Help Me Decide on Filtration

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
S

slicktoppomp

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 6, 2013
51
0
0
San Diego
So i've been going back and forth and back and forth on filtration options. Whether its canisters or wet dry filters or blah blah blah. I cant really decide on one or the other. I like canisters cause everything is there. Don't have to worry about anything its all contained. Cons are they can be pricey. I have a 265 gallon tank i need to filter. Other option is going with a sump and doing a diy wet dry type of thing. I like the idea of that cause of the money saving potential. Cons with that are i dont know if i will be short changing myself with how much or how big to go with it. Also i hate hang on tank overflows. Never been a fan of them. I've seen people build PVC overflows but how well to they actually work? Any input on the above will be appreciated. Thanks.
Raul
 
I prefer sumps for just about everything.

Canisters can work well, but servicing them is usually not a quick or easy thing. Pulling a pair of socks off a large tank with a sump takes about a minute and other than the occasional vacuuming of the bottom, that's about all the maintenance I need to do.

From a cost standpoint.... My 75 gallon sump cost about $500 to build with media and everything was bought new. It moves 2400gph. To get the same turnover using canisters, I'd need 4 fx5's or fx6's. That would exceed $1200 before media.

The only real negative to a sump is setting one up. Lots of ways to go about it and many designs work well but they require a bit of thought and time to build. Once they are setup though, they win in almost every category.




Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
+1 on the sump. A well planned sump is a lot easier to work with than a canister and the added options to what you can do with a sump supasses a canister.
To answer the DIY overflow question. A pvc overflow, when done properly, work very well. Just as good as anything you would buy already made.
And, you can design it to handle as much flow as you could ever want.
 
Thanks for the replies . As far as pvc overflows go about how big of a design should I go to flow at least 1200gph. Is there any design that is better than another that you guys have toyed with?
 
Ive got a few hob eshopps u styles and they work ok. Little noisy compared to others but they aren't bad. My 120 has a Quiet one6000 pushing around 1200-1300gph through an eshopps 1800 and its overkill. i could have probably done an eshopps 1200 and been fine.

Im currently building a Beananimal (3 drains) and have built a dual herbie (4 drains) for my 300, but I have internal overflows with 2 drains each. The Bean will go through the side of the tank and the box is external, but it requires some drilling. Both of these styles are basically flood proof utilizing 3 and 4 lines to 1)Increase flow, 2) decrease noise and 3) provide a backup drain, or 2 in case of a clogged line.

My 210 has a pair of 1" durso style drains with handling a Mag18 with a little room to spare. Im figuring around 1200gph after head loss.

Bigger is better to a point. A larger drain line will handle the flow, but can get a little noisy if you go too big.
 
Ya drilling was something I wanted to avoid. I love the bean overflows though. If I were to do a pvc overflow two seperate 1" or 1 1/2" should in theory handle up to 1200gph right?
 
This is a link to a calculator. http://mymarineaquarium.info/index.php/calculators
Its from a marine site but the flow rates and pipe diameters should be the same for fresh.
Just go down to the standard section and fill in the GPH you want.
for 1200gph it says a pipe diameter of 1.43 you could up the size to 1.5 inches and you should be good.
I had a design for a pretty good PVC overflow. I will try to find it and post it up.
 
BIG-G said:
This is a link to a calculator. http://mymarineaquarium.info/index.php/calculators
Its from a marine site but the flow rates and pipe diameters should be the same for fresh.
Just go down to the standard section and fill in the GPH you want.
for 1200gph it says a pipe diameter of 1.43 you could up the size to 1.5 inches and you should be good.
I had a design for a pretty good PVC overflow. I will try to find it and post it up.
Click to expand...
Thank you that would be a big help.
 
slicktoppomp said:
Ya drilling was something I wanted to avoid. I love the bean overflows though. If I were to do a pvc overflow two seperate 1" or 1 1/2" should in theory handle up to 1200gph right?
Click to expand...

Yes, unless you setup the drains to run Herbie style and then you could run a lot more. Either way, I like going bigger for future upgrades. i can simply swap out pumps pushing more water and the drains will handle things just fine. Just a slight adjustment of the gate valve would be all id need.

For example, my 300 is pushing 2400gph now, but the drains could easily handle around 3500 without any modifications. Maybe more, but I don't like pushing the limits.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom