Ultimate 2M Tank + Sump Build:Need advice/Ideas

Discussion in 'General Fish Discussions' started by nodac, Jun 28, 2015.

  1. nodac

    nodac

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    Hello Everyone


    So The time has come for me to finally get the biggest tank I will realistically own.


    Met with Graham from Gapedi, Had a look around and very happy with the possibilities of my 2m could be, Looking to build my ULTIMATE TANK, with the ease of use and looks in mind. :top:


    The tank size will be 200cm Long, 65cm High , 70cm Wide.




    I need advice from all of you who have 2metre + tanks:

    1. Cover for the top of the tank? ( needed with tropheus?)
    2. OverFlow Box, Need ideas on designs/ efficiency. (thinking of a 20x20cm box in left corner)
    3. Stand height (sump will be inside)
    4. Sump Design (want a free compartment for tropheus fry)
    5. Sump size. Max width can be 50cm, thinking of a height of 40cm, length 1.2-1.5
    6. Where to get the needed filter Media in Southern Suburbs ( have large bio balls already)
    7. Lighting ( Looking at l.e.d. options that clip onto the tank frame at the back)
    8. Heating ( have a chinese 300W and a Jager 300W)
    9. Return pump size / Flow Rate


    Then any do's / Don'ts you can suggest would be great.
    Im splurging on this tank as this tank is going to be my forever tank, wont be replacing it ever. Graham at Gapedi has been great so far and im excited to get this build along ASAP. :bigsmile:


    Thank you in advance to all who comment and offer their advice!


    ps. the Gf / Future wife is onboard! (Hell yes, any rings for sale?:tongue: )
     
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  3. Ryno

    Ryno Kenaal baber

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    Skinny overflow with 2 pipes with ball valves so it doesnt make alot of noise. Box overflow with durso will also work but skinny overflow just looks better. Sump 1.5mx50x40. Then you can have one large compartment for your fry, 1st compartment sponges and flos 2nd compartment can be your bio media and last compartment your return pump
     
  4. Jwh

    Jwh

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    Firstly, you're wrong, you will want a bigger tank within a year, and that's perfectly OK!

    Leave the top open but with sliders otherwise you'll loose 10mm water per day.
    use canisters
    get two odyssea 90cm quads
    two 300w cheapies are fine and will do the job
    I would go to a higher stand, my 2m is on a 700mm stand, and you always have to stoop down to look, I would seriously suggest a 900mm high stand.

    dont really want to comment on domestic issues, other than saying:
    NEVER EVER say that this will be your "forever" or "last" or "final" tank, cause it won't be and you're gonna get flamed in the future. Rather agree on something like tanks will not occupy more than 30% (or whatever % you deem reasonable) of the floor space of your house. Be generous with the % cause the tape measure will come out at some stage. it's your hobby - own it!

    good luck with the build
     
  5. TaahirS

    TaahirS

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    Maybe use eggcrate to cover the top of the tank.

    Sams aquarium should have all the filter media you need.

    Diy led sounds like fun otherwise I might know a guy selling his Pacific sun unit but that's expensive.

    Maybe add an extra 200 watt heater just in case. Better sage than sorry.

    Good luck. Will be following with interest
     
  6. guillaume

    guillaume

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    good luck! DIY fiskeepers on Youtube got a few tips
     
  7. OP
    nodac

    nodac

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    @Ryno

    Thanks for your advice.

    Going to more than likely go with the 1.5m sump.

    Skinny overflows seem to have some issues but i will speak to Graham and see. I think its between a skinny centre overflow or a 20x20 box in one corner. still need to decide. Main problem is if anything gets into the skinny overflow I cant work in it, and Im planning to have it all done in black.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  8. Ryno

    Ryno Kenaal baber

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    Ive had a skinny overflow in my marine tank just cover the top with black mesh. Looks wise it will be much better.
     
  9. OP
    nodac

    nodac

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    @Jwh , You're right. Thats why I said realistically. I.e this is the biggest I can go and still have a place to live :tongue:. The Real dream tank is a bedroom wall, 20k-50k litres, better start up those lotto tickets again.

    Im covered for heating i think, Have a couple weeks to test before fish import arrives.

    The Stand is one of the things that is holding me back right now, cant decide on the height. Wanted it 60cm to make the total height 129cm (2cm Foam + 2cm wood underneath)
    At 70cm its total height is 139cm.

    That height makes it alittle harder to work on.

    Domestic:
    The lady is the one who got me into fish keeping and has a few tanks of her own so luckily future tanks wont be an issue nor fights about tanks, but thanks for the pointers!

    Thank you.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  10. OP
    nodac

    nodac

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    @TaahirS

    I think I may just use glass sliders to keep heat in, I was thinking of crate to cover the top and prevent any 9/11 jumps. Going to investigate options.

    Sams, was there this weekend. The feedback I got was that they only supply ceramic rings in their small jars @R89 each. Very pricey imo. would need 20 or so of those tiny jars. As far as other filter media, couldnt get much info out of who helped me. Will have to speak to Ebrahiem I think.

    D.I.Y. led I dont think im going to go for. Saw an awesome product at a pet store called "ZetLight" which has an over hang clip that will clip over your glass, but theyre pricey @R1300 per unit. Will need two maybe 3 of those. So looking for other options on those.

    Thank you.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  11. OP
    nodac

    nodac

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    Thanks for the response so far. Hope to see some more advice coming through. Once the tank is planned out and Graham starts it I will ask him for pictures that i can share here.
     
