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  • Page 4 of 4 FirstFirst 1234
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    Thread: Help me design the perfect "no-maintenance" aquarium!

    1. #61
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by GoldieGirl View Post
      Great idea on using the overflow trickle - I wonder if it would be enough? Still, as catfish says, the waste is out of the water column, so maybe I don't need to be constantly flushing it ... lol, it's hard to fight the urge to purge when waste is just sitting there!

      So, catfish, on a real sieve does no water go into the collection box, just soggy mulm and debris? I wonder how to calculate how big to make this section, so that it never fills, even after six weeks ...
      If the Cetus sieve is not flowing more than 5,000GPH , that area is just damp. The exception would be lots of algae that would collect and fill the screen completely.
      My pump fed sieve that I showed earlier was flowing 3,000 GPH, and with a lot of algae, it would fill the waste area weekly.
      It has a catch area about 12" x 4" x4" ,and the screen simply hangs over the edge.
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      I would make a slight change next time, because some debri would wick over the bottom edge ,and end up in the clean water sump.
      Something like this
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    2. #62
      *Ci*'s Avatar
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      If I do a custom acrylic sump, I could totally have it built to accommodate a screen, including that lip you added and maybe a little bit deeper collection area. I'm still unclear on how the screen is fixed in place. In your photos, is it attached to those pvc pipes somehow to give it the curve? Is there a precise curve that it needs to work optimally? And is it not affixed to the tub walls at all - just wedged in?

      Does it need the support of those pipes? For instance I wonder if the sump could be built with curved channels on the walls that the screen would just slide into (no supports in the middle). Presumably the screen is fairly rigid?
      ________________________________________
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      Ci


    3. #63
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      The screen simply rests in place. Those pipes are there to keep the thin plastic tub against the sides of the screen, and limit leakage over the sides.
      This screen is pre curved and ridgid , but a flat screen works OK.
      My Zacci sieve has a flat screen and no supports. It has soft flexible weatherstripping at each end.Name:  image.jpg
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    4. #64
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      So how about simply making the first section of the sump a sieve waste collection area with a relatively short divider that would hold one end of the screen. No extra shelving needed. Then you could have the rest as you diagramed in #11. The divider that holds the other end of the screen would have to be lower than the sides of the sump in the unlikely event of screen clog.

    5. #65
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      Like this

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    6. #66
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      Thats what I'm thinking ... : )

      Only question is - will we hear all the splashing noise through the basement floor? Time for a splash test!
      ________________________________________
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      Ci


    7. #67
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Biggie View Post
      So how about simply making the first section of the sump a sieve waste collection area with a relatively short divider that would hold one end of the screen. No extra shelving needed. Then you could have the rest as you diagramed in #11. The divider that holds the other end of the screen would have to be lower than the sides of the sump in the unlikely event of screen clog.
      I've never had a sieve screen clog up, the debris pile just gets bigger.

    8. #68
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      Here's a good Cetus video to show how the water hits the screen and goes right through.
      The waste collects below the point that the water hits, and depending on the flow, most doesn't travel all the way to the bottom. Your not going to anywhere near the flow that a pond has, in addition to the type and amount of waste.


    9. #69
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      That's my only concern, the noise. But if you connect a horizontal pipe with a slit in it to the sump inlet you might create a sheet of water to flow onto the screen. The water that goes though the screen shouldn't be loud falling onto a filter mat.

      Catfish whiskers - how loud is you Cetus? I can't watch the videos where I am now.

      I know that sieves aren't supposed to clog and it would be even more unlikely in a low crud environment of aquarium vs pond, but if it did happen it would be more devastating to your floor than to the ground outside. Just have to plan for the improbable in case the impossible happens.

    10. #70
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      Cetus is very quiet. I can't imagine how a wedge wire screen could ever clog and overflow, maybe in a pond with a lot of debris , and after a long time of being left unattended.

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    11. #71
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      I am still planning this tank, but with a few new ideas/circumstance changes. I will no longer need to leave the tank on it's own for the winter, plus it will no longer be in the living room. We are planning a sunroom addition, and the tank will go in there and can be way bigger. I can still have the sump be in the basement, but in an area with 6' headroom instead of 4'!
      I am also thinking more along the lines of a monster fish tank, closer to 200g plus sump, housing rescue plecos, oscars, catfish etc. instead of my original Discus idea.

      All good changes, so I'm glad I waited on the build (of course the sunroom won't be done till next year, but plenty of time to scheme )

      I still want to use the retro bottom drain ideas from the beginning of this thread, but am scrapping the idea of self flushing vortex settling tanks.
      I am now convinced about the idea of a sieve and am wondering about the Aquaforte Compact Sieve:

      http://www.sibo.nl/db/?path=document...%20version.pdf

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      This is a pump fed sieve, so no moving parts, reasonably priced (found it on sale for $375 inc. shipping) and probably way better built than something I make DIY.

      I am thinking that it can be mounted above the sump, bypass the hose barb and let the tank overflow pipes run right into the inlet section of the sieve. The only drawback to this model is the lack of a debris outlet. I think you're supposed to shut off the pumps and remove the debris laden screen to clean it. Surely a drain pipe to waste could be installed right at the bottom of the screen ... opinions?

      I'm also wondering about doing a ghetto 100-150g Rubbermaid stock tank sump. With the sieve mounted above, all I really need is a media chamber, heaters and pump housing. Could do a tower of media layers similar to this:
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      And there would be plenty of room in the stock tank for anything else I needed ... possibly a feeder fish raising area, for instance.

      Anybody else working on a tank? Would love to start up the conversation again!
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      Ci


    12. #72
      Ayriad is offline Junior Member
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      I have a fowlr saltwater tank.
      Honestly it is a sore sight right now. I am installing a small tank to be a reef tank and move my current fin friends to it. Elmo the clownfish and Star the brittle star are 10 years old. Maxine, another clownish is 5. I have numerous hermits, snails etc. 2 of the snails are fancy nassarious. I have had them for 5-6 years. Any tank in my opinion needs maintenance. It is the ease of the maintenance that is important. I know nothing of ponds yet. But do know with an aquarium you are dealing with small water volumes that can become polluted quickly. The way I have my tank, I have a line of buttons under the cabinet. They go to different equipment. My water change water is in the basement and my top off as well. Each morning i push a button and fresh ro/ di water is pumped up. For water changes I put one hose to a pump and put the other in the down spout and pump water out. I push another button and pump up fresh saltwater.
      My tank is drilled on the bottom in two places with overflow boxes. They meett under the tank and go into a 200 micron polyester filter sock to catch large debris. There is a protein skimmer to remove excess nutrients. A pump pumps water into the refugium and it gravity feeds back to the sump. A bigger pump returns water back to the display tank. I don't run bio balls. In a saltwater tank they are regarded as detritus traps.
      I run a deep sand bed for biological filtration and the refugium has extra sand and rock. I am in the middle of a change over so it is messy right now. The refugium has new lights ordered to handle good algae etc. The main tank will house a dogface puffer.
      So yes I do maintenance.. I flip a switch. Whew! It is exhausting *grin*

    13. #73
      Topper is offline Junior Member
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      Hi, Did you eventually build the aquarium?

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