Sunkenmetal's ADA 120 Planning thread

[Totenkampf]

if the river thing is yet another pump then yes i think that you could manifold all three together and then go through, you could then break out to a spray bar inside or whatever you are planning. the intake could stay low with a strainer and that would be sweet. maybe you could find a trade for an acrylic tank if you were concerned about cracking?

[sunkenmetal]

The glass is 12mm thick lol not thin at all.

[ssrprelude]

I've seen thicker glass crack, just saying. Im wishing you best of luck. I want to see it done the way you invisioned it. It'll be one bad mofo.

[eklikewhoa]

If it works it will be one badassss tank but like jim pointed out I think the holes are too close together. I would probably ditch one set of holes.

a true baller will buy nice gear and do as he wants with it!!!

[barberking12]

people are so negative hope it turns out good

[nightster]

people are so negative hope it turns out good

I wouldn't call it negative, I'd call it informative lol.

[ssrprelude]

This isn't a 10 gallon tank. I'm not being negitive at all. If you have $700 to buy a new one do it to it.

[aquabee]

[Dan]

I drilled an ADA 45-Cube, 18" x 18" x 18", the glass is 6mm thick. I had zero problems when I drilled the tank and as of today the tank is doing well. It's still up and running. The tank has stones, driftwood and of course substrate. The tank was drilled on the bottom despite all of the naysayers.

A lot of people on another forum posted and private messaged me about not doing it because it will crack, leak, not withstand the pressure/weight and so on. When I asked them if they ever did it or owned one they all said no. I knew it would work because I spoke to my buddies who has been actively involved with saltwater for close to 25-30 years. They assured me I had nothing to worry about.

I was told by a few people on the other forum that the pressure of the water would "pop" the canister open. The pressure would cause it to leak if the power went out, so on and so forth. Well that myth was put to rest when I tested the tank running, filled with water for several days and then letting the entire system sit with no power for a few days. Guess what, no leaks, nothing "popped" open and it held up like a champ. I tried it with an Eheim 2234 and an Eheim 2217, again all went well, absolutely no leaks.

Here are a few photos of the setup in question:



This is the homemade stand with the tank:



This is what the stand looks like viewing it from the top:



Hope this helps you out,
Dan

[Dan]

Two more photos of the tank with the loc-lines installed:



from the top:

[eklikewhoa]

LoL, I seen those pictures somewhere...

Very nice build and love the drilled cube

[aquabee]

That is one lovely tank. Thanks for sharing your personal experience with drilling an ADA tank.

[aquabee]

Hey, any shots of it up n running?

[sunkenmetal]

For us drill noobs, could you all explain why the tank shouldn't be drilled?

Looks better and all that...

And it is not drilling its is grinding

[sunkenmetal]

If it works it will be one badassss tank but like jim pointed out I think the holes are too close together. I would probably ditch one set of holes.

a true baller will buy nice gear and do as he wants with it!!!

I am thinking of going with one hole on each end and just building a manifold.

If I still had access to a waterjet or a knee mill stress of making the holes wouldn't be an issue.