270 Gal

[cheesy feet]

As we just recued some fish we got an old tank (pretty disgusting shape but big) which i have swapped with my 27 gal leopard gecko tank (tropiquarium 68).SO now i have one tank, just needs drilling.Ill see if i can get a more cubed one now.Skifletch i don't know if you could give me a list of all the stuff i would need, really appeciate it!

 

[SkiFletch]

I dont know where you'd find them in the UK, but you need bulkhead fittings. For each tank. One for the overflow of the display tank, and one for each of the sump tanks. You'll have to measure the hole size you have available in the display tank to figure out what size bulkhead you can put on there. The size of that bulkhead pretty much dictates the flowrate of the overflow and therefore the flowrate of the return pump you choose. For the fittings connecting the two tanks, I'd select the same size as are on your display tank.

 

[andywg]

Best place I have found for fittings in the UK is Wet Web Media.

For a FW sump system you don't need a lot of water in the sump. For great filtration you want a wet/dry trickle tower where the filter media is held above the water and the drain drips over it. Obviously this means no plants, but why buy a tank that big and waste it on plants (or indeed on FW, when there are so many great SW preds like rays and sharks that could go in a 270)?

Ideally you want a good 12 inches of tower above the top of the sump for a tower to hold the media and for the water to trickle over. At the top you have a drip tray (just drill some small holes in a condensation cover) and then put filter floss above it. The filter floss can get dirty very quick, but is excellent at pulling physical waste out of the water before it starts to break down.

Not sure I would bother with two sumps. The water level of each subsequent sump will be lower in operation than the preceding sump, meaning you get less and less water in each sump to put your return pump in (not a great problem with externally plumbed returns). I have two sumps on my 6x2x2 and I don't use one of them now I have converted to a trickle tower. I may turn the redundant one into a low flow FW DSB, but am undecided as yet. in.

 

[cheesy feet]

Andywg and Skifletch, thanks.I half understand ( what andy said) Could you give me a diagram?

 

[andywg]

While it is a different style, this is my trickle tower that runs a racking system.

This is the actual box that sits on top of the sump tank and holds the media:

And this is the top showing the drip tray which the filter floss sits on:

If you look here, you can see that the water drains onto the filter floss and then through the tower (containing bio balls) and into the sump. A pump then pumps the water back from the sump to the display tanks.

 

[cheesy feet]

Thanks a bunch! I see how it works now, and see why it is more effective I'll be searching for another aquarium and i'll come back on here to ask you guys about measurements etc if thats ok.



Thank you once again

 

[SkiFletch]

Sure thing, we'll be waiting

 

[cheesy feet]

I can't find any tanks for sale which will be suited.Do you think with having the trickle tower and 27 gallon tank would be enough for filtering it? Just to be sure could any of you make a quick diagram of how it should be.My dad doesn't really trust me lol, and i'm not 100% on how it all goes.



Thanks!

 

[cheesy feet]

Sorry to bump but i need to know.

 

[andywg]

It all depends on how big the trickle tower is. I recall someone saying in a submerged sump you want 10% of the display tank's volume. I reckon you can get away with about half that in a trickle tower. So long as you can get 15+ gallons of bio balls into your sump you should be fine.

There's nothing I can put in a diagram that will show more than the photos. Have the sump tank, put a trickle tower inside it (or on it - if you have the room, and have a drip tray above the bioballs. Have the drain from the sump onto the top of the drip tray and you are there,

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, I'll agree with that Andy. A trickle tower is a powerful means of filtration, and should do just fine in a sump tank that size.

 

[cheesy feet]

Ok , well now I have got to plan it all out .One question though, What pump would be suitable for pumping the water from the sump into the tank?
Thanks

 

[SkiFletch]

Gonna have to hope andy can help there, I'm not too up on what UK pumps are available

 

[andywg]

I hold great regard for Eheim pumps, but I don't think they have released a single pump large enough for you at the moment. I do like Tunze, but they are a lot of money to outlay (but will run forever and are pretty much the best you can buy).

At 270 gallons, you will want a pump in the 1,000 gallons per hour range. But remember most UK pumps will give you the Imperial gallons per hour, given your tank's dimensions you have a 187 imperial gallon tank, so getting around 800 to 1,000 gallons per hour is about what you want.

Your cheapest bet will be to look into pond pumps. I know Paul_MTS holds the Ocean Runner pumps in high regard. They do a 6,500 LPH model that should suit you nicely. It will cost about £110. Otherwise, I am sure there are plenty of other pond pumps you can look into.

As a quick piece of advice, might I recommend a double weir for draining? Get some acrylic and make a second weir a little larger than the existing one so that it fits all around the current glass weir. Then have "teeth" cut into the top and bottom (but more teeth in the bottom). This will make the weir pull water from the bottom and help prevent food sitting in the tank. This isn't used much in SW, but SW tanks have far more circulation preventing any detritus from settling.

 

[cheesy feet]

I think we may have a spare pond pump actually (we have 2 ,1 isn't being used atm ) but i am not sure they will be up to scratch.I really am gettig a bit lost now though, I just need a rough diagram to which how would be the way to set it up.Then i can sort out the dimentions etc

Thanks