My 3ft project

[Nirvani]

Being unsatisfied with my 2ft FOWLR, I have decided to go with a full cabinet setup with sump. First, I had to get a 3ft cabinet.... and I got this one from Mellow

[Nirvani]

Inside the cabinet.. the doors are removable. Dump all my stuff inside for now.

[Nirvani]

Had my tank custom made, predrilled and with an overflow box! 10mm thickness and 2ft high.

[Nirvani]

Overflow box...no piping yet....

[Nirvani]

After a month and a half of trial and error, running from one hardware shop to the next, fixing leaks, playing with gaskets, O rings, silicone, teflon tape and pipe glue, cracking a sump, and making another one, I finally got all the piping done!

This was the most tedious process so far, especially when I started with no experience.

Its now filled with water..

[nicky30092002]

Ur window ..................

I mean how U going to access it??

[Cardinal Tetra]

you may want to watch out for algae by placing it DIRECTLY next to a window.

[Melvyn Tan]

Remote control windows

[Nirvani]

Close up of the eheim 1260 fixed externally

[Nirvani]

Once everything is setup, I intend to close the windows and pull down the blinds, so I would suppose there is no issue with excess light from the window... besides, outside the window is a niche which my mom hangs clothes.

[Nirvani]

Overview of the sump compartment.. sump is 28 inches wide, and about 15 inches deep. So much for putting other stuff in the cabinet

Cutting a egg crate was another horrible chore

[Nirvani]

Close up of the piping in the overflow box and output pipe has been heated and flattened slightly. Durso really decreases noise! Have also pasted Oyama black paper on the back of the tank.

Can see reflection from my 2ft in the picture

[blueheaven]

IMO your durso too short liao

Aim to achieve about 2" drop from surface

[Nirvani]

IMO your durso too short liao

Aim to achieve about 2" drop from surface

2 inch drop from surface means what? What will happen if durso too short?

[blueheaven]

That means that the water level in the overflow box will br 2" lower than the water in the main tank.

Too short a Durso will create a splashing sound

[Nirvani]

That means that the water level in the overflow box will br 2" lower than the water in the main tank.

Too short a Durso will create a splashing sound

The elbow pipe is currently 7 inches from the water level... but when it runs the water in the box rises to about 4 inches, because of the size of the hole.... is this the correct way to do it? Don't hear a splashing sound from the overflow... only a slight gurgle from the durso...

[blueheaven]

That means your return is not a strong pump that's why the volume of water entering is lesser and thus no splashing sound

As for me, my water drop is 2" and still got a little splashing sound as I use MD55 for return

[nicky30092002]

Remember to try for the pump failure test ...

see ur sump sufficient to hold all the return or not else ... ... flooding will occur if pump off/trip/fail ..

durso purpose is not juz as a silencer ..

[moron_clown]

bro,i see a couple of mistakes...by placing ur tank in a wall like this,u cant really put ur chiller and skimmer and calcium reactor and what not beside or inside the cabinet...and the durso,it needs to be enlarged to a bigger size than the inflow piping,or it will not work well...(according to stanley)...

juz my 2 cents bro.and thats a nice cabinet u got there.

(see attached to know wat i mean.)

[danano]

Is the cabinet built to withstand the weight of the tank full of water and LR?

[Nirvani]

bro,i see a couple of mistakes...by placing ur tank in a wall like this,u cant really put ur chiller and skimmer and calcium reactor and what not beside or inside the cabinet...and the durso,it needs to be enlarged to a bigger size than the inflow piping,or it will not work well...(according to stanley)...

juz my 2 cents bro.and thats a nice cabinet u got there.

(see attached to know wat i mean.)

Not intending to run a chiller or calcium reactor...no $$ for those I'll just drip kalk....

As for the durso, I had to decrease the size as I didnt plan my overflow box big enough

[Nirvani]

Is the cabinet built to withstand the weight of the tank full of water and LR?

Mellow was running a full tank with this cabinet for 1 think 2 years? But then, I think his tank had shorter height...

[typrobin]

Not intending to run a chiller or calcium reactor...no $$ for those I'll just drip kalk....

As for the durso, I had to decrease the size as I didnt plan my overflow box big enough

i suggest that u dun fully shut the windows, allow some ventilation..if not your tank will cook...especially if u are not intending to use a chiller...get more fans...at least 2..my tank is the same size as yours...i have 1 fan going 24/7, and whenever my MHs kick in another one will operate..

since the hole for the durso has been drilled, then u cannot do anything about it...try to see if your durso can handle your 1260 if not gotta get a smaller pump...

[Nirvani]

i suggest that u dun fully shut the windows, allow some ventilation..if not your tank will cook...especially if u are not intending to use a chiller...get more fans...at least 2..my tank is the same size as yours...i have 1 fan going 24/7, and whenever my MHs kick in another one will operate..

since the hole for the durso has been drilled, then u cannot do anything about it...try to see if your durso can handle your 1260 if not gotta get a smaller pump...

Have it running liao and it seems to be fine... only thing is that it keeps splashing when water comes down into the sump, wetting the cabinets insides... gonna cut some acrylic tonite to cover the part where water comes down in the sump.

As for the pump failure... think i either got to raise the height of the output, or get a check valve

[Chris]

Your sump...the return chamber a bit weird. The water flows from below up will mean that the you cannot use this chamber to monitor evaporation rate. Water will never reach the sticker you pasted.