Gideon's 1800x900x700 Dream
Hi all,
It’s been about 8 years since setting up my 2m display tank (with very small sump), and I’ve learned a lot since then about what I would like an aquarium to be. I hope to be putting the knowledge and experience to good use now that we are moving and I have a reasonable budget for it.
I have been planning and drawing in Sketchup for quite a while, and would like to share the design with you for some comments and discussions.
Tank Size: 1800 wide x 900 deep x 700 high (water level at 650) in 12mm glass with a 2x8mm laminated Starphire front viewing pane.
Sump size: 1600 wide x 550 deep x 450 high (but it’s more involved than that, more on that later) in 6mm glass.
The model shown above indicates where the tank will be situated in the room. The bottom-left of the room is open plan (kitchen to the left, main entrance to the bottom and two living rooms to the bottom-left and bottom-right) and the wood-and-glass doors walk out onto a patio with Louvre awnings, looking east. The stand will get some cladding, but the style still needs to be decided on.
So, let’s get rid of the room. Above you can see the full view of the tank (without the cabinet cladding). Above the stand, notice the following:
3x EcoTech Radion units with TIR lenses, hung from the ceiling.
1x EcoTech VorTech MP60wES, on the right-hand pane.
1x EcoTech VorTech MP40wES, on the left-hand pane.
I really like the minimalist in-tank footprint of the VorTech pumps and I should get enough flow and not-run-at-100% options from these two pumps, as shown by the EcoTech flow calculator for the tank size (without return pump flow factored in):
Bracing:
Eurobracing employed all around with two narrow cross-braces between the Radions for extra support. That leaves about 45cm between braces to work through.
Overflow:
All plumbing will go through the bottom of the tank as opposed to the back/sides/over (using the 3-base technique with part of the thinner middle base missing, allowing for the water to flow between the two thicker bases to the bulkheads). A skinny (6mm) overflow will be used across the back pane with two returns (on the left and right). I was really impressed with how neat this overflow is and how little space it takes up. Also, having the plumbing from the bottom means absolutely no plumbing running up and down the outside of the glass panes, with everything hidden in the sump. But there was one thing I was not comfortable with. As I understand, the skinny overflow with bottom bulkhead is generally used as follows: you create a siphon-like return from the overflow to the sump, setting the level to which the water rises at the back of the overflow with a valve that restricts the flow just enough to force the water up a little in the overflow chamber. This reduces the height the water needs to fall into the overflow chamber, making the overflow extremely silent (if you have a wide enough overflow for your return pump volume). At some point the added pressure as the water rises pushes a little bit more water through the plumbing, which balances the system with the water level in the overflow chamber at an acceptable level.
However, what concerned me was that, should there be a flow restriction for whatever cause in this system, and the drain pipe, with the overflow water level at the highest possible point, can only handle a little less flow than the return pump puts back into the tank, you get water build-up in the tank and the sump could run dry. I’ve been assured the chances of it becoming blocked are very small, with a lot of tanks running successfully like this for years, but the “no backup” situation kept bothering me, so I thought of something to put my mind at ease...
I’m showing the one hind-corner of the tank above. As is standard, the return chamber is totally sealed off except for the bulkhead to the bottom-right and the short return pipe at the top-right, so that the return pump pressures the water through the bulkhead, up the chamber and out of the short return pipe (which will have a 45-degree elbow to allow some setting of the direction of flow). Also standard is the overflow chamber that extends to the left (and further out of the picture), covering most of the back pane, with the bulkhead (not shown) draining the overflow chamber into the sump. The middle chamber is what I would like to add as a safety measure. On each side there will be a small chamber with another bulkhead at the bottom, both also draining into the sump. However, these chambers will mostly be dry and not in use. For these sections, the overflow is raised only slightly (a bit more than the height of the sheet of water going over the overflow), which means water will only fall down these chambers should the level in the tank rise slightly due to partial blockage of the main overflow. 1cm of water level in the display tank equals about 15 litres of water, and the sump should have enough spare capacity to not run dry for enough time to allow these drains to kick in. I’m not sure what the total amount of flow is that these two drains would be able to handle, but having two of them, without the regulation of the valves, should allow quite a bit of flow if required. It just adds a bit of safety, even though you require two more holes, bulkheads and a bit of extra plumbing under the tank.
I’m still deciding whether I would like a “flush pipe” bulkhead that allows easy draining/emptying, for instance for water changes, or whether I’d just put a pipe over the rim in these cases. I’m assuming it would be really safe to have the bulkhead with a proper valve that can be opened and closed to let just enough water out, without it dripping / leaking due to all the pressure?
That's about it for the display tank. More detail on the sump to follow in a day or two ...
