My first fish room
- Thread starter Matteus
- Start date
Quote:
[so the options are a gate valve and a straight pipe, a ball and a gate, 2 straight pipes, or a ball and a straight. I’m new to plumbing so appreciate any experienced sump plumbers advice]
* Don't use a gate valve (slide) unless it's normally in the closed off position. Having it usually open allows detritus to settle into the groove seal. And it's very hard to adjust flow rates. If you do use one, position it at 45 degrees or inverted so detritus can't settle into the groove.
* Instead of the barrel union joints, consider a rubber sleeve & pipe bands (also called DEKS joins) as these allow more flexibility, easier to install, align pipe with pumps and prevent pipe vibration transmission. As well as cheaper.
* if not on pump pressure side, don't glue any of the PVC joints. Simply press fit is water tight, easy to remove & re use elsewhere
I can see from your photos that you will be shifting your tanks multiple times before you finally decide on a permanent layout. You can screw/bolt on temporary wooden blocks onto outer stand legs to allow placement of a hydraulic car jack. Raise empty tank - stand - multi tier rack high enough to slide a wheeled plate underneath so you can wheel around easily. This will save you hours of work. Substrate and rocks can remain.
* Suggest you mesh off those open top TEE breather drains. Insects or foreign matter will get inside
* also on those stands that have full length along the concrete, raise up with plastic blocks or house bricks. Any flood will accumulate water under these which will take weeks to dry out. Double waterproof paint the bottom of stand legs for same reason (or raise them too). I use synthetic wood decking which is rayed for 30 tonne weights
[so the options are a gate valve and a straight pipe, a ball and a gate, 2 straight pipes, or a ball and a straight. I’m new to plumbing so appreciate any experienced sump plumbers advice]
* Don't use a gate valve (slide) unless it's normally in the closed off position. Having it usually open allows detritus to settle into the groove seal. And it's very hard to adjust flow rates. If you do use one, position it at 45 degrees or inverted so detritus can't settle into the groove.
* Instead of the barrel union joints, consider a rubber sleeve & pipe bands (also called DEKS joins) as these allow more flexibility, easier to install, align pipe with pumps and prevent pipe vibration transmission. As well as cheaper.
* if not on pump pressure side, don't glue any of the PVC joints. Simply press fit is water tight, easy to remove & re use elsewhere
I can see from your photos that you will be shifting your tanks multiple times before you finally decide on a permanent layout. You can screw/bolt on temporary wooden blocks onto outer stand legs to allow placement of a hydraulic car jack. Raise empty tank - stand - multi tier rack high enough to slide a wheeled plate underneath so you can wheel around easily. This will save you hours of work. Substrate and rocks can remain.
* Suggest you mesh off those open top TEE breather drains. Insects or foreign matter will get inside
* also on those stands that have full length along the concrete, raise up with plastic blocks or house bricks. Any flood will accumulate water under these which will take weeks to dry out. Double waterproof paint the bottom of stand legs for same reason (or raise them too). I use synthetic wood decking which is rayed for 30 tonne weights
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Wow thank you for this. Some of these things will not be possible for this round, but almost everything in here is temporary at this point, so I can use this for future projects and also share with the people who end up buying these tanks.
I don’t typically calculate in litres and am too ignorant to do the conversion.
but currently there is roughly 1100g running with sumps. But I am about to change it all up. Going down a 100g tank and up a 360+75g sump
A timeline of the progress made through the year I have had this fish room. Hopefully they load in sequence ??
Really late reply, I know, but I just can't not reply to this after having seen it!
Came across this while searching for something else, and it inspired me to do exactly what you just described. Relish that I own some great fish that I have dreamed to own for years and that many other folks dream to own by taking a moment to enjoy them.
Honestly, I can't thank you enough for making that post! I now enjoy and appreciate my stock that much more!
And likewise. Thank you for making this post. It reminds me I need to do an update on here soon.Really late reply, I know, but I just can't not reply to this after having seen it!
Came across this while searching for something else, and it inspired me to do exactly what you just described. Relish that I own some great fish that I have dreamed to own for years and that many other folks dream to own by taking a moment to enjoy them.
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Honestly, I can't thank you enough for making that post! I now enjoy and appreciate my stock that much more!
I have been working so hard at building and switching things in and out, I just realized it looks much different now than what the last photos are on here.
Having recently also rearranged my fishroom, I'd love to see that update! ?
So here is that update.
the room is an absolute disaster and always under construction. I have moved out the 300 acrylic, and just recently resealed a stack of 75/90 that I plan to set up for some temp room for some new arrivals. But they won’t stay too long because I have something else that I plan to put there once I go pick it up ?
It took me a while to figure out the plumbing on the 360 because I needed to use all of the existing media to support the new tank set up and that baffled me. But I got it figured out with a bunch of diy (fish redneck) ingenuity and a few “custom” changes. I took the existing box trickle filter and rigged it up to drain from the 360, polish that before it goes through the box with floss, then I used the tub that the rays were in as the sump. I had a big batch of k1 that was seasoned come into my possession and I needed to keep it alive somehow for future use. So I took the pop bottle design idea and put it to use with some big water bottles. One of the half sized bottles coming out of the overflow of the box, and another full sized one in the opposite side of the tank with a bubbler in it. It’s Mickey Mouse and not the most efficient but it is enough to keep the bacteria alive until I can maximize the efficiency with a more permanent filter.
the room is an absolute disaster and always under construction. I have moved out the 300 acrylic, and just recently resealed a stack of 75/90 that I plan to set up for some temp room for some new arrivals. But they won’t stay too long because I have something else that I plan to put there once I go pick it up ?
It took me a while to figure out the plumbing on the 360 because I needed to use all of the existing media to support the new tank set up and that baffled me. But I got it figured out with a bunch of diy (fish redneck) ingenuity and a few “custom” changes. I took the existing box trickle filter and rigged it up to drain from the 360, polish that before it goes through the box with floss, then I used the tub that the rays were in as the sump. I had a big batch of k1 that was seasoned come into my possession and I needed to keep it alive somehow for future use. So I took the pop bottle design idea and put it to use with some big water bottles. One of the half sized bottles coming out of the overflow of the box, and another full sized one in the opposite side of the tank with a bubbler in it. It’s Mickey Mouse and not the most efficient but it is enough to keep the bacteria alive until I can maximize the efficiency with a more permanent filter.
