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Update on the ultimate sorority project

8K views 107 replies 19 participants last post by  Zero186 
#1 ·
Ok so a week or so ago I posted a thread on here about my plans to make an ultimate betta sorority. Well I have officially dove into it (at least financially) so I know over the next 2 moths this project WILL be coming together :) I visited Petco yesterday just by habit of looking, which if your like me isnt a good idea since I always walk out with something...lol Anyway they were having their Dollar a gallon sale on glass fish tanks made by Aqueon. This was the first time I have ever experienced this sale. Long story short I brought home a 40 Gallon breeder (the largest I could fit on my stand that wasnt obnoxiously tall) and a 20 gallon long. I filled both up for water to test for leaks and it looks like we are good :) Also I got talked into getting a 24w uv sterilizer. We will see how that works out. The first thing I plan to do is to go to home depot and get some acrylic sheets, or plexiglass (ive been told both will work for the 20 long) to make the baffles for the sump. The only thing I have set in stone as far as filter media is that the first chamber will be filled with k1 filter media and moved via an air pump. Thats really it for now. I will update once I get the stuff to build the sump, and or I get the sump built :p
 
#84 ·
Hey everyone :D
I know it has been a while, but I wanted to post the updates to the project. It never stopped but had to be put on hold thanks to house renovations going on atm. Now that my room is done I can finish up the project and get it going again. I have had both tanks full of water for weeks w/ no leeks what-so-ever, so im confident that we are set as far as that goes. I went out with my gf and pick out some plants, and decorations for the display tank which IMO looks great. It's nothing spectacular, but it sure looks nice to me. I am going to add some more plants just in case you were wondering. This is just the start. I have two water pumps to keep the siphon going on my overflow's. I still have to cut the plexi for the sump (the platforms) and I have to go and get some hardware to plum this baby up. I should be ready to turn it on and start pushing water within the next week or so. Ill be sure to keep everybody updated :)



The room just to see the change.


The 10 gallon. They got some fresh sand in place of pebbles and a clean tank :)


The aqua pumps for the overflows.


 
#87 ·
Thanks :D

I feel like I could be more creative, but I simply dont have the time to do so lol. Once built a door alarm out of an old answering machine, some wires, and a 9V battery if that counts for anything xD
Gotta admit, most of the layout of the tank is due to my Gf. Shes the one who drew it up :)
 
#88 · (Edited)
Ok so tonight I spent maybe four or so hours plumbing the tank and the sump together. Not too difficult, just time consuming. In the end I am VERY happy with how it turned out and Im proud of my skills enough to show you guys just how it went :D (Please note this wasn't the first time Ive worked with PVC, so I didn't find it as difficult as some might have).

Alright, so lets see if we can make something useful out of all these parts :)


Where the pipe coming from the overflows needed to go under the furniture to the sump I decided to use two 45 degree bends to make the transition a little smoother to help baffle water noise and to generally help water flow. I assembled them first and this is what I got.


First one is almost done!


Now the second one is done :)


This is where the two water pipes meet over the K1 media reactor (or for better words, where the water comes in). I staggered there points of entry to provide better coverage over the soon to be pre-filter media and grate.


Setup is starting to come together.


Now we have the 1/2 inch pipe coming from the pump.


Picture of the almost completed project.


Good sump shot.


And finally this is the "water bar". Basically this is where the return water will expel. I used a coping saw to makes tons of slots (pain in the butt) for the water to come out in a even flow. The purpose is to try and reduce the pressure of the water flowing out at one spot as to avoid blowing the fishies all over the place.


Thats it for tonight. I am going to make the "slots" in the return water bar wider tomorrow and then sand it to remove any burrs. After that its down to the small things like cutting more plexi (ughhhh) and spending yet more money on stuff :/ O well, its all in the name of fish right? :)
 
#89 ·
This is really neat, especially the way you're presenting it. I haven't looked much into sumps, but I spent last night reading this all the same (it could well come in handy for me some day) and decided to subscribe over breakfast. Eager to see how it turns out!

You've done a nice job with it -- and from what I can see of the floor, you've done a nice job there as well, haha. I'm assuming you did the floor yourself as well?
 
#91 ·
Nice -- I'm in college too, but most of the rest of my time (and energy) is taken up by work. I'm planning to get my tank and set it up and running this week (hopefully Wednesday) and finally put all of this research to action. That'll be my fun hobby for a while.

I'm recovering from something I developed just before the weekend myself, so I can commiserate. Good luck with meeting your deadline!
 
