madmark285

I tried a 1" PVC ball value, a complete disaster. For the final fine tuning, I am just nudging the gate value. I can no longer find cheap gate values (1" or large) on Amazon, the Spears 1 1/5" cost ~$100 at BulkReef.

I believe that Aqua Huna is primarily a wholesaler of fish with it's online retail being secondary. I believe Dan's just does online sales but I could be wrong on that. But for plants, buy them from aquarium co-op 🙂

On making it quite, the Herbie drain system with a gate value is the way to go. Of course there the Bean Animal drain system which is better but at minimum, I hope your sump has a Herbie system with a gate value.

Awesome tank! I need to sign my dear wife to a welding class 🙂 I hate wood for aquarium stands, metal doesn't warp when wet. I am way late to the party and not sure if this is possible but on low maintence sumps, I am a strong believer in fluidized bed filter using K1 media. They are not that complex to build, just need a good air pump & air stones. Fluidized bed are self cleaning, you just have to maintain the air stones. Fluidized or moving bed filters are widely used in the water treatment industry. I don't understand these massive sump on youtube with every type of bio-media tossed in, just seems like a waste of money. A fluidized bed can effectively handle ammonia and nitrite, why bother with anything else? The downside of fluidized bed filter with K1 media, they can be a bit noisy. But if you want a quiet time like in the evenings, just put the air pump on a timer. The filter will still work and no worries about killing the bacteria. I have 2 sets of filter socks. When I replace the 1st set of socks, I just toss them in a bucket. When the second set need to be clean, I toss both sets in the washing machine with a little bleach. Of course this done before my dear wife wakes up, the water in the washing machine get solid green! Mrs. Mad got quite mad when she saw that mess. Making a sump using an aquarium is quite easy if you use the right material.

@gardenman Thanks for sharing your experience, clearly I would not underestimate the complexity of keeping an arowana. Getting another dog may be less work 🙂 I agree on a small swimming pool but that's not for me. I love aquariums for the visual beauty they add to a room and a pool would be quite ugly. Another issue for me is retirement. I am designing my fishroom where i can leave for a couple weeks and just have my kids drop by to make sure the auto feeders are working. I am not sure I could do that with a 3' arowana. So a final summary. What is scary about this concept for me. If you could use the Ikea glass shelves then the hexagon aquarium project may be affordable . The plywood structure would be built similar to cabinet doors. Glue together the corner pieces then use pocket hole construction for the horizontal boards. Then do the second inside layer of plywood. The island in the middle would just be an hexagonal box from the bottom to the top of the tank. The problem with a 4'-6' hexagon or square aquarium, reaching into the middle of the tank would be difficult. So by putting an island in the middle, the effective width of the tank would only be ~16" ie: just like a normal aquarium. This could also be a cool looking aquarium with schools of tetra/barbs swimming around. I like the idea where the fish don't have to swim back and forth, just go around in a circle. Or make it a Mbuna tank, stacks large rock all around the island. Anyways, that for listening. This would be a huge plus for me concerning downsizing to a small townhouse. My current basement is a dungeon.

Some number using the Ikea 34 1/2" long glass shelves. This would create a tank with a face similar to a 40 gallon breeder. So using this calculator , With the sides of 3', the would have a diameter of 6' or 5.2' from wall to wall. Using a depth of 16": Volume: 233 gallons Volume of hex Island with 17" sides: 51 gallon. Water volume with an Island: 182 gallons. By comparison, the non-tempered glass on my aqueon 75 gallon tank is 1/4" thick. So would the Ikea 34 1/2" x 13 7/8" tempered glass panel hold 182 gallons? The glass from Ikea would cost $99, very affordable. Using foam, the island would have steep slope up. When you look into the paludarium, you would just want to see plants and branches embedded into the foam.

+ Absolutely. No way could I make an all glass/acrylic tank. It would plywood frame, 2 layer thicks, with fiberglass strips applied to all seams. i would seal the plywood with epoxy, Being hexagonal in shape would help spread the load better, similar to round vs rectangular pool. Acrylic would be preferred as it can flex more than glass but would require a more complicated sealing method, silicone does not bond well to acrylic. With glass, a heavy layer silicone is all you need. A more realistic project for a smaller hexagon aquarium, use the Ikea glass shelves. These are 1/4" thick tempered glass, not sure how big of a tank you could make with them.

