hi all i am working on the design for a tank i will be building in a few months and i wanted to share my idea with you to get some critiques on it.
the tank will be ruffly 150 gallons including the sump at running capacity and will have a sump that is behind the tank. the main thing that i want feed back on is the idea i have of making it self cleaning as far as the gravel goes. my plan is to have my sump return split going to the top and bottom of the tank. the top will be regulated to get my desired amount of current. the gravel will be elevated off the bottom of the tank supported by a screen that is only big enough to keep the gravel from falling through. the bottom pump return will be under this screen to make a strong current under the gravel. my idea here is that the current will help keep waste from collecting in the gravel reducing the amount of gravel vacuuming that is required. the over flow will be a pipe that also goes to the bottom of the tank and under the gravel. the pipe will go up to the top of the tank and spill into my sump behind the tank. this will be a 1.5 inch pipe. my filtration will consist of two filter socks mounted in a box that will overflow into the next chamber. also if the socks happen to clog the water will be able to bypass the socks and overflow to the next chamber. the next chamber will be a drip tray with 5 gallons of bio-balls under it. i am planning on using a quiet one 4000 pump to return water back to the tank. i am not realy conserned about the tank siphoning when power goes out because the sump is behind the tank so both the sump and the tank will equalize so there will be no overflow issues. i will have a siphon break on the overflow line though so that it does not pull more water than the pump can deliver.
so what do you think of my design?
for clarity i have removed the front and back of the tank along with the center brace. also the tank dimensions are 55 inches long, 23 inches wide and 24 inches tall. this is actual internal dimensions. also the sump will be 55 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 28 inches tall. this is the height to the top of the tank.
one more thing should the center brace be close to the water level or at the top of the tank. also should i run a center brace on the sump side too? or should i run two braces on this tank? also i have toyed with adding a small surface skimmer to this design what do you think of that?
the tank will be ruffly 150 gallons including the sump at running capacity and will have a sump that is behind the tank. the main thing that i want feed back on is the idea i have of making it self cleaning as far as the gravel goes. my plan is to have my sump return split going to the top and bottom of the tank. the top will be regulated to get my desired amount of current. the gravel will be elevated off the bottom of the tank supported by a screen that is only big enough to keep the gravel from falling through. the bottom pump return will be under this screen to make a strong current under the gravel. my idea here is that the current will help keep waste from collecting in the gravel reducing the amount of gravel vacuuming that is required. the over flow will be a pipe that also goes to the bottom of the tank and under the gravel. the pipe will go up to the top of the tank and spill into my sump behind the tank. this will be a 1.5 inch pipe. my filtration will consist of two filter socks mounted in a box that will overflow into the next chamber. also if the socks happen to clog the water will be able to bypass the socks and overflow to the next chamber. the next chamber will be a drip tray with 5 gallons of bio-balls under it. i am planning on using a quiet one 4000 pump to return water back to the tank. i am not realy conserned about the tank siphoning when power goes out because the sump is behind the tank so both the sump and the tank will equalize so there will be no overflow issues. i will have a siphon break on the overflow line though so that it does not pull more water than the pump can deliver.
so what do you think of my design?
for clarity i have removed the front and back of the tank along with the center brace. also the tank dimensions are 55 inches long, 23 inches wide and 24 inches tall. this is actual internal dimensions. also the sump will be 55 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 28 inches tall. this is the height to the top of the tank.
one more thing should the center brace be close to the water level or at the top of the tank. also should i run a center brace on the sump side too? or should i run two braces on this tank? also i have toyed with adding a small surface skimmer to this design what do you think of that?