I recently bought a 350 gallon acrylic tank (8 feet long x 3 feet wide x 2 feet deep) and just finished installing it at my store. You can follow the process I have been tracking over in the DIY section here:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...he-wall-quot-project-for-my-Video-Game-Center
I decided to just run two FX5 filters for the tank, but I am trying to keep as much of the plumbing and wiring hidden. The tank itself has a built-in filter box on one end that I have tried to draw up here:
This is the view of the filter box as if you were inside my aquarium looking toward the end. There is about 6 inches between the sides of the filter box and the sides of the tank.
As you can see, I believe that the first box on the right, the largest chamber, is meant to have some kind of filter media between the top removable plate with small holes and the bottom removable plate with larger holes. I am thinking of just putting some aquarium sponge blocks in those areas but I am a bit worried about water flow getting down and around to both of the FX5 intakes. Any thoughts on what to put in that chamber?
The bottom of that chamber has a hole out to the main aquarium in the front and then around on the side of the box into the main aquarium on the side that is only about 6 inches from the long side of the tank. I have no idea what these two holes were for, so currently I have them plugged with PVC fittings (not sealed permanently, just tightened down). I figured if these were open, it would make the filter chamber above them irrelevant because water would be sucked in below those filters and around to the intakes of the FX5 filters. Any ideas why these two holes were there?
I have a couple heaters down in the intake chamber for the filters. I figured this was the best place to hide them. Any thoughts on heating the water there before it goes out and hits the filters?
Then there is that far left chamber. What in the world is that for? It has two slots cut into the main tank at the top for water to flow into the chamber, but there is no other way out of the chamber. I doubt that two slots could handle the amount of water one of the FX5 systems would draw from the chamber so I can't imagine it was meant for another intake area for a pump. Any thoughts?
Once the filters have cleaned the water I have them pumping the water back in the tank over the top and down into either end of the aquarium through some homemade spray bars. My awesome drawing skills put to the test again here with how I have it plumbed:
The FX5 filters create a very nice agitation of the water along the top of the tank which was one of my concerns on a tank this big with quite a few fish. I wanted to make sure there was enough oxygen exchange.
However my other thought now is that perhaps I have really not thought about how the water in the lower levels of the tank will get filters. I realized this today when I fed the fish floating food and much of it was just swept down the tank into the overflow of the built-in filter. Is that going to be a problem long-term? I plan on water changes being frequent for vacuuming the bottom of the tank, but I am not sure that will be enough long-term.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...he-wall-quot-project-for-my-Video-Game-Center
I decided to just run two FX5 filters for the tank, but I am trying to keep as much of the plumbing and wiring hidden. The tank itself has a built-in filter box on one end that I have tried to draw up here:
This is the view of the filter box as if you were inside my aquarium looking toward the end. There is about 6 inches between the sides of the filter box and the sides of the tank.
As you can see, I believe that the first box on the right, the largest chamber, is meant to have some kind of filter media between the top removable plate with small holes and the bottom removable plate with larger holes. I am thinking of just putting some aquarium sponge blocks in those areas but I am a bit worried about water flow getting down and around to both of the FX5 intakes. Any thoughts on what to put in that chamber?
The bottom of that chamber has a hole out to the main aquarium in the front and then around on the side of the box into the main aquarium on the side that is only about 6 inches from the long side of the tank. I have no idea what these two holes were for, so currently I have them plugged with PVC fittings (not sealed permanently, just tightened down). I figured if these were open, it would make the filter chamber above them irrelevant because water would be sucked in below those filters and around to the intakes of the FX5 filters. Any ideas why these two holes were there?
I have a couple heaters down in the intake chamber for the filters. I figured this was the best place to hide them. Any thoughts on heating the water there before it goes out and hits the filters?
Then there is that far left chamber. What in the world is that for? It has two slots cut into the main tank at the top for water to flow into the chamber, but there is no other way out of the chamber. I doubt that two slots could handle the amount of water one of the FX5 systems would draw from the chamber so I can't imagine it was meant for another intake area for a pump. Any thoughts?
Once the filters have cleaned the water I have them pumping the water back in the tank over the top and down into either end of the aquarium through some homemade spray bars. My awesome drawing skills put to the test again here with how I have it plumbed:
The FX5 filters create a very nice agitation of the water along the top of the tank which was one of my concerns on a tank this big with quite a few fish. I wanted to make sure there was enough oxygen exchange.
However my other thought now is that perhaps I have really not thought about how the water in the lower levels of the tank will get filters. I realized this today when I fed the fish floating food and much of it was just swept down the tank into the overflow of the built-in filter. Is that going to be a problem long-term? I plan on water changes being frequent for vacuuming the bottom of the tank, but I am not sure that will be enough long-term.
