Hey,
I have 2x 75gal with 7x 20gal tanks under them. The 75's hold the adults and the 20's hold the fry. I want to centralize the filtration to make things easier. My concern is keeping the fry from flowing into the sump. How would you do the return line to keep the fry where they belong? The flow rate in each 20gal would be about 100gph.
Mike S
center overflow for the larger tanks with all the smaller tankes plumbed together with a bulkhead & mesh between each one?
you have your overflow in the first 75 >> then it jumps down to the first twenty >> then keeps hopping through your 20's and back up to your sump and pumped back to your 2nd 75??
make sense?
Would you put the mesh over the bulkhead? Your setup would require 2 bulkheads on each 20gal, right? Could get pricey.
I was thinking of a corner overflow on each of the 20gals but that would also be pricey and time consuming to setup. And I do not know if the fry would get pulled over the overflow. Mesh sounds like a good ideal but I am also concerned of it getting clogged and ending up with water on the floor.
My current thought is to pump about 700gph to the first 75gal, use 2 bulkheads, strainers, and pipe to connect to the next 75gal, have a corner overflow on that tank which flows to a series of valves to split the flow to each 20gal (about 100gph per tank). To get the water from the 20's back to the sump I would put a bulkhead on the back center of each 20, a pipe about 3" or 4" into the tank (cut like a strainer, and a sponge over the pipe (like http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/14573/product.web). The plumbing on the back of the 20's would join together and then go up to the desired water level and then back to the sump.
I like the ideal of the sponge since I've used them on filter intakes to save fry before. Still a little concerned of them getting clogged and overflowing onto the floor.
when i say mesh the holes, u can use mesh from orange bundles and zipties. Or if u want smaller mesh u can usse mesh from those garlic bundles
?
How about overflows in each of the 20's with a piece of foam over the top.
Aren't you worried that you risk losing your entire culture of fish if you get a bacterial/viral infection?
You could leave the adult tanks separated, and plumb the fry tanks into a central sump. At least then your broodstock is isolated. Are you looking to drill the 20's?
I am looking into corner overflows for the 20's. If I put a sponge at the top I like the fact that if the sponge gets clogged then the water will just rise and flow over the sponge.
I'm not too concerned about infections. I plan on putting a UV sterilizer in the mix somewhere. Haven't had any disease problems for a while (fingers crossed). I have drilled a few of the 20's already. Fairly comfortable doing it myself.
I came across this last night. http://www.jehmco.com/html/hydro-sponge_filters.html Scroll down to the screen tube and overflow prefilter sponges. Looks like good stuff for my original ideal.
Thanks for the inputs.
The sponge filters work pretty well, you can drive them with air, or stick the intake from a small aqua clear in it. I have used them on even freshly hatched danio embryos, and they still don't get stuck on it. Thumbs up to the UV filter, never a bad idea. Happy Plumbing!
Quatro, Sorry I did not see this earlier.
You can use a durso type overflow like I used in my 65 to keep noice down with a stainer http://ovas.ca/gallery/531_03_09_08_2_55_31.JPG
To keep small fish out you need to use a thin filter foam to wrap around the overflows stainer (these need very regular cleaning). Also to avoid a flood you need a second overflow at a slightly higher level as an emergency. You can use a simple standpipe for this one are water never flows over it and use a small filter media bag tied over the emergency overflow standpipe to stop fry from going down it in an emergency overflow situation.
Above is what I have planned to do for my fry tanks when I get them on my central system.
Bruce
Thanks Bruce. You and I have talked durso's before. I like the ideal but was hoping to keep the tanks as empty as possible. After thinking about it for a few days, the durso is definitely a good ideal. With my original plan, if I ever had to drain a tank, all the tanks would drain. The durso will better separate each tank. Does anyone know of black tubing (1" ridged pipe) that I can use? Hardware stores I've been to only have the white stuff. Not too important, just my preference.
Thanks
If you are going Durso, 1" bulkhead, you typically want to use 1 1/4" pipe...next sizeup to get idea flow... Just works better.
See here http://www.dursostandpipes.com/
Just make sure you have an emergency standpipe incase the foam gets clogged to ensure no flood! This can use something like plastic pop scrubbers to stop fry going down it.
Bruce