My own reef to come.

Great build so far,with what and how did you drill the holes in the rock?

With a normal glass drill bit. The only pain is to get out the core. When the rock is thicker then the drill bit, you have to break out the core first to go deeper. That's the only tricky part. It take not more than 10 minutes per hole.
 
Thanks Sean, but there seems to be a misunderstanding. That's why I edited my post.

There is a problem with cash flow, so I'm far away from being fortunate. :(

Great build so far,with what and how did you drill the holes in the rock?
@Chris Delport if finance is not limited i am sure you will be able to consider and purchase a concrete, core drill bit at your nearest hardware store and drill the holes that way.
@LuckyFish is using what he has and in the end that is the best way as @seank explained - it allows for ones imagination to take over and at the end i believe it will be a great tank.

I am also forced to use my imagination due to finance limitations and i must say i am learning a lot from @LuckyFish. Observe his work and it gets one own mind into a good thinking mode!

Therefore i like the approach @LuckyFish took with regards for making 3D drawings for the designs. I wish i did that for my three foot tank, but i will do that for my four foot tank. Thanks Marcell.
 
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attachment.php


This is a rough sketch i made of what I have in mind for my four foot tank, cabinet structure.

I hope to start with this soon.
 
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How are you going to stop water coming up the Y fittings and draining the tank through the overflow?
 
@Chris Delport if finance is not limited i am sure you will be able to consider and purchase a concrete, core drill bit at your nearest hardware store and drill the holes that way.

I am reluctant to use the hammer action on the fragile rock.

I agree, only the use of a glass drill bit will keep the rock in one piece.
And these glass drill bits are not that expensive. I mean, when doing what I do, how many holes needs to be drilled? It's worth it to get a glass drill bit.

If I just could find my two other bigger dril bits. :(
 
attachment.php


This is a rough sketch i made of what I have in mind for my four foot tank, cabinet structure.

I hope to start with this soon.

And where is this sketch?
 
How are you going to stop water coming up the Y fittings and draining the tank through the overflow?

I posted this :
Now the two T-piece are not connected to the overflow. I used the dremel to be able to push them over the pipes.

Compare the two pictures without the T and Y-piece. Nothing has changed. I just pushed the T and Y-piece over the existing pipe.

But you made me think now. I have to make some holes into the two pillar pipes. Otherwise there will be water in the pipes which cannot circulate.
 
@Chris Delport if finance is not limited i am sure you will be able to consider and purchase a concrete, core drill bit at your nearest hardware store and drill the holes that way.
@LuckyFish is using what he has and in the end that is the best way as @seank explained - it allows for ones imagination to take over and at the end i believe it will be a great tank.

I am also forced to use my imagination due to finance limitations and i must say i am learning a lot from @LuckyFish. Observe his work and it gets one own mind into a good thinking mode!

Therefore i like the approach @LuckyFish took with regards for making 3D drawings for the designs. I wish i did that for my three foot tank, but i will do that for my four foot tank. Thanks Marcell.

That is one of the reason why I decided to post this thread. A unique situation, using whatever I can from what I've got laying around, actually forced one to think out of the box.
Usually I would have build a new tank with marine ply, stainless stell stand, starfire glass, latest equipment, etc. But then there is the ugly word, cash flow.

Due to the fact that I have used chipboard for the side and front panels, I've decided to put a lid onto the sump to avoid moisture building up inside the cabinet. Let's see how that goes.
 
I posted this :
Now the two T-piece are not connected to the overflow. I used the dremel to be able to push them over the pipes.

Compare the two pictures without the T and Y-piece. Nothing has changed. I just pushed the T and Y-piece over the existing pipe.

But you made me think now. I have to make some holes into the two pillar pipes. Otherwise there will be water in the pipes which cannot circulate.

Thanks, didn't read that part in your post.

Am I correct in understanding that you will place the rocks over the pipe and then glue the pipe into the fittings?
Does not not make removing the rocks impossible?

Edit:
To save some more cash you could have used a pipe bender to bend your overflow pipe, instead of using the R20/R30 pvc fittings :)
 
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Thanks, didn't read that part in your post.

Am I correct in understanding that you will place the rocks over the pipe and then glue the pipe into the fittings?
Does not not make removing the rocks impossible?

Edit:
To save some more cash you could have used a pipe bender to bend your overflow pipe, instead of using the R20/R30 pvc fittings :)

Haha, you really should take your time when reading. I posted this:

No normal person would make such overflow. Count the fittings and check out the prices. I used the fittings I had. They were already glued to old tubing, which I don't use anymore. So I "cleaned" them out with a dremel. That's why I can afford such overflow.;)

Yes, you did understand it right.
And yes, it does, but why would I want to remove those rocks over the pipes?
 
Haha, you really should take your time when reading. I posted this:

haha.. well that's embarrassing! :whistling:

My only reasons for moving rocks are to get at hiding fish/coral frags or if I feel like changing the aqua scape for aesthetics or water flow reasons.

Good luck with the build!
 
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I'm not a friend of changing aqua scaping. It has to be good if not perfect in the first place and then don't touch it. With the three pillar formation I'll have a tiny foot print in the gravel and no problems with dead zones or extreme hiding places. Having to returns, I can change the flow any time and I don't like to have flow pumps. Just ugly to look at.
And it's not that the whole overflow will be wrapped with rocks I cannot remove.
 
I've cleaned the Sicce return pump, but the oceanrunner is giving me a head ache. How do I get the impeller out? The pump is laying around for many years now. What could I use to break down the calcification inside? I've tried lemon juice, but that seems to be to weak.
 
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