So this is the plan i have 7 120 gal tanks and 5 220 gal tanks.There is 2 6"x6" over flows on the back of the tanks that goes all the way to the bottom with the glass begging drilled with a 1"3/4 return pipe to sump. At this point all of the tanks are on there own sump, which means lots of testing and space usage. My question is if i put them all on one sump, which would be 900 gallons, could i use 1 or two big pumps like the dolphin 8200 gph to feed the water back to the tanks. So the way i see, i would have 2" pipe going along the base of the tanks with T's coming off reducing to 3/4" for the feed. Now the back flow to the sump would be gravity feed. The flow rate calculator tells me each tank would recieve 560 gph. So would each 3/4" pipe need a ball valve to ajust rate, and would it need to be closed loop? Please view drawing for over view.
What and how many pumps for this massive sump
- Thread starter kadletz4
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DonW
R.I.P.
Assuming that youve already thought about cross contamination and its not a concern. I'd use 4" as the main drain pipe but have each of the two banks draining into the sump not linked together. As far as a return Id do two big pumps, each bank having its own pump. Yes you will need valves to equalize the returns other wise the end tank will get very little.
Don
Don
add ideas
Ok sounds good, Each tank will have its own UV sterilizer on the return and the back return will have a massive UV. All fish and items will be quarintined before placed in tanks. I thought it would also be good to have each tank on a ball valve union so i could take it off the line and put it on its own sump if need be. With a massive sump My thinking is that it would be easier to keep things stable which would mean heathly animals, i could do more coral propagation, and live rock as well
Ok sounds good, Each tank will have its own UV sterilizer on the return and the back return will have a massive UV. All fish and items will be quarintined before placed in tanks. I thought it would also be good to have each tank on a ball valve union so i could take it off the line and put it on its own sump if need be. With a massive sump My thinking is that it would be easier to keep things stable which would mean heathly animals, i could do more coral propagation, and live rock as well
It might not be a bad idea to have two separate systems. Just in case you have a major crash or problem, you would still have the other system. It would be horrible to lose it all. I use to run two tanks. I would always try to keep a extra frag of each coral in the other system, just in case. It is always nice to have a backup .
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DonW
R.I.P.
Ok sounds good, Each tank will have its own UV sterilizer on the return and the back return will have a massive UV. All fish and items will be quarintined before placed in tanks. I thought it would also be good to have each tank on a ball valve union so i could take it off the line and put it on its own sump if need be. With a massive sump My thinking is that it would be easier to keep things stable which would mean heathly animals, i could do more coral propagation, and live rock as well
I think if your going to use UV one huge unit on the sump is plenty. I'd keep the drains and returns very basic.
Don
Well the idea is to save on time and money, with a ounce of prevention v.s. a pound of medication. If stability is the key and bigger the better is what many say about reef aquariums then it is win win i think.? The other good thing about this idea is that if the pumps are 110 or 115 volts then i could hook up a generator when the power goes out, yes i live in hurrican allie florida.
DonW
R.I.P.
Alot of small uv lights are going to be expensive and time consuming to maintain. As far as pumps go you can run 220v on a generator. The larger hp pump are going to work alot less with a big motor running on 220v. Instead of uv I'd concider a ozone unit and on heck of a big R2k skimmer.
Don
DonW
R.I.P.
james734
Well-known member
Not to derail the thread but that's a huge setup. you'll have to post pics once you get all up and running.
Sorry, back to topic..
Sorry, back to topic..
Mr James
Member
Have you considered an RK2 type skimmer (link: http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/7911/cid/1991 ) for the sump??
plack
Sea Otter
Would it be possible to get sunlight from the outside thru the roof . Some people do this with there house and some coral farms rely on sunlight heavily !
shadofax
Active member
For control of pathogens I would stay away from UV all together. The time and effort it takes to make it effective would be time consuming on a system that size. I would second what Don W said use ozone there is nothing better for pathogen control and it also has many other benifits.
