Gib's 21+ Acrylic Experiment

[Gibeon]

After seeing Corallimorph's custom-cut live-rock bottom on his awesome 10 Gallon, I was inspired to try something similar since 10 gallon tanks are so inexpensive. However, I've also been toying with the idea of making the back wall out of live rock with holes drilled through it and the glass for a closed loop.

Then I thought to myself, as long as I'm going to be cutting and drilling stuff, I may as well just make a tank. So my current plan is to make one out of acrylic.

Here is what I've drawn up so far - thankfully it's been a slow work week.

Plan View (from above)


Front Elevation


Equipment Checklist.

Skimmer - Maybe yes, maybe no: I need to check out those small skimmers for Nano Cubes/AquaPods or whatever to see if I need to modify the design, but I am assuming one of the fuge chambers will be big enough to fit. Though 5 gallons of macro algae and live rock may be enough of a nutrient sink and I'm planning on a pretty light livestock load so a skimmer may not be a necessity.

Media - I'm planning on making media holders for carbon/purigen/phosban to be used as needed.

WaterFlow - I'm thinking of two MJ400's, each attached to a Hydor Flo for plenty of random current. I would like to keep a couple SPS - montipora confusa and a branching acropora or two. Think that will be enough flow? I'm also considering two fixed returns pointed in opposite directions, on one of those geared (electron free) wavemaker thingies (please pardon the technical language there).

Lighting: 70w MH + 1 65watt PC Actinic over "display area" + 1 65w PC over fuges.

Cooling - 120mm uber-quiet fans.

TopOff - May build in a 1 gallon auto top off into hood.

Livestock:

Mobiles - Pistol Shrim/Goby combo (planning for a sand pit in the middle of the display with suitable rock work for burrowing under. Helfrichi firefish or other peaceful pretty fish that's small and doesn't need to swim too much.

Immobiles - Montipora Confusa or Capricornus (sp?), maybe a branching acropora or two and/or a pocillopora (to host a Panda Clown Goby). Various porites/encrusting corals.

Now I just have to get off my duff and build the darn thing!

[boozeman]

nice idea...you can zip tie the dry rock to a eggcrate panel for the backdrop or use a can of expanding black pond foam sealant to coat the back wall

[Gibeon]

Originally Posted by boozeman

nice idea...you can zip tie the dry rock to a eggcrate panel for the backdrop or use a can of expanding black pond foam sealant to coat the back wall

I like the idea of the expanding black foam sealant. I may have to pick some up to experiment with this weekend. My goal is to have something that looks pretty much like a chunk taken out of a rock wall/ledge when it's done. The only thing man-made in the display will be the power head outputs.

Now I have to figure out how to get all the lights and top-off water into the canopy.

[corallimorph]

Gib,..you could always create some sort of "treatment" for the power heads as well,perhaps using some of the same foam and rock?
can't wait to see it ..and thanks for the compliment!-Dave

[boozeman]

like a fake wall panel along the back then you can put the poweheads behind it and just have them pump out thru a hole opening...I saw a tank like that done with tunzes

[Gibeon]

Like so?



I added the powerheads - two Maxi Jet 400's and the Hydor Flo's. I wonder if I could coaxe some zooas into propogating on the Hydor Flo's without gumming it up. That would be cool - rotating barrels of zoa's.

Oh, and some more explanation. The big rectangle will be a whole tank with dividers in it. Think Nano Cube, but WAY awsomer. (It must be Friday... I'm in a pretty good mood.)

Edit: The red lines are the acrylic walls/dividers and thickness is not to scale.