My 125 "everything but the kitchen sink" ...set up.
- Thread starter Venom Stinger
- Start date
awesome pair you got there!
As for the filtration... I would have just simplified it with a giant tub underneath and a single large return but that's just me thinking into the post.
As for the filtration... I would have just simplified it with a giant tub underneath and a single large return but that's just me thinking into the post.
Thank you!
i will never skimp on my filtration.
i learned from almost the beginning that when dealing with rays filtration and current is key.
i have seen a lot of people say to K.I.S.S. when it comes to it..
i say B.S.
filtration is the heart and kidney of your tank...
if you had to buy a heart or a kidney for your own body...would you buy whatever heart and kidney to "get you by" or..
would you buy the ones that are damn near bionic?
Tell us more.....
What micron and how big are the socks?
What size are the drains?
What are you using for return pumps?
I have a 150 with similar flow ratings and I had a hell of a time getting it to work and when it did there was definetly some current in there. Enough that feeding became an issue.
I'm a firm believer in KISS. Makes keeping rays so much simpler. I used to run 3 HOBs and 2 canisters on my first ray tank, a 125. What a pain to clean. Had to label them to remeber which got cleaned when. Switched to filter pads in a monster wet/dry, again too much time to clean. Spraying myself in the face with fishpoop via pressure washer was alright in the summer, but in the winter it was a joke. Socks are the bomb. Buy a few sets and swapping them, prerinsing and hucking them into the washing machine takes less time then it took to prime a canister without using a pump.
Ever thought about going to a moving bed filter? Much less "mum" accumulates compared to wet/dry or submerged media and cleaning is much simpler. If filtration is the heart of the system why use old technology when there's new, improved, and proven available?
You obviously enjoy building and tinkering with filtration. Your rays will appreciate this down the road, especially if it continues to evolve. I've been building and improving my own filtration for years and I honestly enjoy it as much as the fish. Nothing better then knowing you built the life support system of your own animals and knowing that dollar for dollar it beats anything you can go buy..... Nothing more exciting then figuring out the next big improvement.
What micron and how big are the socks?
What size are the drains?
What are you using for return pumps?
I have a 150 with similar flow ratings and I had a hell of a time getting it to work and when it did there was definetly some current in there. Enough that feeding became an issue.
I'm a firm believer in KISS. Makes keeping rays so much simpler. I used to run 3 HOBs and 2 canisters on my first ray tank, a 125. What a pain to clean. Had to label them to remeber which got cleaned when. Switched to filter pads in a monster wet/dry, again too much time to clean. Spraying myself in the face with fishpoop via pressure washer was alright in the summer, but in the winter it was a joke. Socks are the bomb. Buy a few sets and swapping them, prerinsing and hucking them into the washing machine takes less time then it took to prime a canister without using a pump.
Ever thought about going to a moving bed filter? Much less "mum" accumulates compared to wet/dry or submerged media and cleaning is much simpler. If filtration is the heart of the system why use old technology when there's new, improved, and proven available?
You obviously enjoy building and tinkering with filtration. Your rays will appreciate this down the road, especially if it continues to evolve. I've been building and improving my own filtration for years and I honestly enjoy it as much as the fish. Nothing better then knowing you built the life support system of your own animals and knowing that dollar for dollar it beats anything you can go buy..... Nothing more exciting then figuring out the next big improvement.
Ok..here goes..Tell us more.....
What micron and how big are the socks?
What size are the drains?
What are you using for return pumps?
I have a 150 with similar flow ratings and I had a hell of a time getting it to work and when it did there was definetly some current in there. Enough that feeding became an issue.
I'm a firm believer in KISS. Makes keeping rays so much simpler. I used to run 3 HOBs and 2 canisters on my first ray tank, a 125. What a pain to clean. Had to label them to remeber which got cleaned when. Switched to filter pads in a monster wet/dry, again too much time to clean. Spraying myself in the face with fishpoop via pressure washer was alright in the summer, but in the winter it was a joke. Socks are the bomb. Buy a few sets and swapping them, prerinsing and hucking them into the washing machine takes less time then it took to prime a canister without using a pump.
Ever thought about going to a moving bed filter? Much less "mum" accumulates compared to wet/dry or submerged media and cleaning is much simpler. If filtration is the heart of the system why use old technology when there's new, improved, and proven available?
