# Journal of 75 Gallon DIY Projects (Lots of Pictures)



## sonaps

Last year I moved from Utah to Alaska. My 75 gallon tank has sat empty since the move, waiting for me to finish a few DIY projects on it. Since my tank and stand are empty I figure it's a good time to take pictures of some of the DIY projects I have done over the years as well as what I've been working on lately. If someone can get some good ideas from what I have done then it is worth the effort. It also may inspire me to finally finish my projects and get this tank running again.

To start off I thought I would show you my stand. It's the first project I started on this setup. I originally planed this stand for a 90 gallon tank that I was going to build from acrylic. But I later found a 75 gallon at a steal ($25) and bought it to save money. This means that my stand is a little bit bigger than my tank in the back. The extra space proved to be very useful in my next project of building a canopy - more to come on that later.










The stand is pulled away from the wall so I can work in the back of it. It isn't normally on an angle in the room like this.


















This project took me a long time to make since I was a student and living in an apartment when I made it. I had to take it out on the porch every time I wanted to work on it. The design is basic, like others we have seen here. The frame is made from 2x4's and wrapped in plywood with an oak finish. I used two different router bits to get the fancy edge on the molding. The molding on both the stand, and later you will see on the canopy, is made to cover the plastic rim of the aquarium (my aquarium is the basic glass type with a 2"wide plastic rim on the top and bottom that are so common). That way you only see the nice oak trim of the stand, while the not so nice looking plastic is hidden behind it. I am really pleased with how this stand turned out. I think at some point I will add small oak corner pieces to hide the poor silicone job and make the tank look all framed in.

Close-up of the moulding that hides the plastic rim.


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## hoppycalif

When I bought an old, used 120 gallon tank back in the 90's I did that trick of using corner moldings to cover the ugly glass corners of the tank. I cut 1/8" thick strips of the wood the stand and hood were made of, glued them into corner pieces, then used dabs of silicone to stick them to the tank corners. All of the wood was stained the same, so it looked great. Go ahead and do that - you will never regret it.


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## sonaps

Thanks for the input Hoppy. 1/8” seems kind of thin though, is that a typo? I was thinking of using the same size as I have on the front corners of the stand. I think they are 1/2”. Even that size probably won’t cover all of the silicon, but it will hide most of it. The problem will be matching the stain. As you noted it looks real nice when everything matches. I remember the brand I used just not the color. I guess I will have to do a little trial and error with some scrap wood.

Edit: Never mind Hoppy, I think I understand now. The strips you cut were from a 1/8” board or sheet and you would have cut them wide enough to cover the corner. I thought you were referring to the width of your cut not the thickness of the board.


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## orlando

That's a nice looking stand you made, well done with the stain too.


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## sonaps

Thanks orlando, I like the way the stain turned out too. The Finish really is what made it look nice though. I chose to use Minwax’s brand of Helmsman Spar Urethane which is used to protect outdoor furniture. I figured that way it wouldn’t matter how much water I splashed on it. I’m glad I went with that finish. It really brought the red out. I used the same stain on the inside of the door, but I ran out of the Spar Urethane, so you can see the difference in color between the finished and unfinished wood. I think it gives it a nice shine too.


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## hoppycalif

sonaps said:


> Thanks for the input Hoppy. 1/8" seems kind of thin though, is that a typo? I was thinking of using the same size as I have on the front corners of the stand. I think they are 1/2". Even that size probably won't cover all of the silicon, but it will hide most of it. The problem will be matching the stain. As you noted it looks real nice when everything matches. I remember the brand I used just not the color. I guess I will have to do a little trial and error with some scrap wood.
> 
> Edit: Never mind Hoppy, I think I understand now. The strips you cut were from a 1/8" board or sheet and you would have cut them wide enough to cover the corner. I thought you were referring to the width of your cut not the thickness of the board.


Actually, I used a table saw to rip 1/8" thick pieces off of a 3/4" thick board. So my corner pieces were about 3/4" by 3/4", and they just barely did cover the ugly corners, but they did cover them. If you are like me you never throw away anything, so I had the now empty can of stain I previously used and that gave me the color information I needed. (I think I still have it somewhere in the garage!)


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## sonaps

Yeah, I’d kept my can of stain too. I think it even had stain left in it. But the moving companies won’t move paint cans, and the like, even if they are empty (or CO2 tanks for that matter). So I had to leave that stuff behind. I was too busy with the move to think about writing the information down.


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## sonaps

For the lighting in this setup I wanted something that would fit in the canopy I was planning to make (limited space lengthwise) and I wanted to use fluorescent T12 lights, since I already had a fixture with 2 ballasts and 4 pair of end caps. The lighting from 4 T12 bulbs worked well, I was able to grow glosso that clung to and covered the substrate (until it got too full and started growing up with gusto).

I made my fixture out of the aluminum that is used in siding (my brother works in siding and gets this stuff in rolls). He just cut me a section, snipped the corners and bent the sides up using a 2x4 as a straight edge to aid the bending. The inside of the aluminum was already painted white. I had originally planned on adding curved reflectors behind each light, but this has actually worked great so I never bothered going back and adding them. I bought a piece of aluminum rod at home depot and cut two pieces to fit across the fixture for support and to hold the fluorescent endcaps. I took apart the fixture that I had and mounted the ballasts in the stand. The only thing left was the wiring which I originally just ran behind the stand in a big mess of wires, but I have since cleaned it up.

