Filtering Tanks 500 - 5000 Gallons

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I am a ways off from a large tank (need a new place to live first), but it has been on my mind. Since i know what i'd like, but not what i'll end up with, i haven't settled on any real specs and theres always a few new ways of looking at things. I might also be overdoing things.

I have tended to dislike the idea of special purpose filtration, with a couple of exceptions. For instance, saying this filter is just for mech filtration while this one is just for bio is kind of hard for me, fish poo doesn't recognize that I am sure. I would much rather integrate everything into a linier progression when possible.

the current setup in my mind is two sumps of the same design. I'd rather have two smaller sumps to maximize the benafits and minimize the chance of getting wiped out if just one component fails; I feel rather then one large sump. Knowing what I like in fish and my penchant for overkill, I would be looking at 33% or more of tank volume for sumps. first chamber would be progressively finer mesh filtration leading to a fluidized Kaldnes media chamber in the secound to a refugum in the third with live plants. depending on final specs, maybe even a 4th mixed chamber of one or two other media types, probably primarly submerged types before exiting. each sump would have its own heaters and uv sterilizer. The biggest concern of course is space so they would virtually have to be specially made to make maximum use of avaialble space.

chamber one of course is mech filtration with progressivly finer mesh sizes. Easy to clean and monitor and realitivly cheap.

Originally I had wet/dry bioballs planned for chamber 2, but after reading about the kaldnes media, I think i'd prefer to try it out. it might be expensive hype, but a lot of people swear by it for heavy dudty use and the logic behind fluidized media seems sound. the big fear here of course is if the power goes out the bacteria has a shorter lifespan then a fully submerged type. It does make me want to be sure I have some capacity in longer lasting wet media in a pinch.

chamber 3 derives partially from the fact that I am just a big beleiver in plants in a healthy system. Anachris, hornwort and pennywort are all heavy duty nutriant sinks and anachris has the added benifit of breaking down calcium carbonate (which is heavily present in my region) when co2 deprived. part of the reason for doing two sumps is here in that with two sumps i can run the lights on alternating clocks so there is always one sump doing photosynthisis.

chamber 4 is still a thought, but it might be worthwhile to do an extra layer of filter material here simply for submerged media.

Now, for my exception on special purpose. I would certainly consider setting up a high flow canister like an fx5 in addition to the sumps. the biggest reason here would be if I decided to go with peat in my filtration system (I am a big fan of peat in the filtration) or needed carbon in it. I especialy don't feel the sump design is condusive to the best use of peat so a canister filter makes a good option here with its forced confined flow. of course, extra media in general is not a bad thing I think.
 
I have a 500g. I run a Eheim 2260 and 2262.

The reason.? it's easy and i just plug it in and walk away for months. Saved me time on building a sump.. was tired after my tank build, and was nice to just plug something in, and watch it work and not having to think anymore.. lol.

On any tank I build that is bigger, I will more than likely use pool filters as canisters. it's more expensive, but It's like a new toy for me... like a hot rod.:D
 
I built several wet dry systems for my 200g and I disliked all of them. (and they were all nice setups, that wasn't the problem!). Just too much noise, too much smell, too much hassle to get under the stand and dig out the media for cleaning. I switched to an FX5 and never looked back. Same thing with my 120 - I had a sump handy so I used it, but it's a pain in the butt to clean, and it's noisy.

If it were me, and energy/cost was not a huge concern, I'd go with a bead filter - there is no way to beat the maintenance op for those - turn off, turn backflush valve for a few minutes, turn back on. Since energy and cost ARE large concerns for most of us, I'm setting up an in-tank sump filter in my 600gal that's under construction right now. It will have twin pumps so if one fails the other keeps working.

I would NOT consider running 10-12 filters on a single tank, purpose made or not, half the work of cleaning the filter is taking it apart and putting it back together - I'd rather do that just once and wash my mech media out in the bathtub than have to do it a bunch of times when the filters needed maintenance.
 
I was thinking more 4-5, but none would have to be maintained at the same time. Canisters as you said very rarely need maintenance. Energy costs are a concern, otherwise I'd be running a huge bead filter alone as well. I have to keep the costs of running my big tank about the same as it was to run all my smaller tanks combined. Not an easy task by any means, but in this economy we have to get creative. I'm sure those of us who are homeowners dread the inevitable rise in energy costs heading toward us.
 
"Canisters as you said very rarely need maintenance."

That is true if you're primarily using canisters for bio (e.g. using pre-filters to keep the crud out)...but if you're using them for mech than they need to be cleaned as frequently as you would a HOB or box filter.
 
Running a large tank, unless you go industrial with the equipment to maintain it in theory should be more energy efficient than small tanks summing to the same size. There are a few major contributors to the cost of running a tank:

Lighting: Most of the lighting in smaller tanks gets wasted as it falls outside the tank. Plus each small tank requires it's own ballast and fixture with it's own set of losses, it's own heat generation and so on. A large tank with lights above should give you similar in-tank light levels with fewer watts per gallon overall.

Evap: small tanks have larger water surface per gallon, so more evap heat loss.

Conduction out the sides/bottom : Same thing, surface area per gallon is lower with a large tank, plus you generally have the tank walls against insulated inside walls.

Sump losses: Okay i've been flamed for saying this before, but everybody please trust me, sumps waste a lot of energy. Pumping water from zero pressure at a low position (sump) to low pressure at a higher position takes energy. That energy is then thrown away when the water overflows back down to the sump. Running a pressurized sump (Canister) or doing your filtration at tank level (in tank or HOB) saves you these losses. At any rate, the same consolidation theory applies - one large efficient filter should work better than many small filters. This of course with the disclaimer that you don't go industrial with your pumps and filters.
 
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