# New DIY Stand, Tank, Hood



## Lampy007 (Jun 19, 2014)

Hi all;

So its been a while since I have had a fish tank and I have really been missing it so I thought now is as good as time as any to do a BIG DIY project and build exactly what I want.










Its going to sit next to the kitchen pantry so I thought why not make it the same size  The plan is to run the overflow inside the tank so it will sit flush with the wall with the drain pipes as well as the return pipes in the overflow basically setup like this;










But there will be 2 drain pipes into 2 filter socks and 1 flow pipe from the pump that will split into 2 inside the overflow to have 2 separate flow outlets

I also have an idea for a auto water change system, Basically what I was thinking was thinking was I am going to run water, power, drain inside the wall to behind the stand.
hookup the mains water to










which will act as a automatic top off during the week with the top float as a safety backup in case the bottom one fails (better to be safe than sorry).

Then run a outdoor irrigation controller which will keep the "drain solenoid" closed all week then at the same time it will close the "flow solenoid" and open the "drain solenoid" for a certain amount of time and drain the water out into my garden (once I have figured out how long it will drain for) while this is happening the auto top off should keep the sump/tank at about the same level of water so the pump wont run dry. after the draining has been done the solenoids with open and shut at the same time again to put the flow back into the tank.

So this is what I am having trouble working out,

Pump:
I need a pump that will push up a head pressure of 4000mm to pump the water up through the drain which goes into the ceiling then out into the garden, but will not overpower my tank/sump 2000mm head pressure from the pump to the top of the tank, I have been thinking about getting 2 pumps but it will just take up more room in my stand and I need all the room I can get for everything I want. this pump will also decide what size pipe I am going to run, I don't care if its internal or external to the sump.

Heater (in sump)
Eheim Jager 300w

Substrate
Eco Complete Zack Black Cichlid Sand 9kg

Lighting
will possibly do a DIY LED build or I might buy one that changes throughout the day, suggestions would be great

Fish.
fish list still in progress but will be Cichlids and catfish

I also had an idea not sure if it will work but I really want to try it or know if anyone else has tried it, in my past tanks I have noticed that cichlids seem to rip plants out of the substrate but not actually chew on them so I am wondering if I put something like egg crate under the substrate and get the plants roots to grow through and around the egg crate so the fish cant pull them out, yes this means the plants will have to be in there for a while before the fish can go in but I think it will make it look better in the future doing it this way.


----------



## gilberbt (Aug 1, 2009)

Lampy007 said:


> I also have an idea for a auto water change system, Basically what I was thinking was thinking was I am going to run water, power, drain inside the wall to behind the stand.


I have wanted to attempt something like this but would be wary of having something 100% automated relying on pumps. You may have already accounted for this but what if the drain system fails or gets clogged, will it prevent the tank from filling? Personally I would be more willing to attempt a semi automated water change system that would rely on manually starting/stopping vs 100% automated.



Lampy007 said:


> I also had an idea not sure if it will work but I really want to try it or know if anyone else has tried it, in my past tanks I have noticed that cichlids seem to rip plants out of the substrate but not actually chew on them so I am wondering if I put something like egg crate under the substrate and get the plants roots to grow through and around the egg crate so the fish cant pull them out, yes this means the plants will have to be in there for a while before the fish can go in but I think it will make it look better in the future doing it this way.


I have done this in a past setup for rocks and added plants later and they did anchor very well into the egg crate. A lot depends on your stock and plant selection but my problem was I could keep the plants alive but never keep them looking good, but they did anchor into the egg crate very well.


----------

