Side note: is there no way for me to edit my origional post? It will let me edit recent posts but not my first and i would like to be able to change things in it as need be.
DIY ~700-900G tank idea
- Thread starter bridgenewb
- Start date
You will still have the issue of the waterfall releasing all of the CO2 you are injecting. A tank this size will require a lot of CO2, with a waterfall you will need even more. Also, a cave will likely just collect crap in it unless you have good circulation to move it out.
You are making that way too complicated and will be running the risk of leaks. Why bolt in a pvc flange? Besides the fact it will probably always leak, there is an easier way. You need these-
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/pumps-plumbing/plumbing/bulkheads.html
They will keep your tank water tight if you install it correctly and will work much better than a bolted in flange. Also, do not put the rubber over it. You need to finish the tank then drill the holes. This way if there are any issues you can replace them.
Something else I thought of, even if you use FX5's, two canisters wont be enough for this tank. It might be early, but as the fish and turtles get bigger it will not be enough.
Awesome, thanks for the link! I will add it to my word doc.
As for the dual FX5s I was thinking about those or FX6s, but I trust Eheim much more than Fluval due to past experience with my 75 Gal. So I`m thinking dual Eheim Classic 1500XLs which are each rated for 396 gallon tank, and my tank will have the capacity for 680 Gal but with the turtle island it will only hold ~570 Gal of water. I would change the title and 1st post of the thread if I knew how...
As for the dual FX5s I was thinking about those or FX6s, but I trust Eheim much more than Fluval due to past experience with my 75 Gal. So I`m thinking dual Eheim Classic 1500XLs which are each rated for 396 gallon tank, and my tank will have the capacity for 680 Gal but with the turtle island it will only hold ~570 Gal of water. I would change the title and 1st post of the thread if I knew how...
I would do more than just 2 canisters if I were you. I have a 150g sump powered by a laguna maxflo 4280 with very large DIY spraybars, and a FX5 on my 450g (about 530g total water volume). I can tell you that in my situation 2 FX5s would certainly not be able to handle my needs in terms of both filtration and flow. I even added in a couple of fairly large power heads and my tank still has a very gentle flow with no dead spots. That's with about 6500gph of widely dispersed flow in total!
I will have to look into sumps, but i am very against them for this setup as it will be in my den and i cant imagine cleaning one being an easy/tidy task to do on a carpeted floor. Where as i can just take a canister filter to a bathtub, plus they are much quieter i would imagine .
If you design it right the sump and overflows are silent. The pump is as noisy as you want it to be. Some are loud, some are very quiet. I have my tank on a carpeted room and it's not a big deal. When I cleaned the sump out earlier this year I just turned off the pump, took out all the media into a big Rubbermaid tub and gave it a rinse in tank water. I then stuck a submersible pump in the sump, which was connected to a garden hose running to a drain. Plugged it in, stirred the water up with my hands and it sucked out all the silt. Only took me about an hour, and I would only do it every 6 months, or annually because I'm lazy. Filter socks catch 95% of the nasty stuff before it ever enters the sump anyways!
I was worried doing an overflow sump would nix my waterfall idea because to maintain flow in the tank i want the water to go from the boarded (waterfall) side of the tank to the glass end. But i realized i could just have the overflow inlet come from the base like the cannister inlet but have it be one tube going all the way to the surface with an inlet strainer on the top... Now the question is how big of a sump do I really need if I will have two 1500XLs? Since the tank is 680 Gal but will only hold 570 I can't believe anything bigger than a 50 Gal will be needed...
As for sump design:
From what I can tell (looking at forums n youtube) all sumps are more or less the same in design regardless of sump volume, slight alterations can be made depending on how much bio media you want etc. But what I am unsure of is if there is a desired flow rate for the filter and bio media when looking for a sump pump? (Ie Liters per minute per cm sq of filter sponge face OR per cubic foot of bio media) Because too much flow will cause overflow in the sump itself and nothing gets filtered and too little can go stagnant. I'm guessing its a matter of buying one thats more than necessary then just dialing it in with a ballvalve.
As for sump design:
From what I can tell (looking at forums n youtube) all sumps are more or less the same in design regardless of sump volume, slight alterations can be made depending on how much bio media you want etc. But what I am unsure of is if there is a desired flow rate for the filter and bio media when looking for a sump pump? (Ie Liters per minute per cm sq of filter sponge face OR per cubic foot of bio media) Because too much flow will cause overflow in the sump itself and nothing gets filtered and too little can go stagnant. I'm guessing its a matter of buying one thats more than necessary then just dialing it in with a ballvalve.
I suspect a 50 gal sump will be a little small, though you can probably make it work as long as you plan your plumbing very well.
Are you planning a canopy? If so I would have the overflow on the plywood side, work it into the rock work somewhere. I would then run the return lines on top of the tank to the glass side and down on the opposite side. Use a canister to power the waterfall that you want.
Many freshwater people aim for 10x turnover through the sump. I think that is a little high, but anywhere between 4x and 10x should be fine. Having high flow is not what overflows a sump, it is a sump that is too small for all the water that overflows.
Are you planning a canopy? If so I would have the overflow on the plywood side, work it into the rock work somewhere. I would then run the return lines on top of the tank to the glass side and down on the opposite side. Use a canister to power the waterfall that you want.
Many freshwater people aim for 10x turnover through the sump. I think that is a little high, but anywhere between 4x and 10x should be fine. Having high flow is not what overflows a sump, it is a sump that is too small for all the water that overflows.
That is a very neat idea on running through the canopy, I definitely didn't think of that! But wouldn't that 'short circuit' the tank flow buy having the sump inlet right by the waterfall (canister outlet)?
what is 'turnover'?
what is 'turnover'?
The problem when you have multiple filters is that some of the filtered water is bound to be run through the filters again right away. That said, if you have good circulation it isn't an issue, everything that needs to be sucked up still will be. For example, I have a 93 gallon cube tank, so the dims are 30x30x24", so I have a very short back wall. On this tank I have a sump and a canister. I'm bound to get some of the same water being sucked right back up, but with the tank circulating as well as it does it really shouldn't be a problem. I just have it set up as drain-return-drain-return. Not perfect but it works.
You could do something similar, have the overflow to the left or right of the waterfall, then try to have the waterfall guide the water to the opposite side. Plus with the sump return on the other side of the tank you would still be getting a good amount of water movement. It would take some work getting it set up properly, but in the end it could work very well for you. Using a sump you can also put the heaters into it, keep them out of your tank.
Turnover is how much water is flowing through your tank. For example, you have a 100 gal tank, then two filters doing 300 gph each, for 600 gph total, your turnover would be 6x your tank volume.
You could do something similar, have the overflow to the left or right of the waterfall, then try to have the waterfall guide the water to the opposite side. Plus with the sump return on the other side of the tank you would still be getting a good amount of water movement. It would take some work getting it set up properly, but in the end it could work very well for you. Using a sump you can also put the heaters into it, keep them out of your tank.
Turnover is how much water is flowing through your tank. For example, you have a 100 gal tank, then two filters doing 300 gph each, for 600 gph total, your turnover would be 6x your tank volume.
