Kalanianaole Posted March 29, 2003 Share Posted March 29, 2003 Here's what I have. One five gallon beside a 6 gallon show tank (on the right). I don't have the bank to add corals/lighting to the 5 gallon, so I want to turn it into a fuge for the 6 gallon. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm new to plumbing, so I'm at a loss. I know for sure I do not want to drill or move the tanks, since there's no room for them anywhere else. I'd like the plumbing to be as discreet as possible also. Thanks for any input. Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 I don't think there's any way for you to connect them without drilling or cutting the top hood. Link to comment
Rock Anemone Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 I agree with Chris, you'll need to drill the 5 gallon and place it slighty above the other tank so it drains back down. Your 2 tanks in that pic are VERY nice, keep up the awsome work! Rock Anemone:) Link to comment
Nishant3789 Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 Or....if u want u can just get a tube and connect hte two tanks in the back, it wont exactly move water constantly, but everytime one of the tanks is at a different level than the other, the water will move until it is the same levels. u would have to make sure everything was leveled right though. i duno play around with it. Link to comment
dickwayne Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 Is that an eclipse 6? I have one that I kept fresh water in, but now it's empty. I have a 20H reef, and I want to turn the 6 into a fuge. What kind of lights do you have in it? I may just set up a second reef. Link to comment
Kalanianaole Posted April 1, 2003 Author Share Posted April 1, 2003 all... I was toying with the idea of fitting the tanks with identical pumps and connecting tubing from one pump to the opposite tank and vice versa. That way the flow would be similar and hopefully constant. Is that too risky of a plan? Otherwise would I simply have the pump come out of the fuge (which is below the tank) and let gravity carry the water back to the fuge? dwayne... Yeah, that's an Eclipse Six. she's a beaut, too. i have the T8 ballast that came with the hood fitted with a Power-Glo 8 watt bulb. I also have a 13 watt Bookworm light fitted with a 50/50 bulb. I'm planning on adding a second Bookworm cos the tank now has two hammers and a trumpet. Link to comment
freakaccident Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Yes too risky. If one pump quit you're floor would be soaked. Link to comment
Twins Guy Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 all it would take is a hint of calcium carbonate deposition on an impeller-assuming the two pumps pushed the same exact amount of water down to the drop (which they won't, period!)- and you'd drain one tank and flood the other. i don't understand the unwillingness to drill the eclipse, which would be a piece of cake. anyways it might be more trouble than its worth-plumbing the two tanks together that is. tg Link to comment
Dave Scheiner Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 If you raise the level of the 5 so the surface of the water is at the same height as the level in the 6 you wouldn't have to drill anything. You pump from the 6 to the 5 and then have a separate syphon (use 2 in case one gets blocked) to move the water back to the 6. The plumbing wouldn't exactly be disreet but it would work. I have a diagram I will attach if I can figure out how to attach it. Link to comment
gohpia Posted April 24, 2003 Share Posted April 24, 2003 Only applies if you have a canister filter (not sure if you do) and that one tank is higher than the other (which from the pic it is). -Put the intake from one tank (lower) and the outlet to the other (higher). -Bridge the two tanks with PVC pipes (which would probably consist of one straight tube and a couple of 90 degree elbows). Hope this helps Link to comment
cgp Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 I'm right in the middle of doing something similar with an Eclipse 3 and an Eclipse 6. I haven't gotten too far yet, but here's the plan. First, I hope it's helpful to you. Second, if anyone sees any problems please, please tell me now, before I screw it up 1. I've retrofitted a 13w light into the 3 hood. I will be retrofitting some lighting into the 6 hood, but haven't ordered it yet. 2. I've ordered an ice probe chiller which will be attached to the 3 gallon fuge. 3. The heater will also be in the 3. 4. The aquariums will stand back to back with the 3 slightly elevated so the top sits at the same level as the Eclipse 6. I will remove the interior filters (probably in both, but definitely in the 6. 5. I will drill two holes in each aquarium about 3/4 of the way up, and fit them with bulkeads and threaded strainers. This will allow water to flow between the two aquaria, but will keep snails/fish/hermits/etc safely in the Eclipse 6. 6. a. I will have a powerhead in the 3 (fuge) with a tube that goes up the refugium across between the two tanks (so I'll have to cut out a bit of the back of the hood of eqch tank) OR 6. b. I will drill another hole with bulkead/straner and orient the powerhead to take water from the fuge into the 6. (That approach might look a bit better.) Voila. A 6 gallon nano with a 3 gallon fuge with fairly minimal mods. I mean drilling into acrylic is pretty easy compared to some of the other mods people make. I'm thinking that I'll run the lights in the fuge at night and in the main tank during the day. Also, if the power ever goes out, because the water levels are the same, I don't have to worry about spillage Thoughts ??? Link to comment
cgp Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 The only problem that I can think of is macroalgae from the fuge clogging one of the bulkheads. That's why I figured I'd drill at least two holes. In addition water will be flowing IN TO the fuge from those holes so it's less likely that algae could get into the strainer and clog it. I think the risk is pretty minimal. Link to comment
cgp Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 I just noticed that you said that you don't want to move the tanks or drill holes. I'm not sure that there's a way for you NOT to drill holes and get it done. If you're worried about cracking, just buy a couple of sheet of acrylic from the hardware store to practice on first. As long as you go slow and don't push real hard I think you'll find that it's pretty easy. Link to comment
littleprince Posted May 24, 2003 Share Posted May 24, 2003 You should be able to do it w/o drilling holes. Its just a little more expensive to do it safely. Your gonna need a small overflow box. The problem with this, is I don't know of any commercialy safe ones available for this small an application. Drilling is definatly recommended. Put the fuge on a phone book or stand or something, so its an inch or so higher. If you drill, have it drain back into the main tank. Same for the overflow. Put a small ph in the main, and pump water up to the fuge. You want 1 way to pump, 1 way to drain. Its the safest way. I have a 5gallon fuge with a ~5" dsb for my 20h. I have some pics of the fuge here after I first set it up, but it doesnt really show how its setup. Fuge Photo Link Link to comment
Dave Scheiner Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 Here's the diagram for putting the fuge in-line with out any drilling, using a syphon instead of an overflow. Link to comment
Cami Posted May 29, 2003 Share Posted May 29, 2003 I use a setup similar to the picture in the last post with my two 7gal bows. The only thing is you should have two return syphons unless there is nothing in either tank that can clog it. A snail crawled into mine and flooded my bedroom. Now I have two returns. When I move these tanks into my family room they're getting drilled! Cami Link to comment
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