You can see from the picture that I was no longer in an apartment when I built this. The work area in my garage was quite an upgrade from the deck of my apartment. 









Positioning end caps


















This picture is of preparations for my first setup in my previous house.









My only concern with this fixture is that condensation builds up in the fixture each morning. The light still functions great after a year and a half of use, but I think I will do something to waterproof the end caps. The lights are grounded and I use a GFCI outlet but I would feel better if I knew there were no exposed connections.

I'm thinking about adding two more bulbs before I set this tank up again. Like I mentioned earlier four bulbs did a pretty good job, but I think six bulbs will make growing certain plants easier.


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## hoppycalif

How are you going to close the corners? You could use small aluminum angles and epoxy them in place. It looks very good now, but would look even better with the corners closed.


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## maulgerr

very nice job on the tank, couldn't you add some vents and maybe a small computer fan to help with the condensation? and the corners could use some help as Hoppy said. Gerry


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## sonaps

Thanks Hoppy and Gerry for your input. I agree that the corners are not the prettiest on this fixture. The reason I didn’t do anything with them is because the whole fixture gets attached to the inside of the canopy and you never see it again, at least not from the outside. If someone wanted to make something like this as a stand alone fixture/canopy then Hoppy’s suggestion of using the aluminum corners would be the way to go. My brother had also suggested making only four cuts, folding the sides down, then folding the corners over the sides and riveting them in place. With the right kind of rivets that method might look real nice too.

I had bought a computer fan for this fixture since my water temp was getting a bit high in the summer. I figured that blowing some heat out the top would help. But I never got around to that project. Now that I’m in Alaska I figured I wouldn’t need to use the fan. But I didn’t think of using it at night to help with the condensation. I might have to give that a try. Thanks for the suggestion Gerry.


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## maulgerr

could be wrong but i think the rapid cooldown when the lights go off is causing the condensation. maybe if you put in styrofoam between the metal top and your finished canopy might help. its looking great good luck Gerry


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## sonaps

This is the canopy I made to match my stand.



















I wanted something big that would make the whole aquarium like a piece of furniture and a sort of crown for the stand I spent so long making. I also wanted to have complete and easy access to the tank without having to take the whole canopy off each time that I wanted to work in it. I didn't like the idea of using a hinge in the middle of the canopy; I just wanted one solid piece with no gaps or spaces that would let light through or not match up when closed. I also wanted the stand to be flush with the wall; so the canopy would have to swing straight up from the top corner. Luckily I had some extra space at the back of my stand behind my tank to allow for the design I eventually came up with. The design allows me to have a large canopy that swings all the way up and gives me unrestricted access to my tank. I use a small dowel to hold the stand up, like the hood of a car.










I can also easily hold it open just a little if I want to make a quick adjustment to something. I drilled down into the rim just a bit for the dowl to sit in, that keeps it from slipping.


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## wrkucera

Yo! Nice work on the canopy. From the pictures it does have a nice professional look. Very clean. I'd like to see some close-up shots of the hinge system you created. How does it hold to the back?


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## sonaps

Thanks for the kind words wrkucera. Here are some better pics of the frame that holds the canopy:

To keep the canopy from falling backwards I drilled two holes in the trim and tied the frame to it with wire.









From the back









Close-up of back









The space behind my stand was 2" so I used 2"x1.5" boards. If I were planning this again I would make the space and boards smaller. I've made some covers for the sides out of matching wood, I just haven't attached them yet.


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## ghengis

That is a fantastic effort, sonaps! Looks absolutely professional and super clean. I also have a thing for knocking up my own things around the house out of wood, so I can really appreciate what has gone into this. I'm gonna bookmark this thread and copy your ideas some day. You should be proud of this, mate, well done!


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## Alaskacajun

Sonaps... thanks for showing me this site today at Stusser. I hope the ballasts and bulbs work out for you... 

- Clint


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## sonaps

Alaskacajun said:


> Sonaps... thanks for showing me this site today at Stusser. I hope the ballasts and bulbs work out for you...
> 
> - Clint


Thanks man, you really hooked me up nicely. I gave those bulbs a test when I got home and they were blinding!


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## sonaps

From the above post you can see that I decided to upgrade the lighting for this tank. I went to all the big electrical stores looking for T5 lighting and surprisingly all they had in T5’s were short one-bulb fixtures for like $90. I had given up and went back to Home Depot to get another T12 ballast to add to my tank. I got to talking with a worker there about the lack of T5’s anywhere in town. He asked if I’d been to any of the electrical wholesalers and thought they would probably have them. After getting directions from him I set out with new hope. The first place I went to was promising; they had a 4 bulb T5HO fixture for $159. I wanted to check the other stores though since they didn’t know anything about the bulbs that it came with. I’m really glad that I did since that is where I met Clint from the above post. 

I walked into Stusser’s and asked about T5HO lighting, he asked what I was using it for and I told him it is for a planted aquarium. He said “I just set one of those up on my aquarium”. He brought me around the counter and showed me his setup which was posted online. Then he took me in the back and showed me what they had. I left with a six bulb unit that has two ballasts. The item had been broken in transit and he had stripped the ballasts and end caps, which still worked great. He let me have it for a steal! They didn’t have the best lamps in stock (I think they were 3500K) I took them since that is better than nothing. They may be doing a special order on some 6500K bulbs though that I will get in on.

