Filtration for my 500

[Egon]

Egon u have a very creative way of drawing up a filtration system lol...I wish you were in person to help me with mine...

Thanks! I love plumbing and I hate check valves!!! I have this system on two of my tanks now and it's a great way to get water from the bottom of the tank into your sump and not completely drain your tank when the pump fails for what ever reason. This system does not flow water very fast, the larger the plumbing the better. Both my tanks have two lower hole drains (like the drawing above) coupled with a glass-holes surface overflow. I get skimming surface cleaning and also the lower holes get the sinking poo off the bottom The trick is to get all three overflows at exactly the same height which in turn is your water level in your tank. Fun for an OCD personality like mine.

 

[Sarmo]

i agree, great drawing. didn't i see that on your 450 thread? could i do that, sadly no. my tank has 2 layers of glass on the bottom laminated together with silicon. when i was setting up my Reef, i spoke with Oceanic and they told me that the problem with drilling the bottom was that as i drilled through the first layer of glass the "glass dust" would get between the layers. then when i filled the tank with water the compression combined with the "dust" would likely cause a crack. i know the dust thing happens because it happened on the top when i drilled the bracing (also 2 layers). since there is no wieght pushing down on that it's been fine......... so far. i thought if i could drill a larger hole on the outside layer of glass and then drill a smaller hole from the inside of the tank that the dust would just fall away. the problem with that is that i'd have to drill upside down. that would have a bit cooling issue too. so i gave up.

i really like how that bottom bulkhead helps keep the bottom clean. i have thought about making an overflow with some drain slots cut at the bottom for just that reason. of course i'd have to buy or build that and i don't know if it's worth the extra time and cost? or for that matter if it would work at all???

 

[Egon]

Makes sense about the double glass drilling on the bottom. You can just go with a large canister? Get something like an ultima canister filter, and run your existing holes to that canister and the return can go to that hole in the top support brace and/or a spray bar. That way you avoid the side drilling? The side drilling seems risky but maybe it's no big deal? I've only done it on an acrylic tank with a typical hole saw with the drill bit in the middle guiding the hole saw. It was easy.

I didn't do this system on the 450. That was my first set up. My next two tanks have these overflows, 360 and 120. I'm still setting up the 120.....

 

[Sarmo]

i finally did it. i drilled the end of my tank. i've been wanting to do this for about 5 years but never had the nerve. not to mention the tank was full of saltwater and livestock.

it was easy enough. i got a bit for 1 1/2" bulkhead, marked the spot and started as suggested with the bit at an angle. the problem if you remember was that the glass is verticle. i was worried how i'd keep the bit and glass cool. i solved that by having my daughter drip cold water on the glass just above the bit. the water flowed around the bit and into the grove. it even washed out the glass dust. it actually worked great.

now i need to plumb in both the overflow lines and the return. i put 2- 1 1/2" bulkheads in an overflow box with 27" of teeth. should i use my Dolphin Ampmaster 2100 or 3000? the tank top is about 6' above the sump.

any suggestions for the end of the overflow line before it goes into a bucket full of bioballs?

thanks,
rob

 

[Egon]

You can't post this with out pics!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sarmo]

sorry for the long delay. i have been trying to figure out the whole picture thing. i really suck as a photographer and i don't have a good handle on fixing the pic once it's taken. i have windows 7, and need to find out if i have a good editor built into my computer or if i need to get one. any thought there?

i didn't take any pics while drilling my tank but here is how i did it. these are from me drilling my sump. same idea but for the tank i was inside the tank instead of under it. my daughter used a syringe with water and ridge airline tubing to drip water on the bit while i ran the drill.

 

[Sarmo]

here are the two hole i drilled in the display, 2.5" each.

 

[Sarmo]

here is the overflow box mounted to the end of the tank with two 1.5" bulkheads.

 

[Sarmo]

next came plumbing the overflow. i got a little crazy here. i cut holes and glued in the 1" pipe into the 1.5" pipe for a siphon break. hopefully it will be quiet. i only had one 1.5" drain when it was a Reef tank and i used a 1/4" airline tube as a siphon break and that was quiet until it got plugged up .

 

[Sarmo]

once i had the overflow on it was time for the driftwood. i found this on the lake shore about 3 miles from my house. it took my son and one of his Basketball team mates to load it in my truck. i don't have a pic of it before i got it into the tank but it is 59" x 29" x 30". it had been soaking in the lake for months of years, i found it because the lake level is down. during the winter they lower the lake level to generate power and to protect peoples docks from ice. the tough part is that my tank isn't open on the top. it has 3 openings that measure 16" x 29" here is a bad pic with my wife and i trying to get the piece in whole.
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