Skimmer to Tank Conversion

R

Robby.F

I picked up the acrylic tube of a skimmer/reactor at Dallas North Aquarium for $1 out of the used section. My plan was to make a skimmer, but its too big for what I would need. So I got crazy and decided to make a tank [smilie=smile.gif]. I picked up a 2.5 gallon tank from Petco to use as my sump ($15, even though the 10 gallon is $10). I fit PVC directly to the neck of the Skimmer and put a ball valve at the end. The tank will be above the sump and gravity should drain the tank. I will then have a pump to bring water back to the top of the tank. The entire system should be around 3-4 gallons. The plan is to have a box to hold the sump and plumbing with just the tube coming out of the top. Let me know what you think. Also what pump should I use?

-Robby
 
what lighting would you use? I would imagine your pump would have to work semi hard to get it to go up about what 2-3 feet? I have a maxi-jet 1200 to go from my refill bucket to the main tank and I can see the flow weaken after a few minutes. It's only like 3-4ft beneath the tank. And you wouldnt want a pump that is too strong or too weak.
 
What happens during a power loss or pump failure???? Will you use a check valve(which can't be trusted) to prevent the entire tank from draining into the sump???

Cheers,
 
I love the idea of the small circular tank. A zoa tank with LEDs over it like that would look great. If you have the plumbing all figured out (I don't see how it would work!) let us know how you're doing it. If you're still putting ideas together on this you might look at a single pipe overflow.
 
Bimmerz has a good point. All the water would drain into the 2.5 gal and overflow. Might be best to seal the bottom and make a small overflow box with a return.
 
Good idea just needs fine tuning, please look at this as constructive feedback and not just as folks deriding your idea. I know you are probably looking for a clean clutter-free look but sometimes compromise is necessary. You also need to consider how you will clean the viewing surfaces, zoa's like "dirtier" water so I would imagine that would cause more frequent cleaning.

Cheers,
 
Thats why I shared the project, thanks for all the feedback. Yeah cleaning the sides ill use some sort of algae scraper attached to a rod, then cut it really narrow so it will be flush with the sides, or just a skinny rod with a pad wrapped around one end.
 
I like the idea of the center overflow. Might consider using a piece of schedule 80 PVC so that it's grey and not white! You can paint the PVC with fusion spray paint, but if you scrape it with something, the paint comes off.

If you put a reducing bushings in the funnel reducer, you might be able to not only affix the overflow standpipe, but also reduce the size of the bulky plumbing going into the sump.

Are you gonna build a wooden stand to support the tube and then have a door hiding the 2.5g tank?!

I can't wait to see the final!
 
I already painted a PVC pipe black for the overflow, and I'll build a box to contain everything, with no back to get to the sump, on the bottom piece of the box I'll screw down braces to hold the tank.
 
@Robby.F wrote:
What do you think about this pump? [url=http://http://www.marinedepot.com/Hydor_SELTZ_L30_Pump_320_gph_Up_to_500_Gallons_Per_Hour_Submersible_Water_Pumps-Hydor_USA-HD12127-FIWPSBUF-HD09135-vi.html]http://www.marinedepot.com/Hydor_SELTZ_L30_Pump_320_gph_Up_to_500_Gallons_Per_Hour_Submersible_Water_Pumps-Hydor_USA-HD12127-FIWPSBUF-HD09135-vi.html[/url] said:
This is tricky because it depends on how much flow you want as well as tank turnover.

How much do you estimate your entire water volume to be? - like 3.5 gallons? If so you really only need to turn over like 3-5x. Try to find the flow rate/head height diagram for that pump. I don't know the answer, but I think it might be too much.

I bought a MJ 606 the other day for an ATO pump and it works pretty dang good and was only $22 at a LFS.
Click to expand...
 
There is a size smaller, but it says you can adjust the flow. I don't need a lot of flow, but it will have to push water up 2-3 ft.
 
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