5.5 gal DIY overflow plant tank.

[Ken91gsx]

Image too large.

[Hebdizzle]

if you could please resize the image :) I remember pictures of your tank and I would like to get some of your design :)

Aaron

[Ken91gsx]

The overflow was cut from one piece 1/4" of smoke color plastic that belong to a old table top. I used a acrylic cutter from Homedepot cost $3 and a grinder for the overflow lip.
One cut piece is the width and height of the inside of the tank and the 2nd piece is the height of the tank and the length of the powerhead.

[Ken91gsx]

At the time this is the only small piece of driftwood I had laying around.
I was wrapped in moss and placed against the overflow.

[Ken91gsx]

Here is the view walking into my room. I added a grapevine wood since it's the perfect size. Right now it stands out, but later when the plants grow tall, it will help complete the angle.

[Ken91gsx]

I need to trim the riccia to get the height right.

[Ken91gsx]

I still have a lot of work to do to get this tank to the way I vision it. I took pictures of my 10 gal and this 4.5 gal to see if it can compete in the AGA contest level. This 4.5 gal will not meet the AGA deadline, but will prepare for ADA 2004.

Ken

[Ken91gsx]

Microrasbora erythromicron
It was either Microrasbora or Endler for this tank.

[Ken91gsx]

Another view from inside my room.

[Ken91gsx]

This is the view sitting in front of the my PC posting these images.

[Ken91gsx]

One last view from the PC side.
Here is the list of plants in the 4.5 gal.

Ricca fluitans, Anubias petite nana, Anubias nana stardust, Glossostigma elatinoides, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Ludwigia repens x arcuata, Vesicularia sp., Blyxa sp., Tonina Fluviatilis, Didiplis diandra, Myriophyllum propinum, Micranthemum Micranthemoides, Eleocharis parvulus and mermaid weed.

Thanks
Ken

Aquatic Bliss

[Dwarfnut]

Dude,
That looks awesome!! Can you give me some more details on exactly how you constructed the over-flow box(es) and what you have in them? Also, how does the over-flow work?? Good , bad, or somewhere in the middle?Would you recommend it for a tank with more fish, less plants? Also, how quiet is it?

Great work!

Bill C.

[Timmain42]

Impressive.

No co2, I'd imagine. Flourish Excel? What kind of wattage?

Your sense of design is well developed.

[Dwarfnut]

Ken,
any more info or answers?

Thanks,
Bill C.

[Captain Hook]

The tank is only 4.5 gallons? It seems so much bigger to me. What are the dimensions?

[famman]

fabulous!
you may have trouble with your grape-vine wood. it is too soft to hold up and can be insufficiently cured to protect your wood polishing creatures.
good luck
:)

[Ken91gsx]

Originally posted by Dwarfnut
Dude,
That looks awesome!! Can you give me some more details on exactly how you constructed the over-flow box(es) and what you have in them? Also, how does the over-flow work?? Good , bad, or somewhere in the middle?Would you recommend it for a tank with more fish, less plants? Also, how quiet is it?

Great work!

Bill C.

I'll been busy designing other plant tank, this is my first time online in a few days.

The overflow filter was constructed from a piece of plastic of a old table top.
First you need to get the right flow powerhead for the size that you are building it for. The one I got is 125 gph which is alot, so I had to drill extra holes for the overflow side to balance out the flow. The 1st piece was cut to the width and height of the inside of the tank.
I use a plastic cutter that I brought from Home Depot for around $3.
I mount the powerhead and mark the output hole w/ lipstick, and no, it's not my color.lol.
I press the plastic on to the output hole to mark the location to drill the hole for the powerhead.
2nd piece is the height of the inside measurement of the tank and the depth of the powerhead. If you are also going to add a heater, measure out the extra space plus the powerhead.
Now what ever space the 2nd piece divide, that is the amount of space for the overflow lip or holes. I made the lip too small, so the powerhead on the test run drain the water in the overflow faster then the water filled up. So I had to drill extra holes to balance that out.
I silicone the 2 pieces together. Let that dry over nite then add silicone to the back piece and apply it to the tank. Apply silicone to your finger and run it on the plant side of the plastic edge to form a perfect seal.
Let it dry over nite and do a test run.
I design this more for a plant tank. Some fish might get sucked into the overflow and get trapped and die. If the Powerhead flow is not that strong you can raise the foam block to the level of the water so not fish can swim in.
The media contents foam blocks cut to size and a roll of floss cut to size. Depending on what problems I have in the tank, I'll add a poly fiter or a phosphate pad. Otherwise I just change the floss on top.
The system is as quiet as the powerhead that you run. Mines don't make a sound, sometimes I think it was not running.

The measurement of a standard size 5.5 gal is 18" x 8" x 10".
But after the overflow filter the space I have left to work with is
12 7/8" x 8" x 10" which is 4.45 gallon even less then 4.5 gal.

I do use CO2 but it's the DIY yeast type. I removed the air adjustment nozzle and run the a one way value and silicone line into it as my reactor. Which is the same set-up in my 10 gal that got 10th place on the ADA 03.
I have not dose any Flourish Excel, since the plants are doing fine.

Yes , I know the grape vine will decay over time, but so far it is holding up and I don't own any wood eating plecos.

Thanks for all your kind replies.
Ken

[Dwarfnut]

Thanks for the add'l info Ken, that helps a bunch. I want to try this pretty soon with one of my tanks, possibly a 20 long, or maybe even on my 55 gallon! Would you even recommend that type of setup for a larger tank? Do you use any kind of calculations or formulas or just guesses to decide how big to make the overflow boxes? I'm just wondering if this provides a much more efficient filter than say an HOB type filter? Kinda like a built in canister filter.... and therefore you would not need the same amount of water turn-over. I see all the time that a canister filter is much more efficient and therefore you don't need to pump as much water thru... in fact, I've read that you get better filtration by slowing the water down.

Any thoughts on those comments/ideas?

thanks again,
Bill C.

[Ken91gsx]

I also have a 20 gal long tank in mine for my next DIY.
A 55 gal. might be too tall to work with. Since the 20 long is 30" in which I will use about 4-5" to build the filter with more stages and maybe even a CO2 reactor. That will leave me 26" for a 24" light strip.
Now I know why I pay more attention in my math class. I don't have a calculations or formulas at this time. I do it by trial and error.
One thing I learn from the first tank is aways make the overflow larger. You can aways balance out the flow by adding more foam layers to match the flow of the powerhead.

No matter the flow is fast or slow the bacteria needs a high amount of O2 in order to be efficient. The O2 in the water is not enough that is why IMO Bio-wheels and Wet-dry units are the best.

I would like to see some pic. when you start the project.

Good luck
Ken

[Dwarfnut]

Thanks again Ken...

It might be a little time before I can get started... still don't have the tank and running low on funds! Hopefully things will get better in the next few weeks, I think i can piece together the rest of the parts. Do you have any idea if there is such a thing as mirrored plexiglass or acrylic? I thought it might look neat and help hide the overflow box if you used some mirrored stuff and put the mirrored side towards the inside of the tank... do you think that would freak out the fish?

One thing about the flow that worrys me and why I asked is that all I have spare is a couple of powerheads from my 75 gallon tank. These are the Penguin 1200 series heads and put out a lot of water!! I'm guessing that would be too big! Maybe I could do one along the back of my 40 gallon breeder tank... hhhmmmmm...

Thank again,
Bill C.