• The sea is as deep as the ocean, we are building and need help.

  • Randy

The construction is quite unpleasant; you can make a sump on top with an overflow. There’s no need for refugiums, just a sump with bio media and a skimmer, and you can install a sterilizer. I wouldn’t take on this task without a clear action plan and an understanding of how to build it, how it will all work later, and how it can be maintained. How do you plan to equip it? It’s not clear at all. You will also need to run electricity to it, making sure the wires don’t show. You will need to find a way to access the aquarium, and you will likely have to reach the bottom somehow (to fix something or clean the algae from the glass below). You could try doing it without a sump altogether, placing the protein skimmer on top and decorating it.

Angela6489

I slightly modified it. For the auto top-off, we set the capacity to 35/32/30 (DHW). The sump will be 35 cm shorter, but it still has 47 cm of free space, maybe a refugium after all? The light is installed, and a cable for 10 outlets is routed in the niche under the ceiling, we can add more. We will install a sterilizer, 9 watts from Aqua Medic should be enough. As for cleaning, I don't even know, probably just the front glass, and maybe stir the sand at the bottom. Regarding the auto top-off, which is better - Tunze or Aqua Medic? And how to place the foam filter on top without a sump, isn't it external? P.S. In the photo, we are picking up the aquarium for renovation.

Jessica

Is it not possible to break down the wall and move the utilities to another room, for example, or to make a pedestal with a sump nearby?

Omar3497

What do you want from the refuge?

Shelby3182

This restaurant - the aquarium should be well-maintained, think about how to make it easy to clean later, the same ring algae do not look very aesthetic.

Emma

The wall is solid, and behind it is the street. It's unlikely that we can make a pedestal nearby and set up overflow systems, and we'll have to expand the niche. A lightweight factory for dealing with nitrates could be established, and we could also transfer fish there if needed.

Jill9137

You won't be removing anything there; if needed, you can take the fish from the aquarium and treat it yourself. There isn't enough space as it is, so don't cram things against the wall, and those algae won't help you; it's better to plant them in the aquarium itself, as it will look nice and won't take up space. You can place the foam separator in the corner of the aquarium on top and decorate it.

Amanda

Do you know how to place stones in the aquarium?

Melinda

Algae in the aquarium will be eaten, but for now, we can postpone that; there's space, and we'll figure out what to fill it with. You can't place the foam in the corner; there are 3 straps 15 cm wide, and the gap is just right for the metal halide. We're making the decor from sandstone and live rocks, about 10 pieces.

Christopher7213

who will eat them there?

Jennifer5371

Fish, zebrasoma, and other nastiness, surgeons.

John

The drain from the sump should be about 70 cm deep in the aquarium. There is a problem for which I don't know the solution: how to collect the film on the surface of the aquarium (look for a solution on AL). When starting, first introduce a couple of dogs (they eat the growths on the glass) and 30 turbo snails. Plant a lot of plants so they can grow and the fish can't eat them.

Wendy8540

Dear Rey Tkach, have you dealt with a similar aquarium?

Meghan

Dear, There is definitely no such thing, but there are constantly marine aquariums. What confused you?

Julie3950

There are attachments for collecting film from the surface - to such an attachment, a pump is connected, which in turn pumps water up into the sump. However, as I understand it, the drain hole in the sump should not be at the bottom but on the side, about 30 centimeters above the bottom, so that all the water doesn't escape into the aquarium when the pump stops or when the power goes out.

Carrie1606

Guys, can you convince the owners to put a small cabinet under the aquarium? We can hide everything there. It shouldn't stand out too much - let's combine the cabinet with the restaurant's stuff - glasses, the organizer's desk... There isn't much space on top to place the equipment and still have access for maintenance. The cabinet can be wider than the aquarium, with rounded corners, but it shouldn't be deep, just enough for the equipment.

Tami

The area of the room is small, and heating pipes run underneath the aquarium, so it will be problematic to create a drainage-overflow system - I can't even imagine how to do it.

Jamie3553

And the overflow?

Brent8919

You'll have to knock out a couple of bricks in the wall if there's no space on the side at all.

Amy5468

By the way. So what is the filter in aquariums with BB?

Danielle

What is BB? I would add a couple of sinularia to the corals and place them closer to the top. In my opinion, you can make a sump on top, but you should create a glass in the wall of the aquarium and place the return pump in it.

Jennifer5371

BB is a method of maintaining a marine aquarium (M.A.) without any substrate at all, and the rocks are subjected to cooking to prevent dust, so all the suspended particles, dust, and fish waste are carried away by the strong current from the bottom and not just go into the overflow column. In other words, the principle of not accumulating substances at all works. But why is the pump in a container? What if it’s placed directly in the aquarium and decorated with rocks? Then there would be no need to drill a hole, make a container, etc., although it wouldn't be as aesthetically pleasing.

Daniel4967

Here, here - why in the glass? What's better? You still have to build a sump. I was thinking about the sinularia under the corals. The plan remains unchanged for now, the sump on top, we'll plant the caulerpa, and we can try to find fish that won't eat the caulerpa.

Wesley

a glass because then we will collect the film from the top of the aqua.

Spencer7805

The film is not a problem; for water intake, there is an attachment for collecting film from the surface, and it works great.