2 Tanks , 1 Fx5 !

[Jgray152]

I could work if the tanks were stacked. You would need the top tank to over flow into the bottom one. The FX5 would draw water from the lower tank and return it to the upper tank.

If the filter would shut off, the top tank would drain through the filter and into the bottom tank over flowing it. So...this won't work.

You could connect the two tanks using a u bend or something filled with water. Have both tanks side by side at even level and then run the filter. Intake in one tank, output in the other.

Now I said no this won't work due to the bio capacity of the filter.

 

[Bderick67]

If the filter would shut off, the top tank would drain through the filter and into the bottom tank over flowing it. So...this won't work.

Check valve could fix that issue.

 

[Jgray152]

It could, I just wouldn't want to rely on a check valve, if it were to get gummed up with bacteria and other fine debris, when the filter shuts off every 24 hours.

 

[Toby_H]

If the filter would shut off, the top tank would drain through the filter and into the bottom tank over flowing it. So...this won't work.

There are many ways around this concern, including the check valve Bderick mentioned… also well placed hole in the return line would break the siphon. Or having the return line barely beneath the surface of the water therefore only allowing a fraction of an inch to siphon down…

But you still have the problem that the FX5 isn’t designed to lift water and the additional stress will likely shorten the filter’s lifespan considerably…

You could connect the two tanks using a u bend or something filled with water. Have both tanks side by side at even level and then run the filter. Intake in one tank, output in the other.

Now I said no this won't work due to the bio capacity of the filter.

The difference in elevation between surfaces of each 'container' will dictate the speed at which the siphon moves water...

Since both tanks will be at the same level to start... and the FX5 Moves 600'ish gph... the water levels on the two tanks side by side will have to be kept many inches below the top rim loosing valuable space in the tank...

If you want to go this route then split the intake/returns symmetrically and then connect with a siphon and leave them a couple inches low...

I don’t get the bio capacity comment…



In the end... As concluded... you'll be best off filtering them seperately...

 

[djarmstrong]

Is there any cheap but very good HOB Filters i could use ?

 

[Toby_H]

The better the filter the more it costs...

Aqua Clear 110s are by far my preferred HOB filter. They are the only one's I would buy anymore and I have over a dozen of them

If you shop on Ebay you can find them for under $60 shipping included. I do not know of a particular seller to recommend/trust though... nor do I know of any to steer you away from...

 

[Cheetah]

Assuming both tanks are side by side. Drill a hole at the top of both tanks. Then pipe them together.

Put the intake one tank and the return on the other.

Ten bucks in materials.

Posted on mobile.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[Toby_H]

Assuming both tanks are side by side. Drill a hole at the top of both tanks. Then pipe them together.

Put the intake one tank and the return on the other.

That would be one HUGE hole drilled in the side of the tanks to allow 600'ish gallons per hour flow through it without any backpressure pushing on it...

 

[Cheetah]

The FX5 doesn't push 600gph filled with media.

Even so, using Bernollis equation a inch and a half hole should suffice.

Posted on mobile.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[Toby_H]

The FX5 doesn't push 600gph filled with media.

Even so, using Bernollis equation a inch and a half hole should suffice.

The FX5 is rated at 925 gph... I bet it moves close to 600 gph, although I admit I have never put a flow meter on one...

If two tanks are side by side (water surface at the same level) and are plumbed together (hole drilled in sides connected with a direct pipe)… then this is fundamentally the same thing as connecting them via a siphon, just more ‘permanent’…

With either set up since the elevation of each tank is at the same level… if water is pumped from one tank to the other… the water will move through the siphon or other connecting pipe very slowly. The only force pushing the water from one tank to the next is the weight of the water (per square inch) that one tank’s water surface is higher than the other.

Therefore to do this functionally, the water levels on both tanks would have to be kept quite a bit below the rim. Then when the filter is running one tank (with the return line in it) would be near the rim and the other tank (with the intake in it) would be twice as low as they were when the filter is turned off. This theory was covered and ruled out earlier in this thread.

I don’t mean to be argumentative but the OP came here looking for good advice and following some of the suggestions in this thread would get him in a lot of trouble…