You obviously enjoy building and tinkering with filtration. Your rays will appreciate this down the road, especially if it continues to evolve. I've been building and improving my own filtration for years and I honestly enjoy it as much as the fish. Nothing better then knowing you built the life support system of your own animals and knowing that dollar for dollar it beats anything you can go buy..... Nothing more exciting then figuring out the next big improvement.
socks are 200 micron 7" i also buy the big bags of filter fiber and load the sock with it. yes, i also throw it in the washer..takes about 10 minutes and its clean..cheap too because mine only last about 4 washings.
drains are 1" that go into 1 and 3/4" hose
i have four return pumps..if you want to know what the combined gph is you will need to wait until tomorrow when i do my water change .
yeah..i dont have a huge bottom current as its all returned to the HOB's which sends it across the top of the water.
with my hob filters i wash them every two weeks in lukewarm water and then soak them in bleach every two months..they dont get that dirty seeing how all of the returned water is already filtered before it hits my hob filters.
i dont believe in the KISS system.......somewhere down the line someone said that keeping stingrays is easy....and people believed him....
well..that person needs to be shot in the damn head. Stingrays are not an easy animal to keep or tame....
i think one of the worst replys i saw on here when i came back was " if you can keep fish..you can keep rays"
worst info ever..i was pretty shocked.
when i first got into rays David Webber gave me some great advice...its a quote that he got off a friend of his..
it goes, " i keep clean water..i just happen to have fish living in it.".
Those are great words.
words that i quote to other people many times....
crystal clear water is the best thing we can give our rays and i will do everything i can to get it.
moving filter bed? yes i have..when Neo was over here and gave me all that stuff he gave me a sump that i am looking into making it a bio reactor.
But...this is just a temp tank. when my lease is up i am getting my own place and thats when i will make my see-in pond.
and thats when i buy all the hoops and whistles..
ya know i do enjoy messing around with it. I love stingrays. I can honestly say it hurt when i had to give them up..i always knew i would be back..thats why i kept all my filters...
thanks for the reply Al..
Now these are just my opinions because i have been there done that and failed with just this kind of stuff Venom you have a couple Beautiful rays and i would hate for anything to happen to them i just Love animals So please don't get pissed just sit back and think about what i am sayin first your sump with scrubbies is a vertuall time Bomb Brother the scrubbies will slowly fill with organics compounded by your sump under the tank both will collect organics to the point of ph crashes when your little guys get bigger it will collect so fast you won't be able to stop it fish will get sick and then die also to much air will compound the problem that will be brewing causing up and down swings uncontrolable Brudda like i said i don't want to offend just help if i can ..I am not sayin i know it all not even close but i have learned some valluable lessons that is for sure take it or leave it ....
I built my first system around pot scrubbies and kept them for about 2 years. I kept having planaria outbreaks and fish getting sick. I ditched the scrubbies for K1 and problems went away.
I am surprised no one has hammered you for having a 125 gallon LOL! If a new ray keeper asks if a 180 is a good starter ray tank they get ran off. I say if it works for you then it just simply works. I know two guys that have breed rays in a 125, It is not tank size but filtration and total water volume. You build the filtration system to last then all you have to do down the road is get a bigger tank.
I agree... there are some that would take great care of the rays or could be but get discouraged. Most already bought them and are just seeking any kind of help but get ran off so are left to fend for themselves.
I am a KISS believer as well, now that does not mean you half way set your system up but you keep is basic and easy to maintain. My big tank has a prefilter, 3 pumps, a 30 gallon drum of KI, a air pump, and a UV sterilizer. I have a drain on my drum at the bottom to drain the gunk out and I run a 200 gpd drip. I spend about 30 minutes a month maintaining it.
Forgot to mention I like the setup you have it is a little busy but shows your creativity
Forgot to mention I like the setup you have it is a little busy but shows your creativity
OK, i understand your concern.
as far as the sump goes and the built up...every water change its gets flushed because thats where i dump my 5 gallon buckets of new water. I make sure that everything gets stirred up. I have more bio balls that are on the bottom of the sump. they dont float. I actually stir them around with my hand to get the gunk moving. I feed my rays a lot of earth worms and they have a lot of dirt in them. that dirt builds up in my sump and my wet/dry.then when my tank clears i wash my sock.
look..i am not mad at all...i just know people form an opinion before they ask..
i just ask that people ask before they assume...
noo harm no foul...
i honestly thought it was going to be worse.
I will be cleaning my wet/dry out every 3 months. i have done it once already..i simply take the scrubbies out and run them under lukewarm water to get the waste out.
