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In tank planted sump filter.. It's finaly happening..

Another issue i'm not yet decided about is the filter gaurd i'm planning to use.. It hooks to the backpanel.. But is designed for 4mm panel.
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Now i'm bit in dilemma, i wanted t make the filter panels out of 6mm acrylic.. And in doubt if 4mm would be enough, if it isn't i have a problem.. If i use 6mm i need to think of something to get this 4mm hook to a 6mm panel.. It's made rather minimalixtic, can't route the hook any bigger.. Still brainsorming about that one.. Might need to route the panel at the top side to 4mm thiknes so the hook fits.

Every negative has a possitive, a yup with little time for helping, at least gives me time to think and find the best solution.... :thumbup: :D
 
This is very cool. She's very lucky to have such a skilled builder on hand! I was thinking of a tank with a row of HOB filter/breeder boxes on the back to use as planters to avoid having them in the tank overhanging, but this is much neater.

On your hook, I'd just take a saw to the back vertical piece and then add my own extension.
 
Thank you Tam.. :)
On your hook, I'd just take a saw to the back vertical piece and then add my own extension.

That could be an option i thought about. There is black plastic corner profile to find in some hardware stores.. Or drill a few 1mm holes and and pin (dowel) it.
But still in dilema if i should go for 4mm acrylic panels instead.. The filterguard is a professional gadget from excisting builds, they use 4mm too. So might be just paranoia with the idea it aint enough.. :) The 6mm idea alsi is more aimt eastheticaly, i have the idea 4mm will look to flimsy on the 8mm glas.

I was thinking of a tank with a row of HOB filter/breeder boxes on the back to use as planters to avoid having them in the tank overhanging, but this is much neater.
Have you ever seen these? It might just be what your looking for.. With some minor modifications or depending tank size it could be placed on top instead of inside.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-6-Grids-...m=352244963959&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851
 
She's very lucky

And btw, that's both sides of the coin, i'm equaly lucky. Having guinea pigs at hand i can experiment and test drive my crazy idaes on without it costing me a dime. Even better i'll get a free dinner out of it as well. :lol: That's a win win for both. Daughter happy, i'm happy, daddy is paying.. :cool:
 
look before you leap... Most interesting job in the project.. 8 x 48 holes.. :hungover: I'm holestruck.. The worst of all, nobody will see it when its done..
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The first 100 are a pain, feeling like an endless task.. But than autopilot and routine kicks in.. The majority is 3mm, than i could kept the drill running and with a sharp wood drill bit the drills weight was enough to push through. Looking at the clock is still did it pretty fast... But for now i'm done with holes for a while, feel like a robot and need a hole break.. :rolleyes:
 
The first 100 are a pain, feeling like an endless task.. But than autopilot and routine kicks in.. The majority is 3mm, than i could kept the drill running and with a sharp wood drill bit the drills weight was enough to push through. Looking at the clock is still did it pretty fast... But for now i'm done with holes for a while, feel like a robot and need a hole break.. :rolleyes:
Do you know anybody with a pillar drill you could use, would make it a lot less tedious if you've got more to do.
 
Do you know anybody with a pillar drill you could use, would make it a lot less tedious if you've got more to do.

No actualy i don't.. :) But than again if i have to drive an hour back and fort to the pilar drill than i'm faster by hand as i did now. But i definitively need one, especialy if drilling holes verticaly straight is required. Did this also by hand, can be done, but sometimes i slip. I have been looking around to buy a used one myself. They are not that expensive, but i'm still waiting to find the time to make room in the shed. My problem is i suffer from collecteritis, i guess i need room for another shed.. :rolleyes:

Building a new DIY LED?:eek::D:p:lol:
:lol:
 
No actualy i don't.. :) But than again if i have to drive an hour back and fort to the pilar drill than i'm faster by hand as i did now. But i definitively need one, especialy if drilling holes verticaly straight is required. Did this also by hand, can be done, but sometimes i slip. I have been looking around to buy a used one myself. They are not that expensive, but i'm still waiting to find the time to make room in the shed. My problem is i suffer from collecteritis, i guess i need room for another shed.. :rolleyes:
:lol:
I also suffer with a serious case of collecteritis, you can't move in my shed, garage... loft :lol:
 
Is that the drainage for the bio-media compartment? Are you going to silicone the acrylic together or use cement?
 