Hi all,
It’s been about 8 years since setting up my 2m display tank (with very small sump), and I’ve learned a lot since then about what I would like an aquarium to be. I hope to be putting the knowledge and experience to good use now that we are moving and I have a reasonable budget for it.
I have been planning and drawing in Sketchup for quite a while, and would like to share the design with you for some comments and discussions.
Tank Size: 1800 wide x 900 deep x 700 high (water level at 650) in 12mm glass with a 2x8mm laminated Starphire front viewing pane.
Sump size: 1600 wide x 550 deep x 450 high (but it’s more involved than that, more on that later) in 6mm glass.
The model shown above indicates where the tank will be situated in the room. The bottom-left of the room is open plan (kitchen to the left, main entrance to the bottom and two living rooms to the bottom-left and bottom-right) and the wood-and-glass doors walk out onto a patio with Louvre awnings, looking east. The stand will get some cladding, but the style still needs to be decided on.
So, let’s get rid of the room. Above you can see the full view of the tank (without the cabinet cladding). Above the stand, notice the following:
3x EcoTech Radion units with TIR lenses, hung from the ceiling.
1x EcoTech VorTech MP60wES, on the right-hand pane.
1x EcoTech VorTech MP40wES, on the left-hand pane.
I really like the minimalist in-tank footprint of the VorTech pumps and I should get enough flow and not-run-at-100% options from these two pumps, as shown by the EcoTech flow calculator for the tank size (without return pump flow factored in):
Bracing:
Eurobracing employed all around with two narrow cross-braces between the Radions for extra support. That leaves about 45cm between braces to work through.
Overflow:
All plumbing will go through the bottom of the tank as opposed to the back/sides/over (using the 3-base technique with part of the thinner middle base missing, allowing for the water to flow between the two thicker bases to the bulkheads). A skinny (6mm) overflow will be used across the back pane with two returns (on the left and right). I was really impressed with how neat this overflow is and how little space it takes up. Also, having the plumbing from the bottom means absolutely no plumbing running up and down the outside of the glass panes, with everything hidden in the sump. But there was one thing I was not comfortable with. As I understand, the skinny overflow with bottom bulkhead is generally used as follows: you create a siphon-like return from the overflow to the sump, setting the level to which the water rises at the back of the overflow with a valve that restricts the flow just enough to force the water up a little in the overflow chamber. This reduces the height the water needs to fall into the overflow chamber, making the overflow extremely silent (if you have a wide enough overflow for your return pump volume). At some point the added pressure as the water rises pushes a little bit more water through the plumbing, which balances the system with the water level in the overflow chamber at an acceptable level.
However, what concerned me was that, should there be a flow restriction for whatever cause in this system, and the drain pipe, with the overflow water level at the highest possible point, can only handle a little less flow than the return pump puts back into the tank, you get water build-up in the tank and the sump could run dry. I’ve been assured the chances of it becoming blocked are very small, with a lot of tanks running successfully like this for years, but the “no backup” situation kept bothering me, so I thought of something to put my mind at ease...
I’m showing the one hind-corner of the tank above. As is standard, the return chamber is totally sealed off except for the bulkhead to the bottom-right and the short return pipe at the top-right, so that the return pump pressures the water through the bulkhead, up the chamber and out of the short return pipe (which will have a 45-degree elbow to allow some setting of the direction of flow). Also standard is the overflow chamber that extends to the left (and further out of the picture), covering most of the back pane, with the bulkhead (not shown) draining the overflow chamber into the sump. The middle chamber is what I would like to add as a safety measure. On each side there will be a small chamber with another bulkhead at the bottom, both also draining into the sump. However, these chambers will mostly be dry and not in use. For these sections, the overflow is raised only slightly (a bit more than the height of the sheet of water going over the overflow), which means water will only fall down these chambers should the level in the tank rise slightly due to partial blockage of the main overflow. 1cm of water level in the display tank equals about 15 litres of water, and the sump should have enough spare capacity to not run dry for enough time to allow these drains to kick in. I’m not sure what the total amount of flow is that these two drains would be able to handle, but having two of them, without the regulation of the valves, should allow quite a bit of flow if required. It just adds a bit of safety, even though you require two more holes, bulkheads and a bit of extra plumbing under the tank.
I’m still deciding whether I would like a “flush pipe” bulkhead that allows easy draining/emptying, for instance for water changes, or whether I’d just put a pipe over the rim in these cases. I’m assuming it would be really safe to have the bulkhead with a proper valve that can be opened and closed to let just enough water out, without it dripping / leaking due to all the pressure?
That's about it for the display tank. More detail on the sump to follow in a day or two ...
Last edited:
Going with one emergency overflow only and confirmed 12mm glass for the tank, including 12mm Starphire front viewing pane.
