Large bichir tank questions

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The downside of a sump for me, is if you have minimal to no water movement inside the tank, i.e. your return is just in one place; in my experience with a spray bar that runs the full length of the aquarium and a pump rated for 1920 GPH, with 4 ft. of head pressure = 1600 GPH, and a tank turnover rate of 6.27x per hour, i get sitting fish waste. I am now running an Eheim 2217 subfilter + canister filter in order to alleviate the siphoning of fish waste. Subfilter is filled with mechanical media, while the can is filled with another 4L of pond matrix. I am thinking of getting a wave maker right now to just push the waste to the other side of the tank, in addition to getting another 2217 subfilter + 2217 can, which I would put on the same side of the tank that the current setup is running on, and where I plan to point the wavemaker to push the waste to. I could probably go 3 months without a WC or canister cleaning, and my nitrates won't go higher than 100 ppm; but that's just bad fishkeeping, besides the fact that WC help regulate growth inhibiting hormones of bichirs.

Please keep us updated on your final build that you would execute.

HFK.
I could probably chat about sumps with you all day lol. I love em.

The returns arent necessarily restricted to once place. You can make your own spray bar or by using loc lines you can basically aim the returns any where in the tank. I actually think theres greater oxygenation with sumps depending on the design. Decent sized overflows would create allot of surface agitation. Plus you can always throw a bunch of airstones in the sump
 
The 3 ft height is unnecessary and would make getting into it a little more difficult. 6x3 would be perfect for polys but aro's may need a little more length (never kept aro)

Acrylic vs glass is really preference or whats available to you and your budget. So all things equal i chose acrylic and will never own a glass tank above 75 gallons again. If its not acrylic its not coming in my house. Ive had 2 glass tanks fail on me as well as a 75 gal thats only 2 yrs old and the silicone is already peeling. Acrylic tanks become one solid structure once welded together where as glass is held together with silicone.

Depends on where you live if a used tank would be worth it. Thats said if possible i would choose new. Important in buying used would be to make sure the acrylic thickness is up to par. I went with 3/4 inch panels on my tank.

Definitely go with a sump. Maintenance on a bunch of cans would be brutal when compared to a sump amd swapping out filter socks. The sump can be as simple or as complicated as you want. Totally customizable. I prefer no baffles or compartments just bio, pumps, and heaters. Much easier to work in.

Most important if going with a sump is to decide what drain method your going to go with. Real easy stuff at 1st it might sound like rocket science but we can walk you through it. A well thought out sump/drain will flood proof and easy to maintain.
J jaws7777 is the man when it comes to sumps...gave me lots of good tips when i was designing my sump. Cheers man
 
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J jaws7777 is the man when it comes to sumps...gave me lots of good tips when i was designing my sump. Cheers man
Thx for the compliment brother but im no expert lol just passing along what i learned from other members.

The best thing i learned from them is these things can be as simple or as complicated as we want. Literally nothing cant be addressed as long as you think things through and post allot of questions in the filtration section.
 
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Thanks for everyone's help so far. So it seems like acrylic +sump is the way to go. I will probably shoot for 6x3x2.5 and just do bichirs to start with. Hopefully I can start this project in the next few months once I feel up to it, as I have been battling illness for over 2 years and this tank is the first thing I want to do.
 
Thats great news man. You deserve it. Sounds like a great tank.

You should use the time to research different sump methods and start a thread in the filtration section. I can tag a few trusted members to your thread and get you a few different opinions. Feel free to tag me.
 
Thanks for everyone's help so far. So it seems like acrylic +sump is the way to go. I will probably shoot for 6x3x2.5 and just do bichirs to start with. Hopefully I can start this project in the next few months once I feel up to it, as I have been battling illness for over 2 years and this tank is the first thing I want to do.
:mwave:GET WELL
 
I could probably chat about sumps with you all day lol. I love em.

The returns arent necessarily restricted to once place. You can make your own spray bar or by using loc lines you can basically aim the returns any where in the tank. I actually think theres greater oxygenation with sumps depending on the design. Decent sized overflows would create allot of surface agitation. Plus you can always throw a bunch of airstones in the sump

True, and I would love that for the next design of our tank.

I have bad experience with acrylic scuffs from building acrylic paneled CPU towers. Hence I never even considered them. Maybe you could give me tips? :)
 
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So I have begun the process of cleaning my basement and looking for a tank now. I will probably be getting a 6x3x2 tank made. Before I start my research into sumps, is there any advice you guys can give me on them?
Id start researching drain methods like herbie or bean animal. Decide if you are able to drill the holes... if not make sure you purchase one pre drilled, sized to the plumbing/bulk heads you want to use.

The emergency drains (bean animal and herbie) will help you sleep easily at night
 
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