Design advice

[ramsey]

I'm looking to get some advice on designing my system. I have a 185, a 40B and a 55 along with two sumps (a custom sump in the future) and two skimmers. My current plans are to plumb all three tanks together and do a FOWLR with the 185, a coral tank (mainly softies) with the 55 and a macro tank with the 40B. I'm planning to stock the FOWLR with a puffer, trigger, a grouper and maybe one or two other fish. The 55 will house several small fish (like gobies) but will be stocked lightly. The macro tank will be stocked lightly with a mandarin, maybe a pipefish and maybe couple of other tiny fish. I'd like to create a mega system so I can use one ATO, do a water change in one place and have more stability. My only concern with doing this is high nutrient load from the FOWLR but I think I could mitigate that with not overstocking it and stocking lightly in the other two tanks and also having that large of a macro/fuge tank. Any pros or cons you guys or gals can think of? Oh yeah, every bit of it (lights, MP40's, ATO, etc.) is going to be controlled with an Apex controller.

[jwalk034]

I have a very similar idea with my 240 L shape and my 120 with 3 sections in it. I planned to do a Fowler with the 240 L shape and have one section in the 120 as macro and another for a reef. Not sure what to do with the 3rd section though. Very interested to see how yours turns out!

[Scutterborn]

I think it will be a plumbing nightmare. Lol. Seriously though, it sounds like a good idea in my book. All 3 of the systems will play off each other. The double sump thing would concern me. For me to give an educated answer I'd need to know sump sizes. I would run one as a jaubert's plenum DSB and elevate it so it will flow back to the main sump via gravity.

[Troy Valentine]

I think it will be a plumbing nightmare. Lol. Seriously though, it sounds like a good idea in my book. All 3 of the systems will play off each other. The double sump thing would concern me. For me to give an educated answer I'd need to know sump sizes. I would run one as a jaubert's plenum DSB and elevate it so it will flow back to the main sump via gravity.

+1

IMO I would use a single sump, and return pump connected to a 3 way manifold w/gate valves. Treat each system independently, with the ability to turn of a system when needed for cleaning detritus or algae that might appear, without spreading it to other systems. This will also allow your detritus from your 185 fowlr to settle in your sump instead of your other systems.

[allan]

Ping had a mega system. Very mega.


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[Sherita]

I have/had a system with multiple tanks plumbed together. At one point I had four tanks tied in with two sumps (that were tied together). The plumbing looked a lot like a nuclear reactor, and it took me some time to balance the flow, but it can be done. The biggest problem I had was controlling the temp in the tanks furthest from the sump (my heaters are in the sump). You will need to use a manifold to control the flow from your return pump, so you can control the flow to the various tanks. I used one ato, one big skimmer, and an aquacontroller to handle everything. If you can figure out the temperature thing, the multitask setup works really well. I quit trying, because I live in a hundred year old farm house and the temps in my house swing wildly (I have no central heat or air,woodburning stove for winter, window units for summer). In a climate controlled house it might work very well. I had no growth issues everything did great, but the temp swings made me give it up.

[ramsey]

The sump is a PM R36 and an Eshopps sump (not sure on the size but close to the R36). Here is a crude drawing of how the tanks and sumps will sit:

http://i.imgur.com/Vjqdr.jpg

185 - green
55 - light blue
40B - dark blue
R36 - red
eshopps - purple

The main return pump will be in the Eshopps (purple) which will feed the 185 and the 55. A smaller pump will be in the same sump and will feed the 40B. My big skimmer will sit in the R36. The smaller skimmer will sit in the eshopps.

This is my plan so far. Anyone have a better idea? I would like to get a large custom fuge made in the future and just have one fuge. I' also like to get a larger pump and maybe even a larger skimmer in the future.

[Scutterborn]

I can hear Allan laughing at my color blindness now...


As soon as my interpreter gets back from her shopping spree, I'll comment.

:)

-Ben-

[Scutterborn]

Also, Allan has/had a massive sump he had considered selling.


-Ben-

[allan]

The sump is already gone.


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[Troy Valentine]

What is the distance from the 185 to the 40b? Personally I would sell the 2 sumps you have, and get a large custom multichambered sump under the 55 or whichever tank you choose to put where the 55 is now. figure you will need at least 25 to 30gal when the tank back siphons, especially if you choose to go with a large return pump with a lot of plummbing. I have 2 tanks and a sump on a 300 gallon system with a 3.0 sicce as a return pump. My system will backsiphon 15 to 20 gallons depending on algae growth on the drains. Looks like a fun project..

[ramsey]

Thanks for all the advice! I thought about it and talked to my wife. I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and get a custom sump made, get a larger protein skimmer and a Reeflo pump. That's what I eventually wanted to do but I was hoping to rig something up in the meantime. I'd really hate to plumb everything then change it all in a year. Thanks again for all the advice, guys!

[Scutterborn]

Ace ( Hobogato ) is really good at building custom sumps. I'd PM him and get a sump. He does amazing work. I know first hand.


-Ben-

[ramsey]

I've been emailing him the past couple of weeks! :) I've heard nothing but good things.


Ace ( Hobogato ) is really good at building custom sumps. I'd PM him and get a sump. He does amazing work. I know first hand.


-Ben-

[Scutterborn]

Good deal. Oh, yeah. You won't hear anything other than good things about his work.

[ramsey]

I've been thinking about plumbing today. Specifically for the drains. My 185 has two 1.5" drains. The other two tanks I want to have a minimum of two drains. I was thinking about building two manifolds for this (3 drains each) then entering the sump into a reverse durso. Any better ideas? Does my plan sound like something that would work?

[ramsey]

Bump, anyone? I know there's some plumbing gods on here! Free GSP and Kenya tree for any good advice! Lol

[Brickster]

I'm in the process of helping a friend set up a system with a 185 softie display, a 55 display fuge underneath, and a common sump located remotely in the room adjacent. It's too new to really comment on how well it works, but we plumbed each tank independently with its own pump and returns. It's filled and works like we expected. You can shut off either (or both) tank(s) and the water stays off the floor. Be sure the sump is large enough to accommodate drainback from all tanks simultaneously in the event of a power failure.

Two sumps would give me a headache personally. Put them at the same height and run a balance pipe between them so they stay at the same level and it *should* work out. I still think I'd find a single big(ish) sump. It's the same reason multiple carburetors suck, lol. On paper its great, in the garage it's a hassle. In a giant interconnected system you don't need more volume, per se. Just a box to wrap around the ugly bits.