Snake's 20g Nano Build thread

snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I'm not drilling a 1/4" hole in the side of the 20g for the float valve to fit into. lol. I';ve seen other people use eggcrate to mount the float valves inside the sump. I was wondering if there is any alternatives to that method? I'm at a loss...
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
What's wrong with drilling a tiny hole Seth......IMO would be more reliable and stable than egg crate and look better as well.....
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Yeah, it would look cleaner than eggcrate (definitely not tank of the month material, anyways, lol) The glass drill bit to do it would cost $15, and the egg crate is $11.
I guess I'll go with the egg crate and I'll just add a little extra to my sump and make a top for my tank as well while I'm at it. I guess for the money, it's worth it.
Updated list:
1. Mag 3 return pump (Check!)
2. PVC Plumbing
3. Egg crate
4. ATO Float installed
5. Filter chamber installed
6. Filter floss
7. Egg crate cover for top of the tank
8. SC150 cone protein skimmer
9. Convert 10g tank into algae scrubber (order from GH a glass bit and four 3/4" bulkheads
10. refractometer
11. MP10 (or 20?)
ooo, I tell yah, I'm going to have fun in the next few days. :D I'm going to get my new pump and some PVC parts and some things here and there and I'm going to be set! Not this weekend, but next - I'll have the tank on the new stand! woot woot!
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
Yayyy glad to see that it's moving along!!!!
It's fun to view a build where you don't have to tell the poster that you can't keep a hippo tang in a 30g tank... and learn some things from the thread also!
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
But I wanted a yellow tang...

I'm glad that you are learning a little bit from the build. I'm going to show you next how to create a quick filter in a sump and how to install a float valve... hehehe I'm also pretty pleased with my sump design. I know it's not perfect, but it will work for my application(s).
Does anyone have any suggestions for how to put a 10g tank inside the stand? I'm thinking about trying to ... aww heck, I don't know..... UUUGH!!
I want to use the 10g sump that I have now for an algae scrubber. But, I don't want it to go on top of the stand, I want it to fit underneath it. I guess I could try to fit it to the right of the sump and have it be fed with a rio1100 pump. I will just have to build some kind of rack for it to sit on. I'll put the drain plumbing to feed back into the filter section of the sump. That way, any algae that detatches from the screen will get caught by the filter floss. :D Dang I'm good.
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
I love following builds from fellow hobbyists. Everyone does everything their own unique way... and my favorite part is when I have an idea that could help or better improve the tank or thing that is being built. Following other people gives me ideas and inspires me.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Ok, so, here's the plan for the weekend move:
Monday:
1. Buy water
2. Buy Eggcrate
3. Buy PVC for the new system
4. Silicone in egg crate.
5. Buy SC65 skimmer
6. Buy flat white spray paint
7. Install the GFCI
Tuesday:
1. Make sure egg crate is secure.
2. Install filter system
3. Buy filter floss
4. Buy carbon
Wednesday:
1. Install Auto Top off system
2. Start mixing water in large tub
3. Install return plumbing
Thursday:
1. Start moving some rock over into the large tub and cover it to try to kill some of the algae.
2. Buy more water
Friday:
1. Move the fish, inverts, and corals into the sump.
2. Move the tank off the old stand
3. Clean it up and scrape everything with plastic card.
4. Paint the bottom flat white
5. Put on new stand
6. Install the rest of the return plumbing
7. Install the new overflow plumbing
8. Mix saltwater in new tank with salinity of 1.025 overnight
Saturday
1. Make sure saltwater is the correct salinity
2. Aquascape with rocks that were in the container.
3. Put more rock from the old system in the old container of saltwater
4. Turn on all the pumps and powerheads and everything on the new system.
5. Move over old filters from old system
6. Move over fish from 10g tank.
7. Clean up some
Sunday.
1. Clean up the living room, move everything around.
2. Remove saltwater from 10g tank and take it out of the old 20g stand.
3. Remove the stand from it's spot.
4. Clean up and prep the 10g tank for building an algae scrubber.
Next week:
1. Install protein skimmer on new system.
2. Make up some fresh saltwater for a small water change.
3. Make sure fish live.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
where is the "drink a beer or two and enjoy the new setup" on your list?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Lol. I don't drink anymore.
But I promise you I will sit back and enjoy. Lol
Im having to find a replacement for egg crate. Apparently, it's a dinosaur. No one uses it anymore.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Yep.
Well. I got my filter system installed and looking good. I siliconed in the egg crate for the auto top off. I got the tubing that I need for the ato and a washer. I couldn't find a nylon washer for the float valve so I used a metal one. I might search for another float valve I can use. Acrylic was right though, I should have drilled the tank for the float valve. Oh well. It will serve my purpose. The sump is going under the stand for the last time tonight!
I installed the gfci unit tonight too!
Instead of trying to fit the ato next to the display tank, I'm going to set it on top of the wooden box that I already have for my electrical wires. Hehe. That doesn't sound dangerous at all, does it? Before you comment, I'll say that not all is wait seems. Don't worry!
I found some filter floss and some extra carbon so I'm not going to have to do anything but check back over my work tomorrow. I think I might mix up some water tonight though and get some rock outta the sump tomorrow night.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member

It gets messy messing with egg crate. lol. That's why God invented Vacuums. lol

To the left is the filter section. That top piece of egg crate lifts out easily. Its there to hold some filter floss on top of it. Underneath it will/would be a carbon pillow, GFO or Chemipure Elite. The egg crate on the right hand side is to fit the float valve though.

Return pump is plumbed in!!!! I have an electrical conduit "holder" thing screwed in on the back of the stand to prevent the return pipe from putting too much side/side pressure from the return pump. I'll probably regret that decision later when it vibrates, but for now it seemed like a good idea. We'll just have to see. :D
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Oh yeah, also in the filter section of the sump, I'm going to place extra live rock. I'll see how much extra room I also have in the skimmer section to add the rest of the live rock. lol. 40 pounds was way too much for my tank. I'm just going to go with two small "islands" in the new setup. Hopefully I can get some really awesome aquascaping out of it. I'm doing the two "island" aquascape to give more room for SPS corals to grow.
 
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