My 185 gallon tank project is finally done

[Dolemedes]

A few months back I posted here asking for advice on how to do a spray bar setup on the used acrylic tank I had bought. I ended up going with two Flow Tamer spray bars joined in the middle to make one continuous spray bar across the entire length of the tank. It was a bit tricky because the bar had to be mounted in front of the row of Poth-O-Carry plant baskets for my pothos and other plants. I also used Flow Tamer double barrel intakes that I wanted to mount using the existing bulkheads. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Walt at Flow Tamer: he went way above and beyond helping me get the tank plumbing set up right. I ended up drilling a couple of extra holes in the top of the tank to suspend the spray bar, and a small hole in the center to run a cable tie support for it.

I had an idea for how I wanted to use the two FX6 canisters to be able to change water using the two utility valves. My water pressure is kind of slow, so I set up a 50 gallon reservoir tank in the corner between the two aquariums. One FX6 is connected directly to the reservoir tank via its utility valve. The other one is connected to a hose that runs through a hole in the wall under the sink in the bathroom in the other side of the wall. I replaced the tailpiece under the sink with one made for a kitchen sink with a dishwasher drain barb and the hose is connected to that. Another length of tubing runs through the same wall hole for filling the tank. I keep that one coiled under the sink when not in use it just connected onto the faucet when needed. The end result is that to do a water change, I use the canister on the right to drain the water, then the one on the left to refill from the reservoir. No more buckets or mess!

I spent months building the two stands, coming home from work and spending hours cutting lumber, sanding and staining and painting trim and now that it’s done all the free time feels kind of weird lol The fish seem really happy in their new home and I love sitting in front of the tank and watching them.
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[abominus]

A few months back I posted here asking for advice on how to do a spray bar setup on the used acrylic tank I had bought. I ended up going with two Flow Tamer spray bars joined in the middle to make one continuous spray bar across the entire length of the tank. It was a bit tricky because the bar had to be mounted in front of the row of Poth-O-Carry plant baskets for my pothos and other plants. I also used Flow Tamer double barrel intakes that I wanted to mount using the existing bulkheads. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Walt at Flow Tamer: he went way above and beyond helping me get the tank plumbing set up right. I ended up drilling a couple of extra holes in the top of the tank to suspend the spray bar, and a small hole in the center to run a cable tie support for it.

I had an idea for how I wanted to use the two FX6 canisters to be able to change water using the two utility valves. My water pressure is kind of slow, so I set up a 50 gallon reservoir tank in the corner between the two aquariums. One FX6 is connected directly to the reservoir tank via its utility valve. The other one is connected to a hose that runs through a hole in the wall under the sink in the bathroom in the other side of the wall. I replaced the tailpiece under the sink with one made for a kitchen sink with a dishwasher drain barb and the hose is connected to that. Another length of tubing runs through the same wall hole for filling the tank. I keep that one coiled under the sink when not in use it just connected onto the faucet when needed. The end result is that to do a water change, I use the canister on the right to drain the water, then the one on the left to refill from the reservoir. No more buckets or mess!

I spent months building the two stands, coming home from work and spending hours cutting lumber, sanding and staining and painting trim and now that it’s done all the free time feels kind of weird lol The fish seem really happy in their new home and I love sitting in front of the tank and watching them.
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looks like heaven!

 

[Backfromthedead]

Fine work there. Is the water reservoir just for added volume or does it serve other purposes?

 

[FJB]

Beautiful!
Well worth the effort. Thanks for sharing.

 

[tlindsey]

Everything looks awesome.

 

[Dolemedes]

Fine work there. Is the water reservoir just for added volume or does it serve other purposes?

I am on a well and the water pressure is not fast enough to keep up with the FX6 motor. Draining with the utility valve involves turning off the filter and using gravity, but refilling with it uses the filter powered on to pump the water. If I tried to run right from a tap, it would be annoyingly slow at best, but at worst it might suck air into the canister or strain the motor. I figured this also gives me capacity for an extra water change in an emergency, like if I needed to have the water turned off for a scheduled repair or there was a storm coming in that could potentially knock out power for a few days. My other tanks could be fine for weeks without a water change but the fish in this one are on their way to being fairly big and I don't like to go more than a week, especially since I have an EBJD and they can be a bit delicate.

 

[Dolemedes]

I will say that I got the tank used with a bunch of other equipment, which allowed me to upgrade a lot sooner than planned, but I wouldn't have picked a tank this deep on purpose. The tank I was saving up for would have been 24x24x72 and that would have been a lot easier for me to deal with. I'm only 5'5"ish and I can't reach most of the bottom of the 30" deep tank through the openings in the top. I knew it would be awkward but didn't realize it would literally be impossible - I feel like a T.Rex trying to do tank maintenance. I did purchase a set of those grabbers they advertise for getting things off high shelves for moving hardscape, and came up with some other hacks - sich as when I planted the jungle val I had to glue small rocks to to roots of each plant so that I could position them, and then pour sand over the roots. It probably works out better for the fish to have the extra depth, since they can have both lots of places to hide and explore but also lots of open swim space above that, but if anyone has any recommendations for long handled cleaning tools let me know.

 

[jjohnwm]

I love this whole system; well done!

Now, just one suggestion/question for you. You mention that draining is done by gravity, and that's gotta be painfully slow. The dishwasher-compatible tailpiece uses, I believe, a 1/2-inch barb which slows things down even further. So...instead of draining via gravity through the bottom fitting on the canister, why not feed the return from the filter to a T- or Y-splitter, with each outgoing leg controlled by a valve? When it's time for a water change, you close the valve leading to the tank and open the one leading to the other side of the T, which of course is connected to your dishwasher barbed fitting. That way the draining is done by the canister pump rather than merely waiting for gravity to slowly dribble the water away; you'd probably get the job done in 1/4 of the time.

 

[Dolemedes]

Thanks for the suggestion! That’s a good idea and would be pretty easy to do, as I’m using python tubing and pvc rather than the stock Fluval ribbed stuff andi have extra tubing left over. For now I think I’m done tinkering, though. It actually drains fairly fast; tubing is 5/8” and it seems like it drains almost as fast as it fills. While it’s draining, I do other maintenance like removing excess salvinia and any shredded valisneria leaves, scrubbing off any algae, and wiping down the outside of the tank, so it works out.

I love this whole system; well done!

Now, just one suggestion/question for you. You mention that draining is done by gravity, and that's gotta be painfully slow. The dishwasher-compatible tailpiece uses, I believe, a 1/2-inch barb which slows things down even further. So...instead of draining via gravity through the bottom fitting on the canister, why not feed the return from the filter to a T- or Y-splitter, with each outgoing leg controlled by a valve? When it's time for a water change, you close the valve leading to the tank and open the one leading to the other side of the T, which of course is connected to your dishwasher barbed fitting. That way the draining is done by the canister pump rather than merely waiting for gravity to slowly dribble the water away; you'd probably get the job done in 1/4 of the time.