Filtration System?

[cat]

I am in the process of purchasing a three tank stand which hold three four foot tanks. These tanks have divisions in them if I wish to split fish groups etc. It also comes with all the U/G plates, uplifts etc. My problem is ...

I dont really want to have up to six air pumps going to power the U/G's. I would really like to have the water being recycled through a trickle filter or equivilant but I have no idea how to build one. I know about the trickle filter part (easy enough) but how I do I get the water out of each tank and back into each tank in equal amounts? What sort of pump is required to pull the water out of each tank and in through the filter and back out again?

I have seen one in action (thankyou Warren for the inspiration! :lol:) but have no idea how he gets the water out of the tanks and into the trickle filter, heated and taken back to the tanks (all keeping at the same water level). It all seemed so simple when we saw it but trying to think of one on a small scale is just to complicated for my small brain. One tank seems so easy!!!! :lol: :lol:

Can I make use of the Fluval 204 I have now to somehow power it all or do I need a power head type arrangment and pipe it three ways somehow?

If it requires a rocket scientist then I am afraid I will revert back to the idea of air pumps!!

My other half keeps showing me the power bill and wondering how much higher it is going to go!! Who cares. :lol: He has fish too!!

Thanks to all who will rack their brains and help this simple fishkeeper out of the haze that has fallen over her brain!!!

[Pegasus]

Hi Cat,

Love your new avatar

Have a look here.

Might not have your answer, but you might get some ideas

http://www.sydneycichlid.com/diy.html

Regards,

Bill (Pegasus)

[cat]

Thanks Pegasus

I think this probably someone elses avatar but I liked it and it was available. I tried to get one off my computer and onto here but it didnt work and I doent have a lot of computer knowledge (to go with the little fish knowledge-jezzzz-what do I know???? :-? ).

I will go look on that sire now and see what I can find. That damm quiet at work today I have nothing better to do than go surfing. :lol:

[cat]

Great idea for one tank but how can I do this with three??????

Arghhhh .... three powerheads but then would have to also triple size of filter box!!! Too much

Heaven help my poor brain .... this is going to be so simple I will kick myself. :lol:

[Pegasus]

Running water through a central filtering system and feeding several tanks is always a dodgy exesize, for if one tank becomes infected with a diesease, then your whole system suffers, with disasterous results usually.

Question:

Are you just wanting to filter, or heat the water and filter, as you mentioned power bills

Avatar looks sweet.... Why change it

Regards,

Bill (Pegasus)

[Ira]

It'd be easy if all the tanks were going to be the same height, but I'm making a guess that they'll be stacked instead of side by side? Side by side you could just put the outlet hose on the tank on one side and the intake on the other side then have a couple little loops of hose between the middle tank and the end tanks. That way the water would automatically siphone from the tank the water is going into, to the middle then to the tank it's being drained from.

For stacked...Hmmm, I suppose you could do something kind of similar. Have the intake on the bottom tank and the outlet on the top. Have holes drilled in the back of the top tank and the middle tank so when the water reaches the hole it goes through a hose to the next tank down. That way shouldn't drain enough to empty a tank or overflow them...Unless you put too much water in, but it should be pretty stable water level wise. Not sure exactly how doing water changes would work best though.

Personally, I think it'd be simplest to just have a seperate filter for each tank. That way you could have different conditions in each tank if you want, quarantine, etc.

[cat]

That is what I thought to so I may just stick to one filter one tank. Seems to be much easier as well.

Thanks for the common sense thoughts.

[Hobbit]

Can you get an air compressor in NZ to do the job for all the UGF's. Would be more economic in the long run then seperate filters/pumps/power heads and a lot less work. www.aquaria.com.au sell them to give you an idea of what I mean, anywho just a thought.

[Pegasus]

HiYa Hobbit,

Good to see you back on the forum... Where you been lately

Hi Cat,

Can't really understand this,

I dont really want to have up to six air pumps going to power the U/G's

Why "six" air pumps ?

I'm running ten outlets (five U/G filters, plus three internal filters plus air stones) from a 7000 Silent Flow Double Diaphram pump.

Cost was $39:95, and it's quiet and powerful, but is by no means the most powerful as pumps go, so a single pump should do the job easily if you regulate your valves carefully.

Gonna hook into my BIG pump shortly, that'll feed a hundred tanks no sweat

Now if I had a pipe long enough I could.....

[Chris]

Hi Cat I used to have a bank of 6 3fters 2 high 3 wide all ran into 1 trickle.My tanks were drilled at the bottom with pieces of pvc pipe stuck in them.I would suggest this to you but I assume that your tanks are already made making the drilling process a lot harder.My other suggestion would be to do as Pegasus has done and invest in a good quality high output air pump that would run all your u/gs.The power consumption is barely noticeable

[cat]

Good idea. I think I will go and price a compressor. Want need to be a big one either. Much easier that way. Just need to run multi taps etc of them then.

I was going to run two pumps per tank so it has a good power into the U/G's. Four uplifts per tank was what I thought I needed.

However I will explore the compressor idea.

Thanks people.

[Caryl]

You won't need 2 pumps per tank. As has been said, the bigger pumps will handle multiple outlets with ease.

[Ira]

Yeah, just a single big pump would probably be more than enough for all the tanks. Maybe two for redundancy.

[Caryl]

Nothing like a spare. Nothing like a spare spare. Oh dear, my age is showing. I believe it was Magilla Gorilla who used to say that! :roll:

[Pegasus]

Hi Cat... Everyone.

OK... Here's what I have done.

To avoid pipes and such everywhere I made up a length of 60mm downpipe (Marley) and blocked both ends.

Along the pipe I drilled several small holes and screwed in adapters like you use for gardening watering systems. (Plassay watering systems)

They are like a tiny fitting with a threaded end and a barbed end for the tube.... cost about three fifty for ten at the garden centre.

Screw all these adapters into the pipe along it's length and in the first one or two connect the outlets from your pump.

Test for leaks with liquid soap.

The length of pipe can be hidden behind the tank.

What you virtually have now is a distribution unit that has multiple outlets.

You can even feed several pumps into this if needed, without crosses and tees and such.

Each outlet has its own control, and regulating each outlet is a breeze, as each outlet is marked with its own valve.

While in the garden centre, the pipe (approx 10mm) that is used for risers and such is available in 10mtr coils.

It's black, and pretty rigid, but is great as main feeder pipes for the air and can be installed neatly without great cost (Around six bucks I think it was) and cheaper than airline.

All in al, this system has given me no probs, is neat, with a central control where I can adjust each outlet at one point (The pipe).

My Fishroom will have the above, but in this case the pipe will be much larger and longer as it will surround the fishroom, with perhaps several hundred outlets.

Happy days you guys

Regards,

Bill (Pegasus)