Multiple Tank System Thread

[johnmaloney]

i am clumsy too, so you would think I would be ready for it....lol....it is a good excuse to sit around all day today though.

[tyty]

I've tried bringing my camera and collection containers at the same time, and nearly drowned myself. When I lost a container with about 10 brilliantly red colored brittle stars to the current, I gave up doing both at once.

That sounds about right, I always feel like I need a tool belt or something for all the stuff I take with me.

[johnmaloney]

tie it to the dive flag? i feel the same way, nothing worse than being tethered down when diving....

[johnmaloney]

edit - photos coming now, photobucket on its way!

 

Sorry guys! During the setup of one of our systems I dropped a cinder block on my toe, I was wearing sandals and I was in lounging around shape during the move in. So this thread kind of died because everything was put together by a friend. On that system I can take pics of the back of the plumbing I guess, but this is a nice easy system to do and I have pics from along the way.

 

So I have 25 or so 20 gallon tall tanks and I want to set 10 of them up like this:

 

6 tanks for receiving, 4 for medication separate sumps for each but I want the systems side by side

 

The tanks will be arranged in two rows. Because the tanks are highs instead of longs, and because aesthetics don't matter in a warehouse I "staircased" the rows. The first set of tanks is two cinder blocks high. The other is just behind that setup, about 9 inches back and is 3.5 cinder blocks high (cinder blocks and 1 paver). I used two 2x8s side by side to run under the tanks. I was going to cut some blue board to fit the 2x8s to shim the tanks but there was no wobble at all so I didn't bother.

 

Each tank has two drains. Normally if you two holes in a 20 high you use one as the return, but here aesthetics don't matter so I like the extra safety and turnover rate 2 drains afford me. The "drain" is made up of a strainer, a bulkhead that is "siliconed" and screwed in, and a 90 degree elbow. That 90 degree elbow has 1 1/4 inch outer diameter vinyl tubing. Now, I would have never got clear vinyl tubing if I could have helped it. Sure it is hard to see in the other stuff, but at least it doesn't grow algae. But this was dirt cheap, and the black tubing price went through the roof locally so here we are.

 

That vinyl tubing is attached to 1 1/2 pvc at the ziptied adapter elbow. Each drain is like this and either elbows or "T's" into the larger common drain pipe. In the 6 tank system, (the 6 tanks closest to the right, 3 per row), there are 3 per common drain, with two common drains per sump. In the medication tanks there are 2 tanks per common drain and two common drains per sump.

 

Water drains down into a rubbermaid tough box where it is then returned by an 750gph Agua de Bomba fountain pump. A stronger pump could be added, but I felt this was fine for now. A 3/4 inch wide and 12'' tall pvc riser leads up from the pump to a 90 degree elbow, a short trip on pvc pipe until the next 90 elbow, (Yeah I know better to go straight up, most of mine do, but I like the counterbalance...could always get stronger pump anyway so leave me be! )

 

Then 3/4 pvc pipe leads it up from there to the top of the tanks where 1 3/4 pvc "T" splits it to two sides. On each side a T, and an elbow adpater send the pvc over the aquariums and the returning water only needs to travel through a ballvalve and a 45 degree elbow, (and the small pieces of pvc needed to connect them), before splashing into the water. Each tank can be easily turned offline with a twist of the ballvalve, or flow can be manipulated etc.. in each tank.

 

 

Here is the pump and pvc riser:

 

 

here is the assembly for the ball valves on the return

 

 

Here is the T coming up from the pump on the return, and branching out to the tanks:

 

 

edit - sorry new to photobucket and have some issues. here is the album link:

http://s1084.photobucket.com/albums/j409/r...nt=101_0200.jpg

[yardboy]

John, I love you and all, but you are going to be so totally pissed off at me when I tell you this. In the last pic, physics dictates that the return coming into the tee like that will cut way down on the pressure in the line. I know this because I plumbed up several things over the years this way and could never figure out why the f*** my pressure was so low. Finally a plumber straightened me out. He also had a phD in Physics.

-->----+----+ is much better than ----^----- with the arrow being the return, for keeping pressure up.

 

I haven't been around for awhile, working on my local club and my fragging system also. Sorry to do that to you. Just forget I said it.

[johnmaloney]

oh I know you are right, but the difference between the small fountain pump and the one with twice the output was like $10. You have to see the flow coming out...comes out faster than a garden hose for sure.

 

I didn't do that with the 3 tier system I have, it goes up then gravity feeds down like you have. In this setup I just wanted to make everything as accessible as possible. My biggest problem I think is the adapters I used for the vinyl tubing into the pvc. They seem to have a really small inside diameter and it seems to be causing some drain slowing.... I am paranoid of flooding....

 

More pics to come! I have been falling behind a bit, but it is a holiday weekend anyway might as well take it easy right? Besides DSL is slow. . . .

[yardboy]

I'm losing faith in the gravity feed system though. Too many bubbles throwing salt everywhere, especially on my lights. I've alread bypassed the 20L softie tank due to the salt already on the T-5's. Any suggestions on reducing that so I don't have to use another pump?

Being paranoid about flooding is a good thing. You know what they say, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you."

[johnmaloney]

lol...i like that saying. you are right, the gravity feed does have bubbles, I always though the pump was sending them up because of the water fall into the sump. that is because of the lines themselves?

[yardboy]

Yea, it's the lines. If you use just a hole in the overflow it'll suck air like crazy and make an awful noise. If you use a durso it'll only suck air into the small hole you drill with no noise, but there's still air. Short of a pump don't see any way around it. Let me think some more though ..................

Oh sorry, I fell asleep

[johnmaloney]

I was thinking the pump was sending bubbles into the lines on the return because there is no baffles. I blocked it with some plexiglass...seemed to help.