I’ve been doing a ton of work on the tank lately. More updates and pictures to follow.


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## Alaskacajun

I'm ordering the bulbs in the morning... They'll be here Thursday!  So uhm.......... how bright were those T5's? :flame: :supz:

That hood you built has me wanting to run out to Home Depot.... & you're gonna have to hook me up on the CO2 system you're runnin'!:rapture:

- Clint


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## mulita

Very nice Job. The design of the hood its just great. Very good idea about the hinge and lift system for it. Great job. Congratulations


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## sonaps

Clint, you have a pm.

mulita, thanks for the compliment.


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## sonaps

I had a four day weekend and got a lot done. I'll be posting some of the more current projects soon. First, here is another one I did before my first setup:

I didn't like the idea of a big piece of plastic blocking the light from my hood. So I replaced the plastic center support in my aquarium with steel cable. I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you are sure you can complete the project (it's not an easy one). It is a big step to saw off the center support of your aquarium! I covered all the steel with silicon when I was done. I've since seen other posters use an acrylic strip and attach it to the trim with small bolts. That seems an easier approach and accomplishes the same thing. But I do like that the support on mine is so small now, it's real easy to work around two small cables.


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## hoppycalif

I assume the steel cable is corrosion resistant steel? How do you keep it from showing, where it comes through the plastic rim on the front?


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## sonaps

Hoppy, I’m not sure if it is corrosion resistant or not, I had this over my tank with no visible corrosion for about 2 years. I’ve since covered the whole thing in silicone just in case. Can it still corrode through the silicon?

The cable doesn’t come through the rim on the front. That’s what made this project so difficult. I drilled the holes only on the inside of the rim, then threaded the cable through (There is a small space between the rim and the glass). Once the cable was threaded it was easy enough to secure it. I over-tightened just a big to allow for the slack in the rim. It did make a scary sound the first time I filled it and the slack gave way a bit, but thankfully no sounds since. I used two independent cables even though the math says one would have been enough. I was more worried about the rim breaking than the cable. There have been no signs of stress on the rim.


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## mulita

sonaps said:


> Hoppy, I'm not sure if it is corrosion resistant or not, I had this over my tank with no visible corrosion for about 2 years. I've since covered the whole thing in silicone just in case. Can it still corrode through the silicon?.


It looks to me as this cable is the aircraft type Cable (Because of the threads and gage the wire looks like, This is Stainless steel) or at least this is the similar type that is galvanized steel which is also corrosion resistance. Either way, silicone applied to it will seal it more.



sonaps said:


> The cable doesn't come through the rim on the front. That's what made this project so difficult. I drilled the holes only on the inside of the rim, then threaded the cable through (There is a small space between the rim and the glass). Once the cable was threaded it was easy enough to secure it. I over-tightened just a big to allow for the slack in the rim. It did make a scary sound the first time I filled it and the slack gave way a bit, but thankfully no sounds since. I used two independent cables even though the math says one would have been enough. I was more worried about the rim breaking than the cable. There have been no signs of stress on the rim.


You are right about the rim, it is the weaker point for failure and this is actually taking the whole load. As you said, one cable would be enough to hold this load, however the rim is the weaker point as the cable is not thru it, If you can inject some silicone at least within the inner area between the glass and rim in this area of the rim that will improve load capacity, as it will give a better distribution area for the stress. It may or may not be necessary, it all depend as you look the state of the rim. if it stay the same (No bends, no cracks, no drill hole increasing size), then it wont be needed.


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## sonaps

Thanks mulita for your input. I remember being worried about corrosion in the beginning, but the employees that sold me the cable thought it would be fine. I was a bit overzealous about this project so I just believed them without looking into it any further. You do have to be overzealous (or a bit crazy) to actually cut the support off your tank. But like I said earlier in this post, I got this tank for real cheap so I figured if it didn’t hold I was out little money. I tested it outside and kept an eye on the rim. It didn’t even bend a little, and never has. That is pretty strong plastic that they use. I did inject a bunch of silicone recently, when I covered the wire. I didn’t think about distributing stress, I just tried to cover the wire under the rim completely. I pretty much filled the whole gap with silicone.


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## mulita

sonaps said:


> ... It didn't even bend a little, and never has. That is pretty strong plastic that they use. I did inject a bunch of silicone recently, when I covered the wire. I didn't think about distributing stress, I just tried to cover the wire under the rim completely. I pretty much filled the whole gap with silicone.


You just make it better with this action and actually reinforce the rim support. There is nothing to worry about this change so. If it was going to fail you should've noticed quile ago when you test it initially. Good job!


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## hoppycalif

That cable idea is good enough that some one could design a simple clip of some kind so it would be easy to use, then a little kit of clips and cable would be a good addition for http://oregonaquadesign.vstore.ca/. I would have used it when I started my 45 gallon second hand tank, which was missing the brace across the top.


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## sonaps

hoppycalif said:


> That cable idea is good enough that some one could design a simple clip of some kind so it would be easy to use, then a little kit of clips and cable would be a good addition for http://oregonaquadesign.vstore.ca/. I would have used it when I started my 45 gallon second hand tank, which was missing the brace across the top.


