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Racks amd sumps


intern1

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Putting together a few racks and sumps anyone have any good websites about DIY system ?

Got the following racks to give you some context two 3 tier 6 foot rack which will be separate systems and exactly the same.

62 x 41 x 42 and a 62 x 114 x 41 396L per level hence a total of 1478L per rack

the hieght of the weirs is 37cm so i would think 2cm above is were i would fill the water level so a total of 58L overflow

What I would like to know should I be going 3ft sump or 4ft sump I would prefer the 3 due to room something like a 3x18x18 which holds 182L of water when full if this if water level would be 70% high due to the baffles this would hold 127L so would 69L be enough in the system?

pump lugana 7500

Also can the sump run at 100% capacity? which would include the overflow?

Thanks

John

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i was thinking of having four chambers either two solutions

Preferred method - not sure if it will work

A. Wet Dry System Chamber 1 Bio balls Chamber 2 K1/Hel-X Chamber 3 Marine pure Chamber 4 Japanese mesh Chamber 5 pump

Other Option

B. Not Wet Dry System Chamber 1 K1/Hel-X media Chamber 2 Marine pure Chamber 3 ???- maybe more marine pure Chamber 4 Japanese mesh Chamber 5 pump

any thoughts Chris?

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You're definitely on the right track trying to calculate the sump volume based on the rise in water level in the tanks, not many people seemt o be able to grasp that concept. Just remember (depending on how you design the sump) that you should only really be considering the volume of the final chamber as the baffles will ensure that the earlier chambers are always full.

Theres no problem with calculating sump volume using the full height of the tank either, 99% of the time the water level is going to be lower during operation, if the sumps fills to the brim when the pump shuts off there is no drama as long as it doesn't spill on to the floor.

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Also, the greater the difference between the "required capacity" from you calcs and the actual capacity can be the difference between topping up every few days during warmer weather, or slightly less often. A possible work around would be to set up an auto top up system which makes that a moot point and will allow you to run with a smaller sump.

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I was thinking of drilling the sump in the last baffle with an overflow into the drain if it reaches 85/90% capacity.

I am just not sure the benefits of going with a wet dry system or complete wet system

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I was thinking of drilling the sump in the last baffle with an overflow into the drain if it reaches 85/90% capacity.

I am just not sure the benefits of going with a wet dry system or complete wet system

The issue with that is if you're not home and there is a power outage the sump will start to fill up, the excess water goes down the drain, and then the power comes back on, there isn't enough water and then your pump runs dry and burns out.

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Example of Sump that I have designed any comments?

http://s859.photobucket.com/user/intern13/media/Sumpv2.png.html

I can see a couple of issues with that design. First of all the bio balls, marine pure and K1 are all performing a similar function. I would just pick one of those types of media and run with it. Also, the K1 chamber basically has water running over the top - it isn't an overly effective way of ensuring that the K1 and it's bacteria are constantly in contact with the ammonia and nitrates that you want it to be converting.

I must admit that I am biased, but my preference would be to go filter sock, dacron, course sponge, fine sponge in the first chamber (basically just varying grades of mechanical filtration) and then ditch all of the other chambers in favour of a fluid bed filter full of sand. Should work out the same price if not cheaper than K1 and marine pure and be more effective. It greatly increases the usable sump volume too so potential overflows will not be an issue.

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  1. I myself just silicone my partitions in at 150mm inlet side

70mm gap

then 500mm partition

70mm gap

then whats left of a 1m long tank

this is to filter a 6foot tank with weirs each end of tank

haven't decided what to put in them yet

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Would you say that th design will always allow water in the final chamber agree with the design of the first chamber will design it with more mechanical base remove t ye bio balls and put jap mesh. May have to rethink the K1 bed the reason why i am using K1 is of th amount i have 20-30L

I am tring to get as much as biological filtration as possible

With the design any other big issues

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Regardless of what design, pump or media you choose, you will need a physical sump to start with. After that, you can play around and see what works best for you. I have one for sale that should be big enough for your needs.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey guys rather than starting a new topic i thought i would just add to this one.
Im currently designing a breeder set up and just about have my design all finalised how ever as this is the first time setting up a system like this i would appreciate some reassurance that my design will work or if i have missed something.

So here it is, the idea is the top tank will be divided in the middle and will be used to breed the fish, so 2 seperate species (im starting off with just 1 for now so one of the top tanks will be empty for now but still cycling through)

The bottom tank set up will have a sump/internal trickle filter in the middle in what i consider to be a fairly large filter, I will have an aqua one moray 3600 pump sitting at the back of it to pump the water up to the top 2 tanks, which will have a home made spray bar in the middle feeding both sides to the tank.
I was then going to drill the top tank at each end for bulk heads and run the pipes down either end to feed the bottom tanks underneath, which will eventually overflow back into the sump in the middle.

With the bottom tank im going to glue in some acrylic "slides" in the middle of each fry tank so that i can slide in an acrylic divider if needed (to seperate sizes or something)

TANK%20DESIGN_zpsqzrzrv7v.jpg

If your wondering about the 2 extra ball valves on the center vertical pipe its simply set up for easy water changes, basically connecting garden hose to the ends and shutting off the main vertical feed pipe, makes water changes a quick and easy job, just a quick gravel vac and thats about it.

So my questions are

1. Am i right to assume that i can control the flow of both the feed off the pump and the returns from the top tanks with the ball valves to stablise the flow correctly so that it all works together?
-From my calculations and the height i put the dividers i will not be running any risk of overflowing if there is a power outage, and there is no priming required so once power comes back on it will simply start cycling through again.
-I will also have a battery back up air pump running with sponge filters in every tank to be extra safe and overkill with filtration.

2. Where would be the ideal position to put a heater/s?
- Originally i was thinking a 300w in the last sump section where the pump is but i dont think its going to be enough to warm roughly 450lt plus a 100lt sump.

- I also dont think the water will stay warm by the time its gone up through the top tanks and back down to the bottom tanks

- So now im thinking maybe 2 x 300w heaters near each outlet on the top tanks...

3. How accurate are the flow rates on aqua one moray 3600lph pumps?

- From the info i found at 1m head height it will flow 2800lph, and at 1.5m 2500lph, from my calculations i should be just under 1m so im assuming ill be getting atleast 2800lph, couple that with around 720lph of sponge filtration in total i have around 3500lph so i should turn the water over a tad over 6 times an hour which im happy with.

4. How important is the position of inlet and outlet for cycling?

- I understand i need to turn the water over atleast 4-6 times an hour but how do you make sure you are actually filtering all the water and not just skimming all the tops, because my outlets are spitting water out across the top and technically both my top and bottom tanks and taking the water from the top for the inlets.
- Should i be trying to make the outlets on each tank shoot down alittle to stir everything up as well?

5. Is there any set rules for sump partition sizes etc?

- so my sump/filter is going to be 2ft x 20" x 16" and hold roughly 100lt of water, the tank dividers will have a mesh grille so water can ender the first chamber which will have some foams and floss, under that some bio balls, leading into the next chamber water flowing up through a layer of bio noods, then a layer of seachem matrix, then over that chamber and into the section with the pump.
- What size does the last partition need to be. i read somewhere it needs to be larger than the others?


If anyone can help with any of these questions that would be great thanks in advance.

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the style of filter im going to build is pretty much the same as this, basic and effective, how ever instead of a power head pushing the water straight back into the aquarium im using a heavy duty pump to pump it up to the next level of tanks.

I wont be doing a fluidized filter either, i will be filling the middle section with seachem matrix with some bio balls on the very bottom

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