Is that the drainage for the bio-media compartment? Are you going to silicone the acrylic together or use cement?

Yes that's the bottom panel of the planted media compartment (The 50x9 in the bellow diagram.. I'll solvent weld (cement) it in place and since i can't make a tryout for checking if the welds are water tight i also apply silicone kit in the corners as sealant. :) I need to kit it to the tanks glas back and bottom panel anyway..
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The measurments listed are what i ordered. I need to cut some to proper length and need the spares for other purpose. Need to glue in a few bumbers for the filtersock to stay in place.
 
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Looks great, once I have time I'll build something very similar, only for a tall tank, perhaps 35x35x45.

I'm totally sold on the built in planted sump. Probably I'll try to cut an overflow weir on the acrylic instead of using a guard+filter sock. And then water would flow straight into a coarse sponge. Just seems like it wouldn't clog so easily, but I don't really know since I never used filter socks before.

Keep us updated, this is great! :)
 
but I don't really know since I never used filter socks before.

Me neither i have no filtersock experience.. It's a 200 micron i'd put it under the tap to check and the through flow is pretty strong. Tap fully open and the water runs through as if there is no restriction.. Ofcourse it slowly will clog and reduse and thus do build in a prevention. The sock has a plastic square holder to hang it in the sump. It's 12.5 x 8 cm.. Thus i make the overflow compartment 1 cm wider 9cm. In case the sock aint replaced on time it has a 10mm gap at the top back to overflow the water if the sock ever clogs.. :)

If it doesn't work out as expected, no harm done, the sock can easily be replaced with a sponge..

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It's a mater of routine and getting to know your sump when it's time to switch the sock, therefore i have 2 socks.. Switch 'm out and drop the dirty one into the washing machine. With sponge it's actualy the same, these also clog over time and need to be cleaned out. The sock probably a tad sooner since it has less surface arae..

We'll surely find out one day.. :)
 
The overflow hole is cut.. :nailbiting: No more turning back...

Placed it 5cm bellow the tanks top rim.. I only can make it bigger now.. Still have a 10mm vertical rim on the filter if needed i can use that to trim it a bit.
A bit of sanding and filing to smooth it up and it's done so far.. I actualy can not remember the last time i used this oldschool jig saw. Had to search the whole shed back and fort for it to find it. But in a way i prefer this over the electrical stuff.. It has more feeling to it, also more feeling of having adchieved something when done. :rolleyes:
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First i thought should i make slids instead of 1 hole.. Next to all the extra work of drilling and sawing several slids i thought why? Do i realy need a guard behind a guard it's not building fort noks!?.. And 2 guards are 2 clog risks, so one hole it is.. I hope i made the rights choice.. Still have a second gaurd as replacement, they are only sold in sets of 2. So that comes in handy as well.
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Next step glueing the bafles/deviders. :)
 
Everything welded together.. :) And i must say myself.. it fits like a glove.. Perfetly....

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It has a 3mm gap all around, to inject the kit into.. And still need to buf up the vissible cut marks on the top rim.. Than it's ready for a test run.. Moment supreme, see how much flow i can push trough it.. I enthousiaticaly start with a 600/1100l/h pump to see where it ends.. I guess 600l/h shouldn't be an issue..

The trickle tube is just an example, i still need to make it.. There are also 2 x 10mm open hole behind the trickle tube, in case the 25mm trickle tube alone doesn't provide.. If it does, i can decide to plug the holes or make 'm a tad bigger.. All tis is a mystery for now.. Have to test run after it is kitted in.
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Snap shot of the welded acrylic, held it against the light and there are 0% gaps.. But still since i have to cut open a tube of kit anyway i'll place a kit seem internaly as well. Can't hurt.. And once its completely kitted in it's not accesible anymore..

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Actualy funny, it shows that black actualy doesn't excist as a color, it always is a very dark pigment of brown, blue and in this case green. I already noticed with drilling that the drill chips had the same dark green color. It probably was the temperature pulling out the true pigment.. And also the welded seems the solvent used did the same, in the camera's flash light the melted acrilyc looks green. Under normal ambient light it looks just black..
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:)
 
All is kitted in and ready for a test run!!...

Without filtermedia it is extrmely noisy.. :) But it shows the concept working a lot clearer.. Pump choise is the Eden 126 800/400 l/h and it runs full power.. With an effective 100 litre aqaurium 8 x turnover for a low energy is nice..

