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    Results 21 to 40 of 73

    Thread: Help me design the perfect "no-maintenance" aquarium!

    1. #21
      *Ci*'s Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by bkillen View Post
      A little late but pics as promised. The tank is so close to the wall I can't get a very good angle on the plumbing. The overflow was all but invisible until I had a clown fish go on an adventure like Nemo. over the overflow box and into the plumbing, not to appear in the sump for 2 weeks. After that I added the white "egg crate" grating. Catfish Whiskers solution is more graceful, more affordable and solves the problem without introducing more complexity.
      Bkillen, is that what they call a "coast to coast" overflow box?

      Catfish, I don't think the strainers will work as well at sucking up debris as well as a retro BD cover. I've had canister filter strained inlets at the bottom of bare tanks that picked up very little, but the drilled holes on the tank shown in my first post with slightly raised covers work excellently and pulled virtually all the debris in daily, just like a pond bottom drain. Though, I'm not sure how to do retro drains with pipes going to bulkheads near the top and have it look good as well (there would be a lot of exposed and ugly pipe)

      So, going back to the catfish design, let's say I went back to the idea of holes in the bottom, so I could have my lovely and effective bottom drains. Could I not modify my original picture to include the anti-syphoning tee and have it work like this:

      ________________________________________
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      Ci


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    2. #22
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      Quote Originally Posted by GoldieGirl View Post
      Bkillen, is that what they call a "coast to coast" overflow box?

      Catfish, I don't think the strainers will work as well at sucking up debris as well as a retro BD cover. I've had canister filter strained inlets at the bottom of bare tanks that picked up very little, but the drilled holes on the tank shown in my first post with slightly raised covers work excellently and pulled virtually all the debris in daily, just like a pond bottom drain. Though, I'm not sure how to do retro drains with pipes going to bulkheads near the top and have it look good as well (there would be a lot of exposed and ugly pipe)

      So, going back to the catfish design, let's say I went back to the idea of holes in the bottom, so I could have my lovely and effective bottom drains. Could I not modify my original picture to include the anti-syphoning tee and have it work like this:

      Yes, that would work the same.All that matters ,is that the bulkheads are below water.
      I agree that a retro bottom drain would sweep the bottom better, but the plumbing might be unsightly.
      Drilling the bottom makes Me nervous, more chance for draining the entire tank if it leaked.
      I would rather drill the top back of the tank , and live with visible plumbing.
      How bout making mini retro bottom drains, and hide with plants, driftwood ,etc.

    3. #23
      bkillen is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by GoldieGirl View Post
      Bkillen, is that what they call a "coast to coast" overflow box?
      Pretty close. it is based on it. It is a 6' tank so a true coast to coast would also be 6', my over flow is only 3' wide but has most of the same advantages.
      currently working on plans and budget for my next build.
      https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showth...ign-amp-review

    4. #24
      bkillen is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by catfish whiskers View Post
      Yes, that would work the same.All that matters ,is that the bulkheads are below water.
      I agree that a retro bottom drain would sweep the bottom better, but the plumbing might be unsightly.
      Drilling the bottom makes Me nervous, more chance for draining the entire tank if it leaked.
      I would rather drill the top back of the tank , and live with visible plumbing.
      I agree, if you look at most commercial overflow boxes, as a safety, the bottom bulkhead is located in the overflow so if it leaks it will drain the overflow box not the whole tank.
      currently working on plans and budget for my next build.
      https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showth...ign-amp-review

    5. #25
      *Ci*'s Avatar
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      That makes total sense. I wonder why my old tank had them drilled right down the middle, with no overflow box at all? It came from a restaurant that was going out of business - I don't know what they had in it salt or fresh or maybe crabs and lobsters!? The bulkheads are right under the two smaller potted plants:



      I had that tank for a few years and never worried about leaks. I don't know, I guess I'm older now and more nervous. I suppose if I wanted the drains in the middle for the best bottom coverage, and the holes at the top, I could go with something like this, put potted plants on the covers again which would mostly hide the vertical pipes:



      Or I could revert back to the false wall idea, with a gap at the bottom, but maybe on the long side with three pipes going down behind the wall, ending very close to the bottom, like 1/4".

      Hmm, what would work the best? Maybe I need to set up all kinds of test scenarios ...
      ________________________________________
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      Ci


    6. #26
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      I like that bottom drain idea the best so far.Name:  image.jpg
Views: 559
Size:  31.7 KB

      If Your going to have Your plants in pots, how about getting two pots that nest tight together, cut the bottom out of the lower pot, and drill and glue the pipe into the side.
      Notch the bottom to make legs
      Name:  image.jpg
Views: 532
Size:  23.9 KB

    7. #27
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      How about faux rock pot covers

      http://fakerock.com/Polyurethane-Fak...s-Made-in-USA/

      H depot has some , but might be too big

      http://t.homedepot.com/p/Emsco-2-1-8...&showPLP=false

      This is fun, and You do realize that I'm designing My own aquarium at the same time .

