the work begins on the aquapod 24

[gwaco]

well santa brought my daughter an aquapod 24 for christmas ! well after looking it over i thought that the filtration wasn't very adaquite so the planning started.
so far what i have done is to drill it out with two one inch bulkhead fittings ,one for the drain and one for the return. i know the one inch return is overkill , but i didn't want to redrill if i decided to upgrade the pump later. also the idea is to keep it as inexpensive as possible !
we will be using a 20 gallon sump(used) with a submerged 250 gph pump which cost $25 at harbor freight . the sump is also drilled out with a one inch bulkhead should i decide to go with an external pump at some point .
we will be using a euro reef 5-2 skimmer i've had laying around.
i,ve left the factory pump installed for extra circulation .
so here are some pics of what has been done so far , next will be the work on the stand so i can get everything fit together so it doesn't look like a disaster!
this pic is how i drilled the tank .

this is what the drain looks like looking straight down . i still have to add another section to it , which will probably just be a durso . also where the black elbow from the factory return pump had to be trimmed down some to allow more room for the one inch drain (its tight fittins in there ! )

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[crvz]

Ah, exciting! What's the stocking plan?

[gwaco]

Originally Posted by crvz

Ah, exciting! What's the stocking plan?

well thats still up in the air ! it won't include any sps,s though as i really don't want to change out the lighting , plus it is my daughters tank so i can only guide her !

here is a pic of the return bulkhead which actually fit right to the back of the black plastic divider, at which point i drilled out a one inch whole in the plastic divider and inserted a 3/4 to 1" bushing . so basically what you have is a straight , no leak , shot to the tank .

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here is the drilled out back ! remember this is just the trial and fit stage so i wasn't out for looks - just yet !

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[gwaco]

here is the setup with the sump installed and the system running with fresh water .
everything went well , very quiet .

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this will basically be how the sump will be laid out .
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[dobejazz]

Very Nice !! I can't wait to see what she puts in it

[gwaco]

Originally Posted by dobejazz

Very Nice !! I can't wait to see what she puts in it

me either !
this will be the last pic for now , but i wanted to show the gate valve mod on the skimmer ! its a slide gate and seems to work great !
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[gwaco]

hi everyone!i don't think i'll be putting much in,since he thinks he should do everything!!!gwaco's little angel fish, Jennifer.thank you for the compliments!

[dobejazz]

Originally Posted by gwaco

hi everyone!i don't think i'll be putting much in,since he thinks he should do everything!!!gwaco's little angel fish, Jennifer.thank you for the compliments!

Hi Jennifer !!
Dads are like that aren't they I'm sure he will let you reseach some inhabitants though to see if they will work in your little ocean

[Wiskey]

Hey Jennifer! Your tank looks great! Are you helping your dad out with all this work?

Whiskey

[VWD]

Thats very cool

[gwaco]

well our build starts off with a link to what has already been done , so no use in rehashing . the work begins on the aquapod 24
today work had started on the stand , and now i'm off to lowes for some supplies !
so far the joint project has not led to any differances of opinions till today ! thee proprietor of the tank says she would like the stand to be " lime" in color ! don't know how i'm gonna pull this one off !
should have some pics tomarrow !
good luck to everyone !

[Loverotties]

Wow! Very Cool! Good luck!

[Hop]

Looks good so far. Really like the mods to date!

[Phishnoob]

Looks great!

[gwaco]

thanks everyone ! and thank you kelli for merging both threads !
busy night at lowes! more to come tomarrow !