Back of Boyu TL550

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Does anybody here know what the back of the Boyu TL550 is made of. Is it acrylic like the rest of the tank? It is coated in a black plastic, so I dont know what is underneath.

Reason, is I want to drill two holes in the tank and put in a proper sump underneath in the stand that I built.

If it is glass then this wont work.
 
if it's glass it will work, if its acrylic then you will have some trouble.

you need to drill when the nano is empty
 
Kevin,

The back of the Boyu's are made from a polycarbonate plastic.
Can be very difficult to drill into because the polycarb is hard and brittle.

Just be careful that you don't end up cracking the polycarb if you drill, and oh yes obviously you need to drill when the tank is empty.

Easier way to do this is to get a hang-on overflow and then pipe this down to your sump.
 
Thanks,

I have looked at the hang-on overflows, but I dont think the lid will close with it on. Also I have heard that it is only a matter of time until they fail, causing a small flood.
 
Thanks,

I have looked at the hang-on overflows, but I dont think the lid will close with it on. Also I have heard that it is only a matter of time until they fail, causing a small flood.


You would need to modify the lid to accept the hang-on overflow, but that is easier to do than drilling and piping into the back of the Boyu. Your lid is removable so it makes working on it a lot easier.

Yeah, the hang-ons do fail and leak unfortunately.

Just a question though if I may : Why do you want a sump for the Boyu ?
IMO a sump will not really deliver any real value to your existing setup.
 
I want to install an algae scrubber and put in a DSB.

Although I have thought of filling a filter sock with "reggie sand" and trying that as a DSB.
 
I want to install an algae scrubber and put in a DSB.

Although I have thought of filling a filter sock with "reggie sand" and trying that as a DSB.

Aha , OK that makes sense as to why you would want a sump.
Not a bad idea as I'm contemplating something similar(algea scrubber).
Won't be a sump since I have no space where the tank is currently standing . Plumbing would be a bit of a nightmare also :(

For your DSB to be effective you would need a depth of approx 12-15cm's.
Remember also that you want the flow over the DSB to be as slow as possible in order to maximise the bio filtration .

How were you planning on using and positioning the DSB in a filter sock ?
 
Kevin,

Just another comment:
Don't misunderstand me , if you want to have a sump for the Boyu there is nothing wrong with that IMO.

What I am getting at , is that one needs to weigh up the benefits of having a sump for the Boyu against the possible difficulties of piping in and out of the tank , space for the sump and ( if you are going a DSB route) the positive impact this will have in contributing towards better water quality and health. ;)
 
The back sections (sump) of the Boyu TL550 are about 55cm deep, and they are currently empty after removing the bioballs and ceramic rings. So I was thinking of filling up a standard filter sock with Reggies sand and leaving the top open. The open end of the sock, I want to fix over a plastic ring that floats (kiddies toy).

So the sock will sand upright in the with the top open in the third compartment in the Boyu. This should fill up more or less half of the compartment with sand, without any chance of the sand pouring into the fourth compartment, blocking the return pump.

The water flow is quite passive in the back of the Boyu. I dont know if this will work as the width of the sock is not that great so maybe not enough anaerobic capacity.

Worth a try and will cost almost nothing.
 
Mhhhmm...

Sounds like an idea. But, like you said the water flow at the back filter compartments is not great. Also, you would need to ensure that the sand is expanding to fill the compartment as much as possible (i.e. sand must be up against the side walls of the compartment).Otherwise the water will just bypass the DSB on the sides

So, the flow will come in from the top , through the DSB and then out to the fourth compartment to be returned to the tank.

Could work ... it's certainly worth a try.

Please post pics once you've done this mod as I'd be interested to see how this works.

Good luck :)
 
I read a thread once on an overseas forum of how a guy modified his nano. Aparently he stripped out everything at the back and converted it to have two compartments. The smallest one was for the return pump. The other one he filled with a thick layer of very fine sand and put chaeto on top of it. You might ask now but how did the chaeto get light?
He cut off/open the black plastic covering the tank at the back and used a desk lamp or office lamp with the right type globe and let it shine through the glass onto the cheato. Maybe someone here saw that as well - if I could just remember where it was...:whistling:
 
The back compartments get quite a bit of light from the PL tubes in the Nano up too about half way.

What I have thought of is placing a Bright LED bulb underneath at the back compartment of the Nano as this is clear acrylic. I built my own stand so it is easy to do, but on the standard BOYU stand It will take a bit of a modification.

Apollo, I have thought about your suggestion, would that not constrict the flow of water though the back compartment.

If we look at the standard DSB most guys are running, the water generally just flows over the top and not through the DSB.

I will try your suggestion and see what happens. :)

I wonder how long a DSB of this nature will take to run efficiently?
 
i was going to try to take off some of the black plastic on mine to shine a light in for some chaeto. I am not sure if it will come off though.
 
Unfortunately a DSB takes quite some time to mature properly - 6 months and longer :(

and yes, water should flow over DSB, not through it.
 
Hey Kevin,

Sorry , haven't looked at this thread for a while.

Tobes is quite correct : The flow should go over the DSB and not through it.

Don't know what I was thinking ...:p

Anyway, if you wanted to still go with a DSB in the back of the Boyu you should perhaps rather look at a partition which you can put into the chamber. The sides of the partition wall should go all the way from the bottom and come to within 2cm or so from the top.

I can't remember how the flow from the second compartment to the third compartment goes. If it comes in from the top, then it's fine. It will flow over the DSB and over the partition wall and then out to the fourth chamber. Hope this makes sense ?

Your only trouble will be in sticking a partition into the chamber while your tank is already filled with water. Only way I can see of doing this is to use either super glue ( the gel type) or Prattley putty. Line the sides of the partition wall and then stick this into the chamber.

All of this may be more trouble than what it is worth and you would be constricting the flow slightly.

Better idea may be to convert the third chamber into an algea scrubber.

Just a thought. ;)
 
The flow goes underneath the first chamber, over the top of the 2nd, under the third into the return.

I have cut a piece of undergravel filter plastic and stuck it about a quater way down the second chamber and put chaeto on top. It seems to be doing fine with the normal lights in the nano.

To drain to back chambers of the nano is easy. Block off the overflow with a piece of plastic bag. Pull off the sprayer bar and connect a pipe into a bucket where the spray bar used to be and in 2 minutes the whole back section is empty.

When you are finished, reove plastic bag and gooi the water back in the tank.

If anybody has a design to put an algae scrubber in the back chamber of the nano, I would love to see it. My brain cant work it out :p
 
Hey Kevin,

Sounds like a cool modification you have done there.
In terms of a scrubber:

What you want to do is to position a plastic grid in a chamber , where the flow comes in from the top and have the water flow over and down this grid. Hope this makes sense ?

The overspill of light from the main lights should be enough to encourage algae growth.


Wish I could do this type of mod in my nano. Unfortunately on the TL450's the chambers are way too narrow to accomodate a "built in " algae scrubber of any kind.:(

BTW: Are you coming to the Gauteng MASA get together on 1 Feb ? You'll find details on the Local reefing clubs forum.
 
BTW: Are you coming to the Gauteng MASA get together on 1 Feb ? You'll find details on the Local reefing clubs forum.

Nah, unfortunately I cant. It is my wedding aniversary, plus I need to get some studying done.

Thanks anyway! ;)
 
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