    8. #28
      *Ci*'s Avatar
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      Yes! Both the pots and the faux rocks are great ideas!
      I sense you are leaning toward retro drains now, instead of the strainers, lol.

      I don't like the idea of the pipe laying on the bottom - I would try to mount it to the drain so it is sitting up a fraction of an inch. Debris will accumulate anywhere it can ... also I would paint my pipes black to match my background. I was originally going to have a see through tank as it will be dividing two rooms, but I've read that discus are uneasy in such a tank and startle easily. In fact they prefer three walls covered. Plus the pipes would be even more visible, so I think the dining room side will have to be walled in - oh, well.
      ________________________________________
      Cheers,
      Ci


    9. #29
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      Yep, I think I'll do the bottom drains too.
      Painted black is a great idea, run the pipes in the corners ,and then along the back bottom.
      Camoflage with plants and stuff

    10. #30
      bkillen is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by catfish whiskers View Post
      I like that bottom drain idea the best so far.
      so do I.
      currently working on plans and budget for my next build.
      https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showth...ign-amp-review

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    11. #31
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      Can we talk about filtration now, please?

      My goals are near complete automation and near silent operation. The equipment in the crawlspace will be right underneath the couch where we sit and I don't want to hear constant pumps, humming or water sounds. So I think a sieve or rdf in miniature will be out of the question, hence the settling tank idea.

      I have found out that the only cone shaped tanks (available to me) that will fit in my space are 30 gallon tanks like these, the 60 gallon I wanted is too tall:



      Although I will need to make my own shorter stand (the stands cost extra anyway - more than the tanks!). Since I have to go smaller than I expected, I'm thinking of putting one on each bottom drain. I thought I might make my third ”emergency” pipe a skimming pipe and maybe run it all the time (maybe even have a fourth, dedicated, emergency pipe). The skimmer pipe will share a tank with one of the bottom drains.

      And I also decided I will need a biofiltration after all, even with frequent water changes it can't hurt. I'll put in a third tank as an upflow filter filled with bioballs or some media that doesn't trap, as I don't want to have to do regular cleaning of it. A moving bed would be nice, if I can find someplace in the crawlspace to put an air pump where we can't hear it.

      Here's a sketch of what I have in mind:

      ]

      Two bottom drains each to their own 30g vortex (valves will be here and there, haven't gotten that far in my planning yet), these will gravity feed a third vortex near the bottom, swirling through bio media and out the top to a pump (might go submerged for silent operation). My theory is that most solids will separate out after two vortexes and the media will be fairly clean. Then through an inline heater, UV and returning to tank via spraybar (maybe horizontal, maybe vertical - will play with that).

      An airpump will be timed to come on every two to four hours, more or less (can be tweeked) to flush all three cones. Refill water will be timed to coincide, amounting to multiple water changes per day.

      As I'm typing this, I realize I'll need an overflow to waste from one of the tanks as a failsafe - for if the water timer fails in the "on" position.

      So, that is my self cleaning filter. My only concern is suspended fines ... will passive settlement be enough or will fines rear their ugly heads? How can I deal with them? I suppose I could put a mat or batting in the top of the bio tank (if it stays a static bed), but that would mean maintenance!
      ________________________________________
      Cheers,
      Ci


    12. #32
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      How many gallons is this aquarium, and how much height will You have under the aquarium stand.?

    13. #33
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      Quote Originally Posted by catfish whiskers View Post
      How many gallons is this aquarium, and how much height will You have under the aquarium stand.?
      I don't know yet ... I'm thinking 100-150 at this point. The stand will be some standard height - 36" maybe? All of the sump tanks will be below the floor in a four foot high basement area, so there will be plenty or room for whatever I want, just height limited. I know there will be extra head on the pump, and will size accordingly, once I decide what my flow rate should be.
      ________________________________________
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      Ci


    14. #34
      *Ci*'s Avatar
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      Details on my airlift ideas. I've asked Steve (Icu2) to comment on these as he is the king of airlift flushing!

