could i use one canister to filter multiple tanks
- Thread starter troutking
- Start date
i wouldn't...... lol. more is usually better. or you could make a sump for the 3 like LFS have. don't look for cheap ways out. go the extra mile and u will thank ur self later
that sound like a bad idea if one tank get sick they all do so i wouldnt but it is very possible!
I think you biggest problem would connecting them in a way that ensures each gets enough flow without having too much, and each drains into the next or directly into the canister properly. It would be difficult, but not impossible.
Just put them end to end and use bulk heads and pvc pipe to connect them to each other and then hook the canister up with the inlet on the far right tank and the outlet on the far left. once you connect the tanks with piping they become one tank volume. So that means what ever happen in one tank happens in all tanks (disease,ammonia, foods,flow rate). So basically there will be just as much flow in the 29 as there will be in the 5g. It will be whirlpool in the 5g. I would just do it to the 20-29. Then again if your going to have to drill the tanks just add a sump.
yes... vinyl tubing, some fittings, ball valves and a few hours is all you would need...
however... IMO its not worth doing
i also vote that its not worth it to do the sump for all of them either..
however... IMO its not worth doing
i also vote that its not worth it to do the sump for all of them either..
as long as they are all on the same level. otherwise, some will have head due to gravity and most of the water will go to that tank. best if you can cascade your tanks and over flow water from higher elevation to the lower elevation tank. too much trouble. the main problem is that the effluent is not distributing right amount of water to individual tank.
you can buy sponge filters and filter all 3 of them and that would be even easier and probably better 
Why you can do it with a sump and not a canister is because the canister is a closed loop but the sump is open.
Where the problem comes in is when it is in operation. You could never get the valves adjusted perfectly. The minute imperfections would slowly drain one tank and pump it into another and overflow it.
Since a sump is open, the overflows operate under static pressure and gravity. They are slightly oversized to handle more flow than what the tank will ever get. It doesn't matter if the flow from the pump isn't divided evenly because of this.
Where the problem comes in is when it is in operation. You could never get the valves adjusted perfectly. The minute imperfections would slowly drain one tank and pump it into another and overflow it.
Since a sump is open, the overflows operate under static pressure and gravity. They are slightly oversized to handle more flow than what the tank will ever get. It doesn't matter if the flow from the pump isn't divided evenly because of this.