advice on filters for a 120 freshwater

[hemiboo]

I currently have a 75 gallon with two 12 inch oscars. I have been keeping fish for a while now, but I have never had a drilled tank. I found a bare 120 gallon with twin overflows and each box has two holes. One hole on each side measures 1 3/4" and the other measures 1 1/2". My question is with the bulkhead. With the added size of pipes and bulkhead thickness, will I need 1 3/4" pipes and bulkheads or 1 1/2" pipes for the drain? Then the return side will be 1/4" smaller. Is it better to do hard line or flex line for either side? If it's 1 1/2 drains that's 1200 gph drainage, am I correct? So I need a pump that at least will do 1200 gph after pumping losses so ideally 1350 before head loss giving me a 10x turnaround.

What kind of pump would you guys recommend for this set up? I dont want to go less than 6x and I dont want to go nuts with too much either. Would a little giant 505005 5-msp work reliably if i put in a ball valve to control flow?

I'm starting from scratch and I only want to build it once. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[carbene]

if you visit jehmco, itll tell you the bulkhead size that will fit in those holes. for pump, you can try jebao pump. the pump is energy efficient and you can control the flow. now thats done, your oscar on the right look really nice. what size is it?

if your place allowed, you should try drip system so you wont have to change water again. the only maintenant isr cleaning filter socks every week to months. besides the no water change advantage, fishes are so much more happy with drip because the water level is always the same and very stable.

 

[ragin_cajun]

Matthew --

I'd do 10X turnover in the tank like you're planning. These fish live in rivers in the wild, they can handle plenty of flow even when they're small.

Here's a link to a discussion from the originator -- Beanimal himself. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1814606
He lists the drain rates of various sizes of PVC pipe. And he links to all you need to know about siphon drains and silent overflow setups. The Beanimal needs 3 drains, you have two. So search on "herbie style overflow", read about those. They use 2 drains. Take a look at my build thread, and look at this one from JC1119, too--that's where I learned how to set up mine. http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/300-gallon-sa-ce-community-build-thread.423425/


You want to make the drains silent, especially if the tank is in a room inside the house. If you've never had a sump/overflow type tank before, you may not realize how loud and annoying it could be if it's not set up right.

For pumps, I run Laguna Max Flow 2400's. They are kinda big, but they're reliable and quiet, and they are submersible--I like that. Laguna makes a couple different sizes, so search around and see if they have a size for you.

I just let pumps run full throttle, so I've never choked them back with a ball valve. But, lots of people do.

If you have room under the tank, I'd run hard pipe. But, you can do hose or flex pvc, too. I like hard pipe because PVC glue is permanent. Sometimes, hose clamps loosen and that could flood the house--not likely, but possible.

I have a drip system on my tank, I highly recommend it. Drill your sump for it before you put the tank on top of the sump, even if you don't use it right away.

 

[hemiboo]

The two oscars are both about 12 inches long. The one which is mostly red is notably bigger. There is maybe 10-15 jewels in there and a 10 or 11 inch pleco. I've had the oscars, pleco and the parent jewels for roughly 2.5 years. the oscars were only 3 inches then.

I've decided on a 1 1/2" drain and a 1 1/4" return line with probably hard lines. I'm leaning toward a quiet one 5000 which calculates to 990 gph so 7.68 turnover. Mag 18, mag 12 and little giant 4 are also some choices. All these have the 900-1200 gph that im looking for but they all have a 1" outlet. Anyone know of a pump in that flow range in this range? I'm assuming there is an adapter I can get to go from 1" - 1 1/4".

I'll be building a stand similar to the ones you can buy around here. What is the best stain/paint so I can keep moisture and spilled water from damaging anything.

Thanks for the input