My dear wife says it's time to downsize which means no more lawn work and I get a useable basement for my fish tanks. And with no more lawn work, I have more time for my fish tanks! So @NikkiRae got me thinking about Arowanas and I watched this video, Why I Stopped Keeping Arowana Fish. Quick summary of the video, he did not secure the lids and the arowana keep jumping out of the tank. So if you could build a tank specifically for an Arowana, why not build one where these guys could jump all they want ie: a huge paludarium with secure glass/plexiglass doors and a solid roof? I think the round tank would be the perfect but I could not build a round tank. But in my router bit drawer, I do have this: 22.5° Lock Miter Bit . I can make a huge hexagonal box out of plywood. So I could 8' wide hexagonal aquarium with a 4' wide hexagonal island in the middle for the paludarium. Put branches hanging over the water, toss in a couple hundred cricket feeded with dry fish food and maybe, just maybe you could see an arowana jump up and snatch a tasty cricket off a branch. That would be so cool and alot of fun to build.... Just dreaming today.

I can't make fake rocks, so use real landscaping rocks from Home depot. Lots of utube video on how to do this. You glue the rock's together using super glue & cotton balls. Pack wet play sand on exposed side, spray foam on the back side to hold it all together. For the Great Stuff foam, after it sets you cut off the smooth top layer. Cover it with silicone and pack substrate around. Your 40 gallon tank should have tempered glass on the bottom, it can hold alot of weight. I been building a 75 gallon Mbuna tank, here are the rocks i will use. The entire bottom of the tank will be rocks. I don't think a HOB filter can lift the water that high. You should use a canister filter for this application. Just run tubing or PVC pipe for the water features and foam it all in.

This came from a discussion with @ecarter, I am starting a new thread. Side view: So under the land section you have a water reservoir. Inside the reservoir is the water pump which pumps water to the land section ie: a waterfall or something. The water flows down the land section into the water section and thru the undergravel filter plate. The water rises above the Reservoir Wall and into the reservoir. On the Base for Land Section, your would need a removable panel to access the reservoir to install or work on the pump. If i built this, the reservoir wall would actually extend to the Base for land Section with an ~6" opening for the overflow. I would also figure out how to install a sponge filter here. This would have to be below the access panel so you could remove it for cleaning. With this design, the water level stay constant. One issue I see, you may need alot of water to get things running like the waterfall and the reservoir may have little water left in it once everything is running. But you could just overfill the system, no worries about flooding.

I started a new thread on this.

I get a bit excited when I hear the word sump 🙂 Another option for a paludarium, build a PVC box which sits under the land section. You could build an overflow type box so the water level in the front section stays at the same level. I was thinking about building a paludarium, one idea I had was an undergravel filter. The water would go thru the gravel then thru an overflow type box to a reservoir under the land section. If interested, let me know. I can draw something up.

I rebuilt my T-34 sump with this design shown below. It is a complicated design because I like building things. The big change here, the water intakes and outtakes for the fluidized bed filter are on the bottom of the tank. This eliminated the dam of K1 media when using the top overflow designs. The filter socks go into the 4" pipe. Not shown here, I added a 4" coupling to the pipe. T The air stones are magnetic mounts to the water intakes. The panel label "top" was just in case I needed larger open for the water exit, it can be removed. I didn't need it, the box structure worked fine. I have one more sump to build (using a 29 gallon tank), it will be for a 75 gallon Mbuna tank. I like this design, it is working great. But i may do a more straightforward design ie: sock chamber ->fluidized bed chamber->return pump chamber so other can use it if desired. FYI: Grizzly sells 1-5/16" Forstner Bit which is the OD of 1" PVC pipe, a great tool to have. I just drilled into the wall and slide in the 1" pipe. I use it to make an external overflow box.

My 40 gallon breeder from Aqueon used tempered glass, no drilling the bottom. One more thing to consider. Build the sump right and you will always have it for other tanks if the paludarium doesn't work out or you get boring with it.

This is my T-34 sump. I don't recommend this specific design, there is a better way to build one. But the wall design is the same. 1/4 PVC with a box attached to it. Once glued together, it is quite strong. I called it T-34 in honor of the Soviet WW2 tank, the wall for the water exit is sloped to eliminate the waterfall effect which is quite noisy.

Instead of glass or acrylic, I recommend using cellular PVC listed above. So easy to cut and assemble and is reasonable priced. Glass is expensive these days.

I have built 4 sumps, I like making things. I am not an expert. If I was I would have to keep rebuilding them 🙂 But my recommendation, do it right the first time. I am working on my final and hopefully my last sump. I plan on doing a journal on this one. My recommendation. Buy a diamond hole saw and drill your tank (2 holes). Use the Herbie drain system with an 3/4" or 1" gate value. For the sump walls, use 1/4 in. x 24 in. x 4 ft. White Reversible PVC Trim/Sheet ($29) or 1/2 in. x 24 in. x 4 ft. White Reversible PVC Trim/Sheet ($42). The 1/4" material can be cut with a razor blade (score&snap method). This material is easy to work with, glue together with heavy PVC cement. You can also drill holes in it. Use filter socks, I toss mine in the washing machine to clean them. For sock holders, PVC Sewer and Drain Coupling, 4 in. Hub x Hub work perfectly with 4" socks. Use an air powered fluidized bed filter with 2 gallons of K1 Bio Filter Media ($29). Fluidized bed are very effective and so easy to maintain, they are self cleaning. You need an overflow box which can be built using 1/2" PVC. To create the weir, use 2 in. Stainless Finishing Nails ($3.15). I would use a 20 gallon tank, get one when on sale from PetCo. All you need in a sump is filter socks and a fluidized bed bio filter. If built right, the return pump chamber should hold ~10 gallons of water (using a 20 gallon tank). You can use the sump for water changes, drain and fill with tap water, let the heater warm it up.

