Connecting 2 Tanks Via Pump/pipe

[sorgan]

I want to set up another tank that will house mostly cultured macro algae a pipefish and some kind of goby (to keep the sand clean)

the tanks main purpose would be to strip nutrients from the water and give a home to lots of plankton/pods and stuff.
Now I want to join this tank to my main tank using a pair of pumps, one pumping in and one pumping out. My theory is if both pumps are at the same height they will both pump the same volume of water from tank to tank, at least that's the plan.
My hope is that with very light skimming of both tanks - so that plenty of 'foody' organic material is left in the water column - I will be able to keep some of the more demanding filter feeding corals.

Thoughts?

 

[Morri]

Noooo that would be very risky all it would take is some algae to enter 1 pump or more salt creep in one and you will be flooded out

Best thing is to get 1 drilled and place it under or over the other and use 1 pump

 

[sorgan]

Ah see this is the clever part, my main tank has a large deadspace in the back that has nothing (and I mean nothing) in it where pump 1 would go and I was thinking of making a drilled box to house pump 2 as pipefish get curious about things like pipes.

I wanted the tanks next to each other so apart from pumps is there another way?

 

[Morri]

You will need a height diffrence really so water will drop from one tank to the other even if only 3" it will work

 

[-Nemo-]

Why use two pumps? Even different tubing and angles will affect the flow.
I saw a neat design once where the second, refugium-like tank, was situated on an angle next to the main tank, on a lower pedestal. Perhaps something like that might be better? You just have to remember that if you want a pipey in there, the flow cannot be harsh.

 

[sorgan]

So if the pipefish tank was lower and had the return pump that would work? I would presume you would use a syphon effect to get the water down to the other tank?

I was only going to have the flow created by the incoming water so it should be ok for a pipefish.

 

[-Nemo-]

So if the pipefish tank was lower and had the return pump that would work? I would presume you would use a syphon effect to get the water down to the other tank?

I was only going to have the flow created by the incoming water so it should be ok for a pipefish.

If the tank is not drilled, which i presume it isn't, then you'll want to use some kind of overflow box which uses a siphon.

Incoming flow could still be a lot depending on how big and how many pipes are with the overflow.

 

[Morri]

Idealy you want to drill it, it is the most reliable method

 

[sorgan]

Display tank is 10mm tempered glass so drilling isn't an option

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Then either use an overflow box or drill the secondary tank and have it slightly higher than the main tank. Any other way is going to run into issues sooner or later and result in one of the tanks running empty and the other being flooded.

There are a lot of sites, videos and details on how to build a DIY overflow box. Not sure how reliable they are but I have been considering making one for my cube tank.

 

[ben1987]

you cant match the flow rate of two pumps. even pumps of the same make and model will pump at different rates. the amount of water each pump is shifting will vary a lot over the course of a day

 

[sorgan]

Hmm second tank higher is a good idea, that way if the pump fails the main tank should take all the excess water.
Nice one barney