wet/dry sump for 2 tanks

[rooski]

im going to make a wet/dry , but want to hook 2 tanks into it , the 110 gal will hold 5 RB piranha , and the 29 will have convit cichlids , since their water temps ,ph and hardness can be the same i figured why not just use 1 sump.
and this is how im thinking of doing it.

i plan on using one of those 3 drawer containers for this .
im also wondering if i should leave a whole chamber/drawer for heaters , or should i just fill both with bioballs and put the heaters with the pumps?

also would i be able to put a filter sock on the red tubes going to the sump, or would that slow it down too much?

the 110 gal tank is 48" X 18" X 30" and the 29 is 36" X 12" X 15" (LxWxH).

and my main question is do you see anything wrong with my plan or have any tips on how to make this better/efficient?

thanks for reading.

 

[rooski]

ok i bought 2 10.1 gallon storage containers , in one i have filterfloss sitting ontop of the drip pan then like 6 gallons of bioballs , then in the bottom one i have a 17 " heater and a small pump for the 29 , all i need to do is get a pump for the 110.

ive been searching online for one but have no idea which pumps are good or not , i would like to have a turnover rate of atleast 5 , i havent bought any pumps before so which one should i get ?

Its a plus if its quiet , cause the tank will be in my room , also from the sump to the top of the tank is 5 feet. and do you think if i get a filter sock (50 micron)i can get rid of the filter floss , or would it cut flow too much?

 

[marksuttonjr]

Only problem I see is that IF 1 pump or overflow fails, or you havea power failure you will have a bigger mess as far as water on the floor than you would if you had 2 seperate systems.

 

[Gervahlt]

Not at all true. You just have to take that into account when building it. Each of the two tanks should be able to handle what's in the sump in addition to their actual water level when running. Also, your sump should be able to hold it's normal amount plus any water that's "in the system" at the time of a power outage.

So, say your overflow on your 110 fails. Your 29 will operate as normal. Your 110 will need to be able to handle all extra water in the sump. This is the same as a single tank sump scenario. Same thing in the 29...only thing here is that you might need to lower the normal level in the tank to allow enough room to handle the extra from the sump.

On the opposite side of things, if you lose power, both pumps will stop working and all water from both tanks down to the level of the overflows will need to be able to drain into the sump without it overflowing.

There are many, many of these types of systems running on both home and commercial systems. Some use single pumps and more plumbing; others use the multiple pump system you've shown above.

Your main problem with doing this is in the case of sickness/disease. Both tanks will have been exposed to whatever is in the water and your fish loss could be much higher.