For this to work, the flow rate for the pump would have to be higher than the siphon and the pump would be constantly running dry. It would be noisy. If the paludarium can hold all the water from the sump, you could try making a PVC overflow . If you lose the siphon, your paludarium will fill up with water but no flooding danger. Sumps are designed where the flow rate from the siphon tubes/pipes far exceed the water pump. An one inch PVC pipe with a 3' drop will have a siphon flow rate of ~800 gph. The problem I see with the DIY PVC overflows with a paludarium, low flow rates. Just not sure about this, the siphon has to pull the water up ~12" and over the tank. What may happen, the water would rise above the intake on the PVC overflow. As this happen, the flow rate increases. The system could balance out or constantly cycle up and down. The above DIY PVC overflow may be noisy, lots of gurgling sounds. What could happen, a siphon flow starts up and the water level drops below the intake breaking the siphon. This cycle would keep repeating. The goal of the Herbie drain system, we want a siphon flow from the tank to the sump as siphons produce little noisy.

Pure speculation so don't be offended or take this too seriously but this may be a warning sign of things to come. Long ago when I had young kids and life was so hectic, I neglected a tank which I was doing the 5 gallon bucket thing for water changes. I vowed I would never do that again when the tank crashed. Before i even bought my 75 gallon tank, I tap into a water line and I now have a large Brute garbage can for water changes. My 40 and 75 gallon tanks will have sumps which are easy to maintain. I connected my Tidal HOB to an undergravel filter, the bio-filter needs little maintenance. To drain the water out the window, I may make one of these self-starting siphon tubes , just put it in a tank and it will drain out X amount of water. I hate starting a siphon. So it only takes me ~15 minutes for a quick water change. For your 120 gallon paludarium, connecting the sump which came with the tank will make maintenance easier.

Aqua Huna has the right idea for shipping, just use USPS Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Box. A suggestion, buy a group of plastic plants from Amazon now, remove them when your real plants get big.

FYI, I had good luck buying from Aqua Huna , they have a $12.99 flat rate shipping charge. For the three orders I made with them, they shipped them out on Monday night and I receive the orders on Wednesday afternoon. I live in western New York. My last order was ~$100 so I saved $7 in sale tax. Most of the small tropical fish we buy come from protected areas of lakes and river. Those cute little black neon tetras may become lunch if they venture into open waters. From the Seriously Fish website on neons: "small characids are often found in extremely clear water where submerged vegetation proliferates." The fish may prefer a dense jungle of plants in a corner of your tank.

I bought a Aqueon 40 breeder which got alot of bad reviews concerning leaks. The factory silicone job was very sloppy, I ended up re-sealing it with black silicone. I also wanted experience in resealing tanks. Someone suggested sealing the bottom of the tank ie: flip it upside down and apply silicone between the glass and plastic frame. An easy job that require little prep.

Acrylic will flex, the main purpose of the brace is to prevent the front piece from bowing out. If you have clearance, I would put a couple clamps on the tank temporarily. If you have them, put a small piece of plywood against the tank then the clamps. This will also hold things together while you are putting the brace back on. For acrylic to acrylic, Weld-on is one type of glue to use. For extra insurance, put a stainless steel screw in, just make sure you pre-drill the holes. I read that Super glue could be used but it may discolor the acrylic to white. \

For Tetra which is well established in the USA, it could be a patent or licensing issues. Tetra may be buying/licensing the filter from another company and could not secure the USA rights. On patents, alot of stuff from China is sold using storefronts on Amazon. It makes no sense to sued them for patent infringement, they will just close up and reopen under a different name. But Tetra could be sued, they have money. There could be an USA patent for the latch mechanism to remove the hoses for example.

I did a duct tape test and covered the skimmer and bottom slots. Visually I saw no difference in flow. The 1/2 moon was removed. However, the pump was making noise, sounded like air was in the impeller section. I removed the tape over the skimmer slots and the noise went away. There was no difference in flow. The skimmer doesn't do much, a common complaint about the Tidal. For the bottom slot slots, I initially covered all of them with silicone but I did open up 2 slots. I am not sure what is best, open to suggestions. I really like this combo but an AquaClear or Fluval C series filter may be a better choice.