Advice on big South American build:10x2x2

[Fish daddy]

I'm planning a new tank build, going to be 10ftx2x2 with 6ft sump, external coast to coast bean animal overflow with returns on left and right of back wall.

This setup would be set in the main dinning area of our new house build, so a neat high quality and silent finish would be essential. It will be one the main features in the house.

Also it would sit almost flush between two walls with only 17cm in total left from the 10ft mark. Pic is of space where the tank will sit. With the way it will sit I will have pretty much no access to plumbing in the back or the sides of tank. I plan to have the back and sides black ?painted ?vinyl ??recommendations.

With the new house almost ready i am now looking at finalising the plans and ordering.

I'm not sure if the coast to cost is the best way to go. Also not sure on the sump layout, i will be keeping big messy fish so looking for tips.
I have acces to a water line which was made to supply water to a fridge but not really a drain close by.
How doea a bean animal setup deal with large weekly water changes?

 

[celebrist]

Cramped quarters means you will need to have room under the tank and into the sump so I suggest making sure you have a lot of clearance in your stand or a separate filter room. With the water supply near you should set up a drip system. Keep posting pics, it should look really nice in that spot

 

[Hendre]

Will be a great asset if built right.

Black vinyl is a great background indeed and with the correct lighting will make your fish look mystical even.

A 6ft sump will be great and will give you a good amount of space for media and such, do you need help on sump setup?

also i dont know how bean animal overflows help so im not sure how to help you there, but also make use of powerheads to keep solids off the bottom which lets all the solids get to the filter.

Welcome to MFK and feel free to ask questions

 

[Fish daddy]

I'm not sure on the sump layout, i liked filter socks because they catch detritus before it has a chance to build up in other harder to reach areas of the sump, however cleaning them is an absolute pain. The washing machine is not an option, also i find i had to change them every second day with large oscars.
I dont mind using filter floss as there is an aquarium here that sells it in bulk for cheap. I'm thinking if having the first chamber just packed with floss which i can toss when it becomes dirty. Then use submerged bio media.
I'm very interested in a drip system but I'll have to do allot more research to set it up right. Biggest issue for me would be where the waste water would go...

 

[Hendre]

Some people set up a storage tank and use it for watering plants and so on.

 

[HarleyK]

Welcome to MFK

If at all possible, try to get access to a waste water pipe. Run a PVC pipe to a drain or so, drill a hole into the floor and access a pipe in the basement. A drip system will make this beast of a tank a breeze to maintain. Without a drip, you'll hate yourself.

Good luck!

 

[Jez1992]

I'm not sure on the sump layout, i liked filter socks because they catch detritus before it has a chance to build up in other harder to reach areas of the sump, however cleaning them is an absolute pain. The washing machine is not an option, also i find i had to change them every second day with large oscars.
I dont mind using filter floss as there is an aquarium here that sells it in bulk for cheap. I'm thinking if having the first chamber just packed with floss which i can toss when it becomes dirty. Then use submerged bio media.
I'm very interested in a drip system but I'll have to do allot more research to set it up right. Biggest issue for me would be where the waste water would go...

I had socks and likewise cleaning them get boring very quick. Use a sheet of Filter floss and have it raised above the water level in the sump, that way it catches detritus, but it is not submerged so the majority od the waste it taken out of the water volume straight away.

For the drain, it look like that's an external wall behind, so will be easy to just drill a 10mm hole through to outside, run through a hose which matches you exterior wall colour, and then either run it to the ground below, or run into your gutters/rain pipes on the outside of your property?

 

[Fish daddy]

I had socks and likewise cleaning them get boring very quick. Use a sheet of Filter floss and have it raised above the water level in the sump, that way it catches detritus, but it is not submerged so the majority od the waste it taken out of the water volume straight away.

For the drain, it look like that's an external wall behind, so will be easy to just drill a 10mm hole through to outside, run through a hose which matches you exterior wall colour, and then either run it to the ground below, or run into your gutters/rain pipes on the outside of your property?

This maybe the go if i go for a drip system. I've been doing a heap of reading in drip systems and there seems to be conflicting evidence on the efficiency of the drip vs large water changes.
The local water has monochloromine added to it so i would need some kind of prefilter or perhaps a dosing pump to add prime similar to a marine dosing pump.
In my head I'm picturing not doing water changes unless there is a problem. Is this reality or just an ideal?
Also what would the rate for tank this size?

 

[Hendre]

Well dripping enough water will keep nitrates lower and water conditions constant

 

[Jez1992]

This maybe the go if i go for a drip system. I've been doing a heap of reading in drip systems and there seems to be conflicting evidence on the efficiency of the drip vs large water changes.
The local water has monochloromine added to it so i would need some kind of prefilter or perhaps a dosing pump to add prime similar to a marine dosing pump.
In my head I'm picturing not doing water changes unless there is a problem. Is this reality or just an ideal?
Also what would the rate for tank this size?

In UK we have HMA filter which remove carbon and chlorine to plug in line which only cost about £50.

in relation to drop efficiency I think they are best and will be installing one on my upcoming big tank.

What people often refer to is that it is not as efficient in relation to water use, as in if you have a 1000 litre aquarium and do weekly 50% changes of 500L, in order to achieve this through a drip, you'd need to drip much more water, eg 200L daily, as this 'clean' water gets diluted with old 'dirty' water and then leaves, as opposed to just the old water being taken out and replaced using the normal method.

However it is better for your fish as offers a better level of stability and there are no shocks in changes to temp, ph, etc.

Amount to drip will depend on your stocking, you'll have to gauge it based on that as to how much you need to drip daily. but once you have it set at the right level, you shouldn't need to do any water changes at all! Unless out of choice, to eg remove meds after an infection outbreak etc.