That's a good idea. If the clip was made to distribute the pressure over enough of the rim (maybe 4 to 6 inches long or so) it could be made with only one cable. That would make it even easier to work around. Although that could be quite a liability for whoever were to make/sale them.


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## mulita

sonaps said:


> ........ Although that could be quite a liability for whoever were to make/sale them.


That's also true. However, I think that installation is the Key for it. The fixture itself would be more than strong enough to hold the load, however if it is not installed properly this could be a mess.


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## ferris89

very interesting! keep the good work going!


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## sonaps

Here is a more recent project. This is a DIY CO2 reactor/ inline heater. I saw someone else put the two together and liked the idea. One upgrade I gave this model is I used a titanium heater. This has two benefits that I see. One, the whole heater is submersed in the water so no hot spots where the water doesn't move quickly; and two, the temp control and on/off indicator are on the plug, so I see when it's on and can adjust the temp real easy. I'll mount the plug near the door for easy viewing/adjusting.










Here is the heater I used. It's the Azoo 300 watt titanium heater. The heater is much shorter than a normal glass heater which was great for my application, since I needed to fit the pump on top of the unit.










I used a hacksaw blade to cut a slit in a 2" 90° elbow. I slid the heater cord through the slit before gluing.










I used marine 2 part epoxy putty to fill around the cord from the inside and out and to fill the gap from the cut. I found the putty at Ace Hardware, it's safe for potable water and says right on the package that it bonds to PVC. You can kind of see that in the first pic.

I mounted the heater clip in the center of the PVC elbow using a nylon bolt and nylon spacer. I covered the nylon nut with the epoxy putty as well.










I attached a length of PVC just long enough to cover the heater and mounted the second clip to the top. This section of PVC can be unscrewed for cleaning when needed. I didn't use the putty to cover the top nut since it will be easier unscrew the pipe if I take off the top clip first. I used a rubber gasket and lots of teflon tape to seal this one.










I attached a valve at the base of heater module using the epoxy putty. The valve has a quick release connection that fits airline. This will be used to lower the water level so that I can remove the whole unit for maintenance, without spilling water everywhere.










When I first tried to screw the arm on after attaching the drain valve I was very disappointed to find that the valve was too long and couldn't clear the CO2 reactor. I had used a female slip on the heater 90 and a male slip on the CO2 90 to conserve space, leaving little room between the two modules. I was kicking myself for that one. Luckily I was able to clip off the end of the valve to make just enough clearance. Without the end of the valve the airline can be knocked out easily, but it's not a big deal since I will only be attaching the tubing when I need to drain it.










In the above pic you can also see where the CO2 line will connect. I used a one barb fitting that is used in drip irrigation systems. As it turns out that this barb doesn't make a watertight fit with my CO2 tubing. Luckily a zip tie took care of that problem easily. As you can see from the first pic, I have a check valve after the barb so I can still unhook the tubing easily when performing maintainance.

Here's another shot of how the heater is attached.










And to finish this post here is another shot of the completed project. I'll go into detail of how it's attached to my plumbing in later posts.


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## mulita

Very Nice. This is something that I would like to do also to take out Eyesoring from the aquarium. It look really nice and kind of compact. What are its dimensions ? Did you add something inside the reactor are you using bio balls or similar?


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## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi sonaps,

I like your journal, nice workmanship on the cabinet and hood. I'm especially interested the plumbing...is your tank drilled or ?? Keep up the postings as you progress.

I had the opportunity to visit Eagle River about 6 years ago, nice country!


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## sonaps

mulita said:


> Very Nice. This is something that I would like to do also to take out Eyesoring from the aquarium. It look really nice and kind of compact. What are its dimensions ? Did you add something inside the reactor are you using bio balls or similar?


The CO2 side is about 22 inches long (that's how much room I had in my cabinet). The width is about 7 inches (it's in the back of my cabinet now, so it's kind of hard to get an exact measurement). I didn't add anything inside the reactor, mainly because I don't want to have to clean it very often.


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## sonaps

Seattle_Aquarist said:


> Hi sonaps,
> 
> I like your journal, nice workmanship on the cabinet and hood. I'm especially interested the plumbing...is your tank drilled or ?? Keep up the postings as you progress.
> 
> I had the opportunity to visit Eagle River about 6 years ago, nice country!


Thanks Roy, No the tank isn't drilled, I wish it were though. Here is a little about the plumbing:

I bent some 3/4" acrylic tube, as we've seen others do in this forum, for the intake tube. I stuck a screen made for PVC on the end (just slips on and off, got it at my LFS).










I connected that to 3/4" PVC using a compression fitting. Here's a pic, from some time ago, of the intake side of the plumbing. I bent the long vertical pipe in the middle so most of it's hidden behind the stand. From the side all you see is the grey compression fitting. You can ignore the pipe on the lower right of the stand. That's not part of the plumbing. The short vertical pipe will connect to my drain for easy water changes. The pipe that connects bellow the water change valve is 1/2" and is used when I want to connect my gravel vac. The gravel vac. pipe has its own valve and quick connect.










Here's a close up of the intake side.










Originally I was only going to have one compression fitting for the pH probe/primer, but I didn't take into consideration how high the probe sticks up and the hood wouldn't close with it up there. I had to lower the line a bit to get it to fit. The first fitting has a test tube in it to keep it closed. I take the tube out to prime the line.

