New tank, need filtration advice, 4 drilled holes and overflow wall

[davenmandy]

Middle chamber will be for output. The two contraptions on top of the bioballs are essentially my drip plates, going to put sponges in between if i can. I have a feeling I won't have enough room under the stand to make this work, so I will probably end up using filter socks instead and hope they disburse around enough bioballs.

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[mudbuttjones]

Looks great man. Dunno about that trim, but it should be ok being its just a sump and wont be 100% full. Looks like you've got some glass baffles siliconed in too.

My only concern is the water hitting the bioballs directly out of the overflow. I don't see any mechanical media in there. You definitely want a large and convenient mechanical media section in the sump.

Soiled bioballs are no bueno. I've gone that route once before. They are a pain to clean.

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[davenmandy]

The wife gave up one of her tupperware containers. Much better now. The mechanical will be inside the tupperware containers and the drawer on the other side.

Never thought the trim would be an issue. Now you have me second guessing. Will be 3/4 full. Well 2/3 actually.


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[mudbuttjones]

It should be ok. I'd be more concerned about cutting my self on the glass.

Are there glass dividers siliconed in? If so I wouldn't sweat it. That probably makes the tank multiple times stronger/rigid than it was when it left the factory.

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[davenmandy]

If anyone is interested:




Hopefully leak testing this weekend depending how much time I have on my hands.

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[paulW]

I'm late with this and did not read the entire thread.. but I think a 35 gallon sump and a mag 9.5 would be more than adequate for the bioload you have.

Let's assume you have 7' of head , just as an example. One mag 9.5 would give you 610 gph, that's turning over the tank 3 times/hour.

As a comparision, I have 2 Mag 9.5 on a heavily stocked 300, very high bioload and all is well.
Remember, it's not just gph in your filter that's the key thing.. you need to manage the nitrates with water changes or some other way.
Too many people on this board (not saying you) think that putting 5X the recommended filtration is the greatest thing in the world, but it's honestly a waste of money.

The sump needs to be big enough to hold all the water when the power goes off. It's also nice for the sump to hold enough water so that you aren't constantly replacing water due to evaporation.

I would set up what you have, run it without fish for a day or two, and just see how it goes. Seems like you don't have to do anything.
Maybe buy an extra mag pump so you can have it around in case the one you have gets broken (so you don't have the stress of waiting a week to get another one).

Also, I think manufacturers drill holes in glass BEFORE it gets tempered. So yea, I definitely would not risk enlarging any holes you have.

 

[davenmandy]

Thanks Paul, but I already upgraded to a 75 gal sump and 2 mag9.5's.

So went to do my leak test today, all 4 bulkheads leaking . I feel like I didn't clean the dirt around the holes enough and the gaskets arent sealing properly. I really hope I didn't crack any of them while trying to fit tubes over them and bend them in different directions. I will find out today when I take it all apart and re-do it after cleaning the holes a bit better. Stupid me counted his chickens before they hatched and I levelled/shimmed the stand already, so I limited myself to the foot or so room I have between the stand and the sump, I forsee some tired forearms and shoulders in the near future.

 

[davenmandy]

So, fixed all the leaky bulkheads (whew). That was fun. Leak test, successful. And now...drumroll... the 2 1" durso standpipes handled both mag9.5's at a 5' head. Quite easily I may add from the looks of things. The system was a bit loud, but that was mostly where the flowing water met hard plastic in the first stage of the trickle part, there will either be sponges or filter floss in there so that will silence it, it wasn't too loud from the overflow boxes thankfully. Once the FW application of this tank is done, I can make it a herbie a lot easier if it bugs me.

Now, the durso is an AGA megaflow kit, the one that I can adjust up and down. I have my overflow boxes draining at about 3 inches below the rest of the water level as of right now. What is the benefit of adjusting the standpipe, like why would I want to drop it lower or make it any higher?

 

[davenmandy]

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[mudbuttjones]

Looks good. I like the setup.

The higher the standpipe is the quieter the setup should be, less falling water noise.

Lower standpipes give you more margin for error should a partial failure of some sort occur.

Too low and the plastic overflow is bearing the full weight of the water pushing against it without water inside the chamber to help equalize the forces.

I keep mine 3/4" full or so

Edit- also the taller plumbing drains better. The water has more pressure draining out from the height.


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