Just a peak into the AIO build
 

Just a teaser for now. I'll explain more after my hike in Griffith Park.

:icon_excl Its in early planning stages and just trying to see if I have the finances for it. But if everything goes according to plan this will be ready sometime in the beginning of summer. So this will be a slow and long journal if you have the patience for it. :icon_excl

http://i.imgur.com/3oB9fbo.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tF6kZZO.jpg

The filter design looks pretty good.

The faceless woman is creepy though.

Thanks! Not much you can do with filter design though. And yes I agree about the woman! :eek: Maybe I can photoshop an expo model into it.

I want a bigger tank. But my SO doesn't want several tanks around and neither do I. I don't want to maintain 4 or 5 tanks. So I'll decommission my 17g. My 10g is already decommissioned. The edge will be kept running because my SO likes that one since her guppies are in it.

I want to go AIO with the tank for a couple of reasons:
1 - It just looks consistently cleaner compared to having all of the tubes and wires hanging from the sides of the tank. It won't look as clean as taking out everything for a photo shoot but I won't be doing any competitions and I just want an every day nice looking tank.
2 - Why not go sump and hide all the equipment in that? Because of CO2 loss at the returns.
3 - Its slightly quieter than a sump.
4 - I live in an apt. When its time to move I don't want to take plumbing apart anymore and re-plumb everything.

The tank is going to be 36x24x14. 4" for the filtration area and a roomy 20" deep tank for some really nice depth of field. Dimensions may change a little but not much from that. I'm not so much a fan of the 90P dimensions because I think its a bit too tall at 18".

http://i.imgur.com/iOZNyKQ.jpg

Equipment so far I'm looking at:
Tank: Custom from LeeMar or CAD Lights. Low iron glass tank.
Stand: Custom walnut furniture grade
Lighting: Finnex Ray 2s / Current USA LED Pro Strips / AI Vega or Sol (I really want to go this route because it'll do automated lighting cycles but this is the most expensive option)
Pumps: 2x Sicce Syncra 357GPH / Rio Hyperflow 350GPH
Heaters: 2x Jager 75W
CO2: Atomic CO2 Regulator + 65mm Diffuser
Filtration: Ceramic discs + purigen

Hardscape:
I'll take the manzanita from my 17g and whatever rocks I can find that is non-reactive.

Flora (so far):
This will be a display tank but it'll also be a farming tank.
NLJF
Hygrophila pinnatifida
Hygrophila 'Compacta'
Staurogyne repens
Erio shiga
Anubias nana petite

Fauna (so far):
German Ram
Neon Tetra
Harlequin rasbora
Oto
Amano shrimp

If you have any thoughts or suggestions on anything please let me know!

Planning update! I'm contemplating getting quotes from 2 other makers now: CAD and Clear Diamond. I'm on the fence with Leemar now. I'm going to get a quote from a millworker who is redoing some of our office furniture. He does good work and he is cheaper than the other ones we work with. But I'm sure hes more expensive than other millworkers out there.

After seeing so many jumping fish and amanos crawling out, I want to go with a hard lid everywhere. The filter will get the black pvc lid so it'll help prevent algae. The tank will get a 3 piece acrylic top so I can pop them open and feed fish and do maintenance and stuff. I'll get those laser cut and welded so its stiff and clean.

You can see the lid. And I'm going with an ADA style stand on the outside...
http://i.imgur.com/IsUzLmg.jpg

Open lid.
http://i.imgur.com/4ehFcNo.jpg

I must say I am liking the direction of the stand now. I think it will have to be beefy. 2 layers of 3/4" plywood for the sides and top. And no that is not a sump in the stand. Its a grow out / quarantine tank. I will hook up my current LEDs and Finnex 360 filter to it. I have to keep it hidden from the GF.
http://i.imgur.com/Q6xPmSa.jpg

Do I want a grow out tank in the stand? I don't know. It's not going to be fixed.
http://i.imgur.com/FwOv02i.jpg

I also want drawers. Some shallow ones for tools and misc things like filter floss and stuff. And a deeper one for my fert bottles and stuff.
http://i.imgur.com/VHYZBme.jpg

I'm betting it'll need some support so extra bracing...
http://i.imgur.com/8HBh3c3.jpg

Any more suggestions? Anyone built their own ADA stand? How is it lasting with plywood? Did you use 1 or 2 layers?

I used 3/4" mdf for my stand, 18x18" with no bracing and it's beef.
with yours having that vertical brace I wouldn't worry about strength and I'd say you could probably do with only one thickness of material, same as the top surface. Keep in mind that a flat tank sitting on a flat board is not going to have pressure points which could pierce or split the wood so all you really need the wood to do is stay flat and level.

Basically, I think you are way over-engineering the stand. Use one layer of material pretty much everywhere, mdf or plywood is a lot stronger than you think it is as long as you aren't trying to put a shear load on it.

It's a nice design, keep it simple. I'd build it from MDF, waterproof it with paint or resin and skin with whatever veneer or laminate you want and you are golden. Sure, you CAN build it from expensive Walnut, but I really don't think you are going to gain anything in strength or functionality.

Oh, and I like AIOs too, check my sig. I think you'll have way too much flow with two 350gph returns... I'm only running 160gph in a 25 gallon and my fish can still get blown for a loop when they are playing in the current.

One friendly suggestion: Add a few holes in the back acrylic as another entrance to allow water in to the back chambers. Holes positioned high enough to keep the pumps submersed incase of evap or something clogging entrance gate on top. Also reconsider the heaters position. The current chamber it is in would be bad news if it ever ran dry as I am assuming that is the first area that you will see water loss. I don't think a vertical positioned heater would have issues in that center chamber.

Looks great btw!

I think you're right about the top needing to be only 1 layer and probably the supports on the inside. I do live in earthquake city though so I might just walk into a LFS and see what their custom stands are made from. I'd imagine plywood on end would buckle before it fails compression. And did I say walnut plywood? Sorry I mean walnut veneer. Walnut plywood is much too expensive compared to veneer.

And I'm looking at getting high turnover pumps that can be dialed down if needed. I might be putting a lot of hardscape that would obstruct some flow so having it available if I need to dial it up is always nice. I notice that in my current tank because of the hardscape and there is no flow in half of it. I had to put in a powerhead. I don't want to do that again.

Ah yes! I did change that awhile back. Someone pointed out to me just like you that the pump chamber will be half as high as the intake chamber during normal use.

http://i.imgur.com/MYKWDPL.jpg