Here is the line for the gravel vac.










I'll post more about the rest of the plumbing system when I have more time.


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## rekles75

Very nice setup, I cant wait for more updates.


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## Tex Gal

What an amazing job you are doing. Love the cable idea. I would love to have the light evenly spread through out the tank. The clips idea seems like it would work if someone could come up with a type of clip. What you did is so cool, but for ordinary folk like me it's just out of the question... 

My hubby just made me a new CO2 reactor. I wanted to separate it from my canister filter and run it and my UV on a separate pump. Trying to supply my CO2 more evenly thru the entire tank. I like your heater combo. That would have been cool to do.


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## hoppycalif

There are many very good ideas in this thread. It's like a DIY catalog of ideas! The heater installation alone is worth the price of admission.


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## mulita

sonaps said:


> The CO2 side is about 22 inches long (that's how much room I had in my cabinet). The width is about 7 inches (it's in the back of my cabinet now, so it's kind of hard to get an exact measurement). I didn't add anything inside the reactor, mainly because I don't want to have to clean it very often.


Thanks, that gives me a very accurate idea. I really like this reactor and you are very right about not having nothing in it to clean, anyway you have a tall column to truly dissolve the CO2 without the need of creating any trubulance to achieve it. I like this design very much. I have it in my projects list to do.


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## hoppycalif

Reading this thread is like a committee studying an elephant: one guy sees the rope like tail, another sees the huge foot, another sees the ivory tusk, another sees the trunk, etc. Congratulations on one of the best DIY articles I have ever seen.


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## sonaps

Tex Gal said:


> My hubby just made me a new CO2 reactor. I wanted to separate it from my canister filter and run it and my UV on a separate pump. Trying to supply my CO2 more evenly thru the entire tank.


I chose to run mine on a separate pump too. I have an XP2 and that doesn't quite get the flow I want anyway. I certainly didn't want to restrict it any further.



hoppycalif said:


> There are many very good ideas in this thread. It's like a DIY catalog of ideas! The heater installation alone is worth the price of admission.





hoppycalif said:


> Reading this thread is like a committee studying an elephant: one guy sees the rope like tail, another sees the huge foot, another sees the ivory tusk, another sees the trunk, etc. Congratulations on one of the best DIY articles I have ever seen.


Wow, thanks Hoppy. Coming from a DIY guru that means a lot!


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## sonaps

All of your positive comments have motivated me to put together another post.

As I told Tex Gal I decided to power my reactor/heater with a separate pump. If you haven't noticed by now I don't like to have a lot of equipment in my tank; for that reason I decided to run my pumps in parallel, so that I would only have one intake and one return. I chose to test the Mag 7 as my second pump, mainly because I found a great deal on it. I did as much research as I could about running pumps in parallel (not a lot out there that I could find). The gist of what I found was that the pumps should be similar in output or the stronger one will work against the weaker one. I tested my two pumps in parallel and had to restrict the Mag 7 to get the right flow. Basically I'm trying to let my XP2 operate at full capacity by restricting the Mag down. I could have used a smaller pump, but I didn't know how much my CO2 reactor/heater would slow the flow, until I tested it. The Mag 7 was only a bit more than the smaller Mag so I chose to get it and restrict the flow. The 3/4" intake I used is barely adequate for this application 1" would have been a better choice.

The two pumps working together really made a lot of noise (especially the vibrations of the Mag through the pipes). I realized that I was going to have to do some serious noise reduction to get it quieter. The tank's in my front room and I want it as quiet as possible. A new quieter pump would have been really nice, but I just wasn't willing to put the extra cash into it. Besides I like the DIY projects so I set to work researching how I could quiet the pumps down.

The first thing was to reduce the vibrations going from the Mag into the reactor. I didn't have a lot of room to work with, so basic tubing was out since it still vibrated way too much when cut short. I looked for a while at HD for something that would work and came upon the perfect solution (I saw them later at Lowes too), it's a flexible PVC reducer coupling used for connecting a disposal to a sink drain. It is much more flexible than regular flexible PVC pipe. The package warns not to use the coupling under pressure. But I'm sure that's to protect them from someone who would try to use this on a house water line or something. This coupling is more than strong enough to hold up to the small amount of pressure in my system. I filed down the 3/4" side of a 1/2 x 3/4 PVC reducer until I could stretch the coupling over it. Then I screwed the 1/2" side into the Mag's input. I used a 3/4" barb to attach the other end to the heater output. The coupling came with clamps, which I used of course since these weren't perfect fits.










I did basically the same thing for the return side of the pump except I filed down the outside of the union to slip the coupling onto since I had less room there. Sorry, I didn't take any close-up pictures of that connection.

Next I decided to build a soundproof box around both pumps to get rid of the rest of the noise. I used 3/4 inch MDF board as the soundproofer. I attached the boards with silicone so the vibrations wouldn't be transferred to the stand. I wrapped the inside with a dense rug material I found on sale at HD. I attached the rug with silicone too. Here's what it looks like.


















































































In the next pic you can see the valve that I use to purge the air from the reactor. Thanks to Hoppy for that idea! I got it from his thread on his DIY reactor. I put my purge valve in the line just above the reactor since that was the highest point in the line after a valve. The actual purge valve is at the end of that run of airline (sorry no pic, but it's just like the compression valve that's attached to the heater module). When I purge the air I hold the valve over a bucket and open it up. That way I catch any water that comes out when I purge the reactor.










