Diy 15gal fuge for New 60..

Ok ,, Im getting ready to swap out my 50 to a 60..So now i have what i need to put the Fuge together and some other stuff for the main tank.


For Now im using sorta thin glass that was free,, So i can see if my Idea is gonna work..Ill also be puting egg crate on one side of all pieces of the glass...

Cutting it was easy (simple glass Roller which can be used up to 1/4"/3/8thst if ya know how to score good. I debured edges after with a Air Grinder Concrete disk..Then lightly sand by hand.This will also give a good bond with silicone..

Well my first picks ...Ill put up a drawing later and im not good at Paint lol...

Also note my CD's are helping today , Primarily MR Marly;D


Sizing where im gonna put stuff,,


Bucket resembles Skimmer for now.




Eggcrate for the Main tank and some will be used in Fuge.



A little hint what the Eggcrate is for....I m going to make a little something in the tank as well as hide my overflow..and a powerhead ,it will get interesting..

OOOoFound My Can of Pond Foam(black);D


Ok back to work on this stuff will post more this evening and tomorrow...

Later tonight i need to make a Tank Build thread

 

Update ALL glass is in with some silicone in main points..
Will let dry over night then ill put the final beads of silicon on...


Cutting glass went better than i expected...After sanding no sharpies.



So far i decided to make the Skimmer Area be in the back .The Fugeis in the front..

This is definatly different..
As i made One High Baflle on each side to keep input water spinning around Skimmer.. The way i designed it should let Fast water move above the fuge and right to Bio balls and exit to pump. Detriuos should want to drop into the fuge too.

Pump chamber,,


Inlet from Overflow Through BioBalls..Also note the Inlet to Fuge(lower Right)..If you look in the center you can see how water can flow directlyabove the fuge from skimmer..


OverView of layout,,






See the How the Sides of fuge are high.this will channel water to center of fuge area forcing all water to flow through the center of the tank.


The most important part is a Baffle that lets Water in the Fuge from the Right inlet corner .. allows a small amount of flow to go throught fuge Via a 3" x 4" x 3/4" inlet.

Front fuge area Again,,i hope this works lol... I just wanted to be different!




CD's resenble the skimmer area and where the water enters both Skimer and Fuge.


Well thats it for tonight...Pics are a little washed from flash ,when i water test it , You should be able to See things better .
Hope you enjoy

 

looks interesting.

 

Looks good dude.

 

Just hope it works as i plan ...
Once i finish sealing i can leak and flow test it..

If anything i may need to add one piece of glass in the center ,, if the flow is too much.. ill leave a 2" slot in the middle and That is fairly easy to do..

Since its a small tank 12high x12wide,, i didnt have to go crazy thick on glass.

Pluss im not puting 200lbs of rock in it lol.

I just needed to see what would work..
Since i already had a 2x2 sheet and some smaller piece glass lying around from a 10gallon I built for a friend a while back. I usually would buy a sump/fuge, but wanted to build one in a different way.

I can always go thicker , but im pretty shure this will work fine. If not ill just have to go bigger;D Its an experiment.

1:29AM
Update << couldnt Sleep^^ So i finished Sealing the Fuge...Will Water test tomorrow and then Cut the small pieces of EggCrate to Keep the Good stuff in the Fuge and out the pump.

 

Leaktested sump and fuge area,, Im so happy.

Well it went better than i thought. Epecially the flow chamber for the fuge. It filled just like i wanted it to..

My Skimmer will be here Wensday then i can get it button upped.. I have to start doing the Overflow and returns/recirc on DT now;D

Some Eye Candy , Not bad for 15gallon.









Filling the inlet port for the first time ,,
It feeds about 90% to the skimmer first routes the remaining to the fuge lower inlet ..





Filling Fuge with side port..See it in the lower Right8)



Let this sit a few hours ,,


Now the Overflow for Biosballs and return(bubble trap)





Last Fuge shot , I cant wait for the skimmer.




I hope you guys like me little fuge/sump,
It becomes a challenge to make silocon look good in area that you cant sometimes fit your hands...wanted a clean View even if its Hidden.

Some Sand Mud little LR and Cheatto and other stuff,, oh cant wait.

 

Skimmer arrived and it fits.....


All i can say for the Smallest of this model it is huge..

When I made the Sump i didnt have the skimmer and amazingly i also added a 1/2" to my 6" footpint before i cut the glass..Im glad i did..Even with the glass being angle it just fits with out touching and i can move it back and forth a few inches..

It fit exactly how i intended and i couldnt be any happier..









I added feet so i could to raise the skimmer to the level i needed.. Ill also pot a small amount of silicon on the bottom of PVC and let it dry before setting in sump.. this will take away any vibrations if there is any at all.

This is one of the funnest buils so far..;D

 

Tested the sump with both pumps,, Flows so nice. It will be close when i turn the pumps off. the drain back will be right at the top pretty much . Worst case ill add 5gallon overflow tank on the other side of stand..

Ill just drill two bulkheads high on the 15gallon to drain to the 5.

All pumps are on and flowing into the Intake of sump above water,,To show Bubbles..when the returns are bellow water its bubless on the intake going to skimmer and sump.





Lots of skimmer bubbles for fresh water lol.
Below this is the part of the fuge that recirculates the water spinning it around and below skimmer. Once it circulates the High flow is all at the surface on exiting to the bubble trap.




Skimmer return goes above the Inlet to fuge ..


Fuge flow is very nice and suttle.


Water enters the fuge below BioBall..Its up from a intake vent directly from Return of DT.... it floats there and dosnt get pushed around . all though ther is plenty of current.



This is the bubble trap and it works wonders.
See the high flow...to think this is flowwing across the very top of fuge and the fuge is almost a calm bay in comparison.


Well thats all for now... I cant wait to run this with salt water and see what the Skimmer has...This was actually a fun day ,, I like to play with water