#92 ·
Ok everybody. The time has come for me to finally fire this bad boy up and see how it works. Today the Rena air pump came in along with the third heater and the two filters for the overflow starter pumps. I got two lids for the overflow boxes and made a lid for the 40 gallon tank out of thin plexi glass. So far I like it but I dont know what im going to do as far as lighting is concerned so we will see. I still have to cut some more plexiglass and tinker with some things to really get it working correctly but for now im really pleased. Its all working as planed and is cycling water amazingly :) There are a few things that I messed up as far as sump design is concerned but they are not detrimental to the function of the system. I will explain all of this later when I got more time. For now though I have lots of pictures :)





























Sorry, this one is a little random. It was something that came in through newegg that I accidentally uploaded.




















Thats it for now. Im quite busy with finals this and next week so sorry if theres a lack of information. I hope everybody likes it as much as I do and if you have any questions feel free to ask :)
 
#98 ·
A quick update to anybody who is interested.
I Had to go out and get a one way valve for the return pump. As soon as I would turn off the system the water would vigorously siphon back through the return water bar and overfill the sump. Luckly I caught this and lifted the bar out of the water to stop the siphon. I went to the Lowes in town and got me a 1/2 inch copper one way flapper that I hooked in line to the return water bar. It is basically just a little flapper that opens to let the water flow by up to the return bar but as soon as the water tries to siphon back the flapper closes and seals off the return so it cant siphon back. Now that I got that installed I can run it 24/7 no worries of any major problem. I can say that using a sump system filters like no other. The water got quite cloudy over the few days it was stagnant but as soon as I ran the system for 24 hours it was and still is crystal clear. I filled the K1 chamber up a few days ago with about 10L of the stuff and about 3/4 of it is moving around as it should (looks really neat too). I still need to get a hood for the display and cut the plexi for the sump so I dont keep loosing so much water due to evaporation. So far so good :) Just need to find some ammonia so I can start fishless cycling.
 
#99 ·
I have evaporation issues too. I lose about half a centimetre per day :L lol
 
#105 ·
Almost one month later and I think im ready to continue on and get this thing done with :p (Sort of tired of looking at a bare tank anyway).
So a couple of things:
1. The tank has been "running" for 3+ months or so with no issues concerning the design as far as I can tell. AKA: So far no water on the floor.
2. Initially, when I went to begin fishless cycling I put WAY too much ammonia in the tank. It was so high that it was enough to keep the process from really starting to begin with. So after a 20 or so gallon water change and close to 1 1/2 months the ammonia finally went down to zero. So I brought it back up to ~3 ppm using about 7-9 drops of ACE hardwares pure ammonia. Be careful, the fumes of this stuff are enough to make you ill.
3. 2 of the 3 150w Aqueon Pro heaters are not working properly. Sometimes they work and other times the light goes out and it stops working completely. Tried contacting Aqueon, but im doubtful thats going to be resolved quickly. Since they were bought online a while back not really sure what im going to do as far as the heaters are concerned. One 150w heater is enough to keep it at 84 degrees when the house is warm, but as soon as the AC kicks on or the temp drops on a cold night it struggles to keep up.
4. I ordered a hood online for the display. Should be here next week sometime.
5. Built a light under the display to light the sump using a DC adapter, and a strip of white LED'S. I have it hooked up on a switch, which is convenient. It looks pretty ghetto but it works magnificently :)
6. Went out and bought a nice dremel tool a few weeks ago to make cutting the plexi glass a LOTTT easier.
7. I went by petco today and bought a little 4 inch gold ribbon. I am going to see how I stand when it comes to growing live plants. Test tank will be the 10 gallon with the two girls in it :) Any tips on the live plants would be awesome.

Thats pretty much all I can think of. I am ready to get the 40 Gallon stocked with fish so I can actually feel like all the electricity, and time its using is worthwhile :p

Almost forgot.....I liked the RENA air pump that I bought for the sump so much that I bought a Rena 300 for the 10 gallons bio reactor. The one I have now is just ungodly noisy. I can stand it, but I would rather a Rena after hearing the other one I have. Ill post my thoughts once it gets here for anybody who is interested :)
 
#106 ·
Yay I am glad it is back up! For live plants light is the most important thing. Then comes nutrients, some plants feed mostly from the roots and some only get a tad from the roots. Swords and crypts are heavy root feeders.

What kind of substrate are you using anyway?
 
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