Anyway a vid says more than a 1000 words.


So far mission accompliched.. :thumbup:
 
Test run No.2 :) All running as expected, so i glued in the filtersock bumbers and added the media.. The choice of media is <VDL pond substrate>
The bag has an English product description, but i ddn't find ny english language website/shop about it. But it's a mix of Fritted glass granule and some other porous granlule that looks like a backed clay to me. It's developd as a pond substrate with lots of bio filtering capacity. Using it already for some years in my pond plant baskets and it's has prooven to also be a perfect plant grow medium.

Part 1 was the noisy test run, Part 2, quiet as a mouse...


I'm not the naritive type, i'm afraid i'll sound to much like Loui van Gaal ;) And than i would need to do all in one take or spend a lot of time edditing video's. i tried and it's definitively not my hobby.. And i also do not like to show myself in public on internet. (I do not want to startle the public with my gorgious looks :sick:). So why all the bablling and explain things that are already explained a thousand times on youtube.

Last step, is to cover all with a black foil.. Actualy my least favorite part.. All the work and nobody will ever see it again.. :shifty:...
And than it is ready to be shipped to it's new owner to be planted and scaped.. That''ll be somewhere next month.. I absolutely try to comeback with that and show it.

Some feedback on the things a ran into and learned myself during this build.. Hilighting the little flaws and my take on how it to prevent it. ;) So not only myself but also you can learn from my mistakes. Would be unfair to shroud my flaws and only take the glory of the compliments. :rolleyes:

This was my first 8mm optiwhite glas experience.. And now i learned why these tanks actualy are so expensive if professionaly made.
Glas needs to be cut, but actualy it is more like broken than cut.. We've seen it all make an initial cut and snap the piece off. Now when it comes to glas ticker than 6 mm the chances it will snap off diagonaly are rather great. It might result into this.
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Since we have 5 panels in the tank with 8 cuts in view, than we need to puzzle a bit which panel to put where and in what direction to hide it all a bit away. In this case i was lucky i could place this panel corner at the backside. The rest is rather straight. Later on a plant will hang over it anyway. And discussed the issue with the final owner and we both decided it's peanuts.. But it's definitively something to take into account before you decide to DIY a 8mm glas tank.

Preventing this, the glass cutter needs to grind and polish the edges.. Over all the pricce aint realy in the glass, the glas cut in size is about €120 to €140. That's actualy pretty cheap for a optiwhite in this dimension. But the grinding and polishing, than they need to cut the glass panels larger ofcourse and the grinding and polishing process depending on the glass shop is machine or even partialy hand work.. Time consuming and a price added per unit.. In my case per metre...

Next issue.. if you run a finger over a non polished glass edge thicker than 6 mm the cut is not only potentionaly diagonaly it's also rather bumpy.. It can have some nooks and cranies, not realy big ones but never the less a point that needs extra attention. See the first picture again it''l show if you look for it.. The glass needs to be spot on clean the tiniest speck of greas is the kits worst nightmare. Running a cloth with degreaser over a irregular surface you might not notice that you missed a small spot in a cranny.. Running over it but not in it.. :yuck:. The issue is, you don't see till you applied the kit.. Once you kitted it's to late. It's show as this..
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:nailbiting: :bored:
Again i was lucky the only corner having this is at the back panel.. the glas to glas connection is just for structural strength.. The few airbubbles in the connection don't realy weaken it. The seam making the tank waterproof is in the corner kitbeat.. So it's absolutely an easthetic flaw.. But still a nasty one.. Nothing else to do that let all fully cure and cut it all apart again and clean it and kit it all over again. Lucky break it's at the back, no one will ever see.. If it was at the front i would be realy unhappy.. How to prevent it? Simply thorougly clean the sides if necessary use a cotton ball inspect and feel the surface and find each tiny cranny and clean it out.. Or give the order to grind and polish the edges. than all will be straight and smooth and this likely will not happen.

That's why flawless professional 8mm optiwhite tanks are so pricy.. If you don't want to take risks the preparing work is quite a lot.. Taking machine/man hours that need to be paid. :peeking:
 
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Looks great - those little flaws will be well hidden once setup! Amazing how quiet it is with media added - that first test would have worried me it was going to sound like a waterfall.
 
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