600 Gallon Fly River Turtle Build

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

We're in the process of setting up a 600 gallon fiberglass tank (with window) for our 14+ year old Fly River turtle. Below is a rough sketch of what we came up with for our plumbing design. I did not include any ball valves, true unions, etc. in the sketch. This is the first time we've designed our own filter/plumbing system for a tank, nevermind one this large, so we're open to any pointers or recommendations you might have. The tank is going to be on an 18" tall stand that has been constructed of 4x4 legs, 2x6 support braces, 2x4 foot supports, and a 3/4 sheet of plywood. I will post a pic of the stand soon. It is currently being primed and painted. The filter and pump will be located on the concrete in our basement and the waste line coming from the bead filter will be plumbed into the main waste line of the house (about 8 feet away). The only item on the "Equipment List" that we've purchased already is the 600 gallon fiberglass tank with window. All other items are fluid, depending on suggestions and/or recommendations.

Equipment List:

Tank - Pentair 600 Gallon Tank with window (96"x48"x30")
Filter - Aqua Ultraviolet Ultima II 1000
Pump - Waveline DC10000 II
Bulkheads - (3) double threaded 2" sch. 80 intake lines & (2) double threaded 1 1/2" sch. 80 return lines
Low Profile Strainers - Lifegard Aquatics (3) 2" MPT
Heaters - TBD

 

[rodger]

I like everything except your choice of pump. You need a higher pressure pump. Unfortunately it won't be as energy efficient as what your original choice. I suggest you get a Baracuda or something similar. Regardless, look at head and not just volume. None of the DC pumps on the market put much pressure out.

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

I like everything except your choice of pump. You need a higher pressure pump. Unfortunately it won't be as energy efficient as what your original choice. I suggest you get a Baracuda or something similar. Regardless, look at head and not just volume. None of the DC pumps on the market put much pressure out.

Darn. I was hoping to be able to get away with the DC 10000 II, or the DC 12000 if I had to step up to the larger model. I'm fairly new to external pumps, so this stuff is all pretty new to me. We've had submersible pumps in the past, but those were pretty much already paired with the sump/tank (Marineland Deep Dimension 300). Are you able to give me a ballpark figure on how much head pressure I'll be dealing with in my design?

I guess I was originally concerned with the max flow rate of the Ultima II 1000, which according to their specs is max flow rated at 1200 GPH. I will definitely check out the Barracuda pumps.

Thanks.

 

[rodger]

You are correct but they require pressure than any of the DC pumps will put out. I would look closer at Ultima website for details or just give them a call.

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

Okay. I ordered a ReeFlo Hammerhead/Barracuda Gold pump last night. So, I've got the filter and pump taken care of for this tank. Now, comes the plumbing. I plan on having a 1 1/2" true union ball valve in between the pump and the filter. I'll be able to reduce the flow of the pump with the ball valve if it's initially too much. So, that's an easy one to figure out. The question I have is, since I have 2" intake lines coming to the pump (which has an intake outlet size of 1 1/2"), do I get a 2" true union ball valve and then use a reducer after it to get the piping down to the 1 1/2" for the pump? I'm guessing I only need the one true union ball valve after the three intake pipes join together and not on each individual line beforehand?

Here's a photo of the stand getting primed and painted. We just finished putting the second coat on today. I'll post a photo of the finished stand later.

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

Finished putting two coats of paint (grey) on the stand. So, in all, put two coats of primer and two coats of topcoat on. The fiberglass tank will be delivered on Monday. The 4 schedule 80 bulkheads should be delivered the same day. So, I'll be drilling holes with a hole saw and getting those place on the tank as a first step in the plumbing process. I've got a couple of true union ball valves being delivered later in the week and I ordered 13 unions to use in various areas. I'll be picking up a bunch of schedule 40 long sweep 90 elbows and 1 1/2" and 2" schedule 40 pipe at our local Lowe's/Home Depot to complete the plumbing of this tank.

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

Well, the tank was supposed to be delivered today between 8 A.M.-Noon. But, nobody showed up in that time frame. At about 1 P.M, we received a call from the freight company (Old Dominion) and were informed that they forgot to load the tank on the truck and we'd have to reschedule the delivery. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed, since I'd like to get moving on this tank so I can move our FRT from his temporary holding tank. So, it looks like Wednesday will be the new delivery date. I work tomorrow, so I won't be home to accept delivery of the tank and I want to be here when it shows up so I can look it over and make sure it's in good shape.

I did receive our order of schedule 80 bulkheads (1 1/2" & 2") and 2" threaded strainers today from Bulk Reef Supply. So, there was some extremely small progress today....

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

Some good news on the build process. The schedule 80 unions (2" & 1 1/2") and the Reeflo Hammerhead/Barracuda Gold external pump were delivered yesterday. Now all we are waiting on is the 600 gallon fiberglass tank (to be delivered today) and the Ultima II 1000 filter. I assume the filter will be dropped shipped from the manufacturer since I haven't received any tracking info on it yet from Marine Depot. Once the tank gets delivered, I'll be drilling it for the 1 1/2" & 2" schedule 80 bulkhead placement.

 

[Dis]

Looks great so far. What else will go with your FRT?

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

Looks great so far. What else will go with your FRT?

We plan on having some Australian Rainbows, some synodontis, and a striped Raphael (that we've had for 8 years).