dont know good luck tho
 
lunacris said:
im returning my 1 1/2 inch bit today if you rent one ask how many holes have been drilled save time on the drilling and table saw might melt the acrylic as you doing it never tries but really dont know good luck tho
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never thought of renting one. Thanks!
If not a table saw, what? I have a jigsaw too, but I think it would be harder to control and not really better for the heat issue. You don't just score and break like glass, right?
 
chgoblknazn said:
I have one that you can use, but I am in the downtown area. It's only been used once.
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Thanks Walt, but It would cost me more in gas to get to and from the city than to order a new one from BRS. Did you use a guide or just freehand. I'm thinking I can actually put the thing on my drill press if I can make a quick jig. I would imagine that is better than anything else, right?
 
The rendering software is proprietary, so don't even ask.

Are there any immediate concerns with this basic layout? Is it going to be too top heavy? It's in basic relative scale and the sump design is straight theft (thanks fishbeard via sparky), but I am wondering if the center chamber could be narrowed to give more fuge room. Is there some reason behind the ration of space in there?
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Thanks for all of the help so far folks!
 
IMO,
I would not do a dual return into two ends of the sump. Have both lines dump into a dual sock area/skimmer then to the fuge, then the pump return. This will keep your sump and fuge cleaner to have the water go through mechanical filtration first.
 
poidog said:
IMO,
I would not do a dual return into two ends of the sump. Have both lines dump into a dual sock area/skimmer then to the fuge, then the pump return. This will keep your sump and fuge cleaner to have the water go through mechanical filtration first.
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Interesting. I thought this config allowed for adjustment of flow between the two areas and I was attracted to that "fine tuning". Your suggestion is definitely the more traditional approach. If there is a sock on both ends, does it make a difference? I definitely appreciate the feedback. Gives me something to consider.
 
Tee your drains together so your flow is unrestricted to the skimmer area, and use another tee with a valve to feed your fuge. Just keep a small cleanup crew in your fuge for any uneaten food that makes its way down there. Your better with a larger volume of water with lower flow than you will be with less water volume running the full speed of your pump placing it between the skimmer and return. Don't even worry about a filter sock for this setup, the sump will be easy enough to clean when/if necessary. Socks are just one more thing to deal with maintaining more than they are worth having.
 
clean up crew defeats the purpose of the name a "refugium" - a refuge from predators.
CUC + pumps = not a good idea.

Socks are a personal preference. YOu either use them or not. I use the nylon mesh ones. Very easy to rinse clean and put back in (no washing needed). I left a sock off my tank for a week while on vacation and my fuge was a mess.
 
A handful of hermits will hardly do any damage to the micro fauna population in the fuge, and its extremely doubtful any of them will learn to swim and jump a hurdle over the baffle into the return chamber. If its that big a concern, a simple prefilter or strainer over the pump inlet and problem solved...

People keep inverts in their fuge all the time and no one is posting any horror stories of their experience doing so.
 
Yeah, any foam is just a nitrate factory. And when its gunked, it drops your flow, causing more potential issues.
 
FishBeard said:
A handful of hermits will hardly do any damage to the micro fauna population in the fuge, and its extremely doubtful any of them will learn to swim and jump a hurdle over the baffle into the return chamber. If its that big a concern, a simple prefilter or strainer over the pump inlet and problem solved...

People keep inverts in their fuge all the time and no one is posting any horror stories of their experience doing so.
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yea I would avoid the HC's same thing happend to me! Lil bugger made it to the over by crawling up the silicone, completely sheredded my mag7 return pump. Luckly I had a extra impeller, little **** was still alive when I found him.
 
I'd post up a ton of threads about the people that have not had problems, but, oh yea, they haven't had a problem to post up about it. 2 of the 3 links you provided were of snails finding their way into a pump, the one with the iwaki regarding a hermit seems pretty sketchy to me as well, considering how an external pump is typically plumbed.

You can keep laying it out there however you want, and posting up random fluke incidences, the mass majority will still see no issue with keeping a few inverts in a fuge to keep it clean, and will never experience any problems in choosing to do so.

Herbie, if you have any remote doubts about it, just run an eggcrate fence across the fuge baffle to block any potential (and highly unlikely) escape attempts. My bets are your more likely to have a fish being temporarily held in the fuge jump the baffle than a hermit getting over it.
 
I keep three emerals and a handful of hermits in my fuge. The emeralds have climbed over and into the bubble trap but it's impossible for them to go anywhere else. My chaeto is seperated from the deep sandbed by my chaeto stand that is several inches above the sand to keep them from climbing into my return or intake chambers while reducing microbubbles. They keep the fuge tidy and I love that they are in there. But I do have to feed them a couple times a week so they don't starve.

The chaeto has plenty of pods in there and the tube worms in the DSB also help clean the water before spilling into my return chamber filled with rock rubble. My return pump sits on top of 6 inches of rubble so it's pulling water from under the rock. I had a sandsfiting star in my fuge but it died. I'm assuming there was not enough food in there, which got me to feeding my crabs more.

Personally, I wouldn't put snails in there because they could climb over and choke up the pump. Crabs are a different story in my setup. There's just no chance of them climbing out of the fuge area.
 
FishBeard said:
Tee your drains together so your flow is unrestricted to the skimmer area, and use another tee with a valve to feed your fuge.
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Can you possibly elaborate on this Fishbeard? I'm having trouble visualising the configuration.

This is all very thought provoking and educational everyone. I really appreciate the feedback. I've definitely seen my hermits climb silicon corners, but can't they do that whatever order you have things set up? Or is the idea that the baffles would be narrower than they can fit?
 
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