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November 16th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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here's the start of rack 2. The first of the 6' tanks is in place and the plumbing is in for it. The sump was shocking when I got it, so here's a picture of it as it was this afternoon. Tomorrow, I'll post one of it now, after the clean!
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November 17th, 2007
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Master Of Fish Poo!
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November 17th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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Ok, so we've had another busy day, and a productive one too! Rack 2 is now filled and running, just waiting for the temperature to rise. It consists of 6 tanks/bays per shelf, 3 shelves high with sump under. Total capacity of this rack is 300 gallons imperial.
The sump has been cleaned and refilled with my own type of media as well as what it came with. It is now working with two sections of course gravel media, one section of medium gravel, one section of plastic ribbed rings, one section of floss and the last section houses the pump, which is the new one I bought last week, as when I started it all up, I found the one supplied with the racking struggling to reach the top shelf.
Tomorrow, we start on rack 3. It's getting there!
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November 17th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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Missed this pic!
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November 17th, 2007
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Master Of Fish Poo!
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 love seeing the daily progress of the fish house as it gets closer to your vision.  |
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November 17th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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Thats coming along really well from what I know about fishes lol. Can't wait to see the finished product.
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November 18th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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I managed to get a reasonable picture of the sump this morning, so I thought you might like to see it!
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November 18th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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Quote:
Originally Posted by timandkaren
I managed to get a reasonable picture of the sump this morning, so I thought you might like to see it!
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Since I've never dealt with anything beyond the undgravel and HOB setups, can someone explain (in small words) the whole concept of the sump tank to me? I don't get it...  Is it a huge improvement over other setups? |
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November 18th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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A sump is basically a very large filter. The concept is that it is capable of handling large quantities of water flowing through it all the time. The sump here is able to cope with filtering not only the 300 gallons it has now, but the 150 gallons that still have to be added. If we were to go down the road of canister/hob filters, the system would need several filters to do the same job.
Another advantage with a sump system is that you can increase the volume of water which makes it much easier to maintain the water quality. If all these tanks were separate, there would be 18 16G tanks, with 18 filters, and the problems of water quality would be immense!
Imagine having to do water changes on 18 tanks. Here all we have to do is change the water in the sump, by simply diverting the return flow from the tanks to the drain, and running fresh water into the sump. In 10 minutes, the system has a 25% water change, with no need for hose pipes, buckets or the other equipment involved.
Yet another advantage is that you don't need individual heaters in each tank. If this system was independently filtered, it would require 18 heaters. We have chosen to heat the room, rather than the water, which involves one electric convector heater at 750W output, linked to a control thermostat. The room and water are all maintained at a constant 80F at a fraction of the cost.
The other advantage of a sump is the cost. As most sumps are DIY, you can make one very cheaply with a basic knowledge of tank construction.
A sump works just like a multi-stage filter contained within a hob. There are different grades of media to filter out the impurities and detritus, lots of surface area for nitrifying bacteria to grow and additional space for activated carbon, heaters, UV sterilisation or whatever you want to add to it.
However, there are drawbacks. Firstly, sumps are not really suitable for small tanks, unless you have a lot of them in one place. Secondly, the tanks need to be drilled to allow piping. Thirdly, and probably most importantly, they need very careful monitoring, as any disease in one tank will affect every tank in the system. Disease control is probably the biggest concern for most aquarists running this type of system, as it can be very costly if anything does get in.
They are not for the inexperienced aquarist, or for the people who have tanks scattered around the house. They only work well when all the tanks are in the same location, such as a custom-built unit in a store or a fish house, or a very large single purpose built tank.
Last edited by timg; November 18th, 2007 at 06:08 AM.
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November 18th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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Wow! Thanks for the quick reply! So it wouldn't be very practical for my 55, but if I ever get that 175 bowfront I drool over every time I go to my LFS, then it would be a worthwhile investment....
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November 18th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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That would work very well for the larger tank, as long as you have the room underneath to house it!
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November 18th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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hmm looking great should just build a pet store haha.
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November 19th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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Rack 2 has started to be home for some of our population! So far we have molly, gourami and angel fry in some of the tanks, but we are only running light at the moment to give the sump chance to mature a little before we put any more in. The sump has been seeded and fed for 2 days now, so it's already on it's way. I'll have to watch the conditions very closely for several weeks yet though!
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November 19th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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At what age do you sell the little fishies to the LFS's?
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November 19th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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It varies on their size. Most fish stores will take fish when they reach more than 1", but the price goes up with the size, so it's worth keeping them for as long as you can!
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November 19th, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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The gouramis are now around 14 weeks old, but these I am going to keep for breeding with the new stock I have coming in. I have already sold the majority of them to LFS's over the previous 6 weeks. The angels are starting to move now, as I have larger ones in another tank ready and waiting, along with mollies and swordtails, all of which are very good sizes now:
Last edited by timg; November 19th, 2007 at 05:31 PM.
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November 19th, 2007
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Master Of Fish Poo!
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looks great having fish in the fish house!  i'm glad the planning & hard work is paying off. |
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November 21st, 2007
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Fish Keeper
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Oh, I love the angels!  |
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