Same old new tank project but more questions!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Ok, I think your weir is the same, water can enter at bottom through comb and the passes up a sheet of glass in side the weir which stops about 2 inches from surface so lowest it can get is 2 inches from top.

Some people on here just had a hole at bottom and no weir, just a stand pipe but rays have knocked off the pipe and emptied tank completely and killed ray (read two in last 12 months)

If you are pumping out the sump then be careful as I tried that on timer but even with a syphon break it sometimes kept syphoning after the pump was off. I put mine in screed and let it just waste to a flower bed, not the soil pipe (free watering). I wouldn't want hma feeding and rely on pump to expell water as you have too many possible fail points. IMO


I like the sequence pumps but don't think they are submersible so that's another bit of room needed plus a hole low on the sump that could leak and drain the sump. I use eheim 1260 pumps (I think) as they are quiet and reliable and half then consumption of the big ocean runner which has quite a hum to it (annoying in a cinema room)

I think the pressurised fish mate would be fine but have no experience, I would make sure it can run if the sump is off so it is standalone although neater to run off the sump you lose the back up feature.

I would be tempted with such a big sump to add a lit refugium for pothos or watercress as part of it along with a moving bed section as long as you can live with an air pump, I couldn't unless it was outside of the room.
 
My weir on the 6x2x2 has water going over the top of the weir through combs so if it were to shut down only the weir section would empty and the rest of the tank remains full.
Do you run two of the eheim pumps? What size tank do you have? Do you run a UV and if so what type and size? Thanks very much for your help!
 
My weir has combs at bottom too as I wanted to suck from the substrate due to bottom dwellers, the way to do this is the internal glass, this is fairly common to avoid skimming just he top.

I run two tmc uv,s in a daisey chain so that the water passes through both for max contact, I run a small pump for a slow flow and large burn time ( this heats the water well)

Yes, I run two of the eheims

Total volume 300 gals

You are welcome to any help I can provide, I hope it is useful to you, I do not claim to know everything but I have a lot of god and bad experience to share.

I do have an hma, non c sitting in my garage if you or anyone need it (brand new, never used)
 
Thanks for the answers Toby. Total volume of 300 gallon is a little less then what i have planned. A 8x4x2 tank appears to convert to 398 gallons or 478 us gallons plus i will have a 6x3x18" tall sump so probably another 80 gallon. So don't think the eheims will be up to the job. I am getting really stuck as to what pumps to use.
 
Agreed, you may need a bit more oomph, although I think turnover is overrated compared to filter area. The ocean runner may just do the job as its pretty pokey albeit at around 100 watts and you may still want to add an eheim for extra.

I don't think you would be disappointed with the original plan but it needs to be outside the sump and they are a lot of money.
 
In regards to the pump, look into the Laguna Max-Flo lineup. I'm using their largest model (Over here in the states it's the 4200, but I think on your side of the pond it's the 16,000). The 16000 model might be overkill for your setup (I have 9' of head to overcome), but across the line these pumps delivery the best GPH of almost any pump I have been able to find. They are very quiet, well made pumps. Here's a link to the performance chart in case you are interested: http://www.azponds.com/laguna_maxflo_chart.htm
 
Just Toby said:
What watts does it run at?
Click to expand...

My Max-Flo 4200 pushes ~2,100GPH at 9' of head height and pulls 155W according to my Kill-a-watt. If you only have 5' of head it will push ~3,100GPH and I'm guessing the wattage will be a little more (perhaps 160).

They have a few smaller models that pull less watts. They might be more appropriate. 3,100GPH is probably overkill.
 
I think i have found the pump i will go with. Looking at the new jet 8000. Wil put one on each return from the sump and one of them will run through a U.V. Then will add a fishmate pressurised bio filter to the sump at a later date as the bio load increases. The new jet pumps look good and can be run inside the sump so putting one on each return will give me back up should one fail.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom