20 gallon all-in-one diy

[dan987]

I have been trying to figure out the easiest way to do a small reef tank on a budget. The problem is I'm tired of HOB filters and drilling a tank and adding a sump starts getting expensive really fast. I decided to split a 20 gallon into a 10 gallon display tank and a 10 gallon sump. Here is my progress so far.

$1/gallon sale at petsmart.
$20

Old styrofoam cooler cut to fit.
Free

Light diffuser from old project
Free

Next step is silicone for fitting everything together. And then I will paint the outside of the sump area so you can't see it.

I hope the pictures help explain what I'm trying to do.

See any flaws in my plan? Anything u could do better?
Suggestions?
Or is this so awesome that now you want to do it?

 

[Daytonareefing]

I never tried foam in a tank like that but it seems like it would not be strong enough to hold the water back and the silicone may not stick but I would be interested to find out how it turns out for you. Did you not use glass because of the cost?

 

[dan987]

I never tried foam in a tank like that but it seems like it would not be strong enough to hold the water back and the silicone may not stick but I would be interested to find out how it turns out for you. Did you not use glass because of the cost?

The water level in the sump will not be much lower than display tank. And the styrofoam is pretty thick and rigid. I think the silicone will stick, but that said, I don't actually know either.

But yes, glass and plastic dividers were expensive. I had this stuff lying around.

 

[Daytonareefing]

I just got to thinking the foam is going to want to float. What do you think will the silicone hold it?

 

[dan987]

The foam actually fits very snugly in place. It takes a fair amount of force just to get it into place. But I didn't think about that...

I hope it doesn't want to float too bad...

 

[Velocity]

I never tried foam in a tank like that but it seems like it would not be strong enough to hold the water back and the silicone may not stick but I would be interested to find out how it turns out for you. Did you not use glass because of the cost?

The water level in the sump will not be much lower than display tank. And the styrofoam is pretty thick and rigid. I think the silicone will stick, but that said, I don't actually know either.

But yes, glass and plastic dividers were expensive. I had this stuff lying around.

Don't you think certain fish will peck the foam for Algae ? I would be careful what fish you put in there but it's totally a guess on my part

 

[Shep]

Honestly I would spend the money and get glass, the foam is going to cause problems down the road. I think this is a really cool idea, can't wait to see it set up.

 

[dan987]

Don't you think certain fish will peck the foam for Algae ? I would be careful what fish you put in there but it's totally a guess on my part

OK, darn. Didn't think about all that.

Those are all very good points.

 

[Daytonareefing]

I would think a piece of glass should be around 10.00. That's not to bad

 

[Velocity]

OK, darn. Didn't think about all that.

Those are all very good points.

hey man, not trying to rain on your parade and heck I could be wrong

sometimes in this game you have to adventure out on your own buddy and this you have managed to do - kudos - now go get you some glass lol -

Home depot has pre-cut plastic for like $14.99 or so

 

[dan987]

I would think a piece of glass should be around 10.00. That's not to bad

Where am I getting glass from though? will home depot have this? and if i can find it, it would sure be great if it could be cut for me.

hey man, not trying to rain on your parade and heck I could be wrong

sometimes in this game you have to adventure out on your own buddy and this you have managed to do - kudos - now go get you some glass lol -

Home depot has pre-cut plastic for like $14.99 or so

Not at all. This is exactly what i wanted to hear. Thank you.

I have a few thoughts on this though.
Firstly: I have literally NO money budgeted to spend on this. I shouldn't have even bought the tank.
And the styrofoam is actually very rigid. I doubt i will have any problems with it not being strong enough.
It also fits very tightly into place, so i'm pretty sure it won't try to float.

My main concern is that the fish, crabs, etc. will pick at it.

I have a lot to think about before moving forward with this. thank you.

 

[Daytonareefing]

I'm not sure where you are in VA I lived in fredericksburg for a few years I would find a glass shop in the phone book maybe the glass should be 6.00 a sq. ft. for 1/4" or around there. Lowes sells glass and plexiglass I believe they cut it too.

 

[dan987]

I'm not sure where you are in VA I lived in fredericksburg for a few years I would find a glass shop in the phone book maybe the glass should be 6.00 a sq. ft. for 1/4" or around there. Lowes sells glass and plexiglass I believe they cut it too.

I will look into that tomorrow. That is not a bad idea. I know Home depot here doesn't have glass. I will try lowes. and if that doesn't work, I think I have seen a glass shop.

