Connect two tanks

[th08tu]

Hello,
I was wondering if anybody has any ideas on connecting two tanks together that would be more or less at the same level. I have a 20 gallon tall guppy tank, and I am interested in setting up my extra ten gallon tank to be used for guppy fry. Anyways, is there any way I could connect the two tanks so that they would circulate with eachother. This way the water parameters would be very close to the same in each tank. If that was a little confusing I was thinking about having the 20 gallon pump into the ten gallon, and then the ten gallon pump into the 20 gallon. The only problem with this idea is there will be flooding, and I am a little nervous about using two pumps incase one fails and the other keeps pumping, eventually, water all over my floor. Any ideas would be great everybody!

 

[Mystery]

Basically any tube will connect two tank with the same water level one you use some airhose to suck the air out. I used an aquabridge for a while but pretty much any U-bend will do.

 

[th08tu]

Would that mean I would need to raise the ten gallon to have the water level at the same height at the 20, then just make a simple u- joint out of PVC pipe? is it that simple, even if I hook up a power head from one tank to the other?

 

[Mystery]

Yes, so long as you take the air out of the pipe, water will naturally move through the pipe to equalise the tanks at the same water level.

 

[cabezon]

you will of course want to cover the openings in something porous.

 

[exodon king]

sorry, but the above suggestion WILL NOT WORK.

the best way to pull this off would be to stack the tanks, then you would either buy or make an overflow to pull water from the top tank to the bottom, a pump will sit in the bottom tank, and pump water back to the tank on top, completing the cycle.
if you plan to use the bottom tank for fry, you will need to isolate the area where the pump is (either with a net, or some kind of divider) so the fry dont get sucked into the pump. if you get a pump with a foam pre-filter, it may work, as long as the pump isnt too strong.

 

[exodon king]

 

[Mystery]

Why wouldn't it work?

 

[BigJim]

I think the horizontal siphon could work, but it'd be tricky to set up due to the minimal height difference.

A better setup in my mind would be a vertical overflow/pump system like Exodon king suggested.

- I'd put the 20H up top with the breeders in it, overflow down to the 10g.

- Silicone a wall into the 10g to create a refugium/pump zone setup like a lot of saltwater sumps have. Make the pump zone just big enough to fit the pump. It should keep the fry out of the pump intake. You may have to experiment with cutting teeth in the wall and adding netting.

- Pump the water from the 10g back up to the 20H.

- Set your divider wall height and fill levels in the 10g so that there's room for the overflow to spill enough water to break the siphon when you unplug the pump.

If you set up separate filters for each tank and use the pump/overflow just to mix the water, I don't think you'd need a huge pump.

 

[exodon king]

Why wouldn't it work?

two tanks next to eachother at the same level with a PVC pipe in the middle would only create still water in the pipe. there would be no circulation in the tanks at all, and would pretty mich defeat the purpose.

there is an alternative sump method that could be used, where the tanks are side by side, but one is lifted higher than the other. the water is pushed from the lower display to the higher one via powerhead or internal pump, and the highertank would overflow back into the lower display.

but its better to go with the over under design. it takes up quite a bit less space, andIME is easier to work with.

 

[exodon king]

- I'd put the 20H up top with the breeders in it, overflow down to the 10g.

- Silicone a wall into the 10g to create a refugium/pump zone setup like a lot of saltwater sumps have. Make the pump zone just big enough to fit the pump. It should keep the fry out of the pump intake. You may have to experiment with cutting teeth in the wall and adding netting.

- Pump the water from the 10g back up to the 20H.

- Set your divider wall height and fill levels in the 10g so that there's room for the overflow to spill enough water to break the siphon when you unplug the pump.

If you set up separate filters for each tank and use the pump/overflow just to mix the water, I don't think you'd need a huge pump.

yeah, sounds about right.
only problem is, a lot of people are not cumfortable fabricating partitions in the tank (although it is pretty easy once you get the hang of it).thats the only reason i suggest a net or plastic pegboard. you could also use some kind of plastic container (tupperware) to hold the pump in the tank, and drill tiny holes in it, too small for the fry to get through, but enough holes to allow water to flow to the pump unrestricted.

as mentioned, if your tanks have filters on them, you would only need a pump powerful enough to push water to the above display (keep in mind the pump head rating when chosing a pump).
keep in mind, with a smaller pump, you will need smaller plumbing. 1/2" cpvc still has a max gravitational flow rating of 150gph, so you will need a pump that pushes close to this after factoring in pump head

 

[th08tu]

I like the idea of the horizontal one that you just posted exodon, however i am wondering whether I will get enough return to keep the tank levels stable.

