atmmachine816

that would be cool, if you pay for my airfare I'll come over and work

Trpimp147

i thought about getting a job at a petco but i dont know enough about fish and the other thing is i dont want to be the stupied guy and tell the customer one thing and the thing i told them wont happen does.... fish are unpredictable....

COBettaCouple

Sounds like you could start a chain here, Tim!

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OK, here's the latest challenge:

To devise a sump capable of handling 1,600 gallons per hour.

Guys, I need ideas on the types of media to use for this volume of water, since I was originally planning of 4 sumps, but costs have dictated the use of one single sump per rack.

The design has changed too, with each bin being fed directly from the pump through control valves and returning directly to the sump via an overflow.

My concern is that with that volume of water moving through the filter, there is a serious risk of overflow within the sump if any of the channels get blocked.

Here's a quick design to show what I have in mind. Take a look and let me know your thoughts, please!

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The idea of the design is as follows:

Having a double ended sump reduces the flow through each compartment effectively, to a central reservoir for heating and pumping back.

The water enters the sump via overflow pipes at each end. These will be 1 1/2" domestic waste pipe. (The different media will be in plastic containers to make cleaning easier). These pipes put the water in at the bottom of the compartment. It runs UP through the course gravel, hopefully depositing the large waste on the way. It overflows into the next compartment, which contains medium gravel. This should hold bacteria as well and is filtered DOWN through this. it passes through a gauze screen at the bottom of this compartment and is then forced UP again through fine sand. This is where I feel that we might have a problem. It then overflows into the well, where the submersible pump and 4 heaters are housed, then it is pumped back up to the tanks.

My concern is whether the sand can allow the volume of water through without being washed into the next chamber. With the water rising through it, it won't have the oportunity to pack down, but it will possibly be forced into suspension and carried on. If this gets into the pump, it will eventually cause problems with wear. Another concern is whether the gauze screen will block up with debris and cause a restriction.

Is there a better media to use? Would filter floss or foam be better? Could I weight the media down with gravel or similar to keep it in place?

COBettaCouple

WAY over my head there Tim! wish i could help, but i don't know anything about sumps.. i have confidence in your designs though and look forward to the solution that you come up with.

Trpimp147

sounds great i under stand it, i think it will work. hmm for if it gets cloged i donno you could put a float on the pump switch some how and when it gets past a certent point of hight in that area were it will shut off pump till you get there to check it out or clean up on it, or a sensor but i think a float would be cheaper just a little harder to rig. the sand may be the problem but if you put a few layers of floss behind it i think some would get through and that i'd think wouldnt me much to worry about. always can test run it. you can always buy 2 canster filters that both equal like 200 gal tank and use them.... i donno

timg

cannisters? over here they cost the earth! I would be looking at over 300 dollars each, instead of 100 dollars for one pump. The main advantage with the sump is stability. with the volume of water it has to handle, and the fluctuations in numbers there will be, as fish grow and get sold, and as new fish arrive from the suppliers, it will give me a much more stable system than cannisters, as well as the cost factor.

Maintenance will be easier with a sump too, as I can have spare media ready to drop in, so it just switches off for two minutes while I change the media then it's all running again....

Trpimp147

i see. i kno there not cheap just never really priced them but there is a place you can order one from its call www.thatfishplace.com vary large discount store its kinda like walmart for fish but they are in good health and they sell small store sized sump and filter system. and or you can use a fish pond pump system... i know ther enot cheap eather haha. just throwing out ideas. but i think your idea will work fine. are you going to try that bio matrial stuff i can get you a link to it.

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I was thinking of building a large bio-wheel in there somewhere, in the place of the third media, but not easy to find one big enough, and don't think they can be made DIY style!!

