Planning for Fish Rack

[OttawaFolkFestivum]

I'm considering the following.



Comments appreciated.

[fischkopp]

It might be safer to have two overflows, just in case one gets blocked. I would not use sponges on overflows; in my experience they get clogged really fast.

I like the idea of the FBF returning back into the sump. I might do that too.

[OttawaFolkFestivum]

Thanks Robert.

For redundancy on the overflow, I was also considering adding a t-fitting, with two strainers. Avoids the second drilled hole and second bulk-head.

Sponges / filter media attached to overflows vs. in-sump; I'm not sure what's best. It would be coarse sponges.

This setup is obviously going in my basement, so my priorities are low evaporation / humidity, and low electricity / heating costs.

[johnrt]

If the pipe from the return manifold to the sump clogs, the contents of sump will continue to be pumped into all the tanks and both of the upper tanks will drain into the lower tank and things will get a bit crowded in there.

You need to put a wear just before the return pump to limit the amount of water, say 5 gallons, that can be pumped out of the sump after a return pipe clogs. Now this may nuke your pump when the wear goes dry, but the better pumps will run dry without damage for a longish time, but a damaged $200 pump may be cheaper than 30 gallon of water on the floor.

[fischkopp]

You need to put a wear just before the return pump to limit the amount of water, say 5 gallons, that can be pumped out of the sump after a return pipe clogs. Now this may nuke your pump when the wear goes dry, but the better pumps will run dry without damage for a longish time, but a damaged $200 pump may be cheaper than 30 gallon of water on the floor.

You could add a float switch to switch off the pump; if the float fails the wear would act as backup.

[Soeman]

I'm kind of new to the hobby, so not sure how good my idea is, but another option is to setup the tanks in series instead of parallel. Each overflow drains into the next tank. If there is a blockage at any stage, the sump will drain dry, thus limiting the amount that can overflow by the volume of the sump. This can further be reduced by putting a float on the sump to cutoff the pump when the volume runs low.

One downside to this type of system would be that the water quality would decrease with each successive tank (if filtration is adequate, I don't really imagine this being a problem with just 3 tanks however). Another point would be that the water flow in all tanks would be the same; this can be an advantage if you want high currents in each tank, or bad if you want calmer water.

[OttawaFolkFestivum]

Hi, thanks for the response.

Yes, this is an option, and I know of one member that is planning that design (search for Quatro's posts).

I think I'll stick with the design similar to as I've drawn because I've seen it more commonly done that way; one advantage is that you can easily isolate a tank by just turning off the supply-side line.

[OttawaFolkFestivum]

I'm still mulling over my options, and I'm thinking of simplifying again;

After a discussion with MarkW, I've realized why air-driven sponges are very in-efficient for heating costs. For the following two reasons:

1. Since you are always pumping air into your tanks, you are creating positive air pressure that then forces the water vapor out of the tank. This in effect greatly reduces the effectiveness of your glass tops. You will lose a lot of heat, and greatly increase evaporation.

2. In my case, the ambient temperature is low (ranges from 66 to 70F). As a result, the air pump is drawing in cool air, and pumping that cool air into the tanks. I'm sure air pump itself helps to warm the air some, but I would still be concerned that the air bubbles would be stealing heat from my water.


- I'm thinking of holding off on a centralized system. I'll have at most 8-tanks (likely only 4), and managing the individual heaters and filters should be manageable. Eliminates bulkheads, plumping, potential cooling of water through pipes.

So my current plan is pretty basic:

- I'm planning on using the Hydro-Pro sponge filters (coarse foam, size 5).

- Each sponge filter will be driven by a power-head. Likely Maxijet 600 (7.5 watts).

My filter cost will be about $30 per tank; this system will allow my to have tight fitting lids, reduce heating and evaporation.

I have a minor concern with oxygen if my lids are really tight, but I figure I'll get the powerheads to either disrupt the surface or venturi in air, and oxygen will be getting in when the lids are lifted for feeding.