 

[exodon king]

if its set up properly, it will run without problems.

 

[cabezon]

I did a little experiment. I attached a section of tubing to my hob intake and hung it on the 20 where the tube went into the 55. the water levels are the same in both tanks.

I found that the siphon was not strong enough to return the water to the 55. I think that if I can source a small section of pool hose, it will work.

That way I could put both hobs on the 20 and run hoses over to the 55. the hobs dont fit on the 55, under the counter. they dont fit on the 20 really, but I can move that.

 

[th08tu]

thats a great Idea, let me know how it worked when you try the garden hose

 

[exodon king]

I did a little experiment. I attached a section of tubing to my hob intake and hung it on the 20 where the tube went into the 55. the water levels are the same in both tanks.

I found that the siphon was not strong enough to return the water to the 55. I think that if I can source a small section of pool hose, it will work.

That way I could put both hobs on the 20 and run hoses over to the 55. the hobs dont fit on the 55, under the counter. they dont fit on the 20 really, but I can move that.

the impellers in HOB filters are rated at 0 pump head (much like powerheads). its not the size of the hose that is making the filter unable to pull from the other tank, its the motor itself.
the only thing that will be accomplished by this experiment is straining and ultimately reducing the life of the HOB filters.

if you want to do the filtration and circulation in one motion (so you dont have to run individual filters on both tanks), your best bet is to go with a central filter system (one sump powering two tanks)

 

[th08tu]

what if you run individual filters on each tank, how would you keep them in sync so one wouldn't overflow the other tank? Could you do a combination of the U siphon, and filters pumping into each tank?

 

[exodon king]

sorry, i dont understand the question.

if each tank has its own filter, you just need the circulation system (either over/under or the lifted horizontal system pictured in posts 7 & 10.

but realistically, if youre using the same tap to fill your tanks, and the same dechlor, etc. your water parameters should be the same in both tanks without it. if the "stability" issue youre trying to keep in check is the ammonia/nitrIte/nitrate, then youre better off going with a central filtration system
.

 

[cabezon]

the impellers in HOB filters are rated at 0 pump head (much like powerheads). its not the size of the hose that is making the filter unable to pull from the other tank, its the motor itself.
the only thing that will be accomplished by this experiment is straining and ultimately reducing the life of the HOB filters.

if you want to do the filtration and circulation in one motion (so you dont have to run individual filters on both tanks), your best bet is to go with a central filter system (one sump powering two tanks)

I'm not trying to run two tanks, I'm trying to run the 55 with what I have. DIY. otherwise i could just go buy a canister filter or sump.

you didnt picture what I said. the HOB was perfectly fine drawing water from the 55 to the 20. the problem is that the return tube does not have any pressure and was backed up. If I got a larger diameter return line, it would function. The surfaces of the water in both tanks are at the same level and that is what determines siphon.

what if you run individual filters on each tank, how would you keep them in sync so one wouldn't overflow the other tank? Could you do a combination of the U siphon, and filters pumping into each tank?

even if you had two of the same filter one would eventually work harder than the other. and if you put a siphon to balance the tanks you might as well have only one filter.

 

[exodon king]

I'm not trying to run two tanks, I'm trying to run the 55 with what I have. DIY. otherwise i could just go buy a canister filter or sump.

you didnt picture what I said. the HOB was perfectly fine drawing water from the 55 to the 20. the problem is that the return tube does not have any pressure and was backed up. If I got a larger diameter return line, it would function. The surfaces of the water in both tanks are at the same level and that is what determines siphon.

youre right, i guess i have no idea what youre talking about.
you have a 55 and a 20, but youre not trying to run two tanks?

what kind of HOB do you have? because every HOB ive ever seen has a slide return, not a "return tube".

you have any pics of this set up? i think im picturing something completely different