Trpimp147

you can get them in a large size... i seen one some where not sure though haha. they are like 3 times the size of a bio wheel set up. but im sure you can make one just not sure what to use.... they are like a cardboard/fiber like and never get soggy and rip. you could always buy replacement ones and take them apart and turn them landscape ways and fold them in half the may have a small ripple to them but that makes them cool. an dyou can just use a few of them and apply them to like a 5 gallon bucket lid on each end with a dowl rod in the middle..

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and put a generator in the center and produce my own electricity too, with the volume of water that's gonna be running over them all the time!...lol

Trpimp147

sounds like a plan haha. you will beable to do a few of them then and maybe power your own house hahaha.

Trpimp147

these are the thing i was talking about a few post ago http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/10567/product.web

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Here is the final, final, FINAL layout, (I hope!)





The specs are pretty cool for the space I have available and it will allow me to have 1,600 gallons of water in an area just 11' x 8'!

It won't need a lot of heating, but may need cooling during the summer.

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Trpimp147

sounds good to me.

darkwolf29a

That looks like it'll work.

COBettaCouple

wow - can't wait to see that in action!

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Trpimp147

will you have a protien skimmer also? or somthing like that? good luck with your bio wheel im sure if you go to a LPS and see if they can buy one for you and you just buy it from them... that would be vary cool to buy and have one there set up is vary easy.

susitna-flower

Have you considered ozone for sterilization? You would have to use special ozone safe plastics - the draw back- but also work really well, you would need a carbon filter after, before the water returns to your tank. This is what the Sea Life Center here in AK uses before they return sea water from their tanks to the ocean.
Also I found good ideas for filters at Drs Foster / Smith for Ponds....high capacity and lower cost. Click on the following -
Pond Filters: Fish Pond Filters, Accessories and Pond Skimmers

Kevin

how is the fish house going? any updates or pics?

COBettaCouple

unfortunately, the fry overthrew Tim and now run the place..

Kevin

oh no!
...where's aquaman when you need him?

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How about working hard on the new fish house!

Yes folks, it is progressing, not nearly as quickly as I hoped, but progressing, all the same.

Today I started to assemble the tanks. Here are some pictures! (I know this is what you're all waiting for!)

The dividers are glass instead of Polycarb, as I was given a load of old window glass FOC, and not being one to turn down a good offer! I made a water passage through the glass apnel by putting glass packers in between two panels, leaving a gap at the bottom ne side and a gap at the top on the other side. A mesh screen will stop any fry movements between sections. As the gless is not as long as I had planned, a small change to the plans gives me 3 x 36" x 24" x 13" tanks per shelf, each one divided into three sections. Each tank is 48G, so there will be 48x3x4=576G + sump per rack. There will be 36 compartments per rack. Reasonable capacity, I think.

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BTW, the aliens haven't taken me away, nor have the fish rebelled, just produced again! I have gained another 100+ mollies this week, yet more angels, more guppies, and the bettas are growing well!

Kevin

WOW! looks like everything is going great
keep up the good work
Have you posted pics of the new babies?

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Not had chance to get the pics yet! (Just found a load more angel eggs too!)

Life is never boring!

Kevin

sounds like your're having the time of your life with all those babies

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They are certainly keeping me busy! Oh, BTW, another load of angel aggs found this evening! Two of the three pairs have laid today.

That's 800 eggs today, with the third pair getting ready now. The new tanks will be water tested tomorrow, while I make the next one or two. The pumps should arrive sometime this week, but as they are coming by postal carrier, I'm not sure whether they will be affected by our postal strike that we are in the middle of!

Just as a matter of interest, the tanks take about an hour to make, and about 30 minutes to cut the glass for them. Each one takes 1 1/2 tubes of silicon, making the total cost per tank of 3 pounds sterling! Not bad for a 48 gallon tank!

The racking is going to be built this week too, so hopefully they should be in place by the end of the week, ready for commissioning. I hope so, because the fry are really stacking up, with around 800+ in progress now. Nearly every tank in my living room contains fry at various stages of growth, which is far from ideal and is overloading the system badly. Even the 8' has one small guy swimming among the big fish!