New 150g tank need help

[dcorreia]

Hi guys, long story short, I am getting a brand new 150g glass tank from my dad. The tank has a light fixture, and a stand but no filters. My dad's idea was to do a reef tank so he had holes drilled in the bottom for an over flow tank. Being that I am an avid fisherman I want to set it up as a freshwater native tank and put a bass and some sunfish in the tank. I also have a pond in my backyard that I can put those fish when they outgrow my 150g.
I assume I need to use an overflow tank since the tank already has holes in it. How should I go about setting this up? What size overflow tank should I use? What kind of pumps and filtration? I have had tanks all my life but never set one up this way...

Thanks!

 

[monsterberry]

you could set it up as a sump but i would patch the holes up with a pice of plexi glass and some silicone then get 1-2 big canister filters i can not addvise you on brands of filter as im in the uk and i am not shore whats available if you set it up as a sump it will cost more than a canister filter but it will provide better filterasion its up to you and sumps can be quite confusing but theres loads of plans on the net its up to you
bass and sun fish im not shore as im in the uk and there not native the only bass im familiar with are peackoc bass whitch are not true bass

 

[aclockworkorange]

Um, running a sump on a large freshwater setup is awesome. It greatly aids in filtration and the additional water also increases your available bioload.

I would read up on all the info on the internet on this. You will probably want to run a canister filter as well, like an FX5 or equivalent.

 

[kurare]

Running my 150g on a dinky 15g tank/sump [upgraded and didnt throw it out/blow 300$ on a real sump with baffles]. I have to fill it to the top and let it run and the 15g only holds like 7.5g during operation which is alright atm for my bioload. Fishes are happy, cant complain. You could go mad ghetto and get a big Tote Bin and create filtration yourself...

Depending on the fish, 5x or more turn over rate could cause the water flow inside the tank could get to be much unless you plant/decor it well to reduce the flow. So basses can sit and mellow out. I'm my setup is about 750gph so it turns at 5x, and i find it a bit much for my goldfishes had to slow the flow a bit to keep them from getting getting caught in the current [even though the blokes let it, go figure...]

My setup is pretty DIY ghetto and i'm not inclined to post pics if you wanna see PM for pics, it works with all basic concepts

 

[Venom SS]

If the tank is drilled on the bottom, and you do not have overflow boxes, I would highly recommend patching those holes from the inside like the other poster said and do the external canister solution. Reason being if you ever get a power failure, the entire tank will drain into your sump, whether the sump is big enough to hold it all or not. A solution to that is to attach riser pipes to the bulkheads that would be in those holes, raising your drain level to as high as you make the pipes. That would only let the tank drain untill it got below the riser drains. The size of the sump you go with would determine how high you should make those riser drains. You would want those drains to only sit about 1-2" under your tank rim level at most. In the event of a power failure, you want your sump to be able to hold all the water that will drain, untill power kicks back on and will refill the tank from your sump.

The 2nd factor is the pump size to put in your sump to return the water that drains out of the tank. a 1" drain will drain about 600gph. So two 1" drains would do 1200gph. Match your return pump accordingly, being sure to factor in head pressure. (How many feet it is from your sump to the top of your tank).

A sump is a much better option for a LMB. You can have considerably more bio media in a sump. LMB can produce alot of waste. But if you dont want to deal with it, the FX5 is a good canister option that alot of people use. The more bio media you have, the safer you will be.

 

[kurare]

Venom speaks wise, sump is much better for LMB, thats whats my 150g is prep'ed for atm... til i go on another fishing trip anyways. I just wanted to correct venom, the flow of a 1" pipe gravity driven straight down without any bends and PROPERLY vented can do about 900gph. I tested it with the 3/4" hole will do about 600 or so, and my mag 950 and water backed up in my overflow.

Plumbing is a fun! anything can be done to control water y0!

 

[dcorreia]

Thanks guys, I do have 2 small overflow boxes in each corner. The more I look into it the more I want to try a sump, mostly because I have never done it. The idea of 150 gallons of water draining onto my floor if the power goes out is not enticing. Riser pipes are a must... I will be asking more questions as soon as I get this project up and running. Thanks a lot for all the help.

 

[CA-Delta]

the flow of a 1" pipe gravity driven straight down without any bends and PROPERLY vented can do about 900gph. I tested it with the 3/4" hole will do about 600 or so

Are you sure about that ?
Your numbers dont match CHOMPERS pipe sizing sticky.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205645

size _GPM __GPH
1/2 = 2.50 = 150
3/4 = 5.63 = 337.5
1.0 = 10.0 = 600
1.25=15.6 = 937.5
1.5 = 22.5 = 1350
2.0 = 40.0 = 2400

Min. Vertical Length
1/2 = 2"
3/4 = 5"
1.0 = 9"
1.25= 14"
1.5 = 20"
2.0 = 36"

I haven't tested the 1" but the 3/4", 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" figures proved to be accurate.

 

[groovylime]

Thanks guys, I do have 2 small overflow boxes in each corner. The more I look into it the more I want to try a sump, mostly because I have never done it. The idea of 150 gallons of water draining onto my floor if the power goes out is not enticing. Riser pipes are a must... I will be asking more questions as soon as I get this project up and running. Thanks a lot for all the help.

So, there are overflow boxes in the corners? Are the holes drilled inside these overflow boxes? If so, no worries about the tank draining too low. You'll just need a couple of DIY durso standpipes. Simple, quiet, and effective.