Is it possible for a canister filter to clean TWO tanks?

[Bubble_B0y]

I was wondering if you can buy a canister filter for TWO small 20 gallon tanks.

I was looking at my friends canister filer - but there is only 1 filter intake.
So I'm not sure if it can filter two tanks at the same time.

 

[Ketso]

It could probably be done. But would be very difficult (and probably more expensive than buying 2 filters) to achieve. Not only that, but you would run the risk of one fish getting sick and spreading it to both tanks.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

It could probably be done. But would be very difficult (and probably more expensive than buying 2 filters) to achieve. Not only that, but you would run the risk of one fish getting sick and spreading it to both tanks.

I would love something like the LFS/LPS - they have a huge centralised wet/dry trickle filter that all tanks are connected to.

 

[jsoong]

You can't do the one filter for a bank of tanks thing without a sump.

If you just split a canister's intake & output to 2 tanks, you have unpredictable split on the water flow depending on the resistance of the tubing, etc ..... so it is possible in this setup to have the canister take more water from one tank & return it more to the OTHER tank ... ie a quick flood!

You could potentially do a flow through type of setup. The canister will take water from tank 1, then return it to tank 2. You must then have an overflow setup to get water from tank 2 to tank 1 to complete the curcuit. This is essentially a sump setup: tank 1 being the sump (but you use it as a display also. For maximum safety, you would need to drill & connect both tanks .... too much expense & bother considering the cost of another filter.

 

[SparKy697]

This is something that I have considered many times. In my version of it I place two tanks that are the same height end to end. I use PVC pipe to make a U shaped equalization tube. One end of the U would be submerged nearly to the bottom of each tank. The trick would be making sure that the pipe gets 100% full with water before installing it. I had considered holding the U upside down and filling it with water, then placing a sheet of plastic over each end and securing it with a rubber band to hold the water until I could get the ends below the water line in each tank. Another option was to place a T in the horizontal portion of the U after it was installed and place a valve on the T. You could then suck the air out of the U until you draw water and then close the valve.

What this creates is a siphon tube. The suction side of the filter would be placed in one tank and the discharge would be placed in the other. The pump would always be creating an unbalance between the two tanks and this would allow the siphon tube to automatically move water from the tank that is more full to the tank that is less full.

This method is not without flaw. The first thing that comes to mind is that if something clogs the siphon or it loses it's "prime", you could over flow one of the tanks and potentially pump the other tank nearly dry. A float switch in the tank with the filter outlet that would shut the pump off when the level gets too high should solve that problem.

You would want the siphon to be large enough so that flow is free and unobstructed. I'm sure that you would also want some sort of screen on each end of the siphon to keep occupants from defecting to the other side.


None of this has been tested by me yet, but I believe the methods would work.

If you (or anybody else) take it upon yourself to test this method out, please document it and let us know how/if it works.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

You could potentially do a flow through type of setup. The canister will take water from tank 1, then return it to tank 2. You must then have an overflow setup to get water from tank 2 to tank 1 to complete the curcuit. This is essentially a sump setup: tank 1 being the sump (but you use it as a display also. For maximum safety, you would need to drill & connect both tanks .... too much expense & bother considering the cost of another filter.

I was thinking of something similar with the sump.
But as mentioned above - maybe too complicated and costly.

 

[theotheragentm]

The answer is no. This will not work the way you are talking about it. It's the same premise as what is called gangtrapping with steam traps. You can't use the same steam trap to trap two pieces of equipment. You end up with what is called shortciruiting. The path of least resistence will always be taken by the fluid. You would eventually end up with an overflow most likely in one of the tanks.

You could run the intake in one of the tanks and return to the other tank as long as you are able to drain overflow fast enough from that tank to the tank with the intake in it. Otherwise you are not looking at a lot of options. At that price also, you're better off going with two AquaClear HOB filters.

 

[jsoong]

This is something that I have considered many times. In my version of it I place two tanks that are the same height end to end. I use PVC pipe to make a U shaped equalization tube. ....
If you (or anybody else) take it upon yourself to test this method out, please document it and let us know how/if it works.

Check out fishhighway.com for something similar to what you are thinking of. Something like this pic can make all the work worthwhile.

 

[theotheragentm]

This is something that I have considered many times. In my version of it I place two tanks that are the same height end to end. I use PVC pipe to make a U shaped equalization tube. ....
If you (or anybody else) take it upon yourself to test this method out, please document it and let us know how/if it works.

Check out fishhighway.com for something similar to what you are thinking of. Something like this pic can make all the work worthwhile.

http://www.fishighway.com/ One H.

 

[supermazz9]

hey, that's pretty...interesting? course now, you hardly have two tanks anymore. I'm gonna figure that's like 1 and a half or something...

 

[theotheragentm]

I would hate to see then that thing falls apart though.

 

[jsoong]

I think they welded acrylic plates to make that, so it is not likely to fall apart .... but I'd hate to have that siphon lose suction ..... there is prob. 10-20 gal of water in there & it's all going to end up on the floor!

If I were to do something like that, I would definitly have a sump. Both tanks would be drilled so any excess water will be collected in the sump in case that siphon fails.

There are pics of some crazy setups on the net where they have multiple siphons going all over a house so you get fishies swimming right by you.

 

[tropicfishman]

ok I want a fish highway now..and yes a canister can do two tanks at once with some T connections and valves, if ya wanna know more just PM me

 

[eatatjoes]

I have been reading your posts on two tank canister filter system. I understand the possibilty of adding a sump. But putting a Y set between the inbound and outbound inlets, with an equalization tube between the two tanks sounds like a possibility. I am considering doing this with a ten gal to start at one hight then put the twenty gal lower. I am searching the net to see what else i can find on this.