Metasynth
Well-Known Member
So in an effort to avoid paying $50-$100 on just a flood tray by itself, I recently set out to build my own for much cheaper...What I ended up with was a 2' x 3' concrete mixing tub from Lowes, flat bottom and straight sides. It was a whopping 14 bucks. So I'll start with a parts list...
2 x bulkheads...1 x 1/2", and 1 x 3/4" $2.50 each...$5.00
1 x Concrete mixing tub $14.00
1 x 160 GPH powerhead that lifts water 4' (not at 160GPH, but enough for this build) $16.00
1 x Five foot length of 1/2" I.D. tubing $3.50
1 x Two foot length of 3/4" I.D. tubing (i had this already, it's like a buck a foot) $2.00
2 x 10' lengths of one inch PVC $3.50 each...$7.00
8 x PVC "T" fittings...$0.50 each...$4.00
8 x PVC Elbow fittings...$0.50 each...$4.00
1 x 18 gallon tote...$5.00
1 x PVC riser $0.50
So this entire build cost about $61 dollars for the complete setup, minus an air pump and airstone...I need to add some wood boards underneath to prevent bowing from repeated flooding, and need some filters to prevent the tubes from clogging. Also need to cut the riser the the appropriate flood level, and I'm going to get a larger reservoir. (though this one would work just fine)
The current 18 gallon tote is going to be the freshwater auto top-off reservoir, purchased a float valve for 5 bucks today too...But this WOULD work just fine, as long as you top off with a couple gallons freshwater a week.
So lets begin!
I drilled a couple 1 1/4" holes at one end of the tray with my trusty porter cable...
Next I screwed in the bulkheads...The 1/2" is for the flood line, and the 3/4" is for the drain
Then I attached the riser, which I need to cut to length when I decide on what medium I'm going to use.
Ok...Lets put this stand together! I began but cutting the 1" PVC into 6 x 20" pieces, 4 x 19.5" pieces, and 8 x 3" pieces
Then I put it all together!
Quickly attached the tubing to the pump, and slapped on the drain tube...
And VOILA!!
[video=youtube;j8jOnrR0mSM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8jOnrR0mSM&feature=youtu.be[/video]
2 x bulkheads...1 x 1/2", and 1 x 3/4" $2.50 each...$5.00
1 x Concrete mixing tub $14.00
1 x 160 GPH powerhead that lifts water 4' (not at 160GPH, but enough for this build) $16.00
1 x Five foot length of 1/2" I.D. tubing $3.50
1 x Two foot length of 3/4" I.D. tubing (i had this already, it's like a buck a foot) $2.00
2 x 10' lengths of one inch PVC $3.50 each...$7.00
8 x PVC "T" fittings...$0.50 each...$4.00
8 x PVC Elbow fittings...$0.50 each...$4.00
1 x 18 gallon tote...$5.00
1 x PVC riser $0.50
So this entire build cost about $61 dollars for the complete setup, minus an air pump and airstone...I need to add some wood boards underneath to prevent bowing from repeated flooding, and need some filters to prevent the tubes from clogging. Also need to cut the riser the the appropriate flood level, and I'm going to get a larger reservoir. (though this one would work just fine)
The current 18 gallon tote is going to be the freshwater auto top-off reservoir, purchased a float valve for 5 bucks today too...But this WOULD work just fine, as long as you top off with a couple gallons freshwater a week.
So lets begin!
I drilled a couple 1 1/4" holes at one end of the tray with my trusty porter cable...
Next I screwed in the bulkheads...The 1/2" is for the flood line, and the 3/4" is for the drain
Then I attached the riser, which I need to cut to length when I decide on what medium I'm going to use.
Ok...Lets put this stand together! I began but cutting the 1" PVC into 6 x 20" pieces, 4 x 19.5" pieces, and 8 x 3" pieces
Then I put it all together!
Quickly attached the tubing to the pump, and slapped on the drain tube...
And VOILA!!
[video=youtube;j8jOnrR0mSM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8jOnrR0mSM&feature=youtu.be[/video]
............
