I have an old 130/135 gallon mirror back tank. I bought it used years ago and I can't recall the exact dimensions. It's pretty close to the standard 6 foot 125 just a bit deeper.
This tank was purchased for a common pleco that my wife had before I met her 16 years ago. I remember the good ole days when it would hide under a small piece of slate. Not any more. I don't have any good measurements of it but it's over 14 inches long.
The tank has a small assortment of other fish, 4 clown loaches, a cory or two, a single dwarf gourami, and about a mix of 15 - 20 barbs, tetras, and danios.
I need to seriously upgrade my filtration. I have 2 emporer 400s running along with one of those filter pads that attaches to a PH. The water always has stuff floating in it. The pleco can kick up debris pretty well when it swims.
So I'm thinking of a DIY W/D. I have an iron stand that's completely open underneath. I have been looking at the threads here and on AC. I did build a small sump for my SW tank, so I have a tiny bit of experience.
I posted this in the DIY section by mistake. I'll ask the mods to delete that one.
I'll probably try to use a tank between 30 and 40 gallons. Rubbermaid is cheaper but I'm not sure about the longevity or the wife test. I'd like it to look semi decent which may strain my skills but.... A 55 would be real nice but $$. I'm gonna be buying the tank since i don't have any lying around except on of the tall 29 gallon ones that's only 2 feet long.
I was gonna try the PVC overflows from these forums.
Questions/thoughts:
I don't have a good idea about how much flow to use. I think I'll have close to 4 - 4.5 ft of head pressure. I was thinking of the quiet one pump that maxs out just under 600 GPH. The head pressure will throttle it down, no idea how much though, and I can use a single overflow. Does this sound legit or am I thinking too small?
I'm hoping the sump itself will be between 30 and 48 inches long. Any ball park estimates on how much space to devote to what? I'm hoping to find scrubbies for the biofilter.
I think I may have the overflow dump into one of the office supply towers I've seen here. It'll make the W/D easier to built I'd think and doesn't look too terrible.
Mech filtration will probably be polyfill. I know filter socks are well liked but I don't trust myself maintainance wise. This is why I don't run a cannister filter. I don't want a flood because I forgot to swap out a sock. I could always use a small powerhead with a sock to act as a mech filter in the sump. Oh, I could use some ceramic prefilter material like Ehiem has. If I have the office supply tower a tray with these should be easy to clean. Pull the try out and swish in old tank water.
I wouldn't mind building a veggie filter in this either. I can't keep plants in the display thanks to the pleco. The only thing he hasb't uprooted is some java fern tied to a piece of DW. This is a nice to have though and not mission critical.
This tank was purchased for a common pleco that my wife had before I met her 16 years ago. I remember the good ole days when it would hide under a small piece of slate. Not any more. I don't have any good measurements of it but it's over 14 inches long.
The tank has a small assortment of other fish, 4 clown loaches, a cory or two, a single dwarf gourami, and about a mix of 15 - 20 barbs, tetras, and danios.
I need to seriously upgrade my filtration. I have 2 emporer 400s running along with one of those filter pads that attaches to a PH. The water always has stuff floating in it. The pleco can kick up debris pretty well when it swims.
So I'm thinking of a DIY W/D. I have an iron stand that's completely open underneath. I have been looking at the threads here and on AC. I did build a small sump for my SW tank, so I have a tiny bit of experience.
I posted this in the DIY section by mistake. I'll ask the mods to delete that one.
I'll probably try to use a tank between 30 and 40 gallons. Rubbermaid is cheaper but I'm not sure about the longevity or the wife test. I'd like it to look semi decent which may strain my skills but.... A 55 would be real nice but $$. I'm gonna be buying the tank since i don't have any lying around except on of the tall 29 gallon ones that's only 2 feet long.
I was gonna try the PVC overflows from these forums.
Questions/thoughts:
I don't have a good idea about how much flow to use. I think I'll have close to 4 - 4.5 ft of head pressure. I was thinking of the quiet one pump that maxs out just under 600 GPH. The head pressure will throttle it down, no idea how much though, and I can use a single overflow. Does this sound legit or am I thinking too small?
I'm hoping the sump itself will be between 30 and 48 inches long. Any ball park estimates on how much space to devote to what? I'm hoping to find scrubbies for the biofilter.
I think I may have the overflow dump into one of the office supply towers I've seen here. It'll make the W/D easier to built I'd think and doesn't look too terrible.
Mech filtration will probably be polyfill. I know filter socks are well liked but I don't trust myself maintainance wise. This is why I don't run a cannister filter. I don't want a flood because I forgot to swap out a sock. I could always use a small powerhead with a sock to act as a mech filter in the sump. Oh, I could use some ceramic prefilter material like Ehiem has. If I have the office supply tower a tray with these should be easy to clean. Pull the try out and swish in old tank water.
I wouldn't mind building a veggie filter in this either. I can't keep plants in the display thanks to the pleco. The only thing he hasb't uprooted is some java fern tied to a piece of DW. This is a nice to have though and not mission critical.