I'm really pleased with how this turned out. There is virtually no sound from the tank now. Late in the evening, after the kids are in bed, and if there is no other sound in the house, I can hear a low hum from the tank. I think that's mostly due to some vibration that's still making its way through the pipes. I could probably reduce that more by insulating the pipes. But I don't hear it at any other time so I don't think I'll bother.


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## mulita

Very very Good Sonaps. I really like the way it turn within the cabinet. this setup look clean and with easy access for maintenance, I notice the light at top of the cabinet, which I also find out that this is really important and helps a lot while reviewing and working on it. The noise isolation is really important, I am sure the carpet helped a lot to reduce it not only because itself is a noise absorbing material but also because it creates a vibration absortion mean.

In my opinion a "must have" when having plumbing for your system is to have "soft conections" between filters and pumps and the actual plumbing as this will eliminate transmission of vibrations as it works as an insulation for them within the system.


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## sonaps

mulita said:


> Very very Good Sonaps. I really like the way it turn within the cabinet. this setup look clean and with easy access for maintenance, I notice the light at top of the cabinet, which I also find out that this is really important and helps a lot while reviewing and working on it. The noise isolation is really important, I am sure the carpet helped a lot to reduce it not only because itself is a noise absorbing material but also because it creates a vibration absortion mean.
> 
> In my opinion a "must have" when having plumbing for your system is to have "soft conections" between filters and pumps and the actual plumbing as this will eliminate transmission of vibrations as it works as an insulation for them within the system.


Thanks mulita.

The rug helped some with the sound, mostly with the echo/drum effect. The MDF does most of the work though. What I learned in reading about soundproofing is that the best material is dense and thick. In most cases the heavier the material the better sound dampener it will make. That's why lead panels are so good at blocking sound.

You're right about the "soft" connection in between the pump and hard plumbing, it's a must have.
Here's a picture of what I used. I found it near the PVC pipe. I thought it was for disposals, but I guess it's a Dishwasher Drain Connector, but it can be connected to disposals so I had part of it right. I bought one from HD to test it and the second one I bought at Lowes. I don't remember which store this one came from. The product is the same, only the packaging is different.










While I'm at it here's what I used on the reactor to seal the holes. I got this one from Ace, I've seen it cheaper at other stores. You just want to make sure that it's safe for potable water. I wouldn't use the one that has steel in it.


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## mulita

Thanks for the tip on the sealant for the reactor. Do you think General purpose Silicon may work also as sealant? I figure if the gap done for the cable is done with presicion having a silicon seal may also work, do you experienced that?

About the soft connection. What I used in my system was a regular clear soft plastic tubing (got it in a local Hardware store for cents) using press conections rings as the once shown in the drain connection you used. I have this kind between filter and pipes. Isolating is the best way to avoid a noise problem.


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## sonaps

I’ve read that silicone doesn’t bond well with PVC. That’s why I went with the epoxy. But I’ve had no first had experience with it. I’d do a bit more research before using the silicone. Maybe someone else can chime in here. One of the nice things about the epoxy putty is that it will harden even under water. So if I ever get a leak in my line I can repair it without even turning off the system. You can order the epoxy online if you can’t find it locally, or I’d be happy to send you some. Might be expensive going from Alaska to Mexico though.

I posted the pic of the coupling for those that might want to give it a try. I’ve seen your system and it looks great, I don’t think the coupling would do anything for you. But it’s very useful when you only have a few inches to work with between your pump and your hard plumbing. For example, I used the same type of connection as you did for my XP2 because I had more room there (and the XP2 vibrates a lot less then the Mag 7). But when I tried the regular clear pipe on the Mag drive there was still way too much vibration transferred to the reactor. For that connection I needed something more flexible.

On a side note, I was planning to mount the Mag drive to the top of the stand using rubber strips or the like. But the couplings are sturdy enough to hold the pump in place and flexible enough to stop most of the vibration transfer. That made it real easy to install and will make maintenance easier as well.


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## mulita

sonaps said:


> I've read that silicone doesn't bond well with PVC. That's why I went with the epoxy. .. One of the nice things about the epoxy putty is that it will harden even under water. So if I ever get a leak in my line I can repair it without even turning off the system. You can order the epoxy online if you can't find it locally, or I'd be happy to send you some. Might be expensive going from Alaska to Mexico though.


OK. That makes for it, I wasnt sure about the bond with silicon, so it makes the epoxy the way to go. I am not able to find the epoxy here, I live close to the USA border, so I'll be able to get it in Texas, or at least order it on line and send it to my P.O. there to pick up. Thanks for the offer.


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## sonaps

Here is the return line.










Right now I have a temporary return made out of acrylic that I bent to face the middle of the front glass. In the near future I will be making a spray bar.

Here is all the plumbing from the back.










Here it is from the side.










I have some covers for the sides made that will hide the pipes. I just need to stain and attach them.

You can see in the above pic that I have some ziploc bags in the tank. What you can't see is that they're full of plants!

Everything is hooked up and running now. I connected the plumbing to my septic tank on Friday and did my first water change. It was real quick and easy. The gravel vac connection worked real nice too. That will be nice to have, no buckets to spill!

