Frag Tank & Sump
Keith, a DFWMAS club member and customer of mine, ordered a frag tank and matching sump. He designed the steel stand and listed his desires, and I got busy building his dream setup.
The frag tank is 47.75" x 30" x 14" and holds 75g of water. The custom overflow has three Durso drains and two Locline returns, with room for pumps on either side of the overflow.
He requested a way to insert a screened frame into the inner rim of the sump to prevent any jumping fish losses. I made tabs for the four corners as well as support tabs at the center of the long edges. The perimeter was routed with a rounded edge for comfort when working in the tank.
The covered overflow keeps the plumbing devoid of nuisance algae. The three Durso Standpipes are made with 1.25" plumbing reduced to 1" bulkheads, and the two returns are made with 3/4" plumbing and locline.
The overflow cover is intentionally a 1/2" larger on all three sides so that any floating items won't block the flow into the teeth. The top flange of the tank was reduced in width to provide better access to the plumbing. All the bulkheadsd were drilled more than 2" away from the edge of the tank to account for the steel frame.
The seams are bubble free.
The tank will be installed on this frame, and lit with T5 fluorescent lighting. The sump will fit beneath.
The sump is similar to the Model M layout, measuring 40" x 20" x 16". The full length refugium runs down the entire (back) side, and flows through the teeth into the return zone on the right. The skimmer zone has two 1" drains from the display tank, and that skimmed water will fow through the triple bubble trap into the return zone on the right. Water will exit the sump via a 1" bulkhead to an external return pump to push the water back up into the frag tank.
The cooling fan bracket holds two 120mm fans to keep the tank's temperature down without the need for a chiller.
Hoping to add more pictures once the system is set up and running.