But now this raises another problem. I will have to rethink my design. The idea is to have the water overflow right onto a filter (polyester). If I use glass I will have to put some more thought into how to construct this filtering area.

I get the impression that syrofoam is universally understood to not work in saltwater aquariums. Is this speculation? I'm curious now.
Is my original idea just bad? or is it impossible, and everyone is politely not telling me how stupid it is?

 

[Velocity]

I will look into that tomorrow. That is not a bad idea. I know Home depot here doesn't have glass. I will try lowes. and if that doesn't work, I think I have seen a glass shop.

But now this raises another problem. I will have to rethink my design. The idea is to have the water overflow right onto a filter (polyester). If I use glass I will have to put some more thought into how to construct this filtering area.

I get the impression that syrofoam is universally understood to not work in saltwater aquariums. Is this speculation? I'm curious now.
Is my original idea just bad? or is it impossible, and everyone is politely not telling me how stupid it is?

I would be surprised that our Home Depots has plexiglass / glass and plastic and all others don't.

I bought a large piece of Acrylic for my convertible back window and used the left over for a sump just a few months back.

I would check way back by the wood on the outer wall and there's a shelf with sheets of precut glass and Plexi & clear plastic piece

You can design your sections for over flow with a simple jig saw or dremel - I used a dremel to make different holes and water outlets but used the jig for top VVVVVVVVVVV section for water to drain over

 

[Velocity]

I will look into that tomorrow. That is not a bad idea. I know Home depot here doesn't have glass. I will try lowes. and if that doesn't work, I think I have seen a glass shop.

But now this raises another problem. I will have to rethink my design. The idea is to have the water overflow right onto a filter (polyester). If I use glass I will have to put some more thought into how to construct this filtering area.

I get the impression that syrofoam is universally understood to not work in saltwater aquariums. Is this speculation? I'm curious now.
Is my original idea just bad? or is it impossible, and everyone is politely not telling me how stupid it is?

Let me know if they actually cut it ? I would love to get some more if they do.....Thanks

 

[dan987]

I would be surprised that our Home Depots has plexiglass / glass and plastic and all others don't

I would check way back by the wood on the outer wall and there's a shelf with sheets of precut glass and Plexi & clear plastic piece

You can design your sections for over flow with a simple jig saw or dremel - I used a dremel to make different holes and water outlets but used the jig for top VVVVVVVVVVV section for water to drain over

My home depot actually does have some of the pre-cut plastic shown on their website (but not all). They do not have any of the glass though. The only problem I have with the plastic at home depot is that it's not in the budget.

 

[Shep]

My home depot actually does have some of the pre-cut plastic shown on their website (but not all). They do not have any of the glass though. The only problem I have with the plastic at home depot is that it's not in the budget.

Honestly if you do not have the budget for the glass then you might just want to wait until you have the budget. I know it can suck trying to keep things cheap but if you do not do it right and it fails, then you will have wasted all of the money for nothing. Just wait until you can do it 100%, that way you will have the best chance for having an awesome tank.

 

[Daytonareefing]

homedepot only sells plexiglass they stopped carring glass but lowes carries both.

 

[dan987]

This just in!
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090820-plastic-decomposes-oceans-seas.html

so apparently polystyrene (the foam in question) does break down in saltwater, within a year, above 86 degrees F.
This raises interesting questions:
How long does it actually take at my temperature? (below 80 degrees F)
How much does polystyrene leech into the water? (enough to be dangerous?)
How dangerous are these chemicals to fishes, inverts, and corals? (BPA primarily)
Should I bother coating it with something? (paint, epoxy, silicone, etc...)

 

[dan987]

Honestly if you do not have the budget for the glass then you might just want to wait until you have the budget. I know it can suck trying to keep things cheap but if you do not do it right and it fails, then you will have wasted all of the money for nothing. Just wait until you can do it 100%, that way you will have the best chance for having an awesome tank.

excellent point! no reason to waste money doing something once, just to spend more money doing it again. I agree entirely!

The objective here is, of course, to do this right the first time. (hence all the questions and asking for feedback before trying something new)
But my reasons for the styrofoam are twofold:
one: failure is free at this point in the game. (but not if i don't plan ahead)
two: this could actually work. Nobody has said it can't be done.

And that said, I am open to alternatives. So far, this forum has proven to be a very resourceful think-tank.