I'm getting a lot of micro bubbles in my tank though. Not sure if they're coming from the XP2 or the reactor. I'll do some testing and let you know.


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## sonaps

I guess it’s about time to update this thread. I’ve been meaning to for some time, but things have been busy for the last few months. I’m not getting as many micro bubbles in the tank anymore. I discovered that most of the micro bubbles I am getting are coming from the reactor, so I’m hoping that those are CO2 and not air that is getting in the line somewhere. Some would say that it’s desirable to have all the micro bubbles in the tank. Personally I like the look of a crystal clear tank without all the bubbles, but I can’t get away from it now because the HC is pearling so much that there would be a ton of bubbles in the tank anyway. I’ve been thinking about modifying my reactor and putting something inside it to see if I can’t keep the bubbles from getting to the pump. I think when the CO2 bubbles get small enough they are making it through the U bend and getting sucked into the pump. But like I said, maybe that’s not a bad thing. I know some people actually try and make that happen to get the micro bubbles in their tanks.

I’ve got some more pictures ready for a post about my T5 project. But it’s getting late, so I’ll post those another day.


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## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi sonaps,

I subscribed to this thread last summer because it is so informative, glad to see you back again! I like crystal clear tanks too. But healthy growing plants will pearl, and when guests come by they are always impressed and fascinated by the "bubbles" coming off the plants! 

BTW, the days are getting longer. Glad you're back, looking forward to some pics when you get a chance.


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## mulita

Sonaps. Good to see an update in your post, this is a great library.

by the way, I rush up the reactor and skip the epoxy an in turn out a leakage problem at the CO2 input barb as you predicted ....but the hurry and try out cant wait as usual :flame: 

So, I'll see now that I get it to fix it.


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## sonaps

Mulita,

I’m sorry to hear that you got a leak in your reactor. I hope it didn’t cause any damage. I’ve really enjoyed reading about your great build. I checked prices to ship to Mexico from here. They have a flat rate box of up to 4lb for a real good price. PM me your address and I’ll mail you down some epoxy, my treat. That is, if you can wait 6-10 days


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## intothenew

This is one of those threads that I am going to have to read back through beginning to end, and this time take notes. Fantastic job, fantastic workmanship, awesome information. Thanks!


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## jeepn4x4

What an awesome project you have going here.


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## mulita

sonaps said:


> Mulita,
> 
> I'm sorry to hear that you got a leak in your reactor. I hope it didn't cause any damage. I've really enjoyed reading about your great build. I checked prices to ship to Mexico from here. They have a flat rate box of up to 4lb for a real good price. PM me your address and I'll mail you down some epoxy, my treat. That is, if you can wait 6-10 days


Sonaps. It didnt cause any damage, however, I couldnt leave it working to evaluate CO2 dissolving rate because of this tearing type leaking at the barb.

Thank you very much for your offer my friend about shipping me some epoxy, but telling you the true, I doubt Mexican mail will deliver the package or any package service will give me a thousand troubles to get it release from customs, I tell you this from experience, that's the reason if I am getting some products from another country I rather go and ship it to my address in Texas to pick it up there instead of shipping directly here, and in this case I think I will be able to get the epoxy at Walmart of some other hardware store, If in my next trip to Texas I cant find it, then I will take your offer for sure, but using the US adress, thanks a lot


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## sonaps

Not a problem Mulita. Good luck!


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## sonaps

As promised, here's the post on my T5 project.

Here're the ballasts I talked about earlier in this post. I only needed/used the larger of the two ballasts. I'm able to operate two separate pairs of bulbs with two timers using just the one ballast. The ballast had a wiring diagram that was fairly easy to follow that showed me how to get the two banks of lights to operate separately. 









Here it is mounted in my stand.









I decided to follow the advice I received here and install a fan to eliminate the condensation buildup when the lights are out. I tried just drilling holes in the fixture to allow the air to pass, but that blocked too much of the air flow and the fan became quite noisy.









I ended up cutting out a circle the size of the fan. I mounted the fan on the back of the fixture.









I cut holes on the opposite end of the fixture to allow air to pass over the entire length of the bulbs when the fan is on. This will also really help with cooling if I ever move to a warm climate again.









In order to direct the flow of air away from the return air vents I made an air diverter out of aluminum sheeting and screwed it to the canopy. 









I capped the aluminum air diverter with styrofoam to kind of seal the gap between the diverter and the fixture. Once I mounted the fixture back in the canopy I more or less had a miniature duct in the back of my canopy.









Here's the finished product.









I spaced the lights like that because I plan to have wood, anubias and moss in the middle of the tank, so I didn't need much light there. I have HC in the front of the tank and stems in the back, so I wanted more light directed there. I keep the outer two bulbs on for the entire light period and do a midday burst with the middle two bulbs.

The fan works great at eliminating condensation. I put it on real low power since I don't want to cool the tank. It just keeps the air moving a little.


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## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi sonaps,

Wow, your project continues to impress me. What brand and wattage ballast did you choose?


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## sonaps

Thanks Roy. The ballast I’m using is an Advance T5HO. Each bulb is 54 watts. I went with 6700K bulbs. I’m real happy with the ballast; it was easy to wire and performs great. Right now I’m running the lights for 8.5 hours a day with a 3 hour midday burst. In the winter it's real nice to come home to all that light!


