Anyone have any advice on either or both of these ideas? I've got a 29g setup on a stand. Last time I tried running it it was a bit of bad start trying to do a dry rock start and hassle of doing two tanks. I think I want to do a softy build in it though and feel like plumbing to my 90g LPS/heavy SPS with a 20long could be the way to go. I've got a decent bit of rock in the sump that I could get it going with minimal headache even.
Plumbing tanks together and drilling a biocube
- Thread starter 90gDreams
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I don’t have experience with either but would love to hear as well. I will soon be setting up a frag tank that is fed from my auto water change system therefore reusing the water from my main display.
I ran lines from the garage to my tank through the crawl space to do AWC but constantly struggle with different ways and stuck in a bit of paralysis by analysis
Create a post with some pictures and others might have some good ideas
Well I typically mix a 20g brute in the garage. That is tied to the RODI with a float valve, the RODI line is teed off as well to fill the ATO res under the tank. There is a secondary sensor in the sump that triggers a solenoid cut-off valve as a fail safe. I need to put a level sensor in the ATO res as well.
For the AWC system to work my big issue is trying to figure out how to make sure the flow is equal incoming and outcoming.
For the AWC system to work my big issue is trying to figure out how to make sure the flow is equal incoming and outcoming.
Here is what I’m doing. Others may have a better way. I have my AWC line higher than my drain line. The AWC will feed the frag tank and it will drain outside as it’s slightly lower. My AWC inputs 60ml every ten minutes so the amount isn’t that much. I haven’t installed it yet, but my water testing worked fine.
I have plumbed tanks together (into one common water system) by using a common sump.
Not sure if that’s what you have in mind, but it’s the only way I would do it.
There is a lot to consider in terms of sump volume to account for on start up & shut down water levels. Bigger sump volume buys you less variance in rise & fall at shut down & start up. Also the tank overflow capacity must exceed provided water volumes. Plumbing, pump(s), flow control all enter the equations, at a minimum.
Not sure if that’s what you have in mind, but it’s the only way I would do it.
There is a lot to consider in terms of sump volume to account for on start up & shut down water levels. Bigger sump volume buys you less variance in rise & fall at shut down & start up. Also the tank overflow capacity must exceed provided water volumes. Plumbing, pump(s), flow control all enter the equations, at a minimum.
If by AWC you mean automatic water change I use a dual head Masterflex lab grade peristaltic pump. It takes out the same as what it puts into the sump. Supply line is near the pump, remove line is upstream of that.
Here’s what I’m doing.
That's what I'm thinking I'll sois one of those where both heads are on the motor to avoid calibration issues
Didnt think about volume on shut down. My 20long is a razors edge right now. Might need to explore a longer tank or go bigger and put the ATO res and dosing container in the cabinet for the biocube.
So... I have tanks plumbed together, but I'm relying on height. I'm pushing water with a secondary pump from the return chamber of my AIO up to a 15g cube on a shelf, whose high-water line is ~5" above the high-water level of my display tank. The back of the 15g is drilled for a herbie-style overflow, and drains by gravity/siphon into a custom-designed and 3d-printed filter cartridge, and then back into the return chamber. All plumbing is soft, water volumes are tuned so that everything is still within tolerances on power loss.
for what it's worth, I'm planning a dual-plumbed build as well and am considering doing a 'waterfall' style. The tanks are a 40b (where the water is pumped in) and a 36" "bookshelf" tank approx 11g. I will install the drain to the sump in the 11g and have the 40b overflow into the other end. With similarly sized tanks or a different setup, waterfall is the simplest and likely safest way to go though.
This is definitely a case where a drain back to a sump (or something much lower height than the display tank) would be a huge benefit, so as to allow for extra siphon... pressure? vacuum? w/e, for improved flow out of the secondary tank..
As is the plan, 11g will be below the 40b sort of like the invert tanks at Pure Reef, stairstepped.
Going to fix the biocube stand up a bit this weekend so it's not a wobbly pos anymore and then move the ATO and Dosing reservoir into it and see how things look for space since the other "reasoning" for this is to have a storage cabinet for testing supplies, tank towels etc.
I've always wanted a lion fish so might do a dwarf in it since it'll be tied to a bigger system for water quality.
Either that or do a nice softy and LPS with some cardinals and Gobies. Pure Reef has some nice little display tanks I wouldnt mind trying to replicate
I've always wanted a lion fish so might do a dwarf in it since it'll be tied to a bigger system for water quality.
Either that or do a nice softy and LPS with some cardinals and Gobies. Pure Reef has some nice little display tanks I wouldnt mind trying to replicate
Yeah. Unfortunately in my situation/setup, I have no sump, so the length of fall back to the main return is only just a few inches, so it doesn't have time to develop much in the way of siphon pressure. It took quite a lot of fiddling and tuning to get working just so, where I was still getting good surface skimming from the overflow weir in the 'fuge while keeping the flow-rate I wanted.
Also, I ran mine without the post-filter after the fuge for a long time, going right back into the return section. Adding the filter with a 30ppi sponge and a polishing pad has not only made it easier to clean the fuge and not worry about scrubbed FHA being dumped right into the display, but in addition, the sponge gives the amphipods that come through the line a place to chill until I clean the filter (every few days, I just nudge them off the sponge and into the display), but also, I was SHOCKED how dirty that polishing pad gets even when I haven't scrubbed the tank since the last time it was changed... every few days it starts to overflow (I designed it intentionally with overflow outlets that would make lots of splashing noises when this happens) and I have to change the pad out.
I could have run it back into my filter socks, but I didn't want all my pods (of both sorts) just being trapped in a sock, since part of the goal of the 'fuge in the first place is to bolster pod population for an eventual Mandarin.
Are you out pumping saltwater out or just relying on overflow from the 60ml in?
The 60ml every ten minutes comes from my DOS
Used for for Auto water changes from my display. The drain from the frag goes outside
Used for for Auto water changes from my display. The drain from the frag goes outside
