How would you plumb this tank?

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fishguy306

fishguy306

Peacock Bass
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Oct 24, 2005
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I picked up a new tank a few weeks ago, 330 gallon with dims of 4'x5'x27". Yes, I got those right, it is 4' across the front and 5' front to back. The eventual plan is some rays, but for now the tank is being stored. My fiance and I are buying a house so the tank must wait to be set up. While this sucks, it gives me some time to plan filtration and the setup.

The previous owner had a reef setup in this tank with VERY high flow. He used several closed loop systems to achieve this. At one point he had 10,000 gph flowing through the tank, a bit overkill for what I need. Sadly this means he had a ton of holes drilled when he had the tank made. Get ready for it, 13 holes total on the back and sides, not couting the four holes for the coast to coast overflow set up. To even further complicate matters, the holes were drilled for sch 80 bulkheads. So now what would have cost $50 in bulkheads will be pushing $200.

In any case, I need to figure out how to plumb this monster. The right side of the tank has one hole for a 1.5" and 4 for 2" holes. The left has 4 1" holes, and the back has 2 for 2" and 2 for 1". The overflow holes are 2" each, at four of them.

The sump will be easy. I am going to use the four drains and run the returns along the top of the tank and back in where needed as all the holes are below the water line so they cannot be used as returns. As for the rest, I think I am going to plumb most of them together in case I want to use them in the future and valve them closed with a cap on the end, just to be safe. A few of them I am thinking maybe a very large sand filter? I need something pressurized as it is below the water level. Any thoughts on this? I could do a canister, however I am not very fond of them. This is really where I need some guidance. Any pics of overly complicated plumbing would be great too. Thanks! And sorry for the long post!
 
"holey" hell, lol. i think someone went overboard.

best thing i could think of is just closing off a bunch of those holes with bulkheads and using what you need. you'd be able to run a sump no prob, but you wouldn't need more than a few holes.
your plumbing type would be dependent on the size/depth of that overflow as well.
 
^ That's what I was thinking.

Alternate - The holes on the sides could be joined together in a 5 to 1 arrangement front to back (think of a spraybar type effect) but it really isn't needed with the holes already in the back unless you wanted to do a flow tank with the outflow out the left side pushing to the intake on the right side of the tank (or vice versa). That would let you block the back holes instead. Some high flow species may like that.
 
Holey hell is one way of putting it, however I am trying to look at the hole picture and figure out what the best way to filter this would be. Eh? Eh? I should probably stick with my day job, I'm sure I would be a hole lot better off woth that then comedy lol. I'm done now. :p

In any case, thanks for the tips guys. With the overflow, obviously a sump is given. I am thinking something in the neighborhood of ~100 gallons. If you count the overflow and the hole in the back, there are 8 different holes on the back side of the tank. All four will be used on the overflow, as we all know, the more flow the better. Four holes at 2" each equals a ton of flow. The overflow is the full 4' width of the tank. I can adjust the tooth hight all the way from nothing at all up to I believe 3", so there is just about no limit to what this overflow can handle.

The reason I asked about a sand filter or some other type of filter is because I cannot use the holes as returns for the sump. They are too far below the water level and I dont want to deal with check valves. I have heard way too many horror stories with them. So, sump returns go over the top. Any thoughts for other types of filters? I will be blocking off most of the holes, no doubt about that, however I would love to be able to use at least a few of them. It would be nice to have some extra flow as well as more cleaning power than just a sump.

If it makes a difference stock list will include rays and some pbass, as well as some other fish to be determined. As I mentioned in the first post, this used to be a high flow reef tank. While there are a ton of holes, I got the tank and steel stand for a great price off of craigslist. I love the dims so I just couldnt pass it up.
 
Don't completely rule out the holes on the side of the tank as returns. I would use them, and you can, with out check valves. The trick is you have to run those returns up to the surface or just above the surface. Put a 90 right out of the bulkhead and another 90 right at the water level. Of course this will look like crap but all that can be hidden with a background. At least you can make it less noticeable. I would do this on each side depending on your turn over required, but the further away from the overflow the better so the filtered water from the sump doesn't go straight down the overflow.

The rest of the holes just bulkhead and cap. They can be hidden behind the background easy.

Go with the largest sump you can. Depending on the stand and access under the stand you can build a 2X4 box and a rubber pond liner for the sump. With the rays your going to be happy with the extra capacity.
 
Egon, I had considered that idea, but wasn't sure if it would work. Glad to know that is an option. Deff wouldnt need all the holes, or even most of them for returns, but I could use a few of the smaller ones.

I am a bit limited on the sump. It wont fit under that stand, the previous ower went a bit over board with the stand. Not sure if he was worried about having 500 lbs of rock in the tank or what. In any case, there is no real height under the tank. I will work something out next to it.

So you guys wouldnt do any other filters then? Just a sump with some filtering media will be enough?
 
fishguy306 said:
So you guys wouldnt do any other filters then? Just a sump with some filtering media will be enough?
Click to expand...

You can go with a small ultima canister filter. They can be reversed and flushed clean. It's, by far, the easiest way to set up a large tank. Sumps are cheap, you can use a rubber made container or a large garbage can if your not worried about fitting it under the tank.
 
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