Hey everyone, I just signed my lease for my first apartment! I have a 75 gallon with 18 gallon fuge in my parent's house right now, and I don't want to have to deal with a bigger tank and the higher electricity bill/resource cost since I'll be on my own. So I've been looking for an AIO tank (like 20 to 40 gallons) and was set on the Innovative marine until I read reviews about them cracking.. I'm also just not a fan of the biocubes.
So I decided I would make my own AIO tank! I'm trying to decide what tank I want to start with and whether I want to have the tank coming out from the wall or going along side it. I will create a false wall in "say a 40 gallon", and use that back space to place all the goodies.
I've been looking around a lot at certain DIY AIO tanks and found a guy who made a Legit 20L (found here http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/nano-reefs/79473-all-one-20l-do-yourself-build.html). I'll be coming up with plans in the next week or so and will keep this thread updated
Any advice is appreciated!
EDIT: Now that everything is all said and done, here's a list of things to think about if anyone else wants to diy an aio tank!
-Get your acrylic/glass cut by a well known shop, don't diy! They are so much more precise.
-Make sure your measurements are from the inside of the glass and that you account for the thicknesses of the acrylic when designing the sump area.
-When laying silicon down where the acrylic touches the glass, if you want to get smooth lines (rather than using your finger), tape the the lines. That way you can lay the silicon down and pull the tape up to make a perfect line.
-I would also get the overflow slots cut by a professional acrylic shop, just so it looks great.
-On the other side of the over flow (sump side), I would glue an acrylic tab just below the over flow. So the water comes out (easier to filter) and not just straight down the wall.
-Go slow and let everything dry fully before you add the next group of walls!
-When making your false wall, do NOT make it a really snug fit. Acrylic can expand and if there's no room for that, it can break the glass. So cut it about a mm too small, the silicon will hold it in place.
There's not much to it really, just lots of measurements! I Based my design off of the nuvo tanks and used their plumbing as well. If you have any questions, let me know.
So I decided I would make my own AIO tank! I'm trying to decide what tank I want to start with and whether I want to have the tank coming out from the wall or going along side it. I will create a false wall in "say a 40 gallon", and use that back space to place all the goodies.
I've been looking around a lot at certain DIY AIO tanks and found a guy who made a Legit 20L (found here http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/nano-reefs/79473-all-one-20l-do-yourself-build.html). I'll be coming up with plans in the next week or so and will keep this thread updated
Any advice is appreciated!
EDIT: Now that everything is all said and done, here's a list of things to think about if anyone else wants to diy an aio tank!
-Get your acrylic/glass cut by a well known shop, don't diy! They are so much more precise.
-Make sure your measurements are from the inside of the glass and that you account for the thicknesses of the acrylic when designing the sump area.
-When laying silicon down where the acrylic touches the glass, if you want to get smooth lines (rather than using your finger), tape the the lines. That way you can lay the silicon down and pull the tape up to make a perfect line.
-I would also get the overflow slots cut by a professional acrylic shop, just so it looks great.
-On the other side of the over flow (sump side), I would glue an acrylic tab just below the over flow. So the water comes out (easier to filter) and not just straight down the wall.
-Go slow and let everything dry fully before you add the next group of walls!
-When making your false wall, do NOT make it a really snug fit. Acrylic can expand and if there's no room for that, it can break the glass. So cut it about a mm too small, the silicon will hold it in place.
There's not much to it really, just lots of measurements! I Based my design off of the nuvo tanks and used their plumbing as well. If you have any questions, let me know
.
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