Reef Sparky's 18" x 18" x 18" Nano Build.

I didn't really see your return before as I was on the end of my break at work...I love how you've done it so you don't have to go over the top....guess I'll be putting 2 more holes in the back of my tank where the overflow box can hide it....sigh.... is a pain on that big a a tank....but worth it in the long run as it may end up staying open top.

P.S. You used the same stand design I did or vice versa.

 

Thanks, anpgp!

I had to somehow combine a coast to coast overflow with a return, and I like how it turned out. Great stand design, BTW. Simplicity is king.

 

Very inspiring setup

 

Thanks, ReefBruh!

 

The green boards are short so there is no way they can bear weight and cause any of the load to be transferred to the nails/screws. They are there to just have something for the load bearing boards to be nailed to.

 

Yup. It's been clarified. Thanks though.

 

Looks awesome bro.....

 

Thanks, Greg!

 

Sparky,

First, I DIG this setup and you've done a fantastic job on this, the video was great too! In fact, you've inspired me to make a foray into this myself which leads me to...

A few questions for you.

Did you use 1" pipe on all intakes and 3/4" on the return? (you stated something similar in a post, but I just wanted to be sure) Would that still be enough on a 55 gallon, in your opinion?

Do you think it would be viable to swap out the pipes from the valves to the water to flexible hose?

Have you since added a fuge to your sump?

Any major "watch out for" problems I should keep an eye out for?

Now that it's been a month or so, have you noticed anything you'd change or modify?

Thanks again for all the information you've put out on this, can't wait to try it out myself!

Thanks again for showing your experience and build with the BEAN!

 

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I used 1" for all 3 drains, and 3/4" for the return. It would probably suffice for a 55. The turnover rate in a reef tank IMO isn't as critical as the implementation of water improvement devices, like a skimmer, reactor, dosers, etc.

Flexible hose would accomplish the same thing as long as you keep the diameter of said hoses comparable to as if it were hard PVC.

I have not added a fuge, and might not, time will tell.

As for "watch out" things, I haven't done anything with the tank since I built it, as I've become quite busy in real life almost overnight.

The tank is churning away, but there's nothing in it--still waiting for the lighting, and I'm really going to take my time on this one. I'm going to try to hold out for coralline growth before adding any livestock.

As for the last question of changing or modifying anything--NO. It seems the BeAn overflow was more than sufficiently conceptualized and has certainly had its time for testing by real folks.

Plainly put: it's a brilliant and simple design. Silent, and failsafe. Two words that say it all.