[SeaSlug182]

about 5 years ago i over heard my high school principal discussing what to do with the fish tank in the chem lab, as the school was going to be remodeled that summer and the teacher who had been taking care of it retired. I offered to disasemble it and take it off their hands... they were thrilled (so was I... free fish tank:icon_cool) after being on the back burner for several years i decided to get it running

I know as far as aquascaping its not ideal having a giant overflow in the center of your tank but I've always loved this tank ever since the end of 8th grade when we took a tour of the high school for freshman orientation (i had never seen a central overflow before and the idea of a tank with no definitive back or front intrigued me)

Anyway I've been working on this thing since February getting it in working order as it was lacking lights plumbing and filtration but its finally done! yay
and after 4 weeks the brown diatoms have subsided and i thought i should post some pics

sorry this one is crooked but this side is only about 3 feet from a wall and my camera isn't wide enough angle to get a straight on shot

 

[freph]

Wow, nice find. Great work you did on it too. Congrats!

 

[jcgd]

Wow. Very nice tank. Not bad for a free score! Is the acrylic in as good shape as it looks?

 

[nonconductive]

nice tank. looks like you've got some dirt in there? you should join the club!

 

[SeaSlug182]

yea the acrylic has little scratched but they disappeared when the tank filled up with water

 

[nickc]

That's an awesome tank! looks like it was a custom one that was way over built, seems like 1" thick with bullnosed corners. Should last a very very long time

Could you post more about the sump setup? Im interested in how its setup and what its doing for filtration.

 

[2in10]

Beautiful tank and great scape, congrats on the freebie. That would make a great center piece with its design.

 

[KrazyFish]

That really is a wild tank. I love it! So much possibilities with this tank and so many different perspectives.

You could improve it if you found a way to hide the centre (maybe with some rock scape or something). The only other way this would be better is if it were about 4-6" deeper.

Regardless this is beauty tank! Nice score!

 

[tuffgong]

I love it. Especially since it was free! The overflow isn't nearly as distracting as it should be. Really nice work. Is it viewable from 360 degrees? I can't tell by your pics.

If you get bored you can take a large putty knife and push the substrate back from glass about 1/4 to 1/2" and fill the area with your capping substrate. That way you won't be able to see where the dirt ends and the cap begins.

 

[150EH]

At first I was thinking (it always starts trouble) if she removed that overflow it would be perfect with pre drilled filter access, but it's perfect just the way it sits because it allows you to put the tank in the middle of the room, and perfect for where you have placed it.

It's always nice to see something different and with supports in the room anyway your freebe worked out well. It looks clean too and not a day over nineteen, good job.

I kinda like seeing the dirt, that's where my tank always gets a funky looking algae.

 

[SeaSlug182]

tuffgong: Yes it viewable on all sides
nickc: yes its a little overbuilt its 3/4 acrylic, and sure ill post some sump pics

the biggest negative about the overflow i think is that i cant really have a huge centerpiece plant without seriously obstructing at least one angle of view

 

[Sd760]

Stunning it has so much potential. That would be an awesome pallodarium pardon my spelling. ( the tanks with open and planted tops) anyways GREAT work

 

[150EH]

If you wanted to, could you remove the overflow and just use bulkheads with an intake side and a exhaust side, then your center piece would hide everything.

 

[SeaSlug182]

The pump is a PanWorld 40PX 480gph I had to buy it to replace the pump the tank came with which was a Little Giant 4MDQ SC which put out 890gph and literally blew my driftwood around the tank
the check valve the check valve is necessary because the outlets on the overflow box are drilled in the middle of the tank:confused1: why, i don't know, but without the check valve, if i turned the pump off about 40 gallons would drain out of the tank
the white double union is there so i can hook up the oceanclear canister if need be, or to remove the pump for its nonexistant maintenance

This canister is the only filtration that the tank used to have, I have it sitting reserve only to be used if i make a royal mess of my tank by stirring up the dirt, I can easily hook it up in line with the main pump via the double unions

the bulkheads..... all four of them, why the builder decided they needed 2 1.5inch drain pipes is beyond me. This also is part of the reason i will never remove the overflow box

I knew as soon as I started this project that I didn't want to use a canister filter, and that I wanted to utilize the force or gravity on the drain to the sump to do the work for me. I'll admit I was at a loss until i saw my first sock filter at my lfs, and knew i could make it work. At first I thought of tying the sock around a pvc pipe but quickly discarded the idea as practical testing proved that particular idea a failure. So after a week or so of intermittent pondering I dreamed up my current design. I went to my local glass shop and asked them to cut me 4 5x6 pieces of acrylic 2 5/16in, 2 1/2in. and had them bond the two 1/2in pieces together. (They did all the bonding as I calculated it cost to be about the same for them to do it as it was for me to buy and pay shipping for a jar of weldon3, not to mention them doing superior bondwork)
I then spent about 9 hours over the next week measuring, drilling, grinding, and filing the sheets so a 1.5 in pvc pipe would snuggly slide into the 1in.thick sheet (the 2 1/2 inch sheets glued together,) and so that the sock ring would clip in between the two remaining sheets.
It was way more work than it had any right to be, but in the end it worked perfectly.
As for the sump it is bonded to the stand. It is 30 gallons and I have a small powerhead in there so things don't get stagnant, there is also a load of bioballs in there because i had them lying around and figured they'd do more good in my sump than in a box, also a bag of purigen
The blue cord goes to a pinpoint temperature controller because the mechanical thermostats in heaters are a joke imo

 

[ua hua]

That is a really nice looking tank especially if it's 25 years old. I would like to see a glass tank that is 25 years old look that nice. I will be watching for updates as the tank fills in. What kind of lighting are you using on the tank? Keep up the good work.

 

[yikesjason]

If you wanted, you could make the overflow look like a stump. Or cover it with a moss wall. Or just leave it. I think it looks fine in such a great looking tank.

 

[SeaSlug182]

What kind of lighting are you using on the tank?

it's a 48in. coralife fixture leftover from my reefing days
I used as a desk lamp for 5 years... having an actinic desk lamp if the final word in awesome:hihi:
anyway... specs
4 65W powercompacts (260W total) 2 65000K, 2 10kK
it is suspended 12 inched above the waterline, but I am contemplating raising it as I have a slight BGA outbreak
and would in the near future like to keep some plants that will break the waterline, and would also like an epiphyte or two on my exposed driftwood

 

[BradC]

Awesome tank! Love the shape and layout! Good job!

 

[londonloco]

Subscribed, please keep us updated, this tank is so unique!

 

[150EH]

If it aint broke, don't fix it. It looks good to me above and below and the sump helps with added O2 in the water, happier fish and plants.

A reduction in photo period could help your algae or maybe a boost in your nutients might too.

I've spent a long time getting my dialed but always had a very small thread and GSA problem, some link said too much Fe will cause thread algae so I kept backing off and it seemed to get slightly better without going away and all the while the GSA was getting slighly worse.

Until someone here suggested I go in the other direction will either a full dose or slight over dose of ferts according to EI recommended dosing and the thread is gone and the GSA just up and disappeared.

Plus I just keep adding new plants to help suck up the nutients.