Sump or canister! That is the question...
- Thread starter Red_Man
- Start date
So sump it will be! I try to stick to ready made, pull out of the box and use type stuff just because I have a very busy life. I'm military, a wife and two kids, and am currently working up to another deployment so my hobby time is very small. I dont mind paying the extra money because if something goes wrong, something fails or breaks, I just call the manufacturer.
On a tank that size I would go with the fx5's and a sump imo. Which is what I am running on my 220.... I do find that it takes less time to clean the sump than it does to clean one fx5.
I like the idea of a sump because of the extra water volume and easy matinance. I have a fluval 404 and my turtle gets it dirty fast. So i have to open it all the time to clean it which makes the seal not last as long. With filter socks they can be cleaned and replaced easily.
sump will be cheaper from the start but the cost of electricity will likely end up costing more if you are infact going to run 4 seperate sumps.. Thats 4 separate water pumps at 60+ watts (my pump uses around 90w according to spec sheet to get 700gal up 5 feet)
so say on the low end your looking at twice the electricity usage of 2 fx5.
one large sump would be the way to go though if you could get rid of the others to upgrade to a single large one.
so say on the low end your looking at twice the electricity usage of 2 fx5.
one large sump would be the way to go though if you could get rid of the others to upgrade to a single large one.
Red_Man;4869227; said:
Screw capitalism, you need at least 3 to 4 FX5 for that monster tank of yours.
The minimum I would go is 1 FX5 per 120g. But thats just me.
Now servicing 1 FX5 is a tiresome job. The draining, the carrying, the washing of media. Now Imagine servicing 4 of them. I say just spare yourself this nightmare and get a sump where all you need to do is replace the filter sock/filter pad.
So this is what I have come up with.
125g (72x18x22) will be the base, then throw in a crap ton of plexi, pvc (flexible and rigid), and a bunch of drilled holes and hopefully this plan will work.
Going to run two 2 inch over flows and two 2 inch returns. The overflows will split into two 1 inch lines as shown in the pic.
The red is going to be pot scrubbies or bio balls, the orange is going to be ceramic rings, green is just sponges, blue is the pumps, and yellow is the filter socks.
Although I am still not understanding where the money savings are. This thing adds up quick!!!! (mostly because I have to buy a 125)
Hopefully the pic says it all. Still need help choosing pumps. I need either 1 massive one or two pretty decent ones. Trying to turn the tank over 3-5 times an hour. So trying to flow 1800-3000 gph @ 5ft. Any one got a pump in mind?
Thanks for reading. Please comment!
125g (72x18x22) will be the base, then throw in a crap ton of plexi, pvc (flexible and rigid), and a bunch of drilled holes and hopefully this plan will work.
Going to run two 2 inch over flows and two 2 inch returns. The overflows will split into two 1 inch lines as shown in the pic.
The red is going to be pot scrubbies or bio balls, the orange is going to be ceramic rings, green is just sponges, blue is the pumps, and yellow is the filter socks.
Although I am still not understanding where the money savings are. This thing adds up quick!!!! (mostly because I have to buy a 125)
Hopefully the pic says it all. Still need help choosing pumps. I need either 1 massive one or two pretty decent ones. Trying to turn the tank over 3-5 times an hour. So trying to flow 1800-3000 gph @ 5ft. Any one got a pump in mind?
Thanks for reading. Please comment!
