Running multiple tanks off one giant filter/sump

Quo Vadis

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2014
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Wisconsin
I posted this in the DIY section and didn't get many responses, so I thought I'd try here.
Would one giant filter for multiple tanks be more energy efficient than running individual filters on the tank? It would be for 4-6 tanks in the 75-180g range. I am thinking of a DIY filter of some type utilizing something like a 55g barrel, as a trickle filter, huge canister, or liquid bed filter. I could also potentially connect my big plywood tank I will be building (300-400g) to the loop. If I went to the work of this I would probably add an aquaponics/pothos bed as well. Also how would this effect the energy efficiency of my heaters? Would there be any way to do a set up like this without drilling all the tanks? DIY King on Youtube has a good video on PVC overflows that I think I could make work in this situation. Would it be better to plumb all the tanks together to get a flow through to the filter, or to plumb each tank directly to the filter? I am just having a hard time picturing how this might work, because most the things I have seen like this are something like breeding racks, not several large display tanks hooked together. I also like the idea of maintaining one large filter rather than all my smaller ones.
Thanks! I am kind of thinking out loud here.
 

Squirtle919

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2011
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Within Earth
I have 2 sumps for my whole fish room, one down side is sickness but if you are QTing fish & looking @ them before buying I dont find any problems.

I run 1 line from each tank into the sump then I build a return with T pieces and valves to control the flow... something like this if it makes sense .... TTTTT. the first T you need to close a fair bit and work down the last T I normally leave fully open.

As for power your still going to be using the same no matter how you go, you need a larger pump to run which will most likely use the same or more power then a few smaller pumps & your still going to require the same amount of heat to heat the water. The only way to reduce the input it to reduce the method i.e heating the room over using aquarium heaters, quality pumps over cheap pumps as they tend to use less wattage.

I think the biggest pro with this method is maintenance, doing water changes I only have to drop the water from 2 tanks & refill them as when they were run on canisters or single sumps it was dumping & replacing the water on 10 tanks.
 

duanes

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Jun 7, 2007
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I also run multiple tanks on a single sump, I drill any new tanks to fit 1.5" PVC which I either run a separate line to the sump, or connect to a previous 2" line with a Tee.
Each line into the sump gets a filter sock, bags of biomedia are in the sump, most heaters and a large pump are in the sump. I like pumps of around 2000+ gph, just in case another tank is added. Adding to an already established sump, eliminates cycling, and extra start up cost is simply the cost of a bulkhead and some PVC fittings.
I have 3 lines of tanks, each line a single sump, one line uses no heaters (for Uruguayans), one is for medium temp fish (70s) and another for higher temp species (like Madagascans) low to mid 80s.
 

Pomatomus

Piranha
MFK Member
Jul 7, 2009
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When I set up coral systems for a store I put multiple tanks on a sump. It really saves time when it comes to water chemistry!

But I guess most systems at stores run multiple tanks off a single sump.
 

WarrendaFish

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 23, 2009
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Massachusetts, U.S.A.
I too have run and set up many multi tank systems using one sump for many tanks. There are pros and cons as mentioned previously. I however run everything in my fishroom off of air. Over 40 tanks and growing off of one blower and an air manifold of PVC that wraps around my whole room in a big rectangle. The only con I find with the air system is water changes but I keep up with it with a meticulous schedule. Doing a few tanks a day makes it very easy. It's the larger tanks that take more time and effort.

With a central water system as apposed to air water changes are easier although not a hell of a lot but you run the risk (a large risk IMHO) of infecting your whole system with a single infected fish. Yes quarantine is essential just as essential as water changes but I have seen whole systems crash (although never my own which was previously a central water system) and it isn't pretty. Or cheap. Even the almighty Hans has had his system infected if anyone recalls that travesty...

But also with a central water system it is much easier to control parameters. The more water you have in any system the easier it is to maintain. But treating a large system is always a chore. When I had my single sump multi rack system each tank had it's own shut off valve for the inlet so if one tank got infected I could isolate that tank. If I can find pics of the older system I will post them.

Now, as I said, I have over 40 tanks running including 4 125's, a 100 long African setup, a 120 tall, and a bunch of others ranging from 10-75 gal. So I can keep many different species that require very different parameters on the same system and never have to worry about infecting multiple tanks. Also the blower must be relatively equivalent to a large water pump in electricity costs. Which is easily the most expensive part of the hobby aside from buying fish of course.

Good luck in your aquatic adventures


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