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## mulita

Sonaps:
Great Job with that lighting fixture, looks terrific!. Where did you added the ballast and timers in you cabinet?

Please, Post us an update picture of your tank showing the new lighting , I am sure this will be for our enjoyment!


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## sonaps

Thanks Mulita. I mounted the ballast on the right side of my cabinet. The timers are just plugged into power strips right now (it's real messy). I'll be adding some outlets to the stand soon and then I'll post a better picture of that side of the stand.

You want a tank pic hu? I guess that is why I'm doing all this, right? I'm hesitant to give one since the tank never looks "quite right". I tore all my HC up at the beginning of the month and it's just starting to grow back. But I guess I'll let you see what it currently looks like. I took this pic last week, at night when only one set of lights was on. I didn't think to turn the other one on for the picture. But you can still see, by the reflection off the taller plants, that the T5's are quite bright.


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## mulita

Tank is looking great!, I am sure that it look terrific when the HC grows again. Very healthy tank.


those T5 are working great, very good ligthing level you are getting. is that star grass in the middle?, the tank is really looking great. Congrats


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## Pinto

Hah, thats some nicE soundproof room for your filter.
Your tank looks awesome btw.


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## sonaps

I'm reviving this dead thread to give an update on the reactor/heater combo. I was doing some maintenance on the Mag 7 and noticed that there has been some heat damage to the casing. I started inspecting it throughout the day to see how hot it gets. It's pretty cool in the morning but by the end of the day it's hot to the touch. The reason for the pump getting hotter at the end of the day must be because that's when the reactor has a big CO2 bubble in it. I designed the unit with a U bend that would allow the water to be supplied to the pump without the pump having to pull the water to it. However, when the CO2 bubble builds in the reactor it essentially lowers the water level on that side of the U. When the water level falls below the intake of the Mag drive the drive has to start pulling the water up to it. Here's a repeat picture of the unit to help you visualize:










Possible fixes for this would be: 1) to make the reactor side of the U longer; 2) make the heater side of the U shorter; 3) eliminate the tubing between the heater and the Mag drive; or 4) alter the design and place the pump at the bottom of the unit. I don't have room in my stand for the first option; my heater is about as short as they come so the second option isn't really an option either; if I go with the third option the Mag will send more vibration through my pipes which is why I used the tubing in the first place, so I don't want to go with that option; which leaves me with option four: redesigning the unit. I'm just trying to figure out how I'll fit the pump at the bottom of the new unit. I don't have much space to work with, so it'll be hard to fit the tubing between the pipes and the Mag drive, to keep the vibration noise down. I'm thinking of using a larger diameter pipe for the reactor side so I can make it shorter and put the pump under that side. I'm not sure I have enough room for that though. I'll have to think it trough a bit more.


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## Aquarium Ecology

Hello there,

could you please tell me what is the large green plant in the middle of your aquarium?

Thanks!


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## sonaps

It's Heteranthera Zosterifolia or Stargrass.


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## endgin33

Your project is full of incredible idea and thoughts- have you come up with an answer to the pump over-heating problem? Thanks for all of the insight and information.


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## Bunnie1978

You could also eliminate the big CO2 bubble by increasing the efficiency of the reactor... add bioballs or something. Better disolution would mean no big bubble. I have my CO2 going directly into my Magnum 350, which has the motor on the bottom. 100 dissolution until the end of the day when it has built up a little.


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## sonaps

Endgin33, it’s funny that you should ask about the pump. The pump started to act up last week. I guess ignoring the issue didn’t resolve it.:doh: I heard some weird noises, even through my “quiet box”, and found that the pump was cycling on and off every several minutes. I disconnected it and tested it in difference conditions, even submerged in cold water, and it continued to cycle on and off. So, lesson learned – don’t make a mag drive work for its supply water. For now I’ve closed that portion of my loop and put a powerhead in the tank with my CO2 feeding into the intake of the powerhead. I’ve also added a heater to the tank since the heater was on that loop as well. That works for now; until I get around to redesigning the heater/reactor and ordering a new pump.

Bunny 1978, are you sure you are getting 100% dissolution, or is it possible that some of the gas makes it through your media before it’s 100% dissolved? In any case I don’t think that bio balls would solve the problem. The way things are set up now the bubble doesn’t have to grow that large for the water level to get below the pump inlet. And there will always be a small bubble that builds in this type of reactor. I think that moving the pump down will be the best solution for me. I have even considered putting the heater on the right (or inlet side) and the reactor on the left (or output).


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## sonaps

Unfortunately the mag drive wasn’t the only thing to stop working recently. My ballast, which I’ve really, really liked decided that it wanted to stop working too. I tried a lot of different things to test the ballast, but apparently it’s completely dead. I still had the 2-bulb ballast that I got from Clint (see earlier posts) last year. So I changed the dead ballast out and connected only 2 of the bulbs to the working ballast. Of course I had a reduction in growth and stunting in some plants. Some of the high light plants started looking bad enough that I eventually went back to see Clint. Luckily he was in when I dropped by and was nice enough to hook me up with 2 more 2-bulb ballasts (he didn’t have any 4-bulb ballasts in). I added another 2 bulb ballast over the weekend and the light system’s working great again. In fact I think I like the current setup even better because now if a ballast goes out I don’t lose all the light. It’s also easier and cheaper to change out a 2-bulb ballast than a 4-bulb one.


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