Wet/Dry Design Check - 220 Gallon African Cichlid Tank

[cbr shadow]

I've been watching this forum for years and finally decided to sign up and post. I recently bought a 220 gallon (72"x24"x30"Ht) "reef ready" tank (overflows in each of the rear corners) and decided to build the sump/wetdry filter.

I found a new 75 gallon tank at a local store for $100. I ordered 10 gallons of bio balls, a Mag drive 18 pump, some filter floss/foam, etc. Also there is a local glass shop that can cut the glass for me, but I'd like your approval on my design before I take that step. I also have questions at the end of this post. For now, here's the design.

Design:
Just to explain since I only show 1 view, the supply will be split into (4) inlets on the filter, and go into (4) filter socks. The water flows through the filter socks, up the 1" channel, through the green filter foam, drips down to 13 gallons of bioballs, the bio ball chamber sits on 3" PVC stilts, water flows over the next wall and through a foam block, then over the heater and to the pump chamber.


Questions:
1) I realize the pump is big, but it will need to pump 6' up (tall stand, tall tank) so I'd rather have it overpowered and use a valve on the return than underpowered and have to upgrade in the future. Is the Magdrive 18 WAY overpowered?

2) The only part I'm confused about is how to connect the filter socks to the glass. Should I have glass made that has (4) holes cut through it for the socks to sit in?

3) How do the supply pipes "penetrate" the top of the aquarium? Should I have acrylic tops made with some bulkheads? I'd like this to be as quiet as possible, but what options do I have here?

4) Since I'm using a standard 75 gallon tank, what INSIDE DIMENSION is the width? Something like 17.25"? That's what I'm thinking I'll cut the glass to, but wanted to run it by you guys first.

5) Is the last sponge (after the bio balls) neccessary? I know usually we do mechanical filtration before the bio balls, but I've seen this type of design on store-bought wet/dry filters in the past so I thought I'd replicate it.

6) Lastly this is probably a dumb question, but what type of silicone do I use? Is there special "aquarium safe" stuff available that I must buy?

Thanks for any input. I'm looking to build this right away

 

[David R]

The first problem I see is that being fully submerged like that the socks won't flow anywhere near as much water as if they are out of the water so gravity can do it's thing. If you've got the height I'd recommending adding a tower to the tank to lift the out (or at least partially out) of the water so there is a bit of positive pressure inside the sock to force the water thru. I'd also skip the foam block and additional baffles after the bioballs, they just seem unnecessary and to add to the potential for flooding (if that foam block clogs up the pump could also run dry). Also make sure if the green foam on top of the bioballs gets blocked the water will flow over the end and into the pump compartment, not over the sides of the tank. Same for the socks if they get cloged. I had a very similar design on my old 1400L tank, worked very well other than the socks needing to be changed every 3 days, I should have gone with four instead of two (420x180mm socks, 100 micron) and had them suspended further out of the water. It was 1200mm long and 600mm high, with a 200mm tower.

To answer some of your questions, yes you will need to buy 'aquarium safe' silicone, if it doesn't say it then it isn't safe to use. For the socks you can either come up with some way to suspend them as I did, or get an acrylic supplier (better than glass) to drill the right sized holes in a piece of thick acrylic that sits in the tank. Make sure they drill an overflow hole in there too in case the socks get blocked. As for the return pipes, you can either trim off a corner of one of your lids, or have the tank drilled to fit the pipes.

I'm sure Aldiaz will chip in about it, but I'm pretty certain those magdrive pumps are awfully inefficient in terms of power consumption, maybe look at what Laguna do with similar flow and compare the wattage used.

 

[aldiaz33]

Dave R, you know me too well...

Danner Mag Drive 18 does 1,125GPH @ 6' head on 145 watts.
Laguna Max Flo 2000 does 1,360GPH @ 6' head on 80 watts.

I would go with the Laguna 2000 for 235GPH more flow on nearly 50% less electricity.

That would give you about 6x turnovers per hour which is good. As long as your drains are at least 1" they should be able to handle the output of the pump.

In regards to your returns, you can set them up as you said to come down through bulkhead fittings or just make a U just like a standard canister filter return. Just be sure you have a siphon break/hole near the water's surface so that when your pumps are off, you don't flood the sump.

In regards to internal dimensions in order to cut the baffle to size, measure it...it's going to vary depending on the thickness of your glass, so measuring yourself is your best bet.

In regards to your other questions, I like Dave's suggestions.


Good Luck!

 

[deluther]

I see a lot of sump designs like this and have to ask, shouldn't the divider after the bio balls stop a couple inches from the top of the tank for a bypass in case of a clog? I think that is what David R is talking about in the first paragraph.

 

[ElectricBlueSeanBurch]

To sum up a few points....

Raise up the sock hangers at least a few inches.

Lower the baffle at the right side of the bioballs chamber so incase of a a complete blockage it can bypass and not overflow.

Send back the mag and order a laguna max flow 2000. I have 2 on my 225 and I love them. My tank has 3 1" drains and handles around 3000gph (that's factoring in head and pipe bends) easily.

I believe GE1 silicone is the one that is 100% silicone. You want to make sure it doesn't have the anti-mildew ingredient in it.

Also I'm pretty sure me and aldiaz just go thread to thread singing the praise of Laguna pumps!

 

[Shipwreck74]

I run 2 mag 18's with 2 - 1 1/2" drains and 2 - 1" returns.

 

[Shenlon]

Not to hijack this thread , but I am building a similar setup. Are Laguna pumps really that good ?

 

[Blackumbi]

Not to hijack this thread , but I am building a similar setup. Are Laguna pumps really that good ?

Yes they r


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

 

[Shenlon]

As far as noise level , how do they do ? I was looking at a quiet one 9000 since they claim to be so quiet. A Laguna 2400 would be what I need to push 1500 GPH through the sump at 6 feet of head.

 

[cbr shadow]

I've finished the wet/dry based on several of your recommendations. I'm happy with the filter except for one part.. The trickle area above the bioballs. What I did was set the plastic light diffuser on top of the bioballs to make a flat area, then took a 1/8" clear plexi piece and cut it to size, then drilled roughly (400) 3/8" holes through it. What I dont like is how it will allow water to go around the sides since it doesn't have a pan shape or a rib around the edges. I'd think most of the water is going to flow right around it even though it's a fairly snug fit between the baffles. Would it work well if I stuffed tons of filter floss/sponges around the edges? I know it wont be water tight, but it'll slow it down at least, right?
I went around home depot to get some other ideas too.. I came up with a PVC shower liner that comes in a roll. I could drill holes in it but am wondering how to shape it to have a bowl so that all of the water goes through the holes as a "trickle".
Thoughts?

So I'm using:
- 75 Gallon Tank
- (4) 7"x16" Filter socks (100 Micron)
- 15 Gallons of bioballs
- PVC frame to hold filter socks up
- PVC frame to hold bio balls 2 inches up


It's probably overkill on the filter socks since I'm looking to run about 1000 GPH, but I'm hoping I wont have to worry about them getting backed up very often.