Adaro mid-year build!

Well actually it's a Qualipet, because nothing shouts artisan-crafted like finger-smeared silicone.

610x325x300H, 60L. The canonical cheapy two footer. The bespoke stand is 60cm high, which is too short for my liking and I'll be extending the legs if I can find square tubing that fits flush over the OD. The upper "surface" of the stand does not have a cross-bar so the bottom pane is floating over nothing - it'll probably be fine but I don't trust it and will cut a plank to suit. I will probably also scrape off the polystyrene because I have loads of 20mm neoprene foam left.



This will become a plants-only tank, I don't intend scaping it but we'll see where my nose leads me. Lighting is 2x 24W temu lights.

I have yet to do a leak test.

I have a Penn-Plax Cascade 300 hob, but I don't trust the 4mm glass so it's time for plan B - otherwise known as the H. Robinson maneuvre:





Temu 220V pump (pretty hard to find, everything is low-throughput USB or otherwise 12/24V). It's rated at 800L/h with a head height of 1m. The outlet is 13mm so I bought 13/16mm vinyl tubing, and PVC compression glands to suit. The glands compress the tubing very tightly and I'm confident they won't leak, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I'll see if I can find 13mm OD acrylic tube to act as a support insert so the tubing doesn't collapse.

I will need another, smaller gland to seal the wiring. Builder's only has the no. 10 gland which is too big, I'll need to shop around.



A 2m length of 110mm PVC soil pipe. 1m of it has an internal volume of just under 9L so I'll probably decide to to "double" it up with a side-by side arrangement (or even 3 or four way) with cross-pipes because 1m is going to be too tall. I'll need to buy more end caps if I'm going to do this. It gets expensive and I could probably just have bought a smol canister but this kind of thing tickles me too much to let it lie.



Standard Marley glue-on end caps, the one is a screw fitting but it doesn't come with a gasket so a visit to BMG was needed, the final size that seemed to work best is 3x112mm. It's nitrile rubber so should be pretty durable. They did not have stock of the 4mm silicone o-rings I would have preferred.

Tasks:

1) Make plank for stand
2) Extend feetses
3) Make cannister
4) Leak tests of everything
5) Plant!

Updates to follow!

 

Set of 13mm lily pipes off Temu. I can't sing the praises of this enough - they're as beautifully made as the 17mm set and go for a song. The pair is half the price you'll pay in a local LFS online shop for a single pipe.

 

I have to raise the tank by 290mm to have it level with the ADA's cabinet, which means 390mm extension feetses (120mm of that will slide over the existing legs and welded in place). But it looks dodge and top heavy. Thoughts?

 

Le plan d'action. Two 700mm tubes, combined volume just over 12L which should be more than enough even if fish are added. At the bottom there will be a 50mm crossflow pipe, at the top same but shorter and glued to the outside as a support only. The left tube will be the inlet and will contain floss and foam, the right will just be foam and bioballs or whatever. The pump will be mounted up top hanging on the underside of the cap on so I can screw and unscrew without worrying about twisting and fouling on the inside.

I will need to cut and curve some pipe so I can double up the thickness at the bottom where I'll be drilling - the pipe is only 2mm WT.

The whole lot will fit nicely inside the one half of the stand and I can use cable ties to secure it to the crossmember.

 

frankenstein diy, love it!

 

Looking forward to seeing the outcome of this. Please think about how you are going to do maintenance on the filter, maybe use two quick release fittings on the pipes so that you can take the whole filter outside when you have to clean it.

https://www.temu.com/za/--way-water...&refer_page_id=10032_1745914430266_n1eivg8itx

 

Those look brilliant! I've ordered a pair in both sizes. Thanks for the suggestion!

Also they have butt nuts and who can resist.

The idea was just to unscrew the caps and let them hang while I carry the body wherever, but this will work a treat.

 

It just occurred to me that I'll have to think of a way to release trapped gas that will inevitably collect at the top of each cylinder....

 

Maybe something like this:

 

Yes. Maybe something as simple as an airline stopcock glued into the top of each cap. I'm not sure what plastic they're made from. I'll have to see whether they're water tight as well when closed.

I ordered a set of 5/8mm glands as well so maybe I don't have to worry about glue either.

 

Thanks. I ordered "proper" stopcocks but they're made from ABS so I'll have to use glands to hold them in place. I think it'll work.