  12. Rory

    Rory Administrator

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    Do you really want a sump? It's a terrible place for fry to be. Adds noise to the tank, even with a skinny overflow or standpipe you'll still have some noise. Adds quite a lot of energy consumption to heat the tank and the return pump running constantly etc. If you're making a purpose built freshwater tank and you want to hide the equipment etc I'd rather look at running an in tank sump so you partition off the back 10cm of the tank or so, put your canister/s intakes and heaters in there and the return from your canisters into the main part of the tank. Much less noise, no overflows to worry about with power outages etc, much more efficient to heat, especially if you add a solid cover of some sort.
    As for the fry it would depend on your set up but surely they'd be safer in a seperate system? If you wanted you could even connect the two systems. If you can put the fry tank above the main tank you can have a pump in the 2m tank "sump" feeding into the fry tank and then a small overflow in the fry tank feeding back to the main tank.

    Edit: oh yes, obviously put a background of some sort in front of the in tank sump. This can be from plain black/blue perspex to fancier rock backgrounds etc.
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2015
  13. Kola

    Kola

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    Threads like these are just going to get me in trouble at home...:girlshit:

    Looking forward to following this build.
     
  14. Chongkie

    Chongkie

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    Looking forward to this build! Big fan of Tropheus Cichlids!

    I personally would go sump route, but with an external overflow box and "bean animal overflow". yes it would require more work to setup, but it is 100% fail safe and super silent! (I have this setup on my tank and works wonders). Do some research on the "bean animal", you won't be dissappointed! You can also ask @AdrianT, he also uses it. Also, a 1.5m sump will add so much water volume that you will have a much more stable system!

    You should try to get around 10x turnover, so you might need to get 2 x return pumps. Also try get a wet/dry pump, so in case your return chamber runs dry, you don't burn out your pumps.

    Another suggestion is, maybe get some crushed coral / aragonite mixed in with your substrate (I guess that you going for PFS?). Will make the water nice and hard and increase Ph, which your Tropheus will love.

    Regarding the filter media, I went for japanese filter mat (rough) then course sponge (for filtering out the debris), then refugium, then bio-balls then return chamber.

    Good luck bud!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  15. Jwh

    Jwh

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    +1 with Rory on this...
     
  16. OP
    nodac

    nodac

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    @Rory @Jwh

    Yes sump is the only way forward for me, I have had canisters and I cant stand them. Find them an absolute hassle for the little filter media they can carry. The sump will be much more efficient I think. I will run a canister in the tank or use canister media to seed the sump. But 100% going sump route. and then if i ever go marine i can do the swop over.

    I thank you both for your advice and pointers
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  17. OP
    nodac

    nodac

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    @Kola Wait until the pictures come, Dont let the members at home see you grinning at them or you may really get into some trouble :blink1:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  18. OP
    nodac

    nodac

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    @Chongkie

    Thank you! Feel like an excited little kid. I have wanted a 2m tank for ages and now im taking the plunge, literally and financially :O.

    I had a look at the bean animal overflow, very good read and very interesting. Im trying to avoid any external boxes to reduce chance of damage when moving the tank or having the box bumped or something, very paranoid about letting 1k Lt of water on the house floor.

    Great suggestion with the Wet/Dry return pumps will speak to Graham about return pumps and anti-Eskom induced floods. Im sure he has good expertise with sump + overflow builds.

    Tap Ph is already very alkaline, Going to get it tested again in various states, ie straight from tap / aged for 24 / 48 hours and see what results are.
    If ph is low i was thinking of adding some crushed coral to the sump itself.

    Thanks, Im going to shop around for some filter media in the coming weeks. Have a good stack of Bio balls already.

    Substrate, More than likely PFS, Currently have a very fine building sand which looks great but makes dust quite easily which can be annoying. Hoping PFS will be a bit "heavier"

    Thanks for all your advice
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  19. RoGe

    RoGe

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    One of the graphics for the bean animal overflow showed the box built inside the tank, so you lose a little tank volume but it's not an external box that can be broken..

    [​IMG]
     
  20. OP
    nodac

    nodac

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    Busy revising costs and design of the tank. Probably going with a 120cm sump considering the large cost increase vs getting a 150cm tank. Anybody have suggestions on which return pump to get? Want a low wattage high volume pump (dont we all right) Will look at a second hand one if someone has one around? Pump needs to be as silent as possibleSo many options its overwhelming! Anyone with experience know how much it will cost p/m roughly to heat 1000-1100Lt of water to 25/26c Probably going to be using x2 300w heaters.
     
  21. Jwh

    Jwh

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    Have a look on gumtree, i presume your sump will be in a cabinet, if so, you can get the narliest looking 2nd hand tank to act as your sump, the separators you can silicone in yourself, doesn't really matter if the job isn't the prettiest, same with the pump.
    The 2 300w will be sufficient, doesn't really matter how many heaters you have. The amount of energy you need to heat your tank from room temperature to the desired temperature (the so called "delta") will be the same, bigger or more heaters get you there faster. In order to calculate the energy you need to know the delta, the amount of energy to get to 25 deg C, and then you multiply by your kWh rate fro your electricity bill.
    To reduce energy cost clad your sump in polystyrene, same with your tank, back and side panels, top and front you can cover at night, there was a recent thread on this even using geyser and space blankets.
     

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