2 fx5's for 250-300gal ?
- Thread starter rob1984
- Start date
What I found works amazingly for my 9000l ponds ( with oscars, arowana ect in) is take a 12000l/h pump connect it with a pvc pipe into a 2ft tank that has a 2" square cut out in one corner with a piece of gutter pipe attatched to the hole.then got 6 filtering mediums (in layers) above the hole . Maybe you can try something like this for your tank. Just get the whole thing sealed up. Its best to go 3x the waters capacity with filtration. These Jewel aquarium filters also work like a bomb, its all I use in my tanks above 2ft
this would work if a got a tank that wasnt drilled wouldnt it ? or is there any fall backs on a system like this ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmhu7uxPIm4
basically a sump works like this pic here does it not ?
and i think i know how they work, but is this here right ? ............ the corners or centre would have a overflow box which is where the gravity feed pipe is to drain water from the tank to the sump and that pipe would sit vertical and wouldn't drain anymore water if the power shutoff once the water level reachs the height of the pipe, and then the return clean water would come back either through just a output or threw a spray bar Do guys have the drain pipe come threw the bottom of the tank ? Or does it come threw the back of the tank with just a 90deg elbow kinda thing ? And it is likely best to have a valve to stop/close the water line for maintence and etc right ? Cuz I typically shut my pumps off when doing a WC so the chlorine in my water don't kill off to much BB which I'd likely do the same for a sump system as well otherwise it would pump the sump area dry as it isn't draining since I'm pulling water out right ?
im thinking of a sump system pretty much identical to what this is in the video, the drain pipe come over the sump in a horizontal fashion with slots cut in the bottom to help reduce noise/splashing and likely medium to coarse filter pads in there and then also in the centre i would have the rest of the seachem pond matrix i have here along with a fart load of bio balls as much as possible to fill it up, and the last chamber there between bio ball and pump chamber put some filter floss or fine filter pad to help polish water which would be super easy to clean/replace when needed there as well... would that work well or no ? if it is a bad idea please do tell me as im still learning and wanna know what works and what doesnt
It sounds you like you got the idea of how an overflow/sump works. The drain pipe for the pre-made overflow has the hole drilled at the bottom. You don't need to close your gate valve when you do maintenance to the sump, just turn off your pump. But you need to make sure you have enough space in the sump for the extra water because the return line will drain till it breaks the siphon.
If you are doing a DIY PVC overflow like the video it should work but I can't tell you for sure cause I never made one.
If you are going to get a tank that's pre drilled and built with overflows, I suggest looking up a Herbie setup. That's what I have setup for my 125. They're quiet and pretty easy to do.
As for the sump, I skipped the baffles and went filter socks for mechanical and matrix/substrate pro for bio. This make for easy access for cleaning. Whenever I do a water change, I swap out the filter socks. The whole thing takes like 10-15 mins.
well yea, id likely get either a used tank that already has a sump on it, or if i bought a new unused tank id make sure it is drilled for a sump to do my own setup on it and im thinking of using a 90g tank for a sump that should be sufficent enough for a 200-300gal tank i would think, and a mag24 pump should be plenty for it as well...hmmm ya never thought just unplug the pump ya, and ideally you only have the sump so full of water (say 50%) so when the power goes out it will continue to drain so once it drains out as much as it can the water doesnt overflow the sump and cover my kitchen/living room floor..... and what ya mean ya skipped the baffles ? arent the baffles the dividers ?
Yea dividers is probably a better word for it. I feel like the divider would really be useful if I did a wet/dry setup. When everything is running, I have my sump filled up to 80% because I drilled some very small holes on the return side right under the surface of the water. So when ever the pump turns off, the water level in the display tank will drain till the small hole is exposed to air and breaks the siphon. Instead of a mag24 try looking up Laguna brand pumps. They're more efficient and very quiet.
I feel like the divider would really be useful if I did a wet/dry setup. When everything is running, I have my sump filled up to 80% because I drilled some very small holes on the return side right under the surface of the water. So when ever the pump turns off, the water level in the display tank will drain till the small hole is exposed to air and breaks the siphon. Instead of a mag24 try looking up Laguna brand pumps. They're more efficient and very quiet.im thinking if i go to make my own sump im likely going to do something simiilar to this here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laTDG4Bc19U then the sump is running/working order http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7kayU6-NGY&feature=relmfu
BUT only thing i wanna change in that sump would be the drain pipes for were the water runs over the sump, i wanna do a pair of pipe slike this so it spreads the water over the sponges/prefilter alot better rather then just one pipe doing a 2-4" round section like a 90deg dump would do, and likely the centre part i would fill with the remanding seachem matrix i have here.... the tower/drip tray id likely just use one of the those rubbermaid bins with the pullout drawers ... now my wheels are really starting to spin for a design i gotta get a 3d autocad for the computer here for designin something to actually play with it and see it rather then think about it and draw it 100times on paper lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laTDG4Bc19U then the sump is running/working order http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7kayU6-NGY&feature=relmfu
BUT only thing i wanna change in that sump would be the drain pipes for were the water runs over the sump, i wanna do a pair of pipe slike this so it spreads the water over the sponges/prefilter alot better rather then just one pipe doing a 2-4" round section like a 90deg dump would do, and likely the centre part i would fill with the remanding seachem matrix i have here.... the tower/drip tray id likely just use one of the those rubbermaid bins with the pullout drawers ... now my wheels are really starting to spin for a design i gotta get a 3d autocad for the computer here for designin something to actually play with it and see it rather then think about it and draw it 100times on paper lol
On my 450g i run two FX5s and a 40g sump, you can see my stock by clicking the link in my sig. IMO you'd be fine with the two FX5s on a 300g without the RTC though. You can always add a sump later on down the road. Most likely your going to need more mech filtration not bio once the stock matures.
Ya I honestly don't even know if I'm able to get/find a rtc where I live hahaha.... So by mech filteration ya mean like sponges and etc right ?? Just stuff to catch the big matter pieces ? Or.....
Yes, what I am referring to is you will start to have alot of particle matter build up, such as fish poop, uneaten food etc. If this happens you'll meed to increase the mechanical filtration with deals with this, The biological, which deals with the water params would be fine with just the two FX5s. You could deal with the particle matter with extra gravel vacs or maybe just even a powerhead or two to help direct the waste into the filters.
I would just start the 300g with the two FX5s and then go from there as you see the need to add the additional filtration.
Ya I usually only feed the fish enough that they eat, don't like uneaten food floating around in my tank, and for a 300g tank I'll likely invest in at least TWO aqueon 2400gph powerheads to move any large poop to the filter and etc ...and when I do water changes I vaccum ALL the time any water change I vaccum no matter what just a habit.... But ya thinking to start with 2 fx5's and see how it goes, and eventually I will add a sump as it will be less maintence, thinking prolly like 50-90gal sump wet/dry trickle
something at least 48"L and 24"H