      I would probably line my tanks up in a row to make things easier. I could run each line from the bottom of the cones to a four way fitting and then to a larger diameter pipe containing my airstone (or maybe just a perforated pipe end? Can the bubbles be big?) and then to waste like this:

      Keep in mind that the airlift will be on level with the tops of the tanks, maybe an inch or so higher. I just couldn't figure out how to draw it that way : )


      Or I could have individual air lines going to each tanks' pipe and then to a larger central pipe that acts as a "trough", and then to waste, more like The way Steve's pond is set up:



      Better ideas or tweeks are welcome!
      Would love to hear more feedback on the entire filtration system, as well.
      ________________________________________
      Cheers,
      Ci


    15. #35
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      I like #2. The four way fitting would cause everything to flow like you had a single 1 1/4" pipe and probably
      very uneven between the 3 containers.
      I'd go with the 3" pipe for the collection part to be sure you have plenty of flow capacity and I wouldn't
      reduce the size much if any for the part routing it to waste... you want it to flow freely so there's no chance
      of it backing up and being the restriction point.

      I tried putting all 5 of my air stones on a loop to even the flow... but it didn't work. So plan on putting little valves
      of some type on each line to even the flow. Not a big deal but just one more thing to think about.

      Could you put some type of autofill on the tank so instead of a timed refill sequence, as the water is removed it's
      just refilled to by the autofill automatically?

      I've never had to do a "water change" since I built my ponds. It's obviously not really a big deal to do them, but when
      you don't have to anymore and it's all automated, it's really nice.

      Very cool project!!
      Last edited by icu2; 08-10-2015 at 04:26 PM.
      --Steve



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    16. #36
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      Thanks, Steve. I agree with you on choice #2 now. I will have to reduce the size to 2" at the point it ties in with my sewer line (I'm tapping into the kitchen sink drain in the basement), but it is a long run from where I want to locate the filters and if I put in 3" the whole way it will probably hold and drain all the flushing water just fine.

      I actually have a Medo 45 plus some hose and valves for the airlift flush system I was going to put on my pond, but then I switched all the filtration. Love using up spare parts on a new project!

      That's a good idea about the autofill! Maybe it would even save money over an irrigation timer. I'll look into that. Do you have a link to an example used on a pond? Are they fairly reliable and problem free?
      ________________________________________
      Cheers,
      Ci


    17. #37
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      Yep, I think your waste pipe reducing at the sewer pipe should be work fine.

      And a Medo45 will probably be overkill but will work GREAT! Probably flush debris
      out in less than 10 seconds.

      This thread has a picture of mine, but you sure don't want this in your aquarium!
      Maybe a separate tank plumbed at aquarium level and then the auto-fill in it... so when
      the tank level drops it kicks in.

      https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showth...ofill-question

      Here's a search for "auto fill" too and probably many more good ideas:

      http://www.google.com/cse?cx=0070364....q=auto%20fill

      I don't know if you're on a well or city water, but it was brought up that if the auto fill fails catastrophe could happen which is true... but
      I think many just use a carbon filter on the incoming line to catch chlorine/ammonium. I'm on a well and have never had to deal
      with it, so I don't have any advice on that... but my little stock tank filler has worked without a hiccup for several years now. Probably
      time to replace it just because I said it worked for so long.
      --Steve



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    18. #38
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      That thread was interesting, Steve, in that many were stating how UN-reliable auto top offs could be. Kind of scared me off.

      I have an irrigation system in my vegetable garden with a timer that works very well. No failures in 3 years of running. I'm feeling right now that it may be a bit safer. I have thought about the constant drip method as well. It could work nicely in this situation because, as far as I understand it, only the sumps will have a reduced level - the main tank up above will always stay constant.

      (Maybe someone can confirm that?)

      So if I discharge, say, 5g in a flush, the vortexes will all go down, and the drip will eventually fill them back up. As MuddyWaters said in the thread, it is the simplest and probably the most foolproof method.
      ________________________________________
      Cheers,
      Ci


    19. #39
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      This is the diagram I'm going to submit to my local custom tank builder. They only work in glass. There is another custom builder a lot farther away (3 days drive!) that does either glass or acrylic, so I think I will get a second estimate from them. I would really like acrylic with rounded corners, if I think it's affordable.

      I would really like to hide the pipes, so I'm going to ask for a false wall on the long end with a gap on the bottom. I think this will sweep quite nicely. Four drilled holes - two for bottom drain pipes, one for skimming and one for an emergency overflow.

      The 6' x 2' x 2' will give me about 180 gallons!

      ________________________________________
      Cheers,
      Ci


    20. #40
      bkillen is offline Senior Member
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      The false wall is a nice idea, but I would make the space less than 3" if you want the velocity to lift waste from the bottom gap into the overflows.
      currently working on plans and budget for my next build.
      https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showth...ign-amp-review

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