Newbie plumbing help

[Singh]

Hi my name is dee and I'm new to the saltwater water world and have been doing some reading to gain the info, never owned a fish tank salt or fresh, and I have planned a 10.5 gallon rimless aquarium with a canister filter, I want to hide the plumbing, I want to drill holes out of the rock and plumb my 1 drain and 1 return through rock, my question is does it matter how high or low I go on positioning the drain or return in the tank because it is a closed system with the canister filter and I can go as high or low with the water level as i like right?  And how should I position the return or drain so it is most efficient, meaning keep drain far left and return far right etc., and what size pvc plumbing I should stick with, the rest of how I can take it easily apart for maintenance is something I will figure out as i build, if you have any suggestions let me know

 

Tank measurements 

L 18in

W 15in

H 12in

 

Fluval 107 canister filter

 

Let me know your input, thanks

 

 

[yoshii]

to Nano-Reef Dee!

 

I'm not sure I understand your question, do you want to drill the tank? Or modify your rock to hide the plumbing?

[Singh]

 I basically want to know what is the best way to plumb the tank for what I want to achieve for this small tank, and if the height of the pipe I plumb from bottom matter in a closed system, like in a sump system my drain would have to be as high as I want the water lever to be, I want to know if I'm running a canister and my drain is 5 inches submerged in water that it shouldn't matter right?

[yoshii]

Oh I see. Yes if you're using a canister filter then it doesn't matter where you put the intake and return. In general, it's best to have them on opposite sides of the tank for better circulation. 

 

Although keep in mind a canister filter is not usually recommended for saltwater tanks. But you can make it work as long as you keep up on regular maintenance!

[Singh]

I want to drill on the  bottom side of tank, and have my water inlet about 5 inches high and other side of tank will be drain about 8 inches high, pvc pipes will be going vertical from bottom of tank to top, and I will put rock around it or figure out how to do the rock, will that work? And should I use 3/4 pvc or 1 inch, anything else you think I should know as well

[yoshii]

Your canister filter should come with some plumbing already. If you want to switch it out for pvc in the tank, then it will to match whatever size hoses the filter is fitted for. Switching the ends out for pvc seems unnecessary though, why do you want to change it? Why not just modify the rock to be around the tubing?

 

Do you want to drill the side of your tank? You could but I honestly wouldn't recommend it. It's a headache and then you'd need even more plumbing parts.

You could also look into lily pipes, they are commonly used in FW planted setups, so the plumbing is not so visible/ugly.

[Singh]

Thanks, I did read that canister filter is not best, but if maintenance and water changes are kept up it seems much cheaper route then skimmers and etc., I figured at 10.5 gallon tank a 5 gallonish weekly water change shouldn't feel like a major maintenance headache, but I am new so lets see how it goes lol

[Singh]

I want the tank to stand out alone with no plumbing and a floating light, that's why I want no pipes, if I see the pipe then I have other options like overflows but I want to try this, seems like a challenge that would be really fun during this lockdown, everything else I will be done In one day lol

[Singh]

I want to run PVC  so I can hide the heater in there

[mcarroll]

On 4/24/2020 at 12:08 AM, Singh said:

Hi my name is dee and I'm new to the saltwater water world and have been doing some reading to gain the info, never owned a fish tank salt or fresh

Dee, your next step should be reading this book: Marine Aquarium Handbook Beginner to Breeder. (new, used, ebook, whatever you like best)

You might "have the cart before the horse" right now.  (I think your planning got slightly ahead of your info-gaining.)

 

Maybe you can let me in on more of the reasoning behind such a peculiar setup, but I suspect you'll rethink large parts of your plan after more comprehensive reading.

 

A good book like the one linked will cover all the topics you need to know about....comprehensive online sources for that kind of info are practically unheard of.  (I'm aware of none.)

 

Online sources are great to pair with a book though, as you're sure to have lots of great questions after reading the book.  👍