55 Gal Aquarium in Wall, diy sump, stand, overflow, lighting, diy everything lol

[judy]

That is a great design!

[ZX10R]

I like the look and very interesting idea on the overflow I will have to remember this one.

Sean

[jimmyjoe]

Very nice Dominick, is carpentry a side job of yours or did you have help with all the innards I mean the electrical and plumbing? Jim in Ohio

[dbfzurowski]

Thanks guys.

I had the opportunity to work/learn all few years ago and I got kinda good at it.
Plus I'm Polish so carpentry knowledge is a must, specially here in Chicago.

I had some help


my wife

Besides that I would invite people over for bbq/drinks and make them paint etc

My K1 media just came in, yay!!!

[Stag]

Really great idea with the overflow. Your tank is inspiring. Thanks for posting the project.

[dbfzurowski]

Thanks Stag. I love it!
Overflow took some time to plan and even tho its not the pretties of all, it does its job.

Pat,
I really, really wanted this tank to be full of wilds. But I came to a conclusion that they would not be happy in such a motion/sound busy environment as my living room/office is.
Kenny's discus are gorgeous. I had more but some died during the power outages begging of summer. Rest got a little neglected but I had remodeling/new job/getting married going on so busy busy...

I went to my LFS recently where I sold one of my discus earlier this year. I often wondered what happened to him....and there he was, in their display aquarium. It was good to see he was still alive

[Second Hand Pat]

Hey Dominik, good to see your discus still alive and actually looks pretty good at the lfs. I have a "sort of" new tank which is located in my family room and it is full of wild tefes and they are as happy as little pigs. The tank is in a corner and is a big tank at 230 gallons.

[dbfzurowski]

I assumed wilds would like a place to hide etc. With my "see through" design and nothing but one branch of wood I was afraid they my be to skittish. Oh and I was kinda worried I wouldn't be able to take care of them. Next time we move, hopefully to a house I will build my own tank T shaped with a biggg a** tree stump in middle. That tank will be filled with wilds for sure! I can't wait

Anyhow...

So yesterday I took out my bioballz from the sump and threw in K1 Kaldnes media. I read that it can take up to 4weeks for this thing to start moving around.
I'm hoping for much sooner




Today one of my female German Blue Rams died after its morning feeding. Its belly was so full... I saw no signs of illness or anything. I wonder if maybe I had an ammonia spike but then again all other fish are ok...
No idea but it looks like I might have to bust out my 10G QT and buy another female, we shall see.

[Second Hand Pat]

Dominik, you removed your seeded bio-media and replace it with new...I would check your ammonia like now.

[ericatdallas]

Darrell; There are two layers there.

The smaller pipe works as a regular overflow, collecting water that overflows to it. The bigger one, is taller then the smaller. This causes the water to be pushed up from the bottom.
When I flip the switch for the pump, the inside of the smaller pipe is empty while the area between small and big pipe has water equal to tank water height.

Wow, I was wondering the same thing...

First, AWESOME looking tank.

Second, wow, that's one complicated system. Did you think of it? Are there any other sites explaining it?

[dbfzurowski]

I upped my wc and eased up on feedings since Friday. I just checked ammonia, 0, but then again I just did another wc. I will keep an eye on it.

Eric, thanks
As far a overflow goes, I am not aware of anything out there. I did think of it and I haven't seen anyone do one like it. Main reasons were to pull debris off bottom and not having floating plants sucked up from top. I'm still debating if I should get some amazon frogbit, I kinda like the clean look of my tank, plus everyone thinks its saltwater lol
If you want I can explain in more detain how it works, how to build one. It's pretty easy actually. Hardest thing was splitting the pipes in half. First I tried with a table saw and I ended up cutting my nail off(very painful). Jig saw worked much better

[jlcoop277]

I've seen others that pull from the bottom, but not as well thought out as yours. I almost did something similar and still might, but I'm about to get rid of all plants so I may not, but I love the design.

[ericatdallas]

I upped my wc and eased up on feedings since Friday. I just checked ammonia, 0, but then again I just did another wc. I will keep an eye on it.

Eric, thanks
As far a overflow goes, I am not aware of anything out there. I did think of it and I haven't seen anyone do one like it. Main reasons were to pull debris off bottom and not having floating plants sucked up from top. I'm still debating if I should get some amazon frogbit, I kinda like the clean look of my tank, plus everyone thinks its saltwater lol
If you want I can explain in more detain how it works, how to build one. It's pretty easy actually. Hardest thing was splitting the pipes in half. First I tried with a table saw and I ended up cutting my nail off(very painful). Jig saw worked much better

Ouch! You should write it up! It's an interesting idea... it's different at least! I love stuff like this and learning about it even if I never do it

[Bayou Discus]

Nice tank! You did a great job!

The overflow is similar to what Aqueon uses on their "mega overflows". I have a 120 gallon Aqueon that has dual overflows that are designed very similar to pull water from lower depths and not just the surface.

[dbfzurowski]

I recently took a closer look at some of the overflows at my LFS on those bigger tanks and its a very similar double wall system.

Whats new? I have two pairs of GBR that keep on digging a pit on both sides of the tank, it's pretty cool but I stir my sand twice a week and they do not like that lol.





Finally my K1 started moving around, I really didn't want any power heads in there. Sump design and strategically placed air stones create somewhat of a circular water movement



Video




Shot of my biggest one ~5in
With my cheap camera its impossible to capture its true colors, one day I shall poses a DSLR camera!




Short Video of my tank. Patiently awaiting my Piwowarski fish...








Happy Halloween!!!