Looking to do a 55 gallon drum with a sump set up for my 320

paulW

Plecostomus
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Jun 12, 2008
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where did you guys find 3 for $60? I will be looking forward to his comments. Im ready to get started
In our city, we have a pepsi bottling plant that sells used plastic barrels for syrup for $10. They are food safe.. Craig's list is a good place to look if you don't have an obvious source in your town. People tend to buy them, then resell for a few dollars more.

As far as the big container.. I use these for fish keeping stuff..
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...oam-stock-tanks-100-gal-capacity?cm_vc=-10005

There are multiple sizes and other brands. They are water containers for livestock.
HOWEVER.. every one that I bought has had a leak, so that involves removing the factory drain, using a dremel to enlarge the hole slightly, and then putting a real bulkhead in them.
Reef guys use these for their sumps. You can sometimes get a great deal on someone downsizing from the reef hobby, and they've already upgraded the bulkhead. So see if there's a reef club in your area. Once you upgrade the bulkhead, they work well. I use them to keep fish outside in the summer.
 

paulW

Plecostomus
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Jun 12, 2008
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Nice set up, thanks for all the info, I can get my hands on 3 brand new 35 gallon drums, being that my tank is 320 do you think I would be ok with 3 35 gallon drums instead of 3 55 gallon drums? How much K1 do you have in that 55 gallon drum? I was going to order 4 cubic feet if I go with the 55
Honestly, three 55 gallon drums is WAY overkill. That's ok if you want to do it that way though.

For comparison's sake: I run a 300 gallon, heavily stocked with Malawi fish.
I have one layer of coarse Poret as the prefilter. I have about 5 gallons of bioballs. That's it, and I have a heavy bioload. There' s dimishing returns on over filtration.. For example, I could pump from my sump to 55 gallons of pond matrix, and it wouldn't make a difference at all, because my system can handle all the nitrates/ammonia as is. A key is to occasionally vacumm the gravel and occasionally clean the crap out that settles in the sump. And water changes of course.

If you really want to overkill on filtration, focus on stuff that removes nitrates.. Either set up a pythos plant to remove nitrates, or a dentrifier, something like that.. Those actually remove nitrogen wastes. Scrubbies/bioballs/etc just help convert ammonia and nitrites to nitrates, which is good, but the "pollution" is still there until you do a water change (and obviously Nitrates are less toxic).

Like I hope this doesn't sound like a lecture, but IMO, a lot of money and effort spent on overfiltering is not necessary and could be better spent elsewhere.
 

paulW

Plecostomus
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Jun 12, 2008
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Ill keep looking for the 55s then Im not trying to spend $200 on 3 new ones. I have someone on Monday that may have some. I havent found any on craigslist in my area
Make sure they are foodsafe. Sometimes people sell ones used for soap , etc.. Find out what they were used for if possible. I had a CL lead, turns out the guy had a power washing company and his barrels were used for all kinds of bad chemicals. Would not risk my fish on that.
 
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Niners4952

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Jan 17, 2016
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The barrels im getting were used for some sort of fish waste water, I forgot the name of it. This may be overkill but im getting the drums for free and the media will last many years. I am also going to use this to filter my 125 discus tank when I get it set up and my 75 gallon tank
 

Dieselhybrid

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The barrels im getting were used for some sort of fish waste water, I forgot the name of it. This may be overkill but im getting the drums for free and the media will last many years. I am also going to use this to filter my 125 discus tank when I get it set up and my 75 gallon tank
I would soak some sponges in rubbing alcohol and scrub them out really well. Rinse thoroughly before and after you clean them. Careful breathing the fumes haha

Hydrogen peroxide works well too. Just will bleach your clothing. Keep us updated
 

Niners4952

Candiru
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Jan 17, 2016
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good call on the sponges I was wondering what I would clean it with. Guess my next hang up is I don't think the holes are big enough to flow to keep up with the pump. Bulkheads only have 1 1/4" opening, only 2 holes. Bottom is an inch thick and really don't want to drill. I could do a DIY overflow for extra flow
 
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