in wall 55

[Verruckt]

I'm wanting to build an in-wall tank. 55 seems to be a nice size accomplish this. I was thinking of having the overflow at one end of the tank, and return on the other end. Sump underneat, with heater etc.

I have an older hang on the back system that I was curious if anyone thinks it could modified or would be better suited to another application.

It's made by "Aquatic Research Technologies", which doesn't turn up much in Google. It's an all in one unit, w/ a skimmer. Not sure how well it works as I've never used it. What do you think?

 

[mr_X]

i think you are better off starting fresh with a simple glass tank and a good quality in-sump skimmer. make sure you have plenty of room for a refugium, which seems to be the setup of choice for most. :wink:

 

[Verruckt]

I was thinking so too, since this thing is tall, and only about 5 inches thick. It has brackets on the back, it's actually designed to be a hang-on apparat. Does it look like a crappy design or not? I'm just wondering what I might be able to do with it. It's too tall to hang on a 55. It would need at at least an 18" tall tank.

 

[mr_X]

i wouldn't even bother with it. sell it to someone who has a small tank and needs something like that.
the design is ok...it looks like every other all-in-one unit i've seen. the general situation with those is, the skimmer is junk, and the box is too small.
get yourself the biggest tank you can fit under your stand. purchase a "breeder" style tank. breeder tanks are much wider and shallower than standard tanks. ideal for sumps.

 

[Verruckt]

Makes sense. It certainly wouldn't be a good use of space underneath the actual tank, thats for sure.

As far as my idea of having a 55 in the wall, is that setup feasible? I was planning on having the flow start at one end, and flow to the other end, where the overflows would be located. I play on "hiding" maybe 2" of the end of the tank, to sort of hide the tubing, etc. I'm reasonable sure I can setup tubing going vertical on the output side, so taht there is as much flow on the bottom, as there is at the top. But on the overflow side, I would have a "dead spot" at the bottom. Is that going to be a problem? Or could I add a powerhead or two, to help with water flow? I just want to make sure that I have proper flow through the tank, with all of the rock and wildlife in there. This is going to be a "window" tank, so visible on both sides. So it will have to be landscaped accordingly. Does what I'm saying make any sense? Sometimes I think i'm mad..

Anyway, criticisms and suggestions are welcomed.

 

[mr_X]

you will need a secondary flow output. the return from sump will not be nearly enough IMO. will the tank be totally in wall, so that you only see the front and back?
i'd drill a few holes for a closed loop in both sides. put them on an oceans motions squirt or 4way, and run it from an external pump.
i also wouldn't hide any of the ends of the display glass. make a border around the tank which can hold your pvc pipes, but you'll want every bit of that display available.

 

[Verruckt]

you will need a secondary flow output. the return from sump will not be nearly enough IMO. will the tank be totally in wall, so that you only see the front and back?

Correct. Just the front and back would be visible. So it would be like a window. Do you mean that only having an outlet to one side, would not allow for enough water movement?

i'd drill a few holes for a closed loop in both sides. put them on an oceans motions squirt or 4way, and run it from an external pump.

By closed loop system, do you mean the inlets and outlets are are through piping going through holes drilled into the tank? That is a setup that I had w/ my 125 freshwater setup a few years ago. Also, I'm not too familiar with the ocean motions, or 4way. Are these basically wavemaker type systems? As for the pump, I had planned on having some type of pump down in the sump to pump back up to the tank. In my 125 freshwater, I had a good sized Iwaki pump that pulled from the sump and pumped up to the tank.

i also wouldn't hide any of the ends of the display glass. make a border around the tank which can hold your pvc pipes, but you'll want every bit of that display available.

Yeah, i know that there isn't much display area on the 55. I just wanted to hide as much of the plumbing as possible.

 

[mr_X]

yes, 1 water outlet won't be satisfactory for you. a constant directional flow is not optimal. you are better off having something that creates an erratic turbulence. while it's not mandatory, i find it as close to the ocean as we can get right now. i also feel that you are not going to like the looks of powerheads in your tank. there's just not enough room.
as for the closed loop, yes, oceans motions is a company that makes wavemakers that does not shut pumps down, but changes flow from one direction to another while the pump is running full force.
http://www.oceansmotions.com/store/prod ... 65ade8d665
the pump you will use for this will be a completely different pump than your return from sump.

 

[Verruckt]

How would you plumb this? If I understand you correctly, there would be one pump from the sump to the tank. And another pump for the wavemaker. Not sure where that should come from.

 

[mr_X]

it should come from underneath somewhere...wherever you wanted to place it.
are you going to use an internal or external pump for the sump? if external(which will require drilling the sump) you can place them right next to each other.

did you see my build thread? my return is internal, and my closed loop pump is just sitting under the tank, bolted to the stand, and plumbed from there.
i guess you want to put the CL pump in as good a position as you can, to limit the amount of plumbing T's and elbows.