Can anyone out there help me I would like to know if it would be possible to utilise a FX5 across 2 tanks currently I have it running 1 tank of 6' x 2" x 2" with 1 x Saratoge about 1.5' 2 small clown laoches 1 yabbie and 1 x silver dollar. I would like to include in a second tank 1 x Jack Dempsy.
FX5 canister for 2 tanks
- Thread starter saratoga1
- Start date
With a volume of 180 gallons in the 6 x 2 x 2 would it not be beneficial to the fish if you only used the FX5 to filter only that tank?
The stocking is what you want to look at.
To answer your question a little bit. If you split the flow of the Fx5, you will have roughly 300 GPH in each tank. Not a whole lot, but you also don't have a ton of fish. Only a couple large ones.
I believe it would be more complicated to run one fx5 on two tanks. I think you would have to intercontact the tanks so they are always at the same water level.
I don't believe that you can "split" a single filter between two tanks. The reason is that sooner or later, an imbalance will occur in one or both of the tanks with respect to water output and input. When this occurs, the tank(s) will either be depleted or they will overflow. There is no way to control this.
Good advice so far, and particulary correct brianp....... The only way to make it work safely would be to connect the two tanks.
Much easier to do with overflows and a wet/dry.
Much easier to do with overflows and a wet/dry.
Most anything is possible and this on e of them, the question is ...is it worth it?
If you think it is we can proceed.
Dr Joe
.
If you think it is we can proceed.
Dr Joe
.
I will be doing this on a much smaller scale with 2 drilled 20 gallons. I will have one above the other, the bottom tank feeds the canister, the top tank gets the retun line. The top tank has a drilled overflow it will only drain to a normal level, and only drain water to the bottom tank when the filter is on. The bottom tank alo has the drilled overflow and it can only overflow whats pump out. The only problem I will have to look out for is evaperation, since the filters intake is an over flow evaperation could cause it to run dry.
A friend of mine just proposed this question to me as well after lots of thought we came up with a fair viable solution. You will need balls valves on both tanks intake tubes as well as a one way check valve on the lower tanks intake and a check valve on the upper tanks output/spray bar this way it prevents and draining of the top tank to the bottom tank in the event of a power outage. The ball valves are there to adjust intake flow from each tank to be equal. Upon initial setup i would fill both tanks have way and mark. The turn the filter on and see which tank seems to be taking and or adding more water than the other. Adjust each ball valve to compensate for the difference. This was our best solution because we couldnt connect them together and we wanted only one filter.