Exams are over, , been going nuts the last few days.

Building at home then once everything is set and tested, dismantling and moving to my flat.

Here is an update on the progress...

Display Tank on trailer

Sump Tank on trailer

Display partially plumbed, still have to make a strainer and spray jets for the closed loop.

Make a structure for the aquascaping.

Once the water is in, I will resize the overflows.

Sump tank, with APF600 skimmer feed by Eheim 1250, Eheim 1262 for closed loop and an Eheim 1260 return.

Fish Stuff Cupboard, top shelf is for the electronics (need some holes in the back).

Don't worry about how crooked everything is they are just taped there

Other two are just fish food, water supplements, utensils and other stuff.

Hopefully have some water in it tonight

:bounce:

looking good. one thing i hate about the closed loops is if the pump breaks you could will lose all your water.

you kinda got your closed loop pump around the wrong way, should have had the outlet feed directly up and into the tank so it doesnt need that 90 degree bend. not that its gonna make an overly big difference, but makes it tidier

I would have also put the closed loop taps as close to the tank as possible, that was if you change you pump later it is easier to rework the plumbing.

But very nice setup, how much water does it hold? light?? etc.

Very tidy and nicely thought out. Did you build tank and sump?

Got tank built by Greg Kingston

Stand built by a kitchen building company.

Display 1200x600x700high = 500L

Sump 700x500x400 = 140L

Have 2x 250W IceCap Ballasts with 14K Hamiltons, need to make a mounting bracket for them

Looking good... your student pay must be better than my student pay..... hahaha

Wow doing well ... nice :lol:

Filled tank with fresh water today to test for leaks and if everything works. All was well for about 10min until the water started fill up the overflow area. Hello, a nice leak pouring out between the poly and stand. Drained the overflow and took out both of the bulkheads. What do you know one was missing a seal, hmmmm wait a minute, the other one has two. :lol: :lol: oops

The overflow is a bit difficult to tune, its currently stable but not at my prefered level. It is 32mm straight through with a 32mm valve. I'll drop it down to a 25mm value and see how we go.

Also made the drops on the sump a bit big, so there is a bit of noise as the water drops

Other than that pretty happy with the test run :D

looking good KP

Filled tank with fresh water today to test for leaks and if everything works. All was well for about 10min until the water started fill up the overflow area. Hello, a nice leak pouring out between the poly and stand. Drained the overflow and took out both of the bulkheads. What do you know one was missing a seal, hmmmm wait a minute, the other one has two. oops

The bulkheads will be a lot safer if you put silicon on the same place as the seals. Put a bead of silicon round the center and as you tighten them it will works its way out giving you a 100% seal. You only need to do the nuts up hand tight if you do it this way. It's up to you if you leave the rubber gaskets in, I took mine out, couldn't see any point leaving them in, but others leave them in.

The risk if you don't silicon them is that if you move the plumbing eg removing a pump, you might move the bullkhead by accident and break the seal. I have attached plumbing to my bulkheads using a pipe wrench with no problems with movement.

That sounds like a good idea . For testing purposes the gasket worked pretty well on its own, still getting drops out of a couple.

Once I really set it up, I was going to leave the gasket in there and silicone between the gasket and the glass but the no gasket idea sounds better. But there is always the chance that the silicone seal can be broken when changing the plumbing.

Love it Kyle!

I think your outlet pipe in the overflow will be prone to blockages though, that's if I'm seeing it right & it has an end cap on top above the drilled holes?

No worries though you've got a spare pipe, good engineering. If you make the drilled pipe easy to remove that will make cleaning easy from time to time if the holes block.

Yup thats right. The one with holes if the main overflow and the one without is the backup. What do you suggest for the main overflow. I was thinking of making the holes a touch bigger and adding a few more. Not sure what to do with the emergancy, probally just leave as is, it is the same size all the way though with a little detour due to a slight design error :oops:

What do I suggest? Little point asking me because plumbing is definately my weak point. No doubt others will chip in, something called the Cracker Pipe made an entrance & created a stir a while back it is basically a tap with a pipe on top, you adjust the tap to adjust hight of water in the overflow.

But seems you've got all the bases covered the second pipe will take over if the main one does block. I am sure it eventually will, but it will just be one of those maintenance things to give it a clean every now & then.

But anyhow the whole thing is looking great & will no doubt become an excellent environment for the creatures that are going to live in it.

Its not really in the pics but I'm running a full siphon, the tap is underneath the tank. I'm just not too sure if the strainer I have is good...

full siphons need adjusting occasionally. Its better to have the tap higher for easier access. You can add one to the pipes ypou have there in the overflow.

full siphons need adjusting occasionally. Its better to have the tap higher for easier access. You can add one to the pipes ypou have there in the overflow.

Why would you want a tap in your over flow? You would get wet evey time you adjust it, its another reason for having to put your hands in the tank, the tap is going to get a built up of tube worms etc on it, and lastly it makes it harder to switch to a durso once you realise the full siphon is risky and a PITA :lol: :lol:

Ask people just how quiet my tank is....Have you used a full siphon suphew?

it is exceptionally quiet, although it does make a gurgling every now and then. for me personally, i stick to durso coz its less risk IMO, a tried and true method. plus the fact my tanks in a separate room so i cant hear it from the lounge anyway. couldnt you use a combination of both methods?

Ask people just how quiet my tank is....Have you used a full siphon suphew?

I have never said it isn't quiet. No I haven't but thanks for asking

My concerns regarding them are purely because of safety and hassle, but we have been over this, I'm sure most people understand the up and down sides of each system. But if not would suggest they PM me, yourself, or start a new thread, so we don't make a mess of KP's thread.

We've been through this before anyway.

Comments posted to create a reaction removed, albeit in humour

haha Yeah I created the original full siphon vs durso a few months ago that got locked up. Have decided to go for the full siphon due to the fact that the tank is in my bedroom :-? :-? . Noise minimisation is the main objective . Still steady this morning but I guess it will need extra adjusting until it builds up with slime.

Can anyone comment on my strainer?

Slightly bigger and more holes so there isn't too much maintence but still block anything that can't go through the tap?