Help Needed

[whaleboy]

Hi All,

Looking for some advice here. I run a whale centre and we have a number of small aquariums housing sygnathids, lobsters, seatars and other marine life. I am wanting to revamp the whole setup on a tight budget and worried about filtration. I can build almost anything but only have around Aus$250 for filters and pumps etc. As you can see from the diagram, I plan to build 2 Cannister Filters and a sump (sump is mainly for ease of water changes (setup is based in a cellar)). The 4 tanks are mainly 3-4 footers. Do people think this set up will work and does anyone have any suggestions on the pump power/volume required???? Any advice/comments would be appreciated.

Cheers
Whaleboy

 

[greenmaji]

total gallons of each system??? actuall height of the plumbing from the pump to the top of the plumbing above the top tank in the system?
can you build a pair of skimmers? does your centre have a plumbing supply you could work with in other words PVC and fittings that wouldnt have to be purchased?
how much head room do you have down in the cellar?

and WELCOME TO AQUARIUM ADVICE!!

 

[whaleboy]

well, let me convert this from L to G, each tank would be approx 50G + Cannister of 3G + Sump of 50G so each side would be about 153G or 306G for the total system. Actual Height from sump to top of plumbing will be 1.75 meters. The system has to be self sustaining and somewhat demountable so we cannot use existing plumbing. The cellar has about an 8 foot ceiling (pump would need to be able to pump the sumps out to this height). So do you think this system would have adequate filtration with some homebuilt XL Cannister Filters and an adequate pump????

 

[greenmaji]

I would build a big skimmers or smaller skimmers in series for each system..
will you have liverock in the system? like 300-400lb's worth?
I would match the flow rate though the sumps with the flowrate of the skimmer(s)
and get non preasure rated pumps for closed loops.. (cheaper per GPH and
Have you considered plumbing all the tanks together? larger pumps are generaly more effecent in design and you could use just one pump for the return from the sump area.. and one big non preasure rated pump for a big closed loop..
this system volume really isnt all that big.. the total flow could be as low as 3,000 GPH
Im not too confedent that the canisters are much good for anything but chemical filtration in marine setups.. and they are alot more maintance IMHO..
is NO3 accumulation not a consern? some of the critters you named off seemed to be NO3 intollerant.. if thats the case you wont want to add sponges/bio-balls/filterfloss and the like unless its getting removed and replaced/cleaned often and without live rock your kinda stuck with extream amounts of flow and hard wet skimming to try and remove all debris before it breaks down into nitrogen or PO4..