Divided 10g tank (pics)

[jhull_73]

My wife asked me to setup a small sw tank she could bring with her next year(she teaches High school science). Thought I would post it here to see what people think.
Its going to have a false perc, mushrooms, and zoas.

10 gallon aga
display section 6g
fuge section 2.5g
sump 1g

it has a aga 50w heater
aquaclear 30 PH
2x20w 50/50 bulbs in the original aga hood

top view

front view

side view

[soundwave2k]

Never thought of this till I saw this post but...  I'll bet this would work on my eclipse 12 that has just been laying around.  Great idea.  I don't normally see this stuff on the other reef page I belong to.  If anyone is not familiar with the eclipse, it has a filter above the tank that sucks water from the left rear and spits it out on the right from above.  This would eliminate the need for the powerhead return.  I think this will be my next project.

[gvv]

Very nice!

Did you use acrylic for dividers? Would love to repeat the same with my 10G office tank!

Regards

[jhull_73]

I did use plexi (cheapy stuff from Home Depot). I left some extra space so it would have room to expland, about 1/16". Its been rumming for 2 months now. I made the sump a little larger so I would have room for a protein skimmer, but I think I'm not going to bother with one. Its not going to be run longer then 8 months, I will rely on water changes instead. I am still planing on hobbling together some kind of ATO. Maybe the air pump bottle method, I just need to get a small float switch.

Does anyone know someplace locally that sells them?

[freshwater]

if you r going to put this in a High school class room, you should prepare for the chance that all its inhabitants will be wiped out by obnoxious teenagers! I would know since I was one not too long ago,.....and we had a 10g gold fish tank in one of my classrooms. 

Just a thought.

[jhull_73]

Indeed It may be wiped out, thats why its a little on the cheap side. Not too sound to corny... but It may just be interesting enough to get nerons firing in some of those impressionable minds.  Either way, I had fun making it.

[soundwave2k]

I will have the eclipse modified for this by the end of the night.  As far as the pump being too strong, I know that from my 75 gallon tank, the drain moves as fast as the return pump.  As long as the overflow in this setup is open enough, it should have the same effect.  You could, in concept, go skimmerless in this design.  The chaeto and live rock in the refugium section should pull out tons of nutrients on its own.  I plan on only having a fish or two in it when complete so regular water changes should be a simple way to keep it healthy.  I'll post pics when it's complete.

[jhull_73]

I can't wait to see Pics.
I don't think the pump would be to strong. I would be very strange to have a fish make it to the sump ( that is if your building it similar to mine) it would have to somehow make it to the fuge then sump. Nothing from my display has ever done that ...yet .

I do plan on using just water changes and macro algea to manage nutrients. I do like equipment but in this case I think it will be easier and unnecessary for a protien skimmer.

[soundwave2k]

It's all done.  I need to get some plastic tubing to extend the intake a little.  The eclipse is actually tapered about a half inch.  The top is larger than the bottom so cutting the plexi to fit was a challenge.  I should be able to have it filled and running by today or tomorrow.  A thought for you, though.  It would help to remove the rock in your fuge or use smaller pieces.  By allowing the chaeto to tumble inside the fuge, it will grow and export nutrients much faster as it would be exposed to them on a more constant level.  Expect pics within a day or two. 

Thank you for giving me a reason to use this tank.   

[soundwave2k]

Oops.  I noticed a design flaw of my own doing, this morning.  Ill fix it and get things running.

[jhull_73]

Pulling the rock from the fuge is a very good point. I had to put it in there for the banggai Cardinal as there was too much current for him without it. He is leaving to his new home tomorrow and I plan to yank out the rocks.

Your welcome.

Its nice to see someone esle try this out, maybe I'm not crazy.... then again we could both be. lol

[speckledmind]

Very nice set up 

[soundwave2k]

Done and done.  This is awesome!  You should try to market this.  Thank you very very much for the idea.  Here's my eclipse 12. It's still cloudy from the aragonite dust, but this should clear by morning.

[soundwave2k]

Where did you score those 50/50 bulbs?  Are they coralife?

[jhull_73]

I found them at Big Al's. They are Coralife mini power compac 20w self ballasted. I think I paid about $25 per, you may be able to find them cheaper(patients is not one of my virtues).   I did have to add more reflective surface, these bulbs are longer then the original. I used tin foil to line the inside, and cut out the vent holes. I think I'm going to drill some holes in the bottom at the sides to keep the lights a little cooler. 

I'm not sure but from what I can see so far you may have 1up me. lol It looks great

[BigDaddy]

For the original tank.. maybe replace the clear plexi with some dark plexi next time to hide the equipment from view...

[Chinaman]

Where is the link to the image?  Couldn't find it on the page.

Sam

[jhull_73]

Not sure what you mean Sam, the images are in the thread. If you have dialup you have to wait a bit.

[Ellypho]

Im not too sure if I understande. What kind of filtration do you have??
And i know what a sump is but what is a fuge?

[gvv]

The section with macroalgae can be called refuge. You may look for "refugium" on the internet. Sump is usually the place where you put your equipment.

Usually mechanical filtration is not used for SW tanks. But you may use canister filters to put activated carbon in it. no other media should be placed in canister besides carbon, as later on it will become source of nitrates.
Biological filtration is done by LR. Not exactly by rocks but by all live stuff that lives there.

Regards